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2025-12-31-accounts

HIGHBURY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Oxford Street Cheltenham GL52 6DU

ANNUAL REPORTS AND ACCOUNTS FOR 2025

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Highbury Congregational Church

Our Vision: to connect people with Jesus, with each other and with the wider world, growing together

Our Values: empathy, learning, including all

Ministry Leadership Team

Minister Jason Boyd revdjasoncboyd@gmail.com Children Andrea Lacey Discipleship Helen Bloxham Pastoral Care Laura MacLeod Rachel Jacques

Diaconate (and Trustees) Secretary Mary Buchanan buchananm37@yahoo.com Treasurer (Acting) Adrian Blazey highburyoffice@yahoo.co.uk Minister Jason Boyd revdjasoncboyd@gmail.com Deacons Adrian Blazey, Louise Middleton, Darryl Mills, Ruth Wyatt

Others Highbury News Sue Cole Safeguarding Nephesha Michael Church Office Admin highburyoffice@yahoo.co.uk

Website: www.highburychurch.com

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The Charitable Objects of Highbury Congregational Church

The principal purpose of the church is the advancement of the Christian Faith according to the principles and usages for the time being of Congregationalism and in accordance with any specific requirements in the foundation trusts. The church may also advance education, relieve need and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Governing document, THE DECLARATION OF TRUST, was adopted by Congregational Federation Limited on the 13th day of June 2009 as a recommended governing document for Congregational Churches who are members of the Congregational Federation and for whom Congregational Federation Limited are appointed as holding trustees, the form having been previously agreed between Congregational Federation Limited and the Charity Commission and also having been approved by HM Revenue and Customs.

Highbury Congregational Church began in 1827 and has been part of the Congregational Federation since 1972. The church is also a registered charity 1159085. We have adopted the Congregational Federation’s Declaration of Trust of 2009 as our Governing Document, supplemented by our own Working Practices Document (updated September 2022).

Whilst we work closely with other Congregational Churches, all we do is decided and funded by our own Church Members. We have no outside source of funding and we do not have any outside body over us. All who belong are welcomed into church membership on confession of faith in God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Quarterly (and as required), Church Members meet for Church Meeting to seek the mind of Christ in shaping the life of the Church and setting the future direction of Church life. The Deacons serve the Church as Managing Trustees and ensure all the Church does is in keeping with its Charitable Objects as a Congregational Church and with reference to finances, safeguarding, health and safety, disability, employment and other legislation.

Our Vision

The Vision of Highbury Congregational Church is consonant with our Charitable Objects (as above): - To connect people with Jesus, with each other and with the wider world, growing together.

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Contents

Minister’s Report p5
Worship (includes Flowers) p6
Discipleship p7
Pastoral Care p8
Children and Youth p9
Mission and Outreach p13
Secretary’s Report (includes administration, Health and Safety, maintenance)
p16
Safeguarding p17
Treasurer’s Report p18

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Minister’s Report

I ended my last report without any plans other than to walk with you in following Jesus. I begin my 7[th] report with joy and thanksgiving: no plans gave way to God’s plan.

At the end of February, I began a staged return to my pastoral responsibilities. At times I felt overwhelmed, but the support of our leadership team and your prayers meant that I was not overcome. In particular I am grateful to Mary whose gifts with administration and spiritual acumen helped me to keep things manageable and in perspective. I am profoundly grateful to Viviane whose love is unfailing. I am grateful for the love of my children. There are costs and benefits of being the minister’s family. I do not take them for granted.

‘No plans but God’s plans’ began with our Covenant Service on 19[th] January. I was pleased to be able to play a small part in the service and to welcome Gabbie Lewis into membership. The service generated responses from members, some re-engaging, others letting us know that Highbury is still important to them even if they are not regular in attendance.

‘No plans but God’s plans’ was a gift of illness and recovery because I had to trust God and lean on your generosity. I did not have the energy to jump through all my self-imposed hoops. I have prioritised pastoral relationships and am learning to give limited time to sermon preparation and admin. I feel more relaxed because I am trusting the Holy Spirit to give what I need for each task.

Walking with people who are bereaved is an immense privilege. During these raw moments we are able to accompany people with care and understanding. I want to thank the team that supports me in this ministry: Sue Cole, Rachel Jacques, Alan Berry & Phill Bird, Mary Buchanan and Chris Martin.

I record our gratitude for those of our congregation who have died and continuing prayers for their families: Peter Harrison, George Cullis, Trevor Needs, Heather Tarling and Jeanette Broome. We particularly recall Lacey Banyard who was part of our Messy Church family.

A key area of ministry is weekly involvement at St. John’s Primary School. We joined a staff lunch during the inset day in September. It built relationships with teachers, staff, and St. Luke’s Church. Later in the term, Mary and I were invited to participate in St. John’s SIAMS inspection[1] . We continue to support Pittville School and the Angel Day Nursery at Christmas time. Chris Martin, Rachel Jacques, Paul Hotchkins and Mary Buchanan make it possible to welcome the schools.

Following the decision of the Church Meeting to register our building for same-sex marriage, I began the process in September 2024. It proved to be bureaucratically challenging and, combined with my illness and recovery, took longer than anticipated. However, on 4 April 2025, we received correspondence confirming our status.

In relation to marriage registration, Lorna White has served as the Authorised Person for several years and intimated that she wanted to step down from this role. I would like to thank her for faithfully carrying out her responsibilities. I am now the Authorised Person and Viviane is an Additional AP. It would be helpful to have at least two more people to ensure resilience if Viviane and I are not available. If you feel able to do this, please have a conversation with me.

2025 has astonished me. For the first time in 32 years of ministry, a few people have begun to worship with us who do not have any church background. This has led to a bubbling up of an Alpha Course planned for early 2026.

God’s call to joy in 2024 is bearing fruit as our congregation has galvanised around our vision ‘to connect people with Jesus, each other, and the wider world, growing together.’ I am grateful to

1 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools.

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God for a leadership team which has gelled, Church Meetings marked by gratitude, and Spirit-filled, Christ-centred worship in which there is an atmosphere of loving care.

A serendipitous change of layout for Pentecost led to playing with how we were seated. The new layout encourages our small congregation to sit nearer the front and closer together. This seems to have had a positive impact on our sense of togetherness.

It has been an answer to prayer to be a part of the finance group as we have supported the new finance team. We are thankful to Roger for passing on his knowledge and skills to Adrian Blazey, Viviane Boyd, and Iain Macleod, our finance team. Again, we thank Roger for his years of service and his continuing support during this transition time.

Following the Annual Church Meeting in March, the deacons and ministry coordinators have been actively engaged in assessing the resources God has given to us and how we can best use these gifts in terms of the Vision. We are grateful to Kate Blazey for leading us in our discussions. There is continuing work to be done though one thing is clear: God has given us all that we need to be the community he has called us to be. It is for us to respond in faithful obedience.

So, what are my plans for the year ahead? Of course, it will begin with the joy of Easter followed quickly by Molly and Jack’s wedding! In this and all else, I want to keep walking with you, following Jesus, sharing the good news in deed and word, and to continue to be surprised by God’s generosity. ‘And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 4:19).

Peace

Jason C. Boyd

Worship Ministry

Report from the Worship Group

The Worship Group meets three or four times in the year to assist the minister in planning for our worship services. It includes representatives from the morning and evening services, and the Café Church and Messy Church teams. The composition of the group is not fixed and the invitation to attend regular meetings is open to anyone.

Some key points from Highbury worship in 2025:

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Looking ahead to 2026 we aim to improve the quality of our livestreaming by investing in new equipment.

Particular thanks to:

Angela Pickles and Louise Middleton for the regular preparation of communion; Jean Gregory and Maureen Williams for organising refreshments before/after our services; Iain MacLeod, Adrian Blazey and Chris Martin for setting up and operating the audiovisuals and livestreaming;

Lorraine Gasside (morning), Rachel Jacques and June Tremlett (evenings) for coordinating the welcoming teams;

All the providers of flowers.

Flowers

Report by Karen Wilkes, flower coordinator

Another year of flowers to mark the Church calendar, along with the beautiful, professional arrangements marking the lives of friends of Highbury. It is very satisfying to receive comments, along with encouragement for the arrangements I have placed in the church this last year. A small arrangement, or bunch of flowers placed at the front of the church, is very pleasing and uplifting and is a focal point. So members and friends do contribute occasionally, whether the flowers are shop bought, from your garden or the wild - have a go, you may surprise yourself. Vases are in the wardrobe in the Morton Brown room. A little tip - strip all the foliage from the stem that will be under the water, otherwise the leaves break down discolouring and contaminating the water, killing the flowers.

Please think about contributing occasionally, new ideas are very welcome.

Discipleship Ministry

Report by Helen Bloxham, Discipleship Ministry Coordinator

Aim: To help everyone in the Church to grow and develop in their Christian faith, their prayer life and their discipleship as they explore the Christian faith and seek to put Christ at the centre of their lives.

I will review this last year at Highbury with the 3 areas of my role as Discipleship Ministry Coordinator in mind:

And as disciples I will endeavour to set you some challenges moving forward into this next year.

Discipleship at the heart of our services

I hope that those that come along to Café Church would agree that this informal style of service and worship is an ideal space for us as disciples to share our experiences, discuss issues and encourage one another as Christians. We have covered many thought-provoking themes including God’s Covenant, You are wonderfully made, Christian Aid, Trinity/Welcome, Rest and restoration, Flourishing, Every Giant will fall and Come fill us with Joy.

I continue to be part of the Messy Church team and would encourage everyone to come and join in the creative activities that explore a Bible story/verse or theme with the younger members of our church family. It is a special time of fellowship that includes a meal together and songs/prayers. Any Church member is also welcome to come along to the worship team meetings where the service outlines are planned out – it would be good to have a range of ideas and inspiration.

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Thy Kingdom Come

In May it was the 3[rd] year of taking part in this 10-year Ecumenical prayer initiative. The prayer stations were themed around The Lord’s prayer and I thank again the small team who set up the activities in Church as I was away. The Novena booklets and prayer journals were available to those who wanted to use them and the church open at various times in the week. Jason also led evening prayers. The theme for 2026 is ‘God with Us’ and as we look to the 4[th] year let’s all take on the prayer journal/Novena challenge and commit to inviting a friend, neighbour or even stranger along to Highbury during the week.

Highbury News

I have continued to try and share discipleship type contributions in the monthly magazine be they prayers, encouraging bible verses or reflections on Café Church. Perhaps you can consider sharing something yourself to the discipleship page? An encouraging God moment, favourite verse or song. What about that book review request?! All contributions are welcome.

Connect/Alpha Groups

It is exciting that another Alpha group has started to explore the Christian faith meeting after Church on a Sunday for fellowship over lunch and a short video to stimulate discussions of those all-important faith questions. Let’s pray for those starting out on their journey of faith and for those in our Connect groups who meet when they can to study and pray together. Please do contact me if you would like to join a Connect group, there is a new group about to start up so please ask for details.

Discipleship Outreach

The Cr-Afternoon group continues to meet every 6 weeks or so and it has been lovely to welcome both church and non-church members to the café space for friendship and creative activities and cake! Talking cake, I am now on the café rota and it has been lovely to see so many come and enjoy that time of fellowship. Please consider how you might serve as disciples in the Church outreach activities; at the film afternoon, Messy Church, Thursday café, Sunday coffee and the welcome team. There are lots of opportunities that need support.

A Discipleship Prayer

We pray, Lord that You would multiply Your church by equipping disciples of Jesus to do the work of ministry. Empower us to share Your love and truth with those around us, to teach and mentor others in their faith, and to live out the teachings of Jesus in our daily lives. May our actions and dedication to discipleship bring You glory and contribute to the expansion of Your kingdom on earth. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Pastoral Care Ministry

Report by Laura MacLeod on behalf of the Pastoral Care team (Jason Boyd, Rachel Jacques, Laura MacLeod and Gabbie Lewis)

The pastoral care team is headed up by Jason, as minister, and we keep a check on the general welfare of Highbury members, regular adherents, and their families. We also know and care for those that we meet through various church groups such as Toddlers, Messy Church, and HyTec. Gabbie has joined the team this year and has a special gift of caring through her visits to those over 85 to hand deliver birthday cards.

A regular prayer email is issued weekly, and cards of support are sent to those we feel are in particular need. In addition, birthday cards and a Christmas gift are delivered to anyone known to

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us who is over 85. Regular visiting is undertaken to those who are unable to get to Highbury services, and others who may be ill or just in need of a chat and friendship.

Although we have a pastoral care ministry team at Highbury, in reality all of our congregation are involved in caring for each other in one way or another and we thank each of you for that. We keep an eye out for each other. This is what makes Highbury a real family community.

Children and Youth Ministry

Children and Families

Report by Andrea Lacey, Children and Families Worker

Aim of ministry or group: To help children share Christian Friendship, explore Christian faith, and enter Christian Mission as a full part of the Church family. To help the Church to be fully supportive of children, as a child friendly Church, with Christ at the centre and open to all. Build on and develop children’s work, build on relationships with other appropriate local links, such as uniformed organisations.

Report of activity for 2025

Messy Church

Messy Church has continued on a monthly basis and although numbers are small there is real fellowship among the families and this strength allows us to share prayer concerns. Sometimes these families bring friends along and they too have become part of the Messy Church family. The BRF Get Messy magazine is used to plan monthly meetings, with a break in August due to summer holidays. I am hugely thankful for the dedicated team who continue to meet, plan and help run this, and without them, it would not be possible to run.

Our themes have looked at Acts 10:9-16 exploring hidden messages and messengers of God through Angels. In April Messy Church were invited to an outdoor service to celebrate Good Friday. The story was told through a treasure trail around church; we scanned a QR code on a phone to hear the Easter story as we went. We then finished in the café space to eat hot cross buns. Other themes included

Baby & Toddler group

This group has seen growing numbers over the year but we were sad to say goodbye to three lovely parents, two of whom had babies at the same time after joining us with their toddlers. One joined us whilst her husband here for work, but has returned to New Zealand. The other is due to go to Goa where her husband’s family live. The third has taken a 6-month trip to Germany to be with family. We look forward to continuing to welcoming more families through the coming year with a small baby boom. The conversations are supportive and lead to some attending Messy Church .

Family Film afternoons

Family film afternoons have continued bi-monthly, to serve the community and act as an outreach event. The hall projector did fail at one point, but we managed to decamp and continue in the Morton Brown Room. Films shown include Lilo and Stitch, a film about two orphaned children who find a small blue fugitive alien called Stitch. It explores unconditional love, family, and struggles between good and bad. Moana 2 is a story about trusting your guide (Proverbs 3:5–6), recognising

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that it doesn’t mean life will always be easy, but it does mean God will show us the way, step by step. I have shown new release films in the past but am reflecting on who the target audience should be for this outreach work and whether older films might be better.

Christmas

The nativity scene photo board went up again during December.

Toddler group finished with party food and a short retelling of the Christmas story in front of the crib in church.

The Christingle service saw Messy Church families past and present, Hytec-ers, toddler group families as well as other connections.

The scratch nativity was well supported by the congregation and I am always grateful to everyone who takes part. We used material from the Bible Society called the "the Amazing Advent-ure", with a booklet giveaway (with support of the Bennington Hall Trust Fund).

Sunday worship

We have welcomed a few more children of different ages during Sunday services, and this continues to be a space that changes. Currently, we offer activities at the table to allow them to be present with their family during the service.

Other Outreach

Light in the Porch

We packaged up x50 bags of Hope containing sweets, a booklet on the Bible App for kids and our Highbury Welcome leaflet. We welcomed trick-or-treaters passing by and gave them a treat bag, as well as offering warmth, toilets and hot chocolate. Inside the church they decorated biscuits and made lanterns.

Saltmine Pantomine

We hosted the Saltmine Theatre Company again at the end of November with their performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, thinking about 'slaying giants' and overcoming fear. We counted 120 chairs in church and it was a full house. Among the familiar faces were ex- and current toddler group families, Messy Church, family film goers, and other connections through our own Highbury church family. This was a fantastic outreach opportunity at the start of Advent.

Planned activities for 2025

Wherever possible, activities such as Messy Church are supported with the financial help of the Bennington Hall Trust Fund. Grants are available in March and September for which I send in applications for the planned work ahead. They enjoy seeing a report of the work they have supported.

Personal footnote: 2025 has been an especially hard year for me and I would like to express my sincere thanks for all the support (and patience) provided. I was, and continue to be, deeply upset at the loss of one of my daughter’s friends. Lacey Banyard not only joined us at Messy Church, but came for Sunday services as well as family film afternoons and the Know your Worth course. As a family we feel comforted by her presence at Highbury and the chance to offer her family the space for her celebration of life.

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Thank you, Jason, for your Ministry, guidance and support, and particularly so during this year. Thank you also to Mary B as my line manager and your continued commitment and support. Last, but not least, thank you to the continued commitment of the Messy Church team (Jean and Roger, Laura M, Helen B, Marguerite and Louise) and others who step in and help as required.

– HyTec (Highbury Youth The Eternity Club)

Report by : Mary Buchanan, HyTec Leader

Aim of group: To provide safe space for teenagers/young adults to develop their potential and explore Christian faith.

Activity in 2025 :

HyTec for secondary school age (years 7-13) meets on a Sunday evening. We have 10 on our books, with about 5-6 attending regularly. Favourite activities continue to be eating, playing mafia, UNO, hide-and-seek, as well as table tennis, HyTec football, Foursquare. We always include times of prayer together and aim to be supportive through what can be difficult years for young people – and 2025 did present quite a few challenges. With overall smaller numbers, we were less organised in terms of ‘themes’ for each term, but we have had time to really get to know each better and develop relationships of trust.

Connect/Discipleship Group for over-18s. The online HyTec diaspora group came to the end of its natural life in 2025. We still meet in-person from time to time when we can.

Thanks to ……

– 11th Cheltenham (Highbury) Guides 2025

Report by Tania Ashdown, Guider

We started the year with a movie evening – watching Frozen 2 (accompanied by popcorn) and later celebrated Burns Night with some Scottish dancing. The rest of the term the guides worked on their Confectionery badge, making (and sharing and eating) pancakes, Banbury cakes, cake truffles, decorated Easter biscuits and cupcakes. We finished the spring term by spending an evening at Mr Mulligans Adventure Golf.

In June most of the unit took part in the County “Bubbs Hill Bash”, working in patrols to complete various challenges around the County headquarters. Everyone had a fun but exhausting day. Most of the guides stayed to camp overnight and enjoyed a silent disco in the middle of the field. Each patrol had to decorate a mallet as a mascot, and this year (after coming second last year) one of our patrols was awarded joint first prize for their design – an amazing Doctor Who themed creation, complete with swirling clouds and lights. We also joined the rest of the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides in Battledown District for a “Lions at Large” evening, doing Lion themed activities and raising money for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity. At the end of the term we were happy to present one of our older Guides with her Gold Award (having completed interest badges, skills builder activities and unit meeting activities for 6 different themes). Most of our older guides came to the end of their time in Guiding in summer and organised a Hawaiian-themed evening with dancing and mocktails to finish. Some have now gone on to Rangers and to help at Rainbow and Brownie units.

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In the Autumn term the guides completed their Innovate Skills Builder badge doing a range of activities including learning about binary code and tessellations, finessing cookie recipes and making “bionic” hands (with straws, string and cardboard!). We also went to the Fairview Community Firework display, which was great fun despite the rain. In November we had a fundraising Beetle Drive, which the guides and their families all enjoyed.

I would like to thank all of the Highbury Guide Leaders for all they have done this year again and we would like to thank everyone at the church for their continuing support. We look forward to trying new challenges as well as returning to old favourites in the year ahead.

We are happy to welcome any girls between the ages of 10 and 14 to Guides to join our activities this coming year and any adults interested in volunteering. Please get in touch if you are interested in finding out more about the unit. Contact us at 11cheltenhamguides@gmail.com

1[st] Cheltenham Scout Group

Report by Jeremy Gibbs, Group Leader (with input from Section leaders)

Group Overview

It has been a standout year for the 1st Cheltenham Scout Group. We continue to thrive with four full sections catering to young people aged 4 to 14. Our collective strength was best displayed during our Summer Group Camp , where over 60 young people developed traditional scouting skills including fire lighting, shelter building, climbing, and outdoor cooking.

Beyond our weekly sessions, we remain deeply rooted in our community. We hosted a highly successful Ceilidh with over 65 guests, raising £400 to support local initiatives tackling loneliness. Our partnership with the Church remains strong, highlighted by an upcoming joint Founder’s Day celebration and shared community outreach. We also enjoyed our largest social outing to date, with over 90 members attending the Everyman Theatre for the annual pantomime, Robin Hood.

Section Reports

Squirrels (Ages 4–6)

The Drey has seen some changes in the leadership team this year; we were delighted to welcome Neil and Jenny , while extending our sincere thanks to Tim and Paul for their dedicated service and helping to get the drey off the ground. The Squirrels have been incredibly busy exploring the great outdoors through night hikes, bat walks, and shelter building. They’ve also embraced their creative and culinary sides with ukulele lessons, pancake cooking, and the quintessential scouting tradition of roasting marshmallows over open fires.

Beavers (Ages 6–8)

The Beaver Colony continues to operate at a full capacity of 24 members. The year was defined by two major sleepovers: a summer adventure in tents at Winchcombe (featuring a bellringing demo) and a winter stay at Highbury Church Hall . From community service like litter picking and disability awareness with Guide Dogs to high-energy activities like Kendo and aviation workshops with Fly2Help , the Beavers have enjoyed a truly diverse program.

Cubs (Ages 8–10½)

The Cub Pack has been re-energized by a plethora of new leadership talent, welcoming Laura, Isabella, and Harri . This influx of support facilitated two major camps including Evolution in the summer, which proved vital for the Cubs' personal independence and development and an Autumn camp where they can work on creating friends for life. Their program has been packed with adrenaline and mystery, including climbing, night hikes, cycling, a ghost walk, and even a session of Kendo.

Scouts (Ages 10½–14)

The Troop welcomed Rory and Chloe to the leadership team during a year of exceptional achievements. International scouting is at the forefront of our minds, with over 10 Scouts selected for upcoming expeditions to the Netherlands and Austria. Adventure remained a

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priority closer to home, with highlights including: Air Camp where six Scouts had the unique privilege of flying planes; Creative Engineering where we built and raced cardboard canoes and made "homemade fireworks." And of course a good share Traditional Fun, engaging in ice skating and even a refined afternoon of croquet.

Mission and Outreach Ministry

Community Café

Report by Angela Pickles, Coordinator

Thursday Cafe is an important social and outreach event which is much appreciated by those who come, whether regularly or from time to time. Hot drinks and homemade bakes are enjoyed, as well as lots of chatting!

If you have never been, do come along on a Thursday morning between 10am and 11.30am. You will receive a very warm welcome!

We appreciate the time given by those who bake and serve. If you would like to join the small group of volunteers do contact me.

Highbury News

Report by Susan Cole, Editor

Aim : Dissemination of news and reports to Church and other interested parties. Also to inform, notify and encourage.

2025: Eleven editions produced. Distributed to most recipients by email. Few printed copies delivered by hand or picked up in the building. 2026: Planned to continue regular editions.

Thanks to contributors, to secretary for printing and to those who deliver to others.

Open the Book (OtB)

Report by Jean Gregory, Mary Michael, Elaine Schonbeck, Sue Cole, Louise Middleton and Brian Wood (a member of St Nicholas Church)

The team goes into Oakwood School every Thursday morning in term time to share a Bible story during school assembly. Each story has a simple message for the children to take away with them, for example being kind, saying sorry, asking for help etc. We try to enhance the story by acting and dressing up, which is sometimes more successful than at other times, but it certainly engages the children! Open the Book fulfils both OFSTED and church schools’ inspections for collective worship – Oakwood is a multi-faith school and we are enthusiastically welcomed by staff and pupils alike. We all think that our Thursdays begin well by doing OtB together. We are always happy to increase the size of our team, so if this might be something for you, please let us know, and then come and see what we do.

Christian Aid

Report by Louise Middleton

The ever-dwindling number of supporters in the supporters’ group for Cheltenham Christian Aid has continued to support Christian Aid with fund-raising and awareness raising activities throughout 2025. The supporters’ group continues to meet about four times a year and everyone is welcome.

Activities 2025

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Fellowship Walks. One fellowship walk was undertaken in 2025 on Saturday 14 June 2025, from Winchcombe to Spoonley Wood to see the Roman Villa, and back by a different route. There were ten walkers including some from Highbury. Unfortunately, the planned walk in September to commemorate eighty years of Christian Aid was postponed due to ill health and another date could not be found before the end of the year, mainly due to bad weather and other commitments. Fellowship walks are an effective way to meet up and share ideas with people from other churches and it is hoped that more people will take up this opportunity to “walk and talk” in the beautiful Cotswolds once or twice a year.

Picnic in the Park. This is now firmly established as a regular event and is always held the Saturday before August bank holiday. It was good weather in 2025 and a mix of families and older people from different churches attended. The date for this year is Saturday 22 August 2026, 12.00-14.00. Meet near the bandstand in Pittville Park.

Christian Aid Week. Envelopes continue to be delivered to households around Cheltenham but are no longer collected, so we now have no way of knowing how much is donated to Christian Aid from Cheltenham residents. However, delivering envelopes continues to act as a reminder that Christian Aid is serving the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world, and we hope that it nudges people into giving in whatever way they prefer. Highbury delivered over 1,000 envelopes in 2025, but to increase this number more volunteers are needed. I hope that Highbury members will rise to the challenge. Many churches are now looking at other ways to raise money for Christian Aid during Christian Aid week with lunches, breakfasts and community activities.

Table top sale for Christian Aid Saturday 7 September 2025. This was a new initiative led by Louise Middleton with lots of support especially from Mary Buchanan, Cynthia and others. People from a number of churches and Highbury bought tables for £20.00 to sell their goods. Many donated some or all their takings to Christian Aid. With the café being run by Gabbie and others the final total raised was £755.80.

Christian Aid Fair. The Christian Aid Fair was held on Saturday 8 November 2025. The unwanted gift stall manned by Highbury took £190.00 in total, which is the highest to date. The total raised was £1252.50. To compare, £1431.50 was raised in 2024, however, the auction of two holiday weeks in Cornwall is no longer available which used to bring in £500.00.

Carol Singing. All individual church carol singing took place at Waitrose on Saturday 13 December, and Highbury’s slot was 10.00-11.00am together with St Luke’s and St Nicolas’ churches. Alan Berry provided the music again. The total raised on the day was over £1,000.00, so well worth it and very enjoyable, too. Ecumenical carol singing took place outside John Lewis on Thursday 18 December. The weather was atrocious and singing was abandoned after a short time. Many thanks to those who made the effort in such conditions (three from Highbury). The total raised was £7.00. Finally, thank you to everyone at Highbury who supports Christian Aid in whatever way. It is the charity at the very heart of the meaning of Christianity and is a global movement of people, churches and local organisations working together for dignity, equality, and justice to enable people to live a full life free from poverty. Please visit the website to find out more: www.christianaid.org.uk/our-work/about-us .

World Day of Prayer 2025

Report by Rachel Jacques, Branch Secretary

The World Day of Prayer was celebrated at Highbury on 7[th] March 2025 with a service written by the WDP committee of the Cook Islands. The 15 Cook Islands are spread out over 800,000 square miles. During Covid they really struggled but improvements in health care are emerging and the tourist trade is returning.

We welcomed about 60 people to Highbury, from numerous churches and denominations as we are the only church to continue the World Day of Prayer tradition in our area. People seemed very much more comfortable with an afternoon service.

The service was led by representatives from Highbury and other local churches, based on the words of Psalm 139 ‘God made us wonderful’. The Māori Greeting Kia orana which means hello challenged

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us at the start of the service. After the service we shared a time of fellowship over tea and cake and getting to know people from the other churches.

In January 2026, we shared in a WDP zoom session in preparation for this year’s service from Nigeria. The service will be held on Friday 6[th] March at 2.30pm; please come along and support the valuable work of this worldwide organization or check out www.wwdp.org.uk.

Room Hire

Report by Mary Buchanan, on behalf of the team (Adrian Blazey, Viviane Boyd) Aim: To serve the community through the letting of Highbury’s building

2025 has been another busy year for the room hire team – indeed, quite a few requests have had to be turned away, especially for weekly hire of the hall. The range of activities taking place under Highbury’s roof can be seen from the list below and covers all ages, health/ well-being, creativity, and learning. It has been encouraging to hear from some groups how much they appreciate being able to meet at Highbury. The Art Group in particular was pleased to be able to exhibit their ‘Fakes Gallery’ in the autumn as well as hanging two of their collaborative pictures in the café for a while.

We currently have a very undefined policy as to who may hire space at Highbury; basically, it is fine if their activity is more or less in line with Highbury’s values and practices. One request in the autumn did lead to some heart-searching before we said no (because of potential political overtones and the risk of counter-demonstrations). This has led us to think that in 2026 we should develop a more robust (but still flexible) policy to help respond to such requests in future. We also plan to do a bit of awareness training around security issues through the Charity Commission/Home Office and the CF.

Regular and occasional users during the year (more detail on any of these available on request) Angel Day Nursery Art Workshops Cheltenham Bach Choir Cheltenham Fostering Support Group Cheltenham Horticultural Society Cheltenham Renaissance Chamber Orchestra Cotswold Rideontime Curious Choir Dramatots Exercise classes (Heart 2 Heart, Balance class, Shibashi Qigong) First Aid Training Gloucestershire Eye Therapy Trust GDA Hearing Aid Clinic Hickory Dickory Nursery Narcotics Anonymous (now three groups), Gamblers Anonymous NHS Retirement Fellowship Patricia Newman Dance School People’s Health Alliance Cheltenham events Pittville Townswomen’s Guild Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Squirrels; Guides, Brownies Song Club St John’s School Street Pastors’ Prayer meeting U3A Groups (Bridge (x 2), Economics, Art, Modern History, Shakespeare, Ukuleles, Square Dancing) Upholstery Classes Zion Church

15

Secretary’s Report

Purpose of role - to enable the whole ministry of Highbury Congregational Church, by supporting the church leadership team and coordinating a variety of other roles and activities.

Report by Mary Buchanan, Church Secretary

Membership

New members: 1 Resignations: 0 Deaths: 4 Membership at the end of 2025: 80 (around 63 ‘active’) Regular adherents: around 30 (including Messy Church)

Highbury Leadership Team

At the AGM in March 2025 Iain MacLeod completed a marathon of three terms as a deacon (with three years as secretary in the middle); Karen Haden had to step down after just one year as a deacon for health reasons. Our thanks to both for their significant service – whether long or short. Louise Middleton was elected to the Diaconate for the first time, although she had previously served on the leadership team as part of the Pastoral Care team.

Roger Gregory retired as treasurer after many (too many to remember) years of sterling service. Adrian Blazey took on the role of acting treasurer as we entered a transition period and built up the finance team. We are grateful to Roger for his outstanding service and to Adrian for taking up the challenge.

At the end of 2025 the Highbury Leadership Team consisted of: Minister (ex-officio member of Diaconate and trustee): Jason Boyd Secretary (ex-officio member of Diaconate and trustee): Mary Buchanan Acting Treasure: Adrian Blazey

Elected Deacons (and trustees): Adrian Blazey, Louise Middleton, Darryl Mills, Ruth Wyatt Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator: Andrea Lacey

Discipleship Ministry Coordinator: Helen Bloxham

Pastoral Care Ministry Coordinator: Laura MacLeod (Rachel Jacques, Gabbie Lewis)

Administration

Administration covers a multitude of jobs: doing the diary, organising meetings/agendas/minutes, all sorts of communication, keeping the noticeboards up to date, managing the accumulation of clutter around the building, keeping our waste and recycling tidy, stocking the cleaning supplies, keeping track of keys, monitoring cars in the car park, maintaining contact lists (and ensuring compliance with GDPR). Particular thanks must go to Rachel Jacques for her significant contribution to this. Thanks too to Helen Bloxham who has assisted with printing and keeping the external noticeboard up to date.

We continue to have a presence online via our website, YouTube, and Facebook. Attempts to make our website more dynamic have unfortunately not come to fruition yet, but plans are afoot to address this in 2026.

Health and Safety

Darryl Mills took on the role of overseeing our fire safety equipment and arranging for regular inspection, testing and maintenance; Rachel Jacques is overall responsible for our First Aid equipment (including the defibrillator inside the building; the external one is the responsibility of the

16

Secretary). Kitchen hygiene and general spring-cleaning is overseen by Jean Gregory and team. Our regular cleaner Helen Roberts had to retire for health reasons; we have subsequently appointed Freyja Skye to this role and are pleased with how she has grown into it. Thanks too to the indefatigable back-up team of Viviane, Jean and Laura who cover for Freyja’s holiday weeks.

Maintenance

2025 has been a bit of a low-key year as far as maintenance goes. Ian White stepped down as coordinator for major projects and Peter Ireland, whom we have engaged to help source and manage work such as the flat roof, hall etc is retiring. A key goal for 2026 will be to find a person to lead the overall coordination of maintenance, especially for the more complex tasks.

There has been little progress on any major projects, and work on the hall has stalled somewhat. At least by the end of 2025 Peter Ireland had found a company to fix the gaping windows in church and this work is due to be carried out in stages from February 2026.

Routine repairs have been kept up to date mainly by John Pickles and Darryl Mills, who give generously of their time and, it seems, can turn their hand to pretty much anything from locks, to toilet seats, to leaky pipes, to lights, to boilers and more.

We are gradually replacing our lighting with more energy efficient elements; the spotlights in the church are the next to be upgraded. We also plan to upgrade the projection facilities in the hall.

We are grateful to all those above, plus those involved in these largely unseen but crucial jobs.

Safeguarding

Report by Nephesha Mary Michael, Safeguarding Officer

Our Safeguarding policy has been updated and, as usual, will be available online for anyone who requests it and will also be in hard copy on the kitchen window sill once it has been approved at our AGM. We continue to use Due Diligence Checking to verify all who are working with children and young people here at Highbury and in our Open the Book team. 31:8 offers us resources for training as well as guidance and support if needed. If anyone has concerns that they do not wish to discuss with myself or a member of our leadership team you can contact 31:8 directly and they will give you safe and reliable guidance.

As I am often away and no one has expressed an interest in taking on my role, may I remind you that Safeguarding is the responsibility of each of us. If you read through the policy, you will see that all the guidelines are there should an incident occur. As our policy says, “Highbury Congregational Church has a “duty of care” for all adults, young people, and children with whom we are involved. As Christians, we are responsible to God for the way we treat everyone; we seek high standards because we want to, not just because we must, in accordance with UK law.”

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Highbury Congregational Church Accounts to Year ended 31[st] December 2025

Report by Adrian Blazey (Acting Treasurer)

Financial Summary

2025 saw Roger retire after countless years as treasurer. We are so grateful for the steadfast commitment he has shown over his time in charge of our finances. I took over the day-to-day treasurer role following the AGM and there has been a patient handover of responsibility to myself, Iain, and Viviane on the finance team with much support from Roger (who continued in a bookkeeping role until the end of year). Ted and Jason make up the other members of the finance committee.

For the second year in a row, we suffered from a slightly reduced level of members standing order receipts (due to member deaths), but this was offset with some generous one-off gifts. The church continues to rely heavily on a small number of generous givers for which are very grateful. As in previous years the church needs to encourage those members who have yet to join the giving scheme to do so, encourage regular church goers into membership and for others to review their giving in line with the proportionate giving guidelines in TRIO “The Responsibility Is Ours”. Room booking receipts were very healthy thanks to the excellent work of Mary and the bookings team to ensure our rooms are well used by local groups. Room booking receipts are a material part of overall receipts which is good for finances; but we are aware we are very reliant on this to balance the books.

Day to day expenditure increased from last year as would be expected, due in large part to significantly increased Gas and Electricity costs but there were no major maintenance projects so the overall expenditure was lower than the previous year when a significant amount of money was spent on the hall.

So overall increased income combined with reduced expenditure resulted in an overall surplus which will be used to help replenish the somewhat depleted fabric fund for future maintenance projects (including overdue work on the church windows).

- Review of the accounts Income & Expenditure, All Funds

Below is a summary of overall financial performance:

2025 2024
Incoming
Resources		 Offerings inc. Gift Aid 54,756 57,524
Gifts and Legacies 5,096 1,263
Room Letting 27,288 21,157
Investments and other
income		 9,176 11,383
Total Income 96,316 91,327

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2025 2024
Resources used Charitable Objectives -59,811 -55,898
Maintenance -4,471 -22,348
Other Support costs -27,708 -24,847
Total Expenditure -91.990 -103,093
Overall Net
Movement		 4,326 -£11,762

Total net movements in the year of £4,326 surplus include:

General Fund (day to day) surplus of £10,421 Fabric Fund expenditure of £4,121 Gift and Legacy Fund expenditure of £613

Organ and Visuals Fund expenditure of £1,362

General Fund (day to day) £10,421 surplus in the year.

This was £9.947 better than budget, and included extra income of £7,052 and less expenditure of £2,895

Extra income included unbudgeted gifts, and extra Room Hire, but reduced by a small reduction in standing order donations.

Less expenditure included savings on preaching costs and cleaning costs where we were between cleaners and savings on the cost of the new cleaner.

There was a number of other small savings and extras against the Budget.

Fabric Fund included £4,121 expenditure in the year, with a closing balance of £8,166 Expenditure included;

Manse fencing, kitchen boiler and church roof repairs.

Gift and Legacy Fund included £613 expenditure in the year, with a closing balance of £31,262. Expenditure included;

Saltmine net expenses of £1,663 covering both 2024 balance and 2025 Pantomimes. Income of £1,105 from Vera Jones legacy

Organ and Visuals Fund expenditure of £1,362 with a closing balance of £5,862 Expenditure on new projector for the church and piano tuning

Giving to Others

Giving to others in the year amounted to £5,796 which included our monthly charities, CF mission fund, SWM area CF fund and the air ambulance among others. This giving is about 6% of our

19

income and we will look into topping this up. We begin a new trial of four quarterly charities for 2026.

Unrestricted Funds

All the church funds are unrestricted.

The trustee policy is to retain at least 3 months’ expenditure as “free” reserves within the General Fund to meet future shortfalls in income, or unexpected expenditure for 2026. The balance at 31st December 2025, represents approximately 6 months’ current day to day General Fund

20

Highbury Church

Income & Expenditure Account - all Funds 12 months to 31st December 2025

12 months to 31st December 2025
INCOME
Header		 A/C
code		 TOTAL
THIS
YEAR		 TOTAL
LAST
YEAR		 VAR
£
Offerings, Legacies and similar incoming resources
Envelopes & loose change
1101
691
STO & single cash/cheque
1102
43,926
Tax refund
1103
10,139
Gifts - Other
1121
4,046
Legacies
1122
1,050
Grants received
1200
982
Miscellaneous income
6110
159
Total - Incoming resources
60,993
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objectives
Other room hire
1141
25,138
Church users room hire
1143
2,150
Weddings & Funerals
2801
1,005
Highbury News income
3402
20
Highbury News advertisers
3403
300
Scouts insurance
6105
230
Outreach Income
6700
3,499
Total - Incoming activities
32,342
Activities for generating Funds
0
Investment Income
Dividends & Interest
1151
2,981		 £
603
46,592
10,329
1,000
263
3,653
393		 £
88
-2,666
-190
3,046
787
-2,671
-234
62,833
19,857
1,300
1,006
250
142
2,239		 -1,840
5,281
850
-1
20
50
88
1,260
32,342
0
2,981		 24,794
3,700		 7,548
0
-719
Total Income 96,316 91,327 4,989
6
EXPENDITURE
Header		 A/C
code		 TOTAL
THIS
YEAR		 TOTAL
LAST
YEAR		 VAR
£
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objectives
Ministry salary etc:		 £ £
Minister's gross salary
Minister's employers NI
Minister's pension EE and ER
Car mileage allowance
Children's Worker gross salary
Children's Worker employers NI
Other expenses:
Preaching
Junior Church/Sunday Special
Video licence
Organist
Piano/Organ Maintenance
Pastoral
Pastoral gifts
Ministry Leaders exps Joint
Publicity/advertising
Neighbourhood cards
CF affiliations/SW Midlands area
Other affiliations
CF Ministry and Mission
Worship resources
Church equipment/furnishings
Miscellaneous expenditure
Outreach expenditure
Total - Outgoing activities		 5101
5102
5103
5401
5801
5802
2101
2302
2304
2501
2503
3201
3202
3216
3404
3405
3501
3502
3504
5115
6109
6801
6800		 33,078
0
3,715
0
13,173
0
285
166
621
580
288
0
210
0
110
0
2,109
239
512
411
1,218
118
2,978		 32,042
3,598
188
12,806
578
166
599
605
270
128
2,260
473
560
691
74
861		 -1,036
0
-117
188
-367
0
293
0
-22
25
-18
0
-82
0
-110
0
151
234
48
280
-1,218
-44
-2,117
59,811 55,899 -3,912
7
EXPENDITURE
Header		 A/C
code		 TOTAL
THIS
YEAR		 TOTAL
LAST
YEAR		 VAR
Support costs
Ministry expenses:
Travel, excluding Car
In -service training/retreat
Subsistence
Manse expenses:
Manse insurance
Manse - water
Manse - community charge
Manse - maintenance
Other expenses:
Project
Church - Maintenance
Gas
Electricity
Insurance
Trade disposal
Housekeeping
Cleaning materials
Green Waste Disposal		 5116
5117
5118
5301
5304
5305
5307
6100
6101
6102
6103
6104
6106
6301
6302
6303		 £
64
400
0
366
647
3,230
1,655
0
2,816
5,527
4,004
3,159
543
134
1,010
270		 £
0
609
338
366
3,086
1,671
20,677
3,560
2,418
3,043
508
180
1,041
180		 £
-64
209
0
-28
-281
-144
16
0
17,861
-1,967
-1,586
-116
-35
46
31
-90
Cleaners gross pay
Cleaners gross pay Shannon
Stationery/directory
Postage
Telephone
Office equipment
Payroll costs
Photocopy hire/copy charge
Photocopy paper
Bank charges
Legal costs
Recruitment costs
Professional fund raising
Total -Support costs		 6501
"
6601
6602
6603
6604
6606
6611
6612
6701
6702
6703
6705		 5,005
0
0
759
382
335
1,556
73
244
0
0
0		 6,434
24
7
778
255
288
1,439
71
221		 1,429
24
7
19
-127
-47
-117
-2
-23
0
0
0
32,179 47,194 15,015
Total Expenditure 91,990 103,093 11,103
8
Income & Expenditure Account - all Funds
Income/Expenditure
Header		 TOTAL
THIS
YEAR		 TOTAL
LAST
YEAR		 VAR
Income
Incoming resources
Incoming activities
Fund raising
Dividends & interest
Total Income
Expenditure
Outgoing activities
Support costs
Total Expenditure
All Funds surplus/(deficiency)
Less transfers to other funds:
Fabric
Gifts and Legacy
Organ and Visuals
Year end transfers 2025
Gen. Funds surplus/(deficiency)		 £
60,993
32,342
0
2,981		 £
62,833
24,794
0
3,700		 £
-1,840
7,548
0
-719
0
96,316 91,327 4,989
59,811
32,179		 55,899
47,194		 -3,912
15,015
91,990 103,093 11,103
4,326 -11,766 16,092
4,121
612
1,362
0		 13,769
-2,263
270
7,200		 -9,648
2,875
1,092
-7,200
10,421 7,210 3,211
9

I[ndependent ] Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Highbury Congregational Church

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and the Examiner

As Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Accounting Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2005) issued in March 2005, UK Accounting Standards and the Charities Act 2011. As Trustees, you consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to;

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. The examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Trustees and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements

Signed 𝓙. 𝓐𝓶𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓲 Date 04/03/2026