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2025-12-31-accounts

The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of St Mark & All Saints, Reading

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ending 31[st] December 2025

‘Worshipping God; sharing love, building communities and growing faith through Jesus’ Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here (John 6:37)

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) presents its’ Annual Report for the year ending 31[st] December 2025.

Reference and administration information

The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Mark and All Saints, Reading is a registered charity with the Charity Commission - registration number 1160687. The members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are trustees of the charity.

The correspondence address is: The Parish Office, All Saints Church Hall, Downshire Square, Reading, Berks. RG1 6NH (email: allsaintsreading@gmail.com)

There are two churches within our parish - part of the Diocese of Oxford within the Church of England:

Aims and purposes

The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of St. Mark & All Saints Reading has the responsibility of co-operating with the Vicar, The Reverend Jo Williams in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the financial affairs of the Church, Church buildings, Church Halls and churchyards and oversees matters of data protection, safeguarding and health and safety.

Objectives and Activities

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our two churches and to become part of our parish community. The PCC, together with its sub committees, maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services and church life can involve the many groups that live within our parish. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament.

When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

Safeguarding

The PCC of St Mark and All Saints Reading has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults) and abides by the ‘promoting a safer church’ and works with this in mind to all safeguarding matters in the parish.

The safeguarding policy is modelled on the Diocesan policy. We continue to request DBS for voluntary and paid roles when needed and safer recruitment practices. All safeguarding training is up to date. Our safeguarding officer is Levine Whitham (resigned November 2025).

Structure, governance and management

The PCC is a corporate body. Its governing documents are the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measures 1956 as amended, and the Church Representation Rules. Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

Clergy, Churchwardens and any Readers the APCM appoints are ex-officio, as are the Deanery Synod members who serve a three-year term. Of the twelve elected PCC members, 4 are elected each year to serve a three-year term. A minimum of one third (4) of all elected members must be habitual worshippers at St. Marks, and a minimum of one third (4) of all elected members must be habitual worshippers at All Saints. At the May 2025 APCM we decided to have just 9 PCC members due to our reduced electoral roll size.

The trustees, members of the PCC, who served in the year up to the date of the report are:

Ex Officio
Incumbent The Reverend Josephine Williams Chair
Assistant Curate/
Permission to Officiate		 The Reverend Jane Lewis
Churchwardens Mr Kwaw Elliott
Mrs Linda Parish
LLM Mrs Sylvia Cummins
Dr Diana Matthews
Deanery Synod
Representatives		 Mrs Angelina Elliott
Mr Kwaw Elliott From APCM 2025
Mrs Rosie Hughes From APCM 2025
Elected Members Mrs Iva Butler
Mrs Nana Gyebi-Johnson (Re-elected May 2025)
Mr John Hodge (Re-elected May 2025 APCM) and Vice
Chair
Mrs Angelina Elliott Treasurer
Mr Anesta Vaughan (Re-elected May 2025 APCM)
Mrs Liz Sandford
Mrs Jess Harris
Ms Susan Carter
Mrs Rosie Hughes
Co-opted members Mrs JudyVaughan Re-co-opted June 2025
Mrs Helen McLuckie Co-opted June 2025
In attendance Mrs Levine Whitham Safeguarding Officer – Resigned Nov
2025
Mrs Jackie John PCC Secretary

During 2025, the PCC met 6 times during the course of the year (via zoom and in-person). In addition to our planned PCC meetings, we also met in person for our APCM in May and the Standing Committee convened when needed.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish. Given its wide responsibilities, the PCC has a number of committees each dealing with a particular aspects of parish life. They regularly report back to PCC meetings.

These are the following committees:

Finance committee :

Angelina Elliott (Treasurer), Ron Cummins (Assistant Treasurer), Kwaw Elliott, Linda Parish, and Lee Hawkness-Smith (for annual accounts)

Fabric committee

Rev’d Jo, Kwaw Elliott and Linda Parish

Flat committee – Winkworth estate agents, John Hodge, Rev’d Jo and Jackie John

Ministry committee – Rev’d Jo, Rev’d Jane, LLM’s and authorised preachers

The Standing Committee has the power to transact the business of the PCC between meetings, reporting back to the PCC - Linda Parish and Kwaw Elliott (churchwardens), Treasurer, Rev’d Jo, Jess Harris and Rosie Hughes.

The Events Committee recommend a social events strategy for the parish, ensure that regular events are being organised and to encourage a wide range of involvement from our congregations in organising and participating in events. It has the power to co-opt other members of the congregation and reports back to the PCC. This committee consists of the following members - Linda Parish, Treasurer, Jackie John, Iva Butler, Suzie Carter, Judy Vaughan, Kwaw Elliott (Teresa Colliass)

The Hall Committee oversee the management of the church halls, dealing with the day-to-day administration of our two halls and makes recommendations to the PCC about repairs, maintenance, letting rates and other concerns. The PCC members serving on this committee are - John Hodge, Linda Parish and Kwaw Elliott (church wardens) Angelina Elliott, Sharon Hyman, Rosie Hughes, Jackie John and Wendy Smith (Parish Office)

Children and Youth Committee – Iva Butler, Helen McLuckie, Rosie Hughes and Nana Gyebi-Johnson plus others to join.

Worship and Prayer

This is a completely new electoral roll for 2025 (revised every 6 years) where everybody had to complete new electoral roll forms. There has been a significant drop. 86 members are now on the parish electoral roll (a drop of 35 down from 121 in 2024). The reduction is due to a number of reasons including, death within the parish and some of our older members now in care homes. Also the change in ‘church of England worshipping criteria’ route into All Saints Infants School – whereby parents used to have to be on the church electoral roll to be on the worshipping criteria for school applications.

All Saints are 45 (down from 75) and St Mark’s is 41 (down from 46).

Mr Kwaw Elliott has served as Electoral Roll Officer for both churches over 2025.

Average weekly attendance for our services are given in the tables below. During 2025 we continued to offer live-streaming our services via zoom for those that could not make church in person, alongside other ways we celebrate God such as baptisms and weddings.

Attendance/worship:

Sunday worship figures, preceding 5 years:

9am Mass at St.
Mark’s		 9am Mass at St.
Mark’s		 9am Mass at St.
Mark’s		 11am Mass at All
Saints		 11am Mass at All
Saints		 11am Mass at All
Saints		 3.30pm Family
Communion at All
Saints(monthly)		 3.30pm Family
Communion at All
Saints(monthly)		 3.30pm Family
Communion at All
Saints(monthly)
Com Adult U16 Com Adult U16 Com Adult U16
2025 17 18 2 31 36 11 n/a n/a n/a
2024** 18 19 3 30 34 11 n/a n/a n/a
2023 19 22 3 35 35 11 10 9 6
2022 18 20 4 36 38 11 8 6 6
2021* 15 16 4 31 33 13 12.5 9.5 10

* 2021 – church was online from January 2021 until 16th May 2021. Then we were back to face-toface services but alternate weeks at St Mark’s/ All Saints until October 2021. Family communion was just November and December 2021.

**2024 – Family communion stopped at All Saints Church in March 2024. Therefore no attendance figures are shown.

Christmas and Easter services at St. Mark & All Saints

Christmas Eve and
*Christmas Day **		 Christmas Eve and
*Christmas Day **		 Christmas Eve and
*Christmas Day **		 Easter Eve and Easter Day* Easter Eve and Easter Day* Easter Eve and Easter Day*
Com Adult U16 Com Adult U16
2025 73 91 11 89 106 23
2024 113 125 17 116 115 30
2023 97 122 24 116 109 36
2022 92 113 21 92 100 41
2021 69 85 24 n/a 59 12

*total numbers at all services, no allowance made for people attending more than one service. Christmas services do not include Christingle services.

2021 – Easter vigil and Easter Day at All Saints Church only. Midnight Mass at All Saints, and Christmas Day at both churches.

2022 – Christmas Eve – 9.30pm @SM, Midnight Mass @ AS, Christmas Day @ AS only. Easter 6.30am and 11am at AS and 9am at SM

2023 – Christmas Eve – 9.30pm @ SM, Midnight Mass@AS, Christmas Day @ 9am @ SM, 11am @ AS. Easter same pattern as 2022.

2024 and 2025 – Christmas Eve – 9.30pm @ SM, Midnight Mass @ AS, Christmas Day 10am @ AS. Easter pattern as 2023.

Review of the year 2025

Ministry in the Parish of St. Mark and All Saints

We were blessed with a productive 2025, focusing on our mission and outreach objectives and ensuring the parish remains at the heart of the community. Our growth and parish numbers remained fairly stable with the focus from Reading Deanery being on children and young people ministry (see later in the report) and this continues to flourish. We are one of the top churches in the Deanery for youth attendance.

Our parish buildings are a safe space for faith, discussion, friendship and companionship and we embrace all opportunities that come our way and for everyone who steps foot inside the door. We continue with our mission - Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here (John 6:37) and re-evaluate our activities at every opportunity with this in mind.

People know each other well within the parish and join in with as many activities and roles as possible. They enjoy giving their time to not only the parish, but to one and other individually – providing support and care as one big church family when needed. Even the little things we do make a difference to somebody.

Our services and sermons provide a variety of thought provoking and spiritual guidance, with faith enhancing opportunities, with something for everyone. We welcome sermons from a vareity of different readers throughout the year. They also offer fellowship at the heart of every service. A traditional Sung Eucharist on a Sunday morning takes places at both churches providing a fulfilling start to the day. Our morning service is live-streamed via zoom, alternating between the 9am service and the 11am service. It allows key members of our parish to join online if they are unable to join us in person. This now forms a key part of our service offering. Reflection and prayer take place not only during the service but also through fortnightly parish prayers.

Our Easter and Christmas services numbers were down slightly on 2024 but these figures do not report attendance at our Christmas Carol Concert and Christingle/ Crib service which continue to be incredibly popular in the parish with people making it a tradition with people attending year on year. They also don’t report attendance by schools at these important times of the year and again, these numbers are increasing and are part of our service offering at this time of year.

We have reviewed and re-issued 3 keys licenses for our parish this year – the lease of the choir orchard at All Saints Church for All Saints Infants School (10 years), and renewing the licenses for the Greek and Serbian Orthodox Churches at St Mark’s Church (10 years). These are all key for our wider ongoing relationships with our community partners.

Our relationship with local schools continues to thrive and we welcome 5 neighbouring schools into our church buildings for key celebrations throughout the year, as well as end of year celebrations and speech days and weekly collective worship. They include All Saints Infants School, All Saints Junior School, St Mary and All Saints School, Battle School and St Edwards Prep school.

In June we had our Deanery Inspection, the first time after many years. We worked hard as a parish collecting the evidence needed and it showed a true collaborative spirit amongst us. It also helped us identify a few practical points about locating keys to a few things in filing cabinets which have now been rectified!

Music remains an important part of our offering with the phenomenal choir at St Mark’s Church filling the church with their uplifting music every Sunday. They also performed at various events over the year including the Christmas Tree festival in December (see picture below) and our Christmas Carols by Candlelight service later in the year. The organs have both been tuned in 2025. Our thanks to all of those involved in our music offering.

Our Christmas Tree Festival with choir December 2025

We remained busy with our fundraising efforts over 2025, supplementing our income as well as providing lots of fun and community outreach. Our events are important for the parish and our community – not only showing people we are here, but offering events that welcome people into our space and offer them a reason to join us. Our events included jumble sales, parish fairs, charity events throughout the year, a musical and cuisine feast of a caribbean evening (which is asked for every year) and our Christmas tree festival. We also repeated our Lent quiet day at Douai Abbey which was reflective day, enjoyed by all who attended. It is lovely to create opportunities in the parish to deepen friendships and get to know our fellow parishioners on a deeper level.

Left – Jumble sale at All Saints Hall October 2025 Right – Caribbean evening at St Mark’s Hall Jule 2025

Our ministry team is growing and continue to visit our residential care homes – an important part of our parish with a huge impact not only on those in the care homes, but also a feeling of worth to those undertaking this part of our mission and outreach. We have a number of our older church members now in care homes in the parish and it is a wonderful link to them still. Thank you to all who continue to offer their time for this important part of our parish.

This year we were in receipt of a sizeable legacy which has helped our financial situation in the parish. Our heartfelt thanks are recorded to any legacy we receive. We have been successful in paying our parish share in full (£46,617) and on time which means we benefit from a rebate from the deanery. The deprivation allowance (£5,000 discount for two churches in a parish with one vicar and £10,000 discount for a Parish in an area of poverty) remains in force for us as a Parish. We had a successful pledge/gift day which was successful in terms of raising awareness and giving in order to run our two churches. Thank you to all who have offered a pledge or who regularly give to the parish.

The PCC have embraced opportunities throughout the year to be present and offer our time during parish services including reading, marshalling and kitchen duty. It has been the policy of the PCC to publish the draft minutes of meetings where possible.

In conclusion the PCC have continued their work with commitment and great spirit, working well together making some important decisions, to the mutual benefit our parish going forward.

Schools:

All Saints Infant School

All Saints Infant School is a thriving school at the heart of its community, with 60 pupils currently on roll. The dedicated staff team are firmly committed to upholding our Christian values of love, respect and forgiveness, working tirelessly each day to ensure that our children feel safe, happy and are supported to make good progress.The school’s strong Christian ethos and motto,“learning with love and laughter”, are clearly evident in all aspects of school life. Collective worship is central to the school community, with the Friday School Family Worship continuing to be one of the best-attended services in the parish. Alongside staff and pupils, many parents and younger siblings attend regularly, strengthening links between school, church and families. At the end of each short term (six per year), we hold a special joint service with All Saints Junior School to celebrate the School Pledge. This pledge reflects our commitment to offering children a broad range of extracurricular skills, activities and learning opportunities throughout their primary education, enabling them to become wellrounded citizens and lifelong learners. Pledge challenges are wide-ranging and meaningful, from learning practical life skills such as tying shoe laces to developing civic awareness through writing to their local Member of Parliament. The whole All Saints community—Infants, Juniors, staff and parents—also comes together for festival services at Christmas, Easter and Harvest, which are led by the infant children themselves. These occasions provide valuable opportunities for pupils to grow in confidence, spirituality and leadership while sharing their learning with the wider community.There are five foundation governors at the school, two appointed by the PCC and three appointed by the Diocese on the recommendation of the PCC. The Vicar is an ex officio member of thegoverning body.

St Mary and All Saints Primary School

St Mary and All Saints Primary School continuesto make steady progress. The continuity of Headteacher and Senior Leadership has brought welcome stability, clarity and purpose, positively impacting all aspects of school life. As a result, pupil numbers continue to rise. The school is a vibrant and multicultural community, with pupils and staff from across the world. Forty-eight percent of pupils speak English as an additional language, and the school community represents 27 different first languages, we believe this is a strength that enriches learning and promotes cultural understanding. The school serves a catchment area that includes significant levels of deprivation, and many children have limited access to wider opportunities. In response, the school’s vision and values are rooted in the words of Jesus:“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full”(John 10:10).This commitment to enabling every child to experience fullness of life has led to a richer and broader curriculum, alongside an expanding programme of extracurricular activities. These include educational visits, enhanced sporting opportunities such as Bikeability, kayaking, and a Year 6 residential visit to Finland, all designed to broaden horizons, build confidence and inspire aspiration.

The school also benefits from two specialist on-site units that provide targeted support forchildren with significant additional needs, ensuring inclusive provision and high-quality care for all learners. Revd Jo continues to lead collective worship in school most Thursday afternoons, and the whole school attends special services in church to mark key festivals and celebrate the end of the academic year. During the past year, the school has faced challenges in recruiting new governors. At present,

there are two Foundation Governors in post and four vacancies, which remains an area for ongoing development.

Nursing homes:

We have been visiting Beacher Hall almost since it opened in January 1996, some thirty years ago. At that time, it was an occasional visit but now we attend every 1[st] and 3[rd] Tuesdays of each month. The home cares for a wide range of needs including spinal or brain injuries, physical or learning difficulties and respiratory care. Despite all the problems surrounding residents Beacher Hall is a lively and cheerful home. We always receive a friendly and warming greeting from both staff and residents. We conduct a short service for those able to attend communion and then administer communion or a blessing to others in their private rooms. Safeguarding is very important to both ourselves and the home and we ensure we abide by the rules laid out by the management. On average we give communion or a blessing to 20-30 per visit. At Christmas time the team lead a short carol service.

Parkside Care Home is a newer, purpose built, facility catering for residents who require nursing and residential care. We visit every 2[nd] and 4[th] Wednesday of each month. We meet with a number of residents in one of their lounges and lead a short communion service. Then, together with a member of staff, we visit those unable to attend the service in their rooms, where they receive communion or a blessing. Altogether, on average, we administer to around 30 per visit. We are always greeted by enthusiastic staff and grateful residents and are made to feel part of the family, which is most gratifying to the team. The carol service at Parkside is one of the highlights of the year and is well attended and supported by members of our parish and the families of some residents.

Maitland House/Abbeyfield . We visit Abbeyfield in Maitland Road on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Thursdays of the month, and also on the 5[th] week when that occurs. The service is at 10.30 am and is a Communion service. Numbers are good, with a large proportion of the residents either coming to the main service or receiving in their rooms later. In the last few weeks we have ministered to over 30 people on each visit. We have a mixture of denominations, Roman Catholic, Baptist, and URC as well as Anglicans. We are well received and this is a rewarding ministry. A number of the staff also receive either a blessing or Communion. The parish team is a strong one as around 3/5 members come to help with readings, and singing most weeks. We are very grateful for their help and support.

Florence House. We visit Florence House once a month, usually on the last Friday at 2pm. This is a more demanding ministry as there is a large proportion of residents with dementia. We hold a short service of Communion in the large room and try to choose hymns with easy tunes that they may remember. Again there is a large cross section of denominations. Afterwards we go around the rooms with Communion or a blessing. We have also been asked to attend to the dying here: the families are often present and prayers bring them comfort at a difficult time. Again we would like to record our grateful thanks to the parish team who come to support this ministry and in particular to Katharine Danyluk who provides the music which makes the service so much more lively.

We are very grateful to our team leaders and the support they receive from team members and are indebted to the time and energy put in by them in this fulfilling and important work.

Hall Users:

Both of our church halls have seen a steady stream of regular hirers and one-off parties in particular. We have good use by locals in the community. Thank you Sharon at St Mark’s and the parish office at All Saints for keeping our halls clean and all the necessary work involved in the day-to-day running

of our halls. Also special thanks to the unseen heroes on our parish for the additional work they do on an ad hoc basis.

All Saints Hall

Our hall hire hours was up in 2025 which was great. About 70% of church hall hirers were regular customers and 30% were one-off bookings (similar to the previous year). We managed to get 3 new regular long-term hirers.

Total income for 2025 - £26,262.85....compared to 2024 £24,983.05 – compared to 2023 - £19,098.05

Total expenses for 2025 - £17,664.55.....compared to 2024 £17,022.01 - compared to 2023 - £16,230.70

We had a big expense for the roof repair which cost £7,440. This impacted our profit for the year. Total profit for the year 2025 £1,158.30 compared to 2024 £7,961.04 compared to 2023 - £2,867.35

St Mark’s Hall

St Mark’s Hall continue to have a steady balance of long-term hirers and one-off bookings. LAS Fitness Group remains one of our biggest hall users in terms of time in the hall. We managed all repairs and maintenance issues in a timely manner and the hall is cleaned regularly. ABC to read remain in our hall office and weekly the community payback team ensure the church and hall grounds are maintained well.

Total net income for 2025 £13,724 compared to 2024 - £14,340 – compared to 2023 - £6,112 Total expenses for 2025 £14,884 compared to 2024 - £13,412 (figures unavailable for 2023) Loss for the year 2025 £1,160 compared to a profit in 2024 - £928 (figures unavailable for 2023)

Community Engagement and mission:

We have continued to open our doors for our community when it mattered. Our 2025 charitable giving included Readifood, The Children’s Society, Christian Aid, Macmillan and more. We also took donations of clothing/ toys and books to Cowshed following our parish jumble sales who support residents of Berkshire following periods of hardship by offering good quality clothing and other items (toys/ equipment). This is a charity we will continue to support in this way. We continue to have members of our congregtion offer their time with street pastors (promoting this widely within the parish), volunteering with charities and school volunteers including governor roles.

Monday morning coffee (Places of Welcome) at All Saints is a lovely, gentle and friendly way to start the week. It provides a happy meeting place for anyone who would like a chat and a good mug of coffee and biscuits (and often home-made cake!) There are often up to 20 of us joining together between 10.30am and 11.45am.

Left - Places of Welcome – Monday morning coffee at All Saints Church Right – Harvest donations for Readifood

There are also monthly charity coffee mornings, run by Paul Farmer which allows people to support charitable causes as well as experience a friendly, welcoming environment. It is an important outreach in terms of fundraising as well as nurturing support in the community.

Parish Explorers continue to offer ad-hoc meet ups, either walking locally in the area or exploring a place/location. We always love our outing to Henry Street Garden Centre at Christmas to look at the lovely displays as well as enjoying a coffee/ cake.

We also offered a series of Lent Lunches within the parish, offering a simple lunch of soup, bread and cheese followed by a short Lenten reflection. Donations for Church Urban Fund were a blessing.

The Community Payback team have been instrumental at both St Mark Church and All Saints Church, keeping our buildings and grounds tidy, welcoming, clean and loved. This is a great example of working collaboratively in the community.

Pastoral Care:

Our ministry team did a fabulous job over 2025 and our pastoral care work has continued to be a priority for the parish. They supported members of our congregation spiritually through worship and guidance as well as supporting those in times of grief.

We are thankful for the ministry team and indeed our whole church family for the care they give to one another.

Nurture Groups:

Parish prayers continued fortnightly via zoom, during 2025.

Our thanks to Philip for continuing to organise and run a packed and insightful agenda for Open Group and Link Group.

Open Group – We meet once a month throughout the year usually on a Wednesday to listen to/watch/participate in the activity or subject provided. We already have (for 2026) an annual membership of 15 with several more paying on an adhoc basis depending on attendance. For nine meetings of the year we invite speakers on (e.g. for 2026 the Necropolis Railway, Samaritans, Antarctica & Falklands, Coal Mining) and our subscriptions pay a nominal sum to their chosen charities – last year’s charities included The Cowshed, Prostate Cancer research, Railway Benevolent Fund and Caversham Park URC. Three times a year we are more social with a midday meal out, ‘garden party’ and a cream tea – these 3 events are shared cost. The group has been running in a similar format for well over 50 years but initially was designed as a respite for local women predominantly unconnected with the church (All Saints). The group also ran jumble sales to raise money for local charities. Past organisers and committee include Stella Tyers and the late Jean Springay, Barbara Symonds

and Diana Watts. We run very simply with help from Sylvia Clarke, Ann Titcombe and Sandra Roomes and our accounts are audited & published in January each year.

Open Group

Link Group – We meet once a month in the Downshire room (All Saints Hall0 at 11am for an hour. The format is nearly 20 years old as it was established by Fr Henry. In other churches our Link Group would be akin to a ‘Home Group’ or a ‘Fellowship Group’. There are up to ten of us but it is open to anyone to ‘join’/come along. We have an initial chat/gossip/catch up on our highs and lows over coffee, then take time to pray before we look at a Bible passage with a theme. We always conclude with the Lord’s Prayer, the Grace and maybe some supplementary prayer. Our final quote which we share and personalise is ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever’. Recently we spent several months looking at the book of Ruth then a passage on ‘Fairness & Justice’ followed by ‘A weeping witness’ (at Easter).

Bible Study Group – We offered Lent and Advent Bible Study groups over 2025 with Advent study starting with a shared meal. It was a lovely group exploring different passages of the Bible and something that will continue throughout 2026.

Youth and Children’s work:

This has been a Reading Deanery focus for 2025 and we are bucking the national trend in terms of children at our services. They continue to play an important part of our services and our congregation as a whole, with many choosing to serve. They are taking on more responsibility within the service which is lovely to see. We have changed MAD Club (Make a Difference Club) to be on a Tuesday which has helped all involved. We offer Messy Church once a term and this brings in people both from within our parish and those who are new to Church. We have also started a Coffee and catch-up drop in session at All Saints Church once a term which allows families and their children to drop in after school for a chat and coffee. St Mark’s Church also offer Sunday school with a theme relating to the sermon each Sunday which is providing focused activity for our youngest members at the service.

Finance Review

A copy of this trustees report and attached financial statements are filed with the Charities Commission, following the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

Our Bankers are: Lloyds TSB, Broad Street, Reading and Royal Bank of Scotland, c/o Nat West Bank, The Oracle Centre, Unit 11, Lower Ground Level, Reading, RG1 2AQ.

St. Mark & All Saints, Reading

Annual Report and Accounts

of the Parochial Church Council

for the year ended

31 December 2025

Contents

Independent Examiner's Report

Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets and Liabilities Notes to the Accounts

Independent Examiner's Report to the Parochial Church Council of St Mark and All Saints

I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31 December 2025, which are set out on pages 3 to 7.

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees 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:

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

Basis of an independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signature

Name: Nick Addo (FCCA) Address: 7 Glenrosa Road, Reading RG30 6AN

Date: 05/05/2026

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for the year to 31 December 2025

Receipts and Payments Account

2024
Notes
RECEIPTS
Receipts from generated funds:
59,021
Voluntary income
2
8,161
Fundraising
3
50,755
Church Activities
4
17,189
Investment income
5
1,899
Other cash receipts
6
137,025
Total receipts
PAYMENTS
Payments for generating funds:
Cost of generating voluntary income
7
(392)
Fundraising costs
8
(1,225)
Investment costs
9
(1,617)
(75,619)
Church activities
10
(1,477)
Charitable donations
11
(12,321)
Church management & administration
12
(33,307)
Other cash payments
13
(124,340)
Total payments
(12,684)
NET RECEIPTS / (PAYMENTS)
Transfers between funds
(12,684)
NET RECEIPTS / (PAYMENTS) after transfers
264,475
Cash balances at start of year
277,159
Cash balances at end of year		 Unrestricted
funds
£
115,492
7,868
7,043
13,140
143,543
1,672
145,215
(540)
(1,687)
(2,227)
(84,876)
(919)
(13,324)
(420)
(101,766)
43,449
3,155
46,604
29,840
76,444		 Designated
funds
£
-
-
39,988
1,321
41,309
-
41,309
(7,440)
(32,568)
(40,008)
1,301
(1,339)
(38)
130,175
130,136		 Restricted
funds
£
480
-
3,393
5,216		 Endowment
funds
Total
£
£
115,972
7,868
50,424
19,677
-
193,941
1,672
-
195,613
(540)
(1,687)
(2,227)
(92,316)
(919)
(13,324)
(34,660)
(143,446)
0
52,167
0
52,167
277,159
0
329,326
9,089
-
9,089
(1,672)
(1,672)
7,417
(1,816)
5,601
117,145
122,746

The pages Notes 1 and Notes 2 form part of these accounts

St. Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025

Statement of assets and liabilities as at 31 December 2025

2024
Notes
Monetary assets
150
Cash
278,168
Bank current account
0
Bank deposit account
0
NSIB Deposit account
278,317
Other monetary assets
Tax reclaim due
Investments assets
17,666
Bartholomew Bequest
1,526
Swettenham Bequest
66,895
Flat estimated value at December 202
14
86,087
Assets used for the charity's own use
574,000
All Saints Hall at valuation
23,000
All Saints Hall Fixtures & Fittings
366,954
St Mark's Hall at valuation
25,306
St Mark's Hall Fixtures & Fittings
989,260		 Unrestricted
funds
£
-
76,444		 Designated
funds
£
150
129,986
-		 Restricted
funds
£
-
122,747		 Endowment
funds
Total
£
£
-
150
329,176
-
-
76,444 130,136 122,747 329,326
202,000 16959.5
16,960
1465.09
1,465
202,000
202,000 - 18,425
220,425
574,000
23,000
366,954
25,306		 574,000
23,000
366,954
25,306
989,260 - - -
989,260

The valuation of the Church Hall and its associated fixtures and fittings are the insured value of those items

Liabilities

Charitable donations to be paid 0

There were no contingent liabilities.

The notes on pages 6 to 7 form part of these accounts.

These financial statements were approved by the Parochial Church Council on

........................................................ ............................................. Chairman Trustee Date:

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

1 Accounting policies

These accounts have been prepared on a ‘receipts and payments’ basis and in accordance with Section 133 Charities Act 2011.

2 Voluntary Receipts

2024
37,506
Planned Giving
7,819
Collections of loose cash at services
Church boxes
7,694
Other individual donations
4,646
Legacies
30
Special appeals
1,325
Tax recovered
59,021
3
3,100
Fetes
5,036
Jumble Sales etc
Magazine - Advertising
25
2nd hand Bookstall
8,161
4
Church Activities
47,317
Church/Hall Lettings and other income
34,838
Fees - weddings, funerals etc
Magazine - Sales
Bookstall - New
50,755
5
Investment income
NSIB and Gilts
1,557
Bank interest
3,587
Property fund income
12,045
Flat Rental
6
Other cash receipts
1,427
Other Income
472
Collected to give away
Fundraising		 Unrestricted
funds
£
36,975
6,932
357
3,290
62,193
-
5,746		 Designated
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
Total
£
£
480
37,455
6,932
357
3,290
62,193
-
5,746
115,492 - 480
115,972
2,385
5,483
-
-		 2,385
5,483
-
-
7,868 - -
7,868
7,043
-
-
-		 39,988 47,031
3,393
3,393
-
-
7,043 39,988 3,393
50,424
-
-
13,140		 1,321 -
1,255
2,576
3,961
3,961
13,140
13,140 1,321 5,216
19,677
1,672 1,672
-
-
1,672 - -
1,672

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

2024
7
Cost of generating voluntary income
Gift Aid envelopes
8
Fundraising costs
392
Summer Fete
Jumble sales & Quiz nights etc
Church magazine
Other
9
Investment Costs
1,225
Flat expenses
10
44,699
Parish Share
Church running costs:
13,724
Heating & lighting
424
Water
Cleaning
4,587
Repairs
10,347
Insurance
235
Clergy expenses
Cost of services:
1,111
Music
491
Sacristy
11
Charitable donations
1,477
Charitable donations
12
Church management and administration
8,205
Salaries / Honoraria
626
Printing & stationery
Bank Charges
3,490
Sundry Expenses
12,321
13
Other payments
389
Project fund
17,022
All Saints Hall Running costs
13,412
St Mark Hall Running costs
Building fund
Fabric fund
48
Bookstall expenses
Organ fund valuation adjustment
2,078
Fees to Diocese
Adjustment to sundries account
Quiet day
32,949
Church activities		 Unrestricted
funds
-		 Designated
funds
-
7,440
7,440
-
-
-
17,665
14,884
20
32,568		 Restricted
funds
Total
-
540
-
-
-		 540
-
-
-
540 -
540
1,687 1,687
46,151
17,115
364
18
7,721
10,856
1,249
723
679		 46,151
17,115
364
18
15,161
10,856
1,249
723
679
84,876 -
92,316
919 -
919
919 -
919
8,823
890
-
3,611		 8,823
890
-
3,611
13,324 -
13,324
420 378
378
17,665
14,884
1,294
1,294
20
420
420 1,672
34,660

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

14 Fund movements

General Fund
Designated Funds
Assistant Clergy Accommodation
Fabric
Bookstall
AS Hall
SM Hall
Building fund
Sundries account
Restricted Funds
Nash Bursary
Charitable Donations
Memorial Garden Fund
SM Central Heating Fund
SM Organ Fund
Project Fund
Training fund
Fees
Building fund (restricted)
Total fund movements		 At 01/01/25
£
29,840		 Receipts
£
145,215		 Payments
£
(101,766)
(25,105)
(14,884)
(20)
(40,008)
(378)
(1,294)
(1,672)
(143,446)		 Transfers
£
3,155		 At 31/12/25
£
76,444
20,931
36,739
150
43,174
12,814
15,008
1,359		 209
367
-
26,263
13,724
745		 (1,339) 21,140
37,106
150
44,332
11,655
15,753
-
130,175 41,308 (1,339) 130,136
1,792
0
10,598
1,611
67,224
17,947
1,279
15,255
1,440		 24
-
135
73
3,961
965
58
3,393
480		 (1,816) 10,733
1,684
71,185
18,534
1,337
17,354
1,920
117,145 9,089 (1,816) 122,747
277,159 195,613 329,326

15 Investments

The PCC own a leasehold flat at 19 Josephine Court Reading. This was purchased in February 1989 at a cost of £66,895, the flat is let on a shorthold tenancy. Estimated value at December 2025 of £202,000.

St. Mark & All Saints, Reading

Annual Report and Accounts

of the Parochial Church Council

for the year ended

31 December 2025

Contents

Independent Examiner's Report

Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets and Liabilities Notes to the Accounts

Independent Examiner's Report to the Parochial Church Council of St Mark and All Saints

I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31 December 2025, which are set out on pages 3 to 7.

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees 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:

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

Basis of an independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signature

Name: Nick Addo (FCCA) Address: 7 Glenrosa Road, Reading RG30 6AN

Date: 05/05/2026

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for the year to 31 December 2025

Receipts and Payments Account

2024
Notes
RECEIPTS
Receipts from generated funds:
59,021
Voluntary income
2
8,161
Fundraising
3
50,755
Church Activities
4
17,189
Investment income
5
1,899
Other cash receipts
6
137,025
Total receipts
PAYMENTS
Payments for generating funds:
Cost of generating voluntary income
7
(392)
Fundraising costs
8
(1,225)
Investment costs
9
(1,617)
(75,619)
Church activities
10
(1,477)
Charitable donations
11
(12,321)
Church management & administration
12
(33,307)
Other cash payments
13
(124,340)
Total payments
(12,684)
NET RECEIPTS / (PAYMENTS)
Transfers between funds
(12,684)
NET RECEIPTS / (PAYMENTS) after transfers
264,475
Cash balances at start of year
277,159
Cash balances at end of year		 Unrestricted
funds
£
115,492
7,868
7,043
13,140
143,543
1,672
145,215
(540)
(1,687)
(2,227)
(84,876)
(919)
(13,324)
(420)
(101,766)
43,449
3,155
46,604
29,840
76,444		 Designated
funds
£
-
-
39,988
1,321
41,309
-
41,309
(7,440)
(32,568)
(40,008)
1,301
(1,339)
(38)
130,175
130,136		 Restricted
funds
£
480
-
3,393
5,216		 Endowment
funds
Total
£
£
115,972
7,868
50,424
19,677
-
193,941
1,672
-
195,613
(540)
(1,687)
(2,227)
(92,316)
(919)
(13,324)
(34,660)
(143,446)
0
52,167
0
52,167
277,159
0
329,326
9,089
-
9,089
(1,672)
(1,672)
7,417
(1,816)
5,601
117,145
122,746

The pages Notes 1 and Notes 2 form part of these accounts

St. Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025

Statement of assets and liabilities as at 31 December 2025

2024
Notes
Monetary assets
150
Cash
278,168
Bank current account
0
Bank deposit account
0
NSIB Deposit account
278,317
Other monetary assets
Tax reclaim due
Investments assets
17,666
Bartholomew Bequest
1,526
Swettenham Bequest
66,895
Flat estimated value at December 202
14
86,087
Assets used for the charity's own use
574,000
All Saints Hall at valuation
23,000
All Saints Hall Fixtures & Fittings
366,954
St Mark's Hall at valuation
25,306
St Mark's Hall Fixtures & Fittings
989,260		 Unrestricted
funds
£
-
76,444		 Designated
funds
£
150
129,986
-		 Restricted
funds
£
-
122,747		 Endowment
funds
Total
£
£
-
150
329,176
-
-
76,444 130,136 122,747 329,326
202,000 16959.5
16,960
1465.09
1,465
202,000
202,000 - 18,425
220,425
574,000
23,000
366,954
25,306		 574,000
23,000
366,954
25,306
989,260 - - -
989,260

The valuation of the Church Hall and its associated fixtures and fittings are the insured value of those items

Liabilities

Charitable donations to be paid 0

There were no contingent liabilities.

The notes on pages 6 to 7 form part of these accounts.

These financial statements were approved by the Parochial Church Council on

........................................................ ............................................. Chairman Trustee Date:

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

1 Accounting policies

These accounts have been prepared on a ‘receipts and payments’ basis and in accordance with Section 133 Charities Act 2011.

2 Voluntary Receipts

2024
37,506
Planned Giving
7,819
Collections of loose cash at services
Church boxes
7,694
Other individual donations
4,646
Legacies
30
Special appeals
1,325
Tax recovered
59,021
3
3,100
Fetes
5,036
Jumble Sales etc
Magazine - Advertising
25
2nd hand Bookstall
8,161
4
Church Activities
47,317
Church/Hall Lettings and other income
34,838
Fees - weddings, funerals etc
Magazine - Sales
Bookstall - New
50,755
5
Investment income
NSIB and Gilts
1,557
Bank interest
3,587
Property fund income
12,045
Flat Rental
6
Other cash receipts
1,427
Other Income
472
Collected to give away
Fundraising		 Unrestricted
funds
£
36,975
6,932
357
3,290
62,193
-
5,746		 Designated
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
Total
£
£
480
37,455
6,932
357
3,290
62,193
-
5,746
115,492 - 480
115,972
2,385
5,483
-
-		 2,385
5,483
-
-
7,868 - -
7,868
7,043
-
-
-		 39,988 47,031
3,393
3,393
-
-
7,043 39,988 3,393
50,424
-
-
13,140		 1,321 -
1,255
2,576
3,961
3,961
13,140
13,140 1,321 5,216
19,677
1,672 1,672
-
-
1,672 - -
1,672

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

2024
7
Cost of generating voluntary income
Gift Aid envelopes
8
Fundraising costs
392
Summer Fete
Jumble sales & Quiz nights etc
Church magazine
Other
9
Investment Costs
1,225
Flat expenses
10
44,699
Parish Share
Church running costs:
13,724
Heating & lighting
424
Water
Cleaning
4,587
Repairs
10,347
Insurance
235
Clergy expenses
Cost of services:
1,111
Music
491
Sacristy
11
Charitable donations
1,477
Charitable donations
12
Church management and administration
8,205
Salaries / Honoraria
626
Printing & stationery
Bank Charges
3,490
Sundry Expenses
12,321
13
Other payments
389
Project fund
17,022
All Saints Hall Running costs
13,412
St Mark Hall Running costs
Building fund
Fabric fund
48
Bookstall expenses
Organ fund valuation adjustment
2,078
Fees to Diocese
Adjustment to sundries account
Quiet day
32,949
Church activities		 Unrestricted
funds
-		 Designated
funds
-
7,440
7,440
-
-
-
17,665
14,884
20
32,568		 Restricted
funds
Total
-
540
-
-
-		 540
-
-
-
540 -
540
1,687 1,687
46,151
17,115
364
18
7,721
10,856
1,249
723
679		 46,151
17,115
364
18
15,161
10,856
1,249
723
679
84,876 -
92,316
919 -
919
919 -
919
8,823
890
-
3,611		 8,823
890
-
3,611
13,324 -
13,324
420 378
378
17,665
14,884
1,294
1,294
20
420
420 1,672
34,660

St Mark & All Saints Reading Parochial Church Council

Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Notes to the accounts

14 Fund movements

General Fund
Designated Funds
Assistant Clergy Accommodation
Fabric
Bookstall
AS Hall
SM Hall
Building fund
Sundries account
Restricted Funds
Nash Bursary
Charitable Donations
Memorial Garden Fund
SM Central Heating Fund
SM Organ Fund
Project Fund
Training fund
Fees
Building fund (restricted)
Total fund movements		 At 01/01/25
£
29,840		 Receipts
£
145,215		 Payments
£
(101,766)
(25,105)
(14,884)
(20)
(40,008)
(378)
(1,294)
(1,672)
(143,446)		 Transfers
£
3,155		 At 31/12/25
£
76,444
20,931
36,739
150
43,174
12,814
15,008
1,359		 209
367
-
26,263
13,724
745		 (1,339) 21,140
37,106
150
44,332
11,655
15,753
-
130,175 41,308 (1,339) 130,136
1,792
0
10,598
1,611
67,224
17,947
1,279
15,255
1,440		 24
-
135
73
3,961
965
58
3,393
480		 (1,816) 10,733
1,684
71,185
18,534
1,337
17,354
1,920
117,145 9,089 (1,816) 122,747
277,159 195,613 329,326

15 Investments

The PCC own a leasehold flat at 19 Josephine Court Reading. This was purchased in February 1989 at a cost of £66,895, the flat is let on a shorthold tenancy. Estimated value at December 2025 of £202,000.