**ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of the Epiphany, Gipton For the Year Ended 31[st] December 2025** ## **Administrative Information** The Church of the Epiphany is situated in Beech Lane, Gipton, Leeds. It is in the East Leeds Deanery of the Diocese of Leeds within the Church of England. The correspondence address is 227 Beech Lane, Leeds, LS9 6SW. In addition to the Grade I listed church building, the PCC is also responsible for maintaining the church hall, attached to the church. PCC members who have served from 27[th] April 2025 until this report was approved are: Priest-in-Charge: The Reverend Gemma Fleury (licensed 12[th] September 2024) Wardens: No Church wardens were elected . NB: All serve for 3 years with one third retiring each year (retirees are eligible for reelection) Church members Jan Ali (Licensed Lay Minister) Resigned in August 2025 Chris Muir Until APCM 2026 Batanai Rinhomota Until APCM 2026 Marjorie Bell (Vice Chair) Until APCM 2027 Mandy Ruddiman Until APCM 2027 John Mee Until APCM 2027 Jill Cavasi (Safeguarding Officer) Until APCM 2028 Jill Ryan Until APCM 2028 Christine Brett Treasurer Until APCM 2028 No Deanery Synod Members were elected ## **Structure. Governance and Management** The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. 1 The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure as amended and Church representation rules that came into force on 2 January 1957 and is registered with the Charity Commission (No.1157658). PCC members are Trustees. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. ## **Objectives and Activities** The Epiphany PCC has a responsibility of co-operating with the Priest-in-Charge, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical. The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our Church, and to be introduced to and explore the Christian faith. Our life as a church community is grounded in prayer, Scripture, and receiving the Sacraments. We try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our church community, through: - Worship and prayer; - Opportunities for learning and developing their knowledge about the Christian faith; - Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish; and - Mission and outreach work. To facilitate this work, it is vital that we maintain the fabric of both the Church and the Hall. ## **Priest-in-Charge Report** The Church of the Epiphany remains a visible and noticeable presence in the local community, both in terms of the building and in terms of the relationships built up by members of the congregation. Happily, there have been notable improvements to the fabric of the church over the past year: the broken windows have been replaced; the lightbulbs throughout the interior of the church have been replaced with LED bulbs; the front doors have been freshened up with a new coat of paint; and the walls of the hall have likewise been updated. Throughout the year, Epiphany has continued to host the Leeds South & East foodbank, as well as provide practical support for people through its own Parish Pantry. During the Christmas period, it hosted the ever-popular Christmas Carol service for the local schools. There has further been outreach through the newsletters and seasonal events, in addition to the ‘A Church Near You’ webpage and Facebook page, which remain significant to providing information and invitation to activities. 2 The church hall continues to host uniformed organisations meeting on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the Space2 gardening group on a Thursday. Unfortunately, Zest had to withdraw their Men’s group on a Wednesday, due to lack of funding. The Pantomime this year was another great success, and we are incredibly grateful for the donation given by them for the improvements to the hall. It has been a great joy and privilege to work alongside such a dedicated and supportive PCC, as well as the other generous volunteers who keep the church running. I have further been grateful for the support and ministry provided throughout my maternity leave by David Robinson, Kingsley Dowling, Gordon Cooper, Diane Flynn, Diane Lofthouse, Robin Paterson, as well as the services provided by several LLMs. It is my prayer that we, as a community, will continue to discern God’s calling for the church in this place, whilst offering worship that is both enriching and engaging, as well as reaching out to those who are curious and interested in the faith. The Reverend Gemma Fleury Priest-in-Charge ## **Safeguarding Report** This year we have continued to work towards achieving the Level 1 and 2 standards on the Church of England Safeguarding Dashboard and have made progress with this. We have worked alongside the Parish Safeguarding Team as and when required over the past year. Jill Cavasi Safeguarding Officer ## **PCC Report** The PCC met seven times in 2025, with an average attendance of 75% Monies were raised across the year for the Foodbank, and the Parish Pantry. The PCC has managed to find funds to decorate the church hall making it a light and usable space. The PCC would like to express thanks and appreciation to Jill Cavasi, PCC member for all the work she has done during Gemma’s maternity leave. Marjorie Bell PCC Vice Chair ## **Property Report for 2025** ## CHURCH Following the previous years of vandalism the 17 lower windows around the east end that had been smashed have been replaced. They and the remaining 7 windows have polycarbonate covers fitted on the outside to protect them. 3 All the Church lights have been updated to LED lights The main Church doors have been painted. The roof was inspected and the gutters around the roof were cleaned. Areas of concern were highlighted with the work due to be done when the contractors are available All the fire extinguishers and some maintained emergency lights were checked and replaced as necessary. As reported before the outside doors are still in poor condition and the St Nicholas Chapel wall needs work on it following dampness caused by rain. ## HALL As in the Church the lights have been replaced with LED lights As previously noted, the main hall fire doors at the rear are in a poor condition. The first hall heater is again faulty and has been reported. The fire alarm was serviced. A group of volunteers organised by Donna Cutting from Space2 at the Old Fire Station have cleaned up the hall garden which had become overgrown. ## Richard Naylor Property ## **From the Treasurer** 2025 was my fourth year as Treasurer for Epiphany Church and again I have to thank the team who share the load and help ensure the financial arrangements run smoothly. ## **Financial Reports** ## **1. The Statement of Assets and Liabilities Report** This Report shows: ## **a) the two places where the Church’s money is stored** ; - the Bank Current Account (Virgin Money); - the savings account (CCLA – CBF deposit account); The bank current account at the end of December 2025 had a healthy balance of £10,626 (twice that of the 2024 year end) Note that this was due to paying only 10% of the Parish Share requested. **b) Liabilities.** These are monies held by or collected by the church, that belong to other agencies (effectively the church acts as Agents for them). At the end of 2025 all agency fees had been paid 4 **c) a breakdown of the money held by the church** . This year the unrestricted funding (money that can be used for the day-to-day work), at the end of the financial year was £9,732 compared with last year’s balance of £6,213. **2. The Receipts and Payments account** (Statement of Financial Activities) provides: **a) a breakdown of the money that was received and paid out in 2025** . It shows that £38,351 was received and £32,943 spent this year. The surplus of income over expenditure was welcome after 2 years of the church having to withdraw monies from reserves to meet day to day expenditure. However, the surplus was due to not paying the Parish Share in full. ## **b) the transfer of fund between accounts.** This year £2,400 was transferred from the unrestricted funds to the Designated funds for Church and Hall repair costs. This together with £379 carried forward in this fund from 2024 meant that routine repairs and replacements could be financed from general fund income. ## **Income in 2025:** My thanks go to everyone at Epiphany for your continuing commitment to Stewardship and the giving of your time and talents to keep the church running in 2025. A major change to Stewardship was the adoption in September 2025 of the Diocesan Parish Giving Scheme whereby people give regularly to Epiphany through direct debits collected by the Diocese and then passed in full to the church. A major benefit for the church is that the Diocese claims the gift aid and passes it to the church in full each month. This really assists the cash flow for the church bank account. The treasurer still claims gift aid, though not on a monthly basis, for those who pay by standing order or envelope and have signed a gift aid declaration and for cash offerings through the small claims scheme. There is no cost to the church for the Parish Giving Scheme. In December 2025 there were 18 people who had signed gift aid declarations: 7 regular standing orders, 8 giving through the Parish Giving Scheme and 3 via weekly envelopes. This represents between 80 and 90% of the congregation. Epiphany is a giving church. Gift aid receipts amounting to £3,475 included £248 through the Parish Giving Scheme. A generous and very welcome donation of £2,000 was received from Metro Goldwyn Gipton ticket sales for their pantomime Aladdin. However, income from hall rents was less than in 2024 largely because the hall had been used as a polling station twice in 2024 for local elections and the General Election. 4 restricted one-off grants were received in 2025 - £4,500 from the Diocese of Leeds Church Building fund for LED lighting in the church and halls. - £3,000 from the Diocese of Leeds Church Building fund towards the provision of polycarbonate protection on the church windows vandalised in November 2023. - £2,000 from GFS Community Enterprise to support the Parish Pantry and Foodbank. - £200 from South Leeds and East Foodbank towards heating costs. 5 In addition, the three Ward Councillors gave £250 MICE grants unrestricted to support community activities by Epiphany Church. Ecclesiastical Insurance paid £4,692 to settle the claim for the replacement glazing of the church windows vandalised in November 2023. Whilst there were variations in individual categories overall income was in line with the budget agreed at the beginning of the year. ## **Expenditure in 2025** A major priority for the PCC and congregation is paying its Parish Share to the Diocese **.** In 2023 it was paid in full. In 2024 it increased to £21,744 and 63% was paid with £5,000 being withdrawn from reserves to fund running costs. In 2025 it increased again to £20,804. It is by far the largest call on the church’s finances and the only expenditure that can be flexed. Therefore in 2025 as it was financially unviable for the church to use reserves as before to fund day to day running costs, the PCC agreed that **£** 2,100 amounting to 10%% of the Share request be paid. Epiphany is still not by any means the worst payer in the Deanery or the Diocese. Gas and electric costs actually decreased by 14% compared to 2024 but this was due to Octopus Energy overcharging. Maintenance contracts with various companies were continued in order to ensure that the church and hall were well looked after. Replacement of the church main doors was again deferred due to the difficulties in find an approved manufacturer and fitter for the Grade 1 listed building. However, the appearance of the church was improved by painting them. Major expenditure both for replacement lighting in the church and halls and for replacement glazing and polycarbonate on the church windows vandalised in November 2023 was paid for through an insurance claim of £4,692 and Diocesan grants amounting to £7,500. The Quinquennial survey costing £1110 was undertaken and gave recommendations with estimates of costs for - urgent works £1820 – included installing LED lights and gutter cleaning – both done. - to be completed within 12 months £21,690 including the replacement of the main entrance doors - to be completed withing 2 years £17,160 - to be completed within 5 years £63,295 included £25,000 to scaffold and redecorate the ceilings and walls of the church Without a substantial increase in income the major repairs necessary will need grant funding. The PCC agreed that the collection from the Carol Service (£50.84) and donations in lieu of Christmas cards (£15) in December 2024 should be earmarked in 2025 for contributions towards the Foodbank and Parish Pantry at Epiphany to be spent at the 6 discretion of the Vicar. However, as a grant of £2000 has been received in 2025 restricted for use by the Foodbank and Parish Pantry this payment has not been made. It was an oversight by the treasurer that no recommendation for charitable giving was made in 2025. ## **For 2026** The Diocese is introducing a 3-year plan for Parish Share so churches can budget on a 3-year cycle. It is requesting from Epiphany £22,316 in 2026, £22,985 in 2027 and £23,675 in 2028. However, current income only pays for necessary expenditure if the Parish Share is not paid in full. Furthermore, the church needs to pay for the most urgent repairs identified by the Quinquennial survey including replacing the main entrance doors. The PCC meets regularly and so income and expenditure are monitored. Monthly payments of £200 Parish Share will continue in 2026 with the intention to increase these if cash flow is sufficient so that as much Parish Share as possible is paid. The church halls are currently used by Uniformed Groups, Space 2, the Pantomime and Leeds City Council. More use of the church hall by external groups would generate income and ease the pressure on the church’s finances. To encourage this and make the halls more attractive to current users the PCC agreed to finance the much-needed painting of entrance way, toilets and halls. The Vicar is on maternity leave until May 2026 but after this it is planned to prioritise applying for suitable grants for necessary work in the church and halls. No charitable giving payment was made in 2025 from income in 2024 and no recommendation made from income in 2025. So, I will be proposing to the PCC that in 2026 in lieu of a collection for Christian Aid Week £142.98 be sent to Christian Aid. This is in line with previous years when we gave to Christian Aid and the total comprises the Baptism and Carol Service collections for 2024 and 2025 plus donations in lieu of Christmas cards in December 2024. . The PCC and Finance Team will be carefully overseeing the cash flow of the Church to ensure it remains financially solvent and not at risk of being unable to meet its obligations ## **Accounting Policy:** The Accounts have been prepared on a ‘Receipts and Payments’ basis, which means that transactions are accounted for as money is received or spent, rather than accruals accounting. ## **Funds:** The accounts are separated into various pots of money, for general, designated or restricted use; **General funds** are for the day-to-day running of the Church and Hall. **Designated funds** are those pots of money that are set aside from the general funds, to use for a specific purpose. **Restricted funds** are those which must be used for a very specific purpose, for example grants or donations for specific things. 7 ## The following table explains what the various funds are: |**Type of fund**|**Name of fund**|**Purpose**| |---|---|---| |Unrestricted|General|Day-to-day running costs| |Designated|BF-Des|£200 each month is saved in this account to
put towards Repairs. Sometimes this needs to
be increased if there is additional expenditure
required.| |Designated|BSA-Des|Buildings Special Appeal, where donations
from the congregation towards the new boiler
were saved and the balance reserved to use
for further building projects. Rev Nouwen’s
legacy of £6500 towards the replacement of
the church external doors was added to this
fund in 2022.| |Restricted|BF – Res|This is where Grant money for large building
works is held. Currently it has a small balance
of VAT reclaimed.| |Restricted|One-off grants|This is where small one-off grants received
during the year are held.| ## **Reserves Policy:** The PCC aims to keep between 3 and 6 months running costs in the bank at all times. This is a minimum of £8,000 and a maximum of £18,000, in the general funds. This ensures that the Church is able to meet its running costs for 3 months. The total free reserves at the year-end were £20,098 comprising £9,732 in the unrestricted General Fund and £10,366 which has been designated towards a variety of purposes as set out in the table below. There is considerable expenditure anticipated in 2026 and this together with uncertainty about the cost of living means the additional reserves will be necessary. ## **Movement of funds:** This table shows the movement of money between the funds |**Fund and**
**type**|**Fund**
**balances**
**brought**
**forward**
**from 2024**|**Incoming**
**resources**|**Outgoing**
**resources**|**Transfers**|**Fund**
**balances**
**carried**
**forward to**
**2025**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted –
General Fund|6,213.89|28,651.23|22,732.20|(2,400.00)|**9,732.92**| |Designated –
Building Fund|379.63|0.00|2,230.82|2,400.00|**548.81**| |Designated –
Building
Special
Appeal Fund|9,818.00|0.00|0.00|0.00|**9,818.00**| 8 |Restricted –
Building Fund|3,551.25|0.00|0.00|0.00|**3551.25**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Restricted –
One-off grants|0.00|9,700.00|7980.15|0.00|**1,719.85**| |**TOTALS**|**19,962.77**|**38,351.23**|**32,943.17**|**0.00**|**25,370.83**| Whilst the PCC remains committed to paying what Parish Share it can, this is not a legal obligation and therefore, the trustees are confident that, if necessary, they can continue to flex the amount of Parish Share paid over the next 12 months to ensure the charity remains a Going Concern. This report and the accounts were approved by the PCC on 23[rd] April 2026 Appendix 1 Receipts and Payment Account (Statement of Financial Activities) for the period 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 Appendix 2 Statement of Assets and Liabilities as 31 December 2025 Appendix 3 Independent Examiner’s Report 9 2A•X74 2W.74 i.r4JJYJ *47844 4J16J¥J J7 *1r•)m • 12•1 10 >.gn lJ97 M.l(15.74 T•* •213.1• Jn. V1•.¢AI 3Js•As T•1 71 The Parochlal Church Councll 01 The Eccleslastlcal Parlsh 01 Ind•p•nd•nt •xamIn•￿* r•port to th• tTh$t••• of Th• Pan)chl•l Church Councll 01 Th• Eccl•￿*￿*1¢•I Parlsh 01 Th• Eplpknny Glpt¢•n. L••ds I ￿pDrt to the charty trusts85 on my examinatrfi of tho wunty of fw thè year end•d 31 December 2025 RMpon•lbllitlM Ind b*•l¥ ol r•port A$ the ¢h8rity INst￿ yoii •re res¢*￿31tr￿ lty tt* m*r•btyi of the •c>>wnts ITr T￿)1￿9nC• tt requirements of th• Chants•s Act 2011 llh• N£fl I fep)rt in resp•th of my ex•min#tien of the thanV8 *ts)unts 88 carr￿d (yJt under s￿￿On 14S of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examin8tion I lolhy**d ￿1 th• 8ppIKablè 0￿￿)n• 9N¢fi by the Chgrity COMMI￿1)n und•r ￿tKIn 145(5llbl of Ind•p•nd•ni •x•mln•¢• •t•l•m•nt I have compfeted my examinaipon I confirn no In•￿ malt•rn ha￿ to my atterikn In connxt with the •x¥minaty"on giwng me couw to b¢4w• th* M •rry mat•nal rwxt. 1 occountrng rec4rd$ noi kw In re•Frft of ¢h•nty x reqvired 130 ofth• Ch•rrt*• A¢(. 2 th• •ccounl¥ do r￿t •B¢tydTrrti trth• rKtyd*. I no eth¢•mi artd hw• eerfn• acro•s no other m•tt•r• In conMctr)n ￿1h •￿•M1n•bort to whth ¥tt•nt￿n should be drawn In this repyt ITr order to enable a yop•r understanding of fv owuntj to be Sln•d'. N•m•.' s.￿￿ 8ostrryn FCIE 27104r2028 Wmt York•hlrn Comffluntty A¢¢ounti*)ty S•p4k• CIO Slrin9er Hou 34 Lupton sir••t LS10 2QW 12