**ST JOHN’S MUXTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2024** 

_The community of Christ in Muxton, rooted in the scriptures, for all people_ 

## **INTRODUCTION** 

This report is intended to explain how St John’s operates, our objectives and activities, our achievement and performance and our financial position.  We hope that you find the information helpful. 

## **1. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS** 

St John’s Church, Muxton Correspondence address:  Lesley Trotman, Church Office, St John’s Church, Saltwells Drive, Muxton TF2 8RJ. Website www.stjohnsmuxton.org.uk Church Office: 01952 670033 Email: admin@stjohnsmuxton.org.uk 

St John’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) had the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Revd Matthew Lefroy in promoting the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical matters within the ecclesiastical parish of Muxton.  The PCC is responsible for the running and maintaining of the church building, namely, St John’s Church and Community Centre, Saltwells Drive, Muxton. 

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio (Clergy, Churchwardens and Deanery Synod Representatives), elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or co-opted in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. At the 2024 Annual Parochial Church Meeting held in April those listed below were appointed to serve as members of the PCC. 

_**Incumbent** :_ Matthew Lefroy _**Curate** :_ Vikki Day (until Sept 24) _**Ordained Local Minister** :_ Jane Evans 

_**Churchwardens** :_ Andrew Hambler and Lesley Trotman _**Representatives on the Deanery Synod** :_ Kerry Hoult _**Elected Members:**_ Jon Rawson, Lisa West, Susan Grant, Jan Stackhouse, Gill Steinert, Dan West, Simon Hartridge (Treasurer) and Rob Grant 

required by law.  It has the power to transact the business of PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the Council.  It is comprised of the vicar, vice chair, wardens, secretary and treasurer. 

We also have working parties which are decided in consultation with the vicar:  Working parties include the Building Management Team, Evangelism, World Church & Justice, Pastoral, Personnel and Safeguarding. 

## **SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT** 

We take seriously the safeguarding of children young adults and adults at risk in our care. The PCCs will take all reasonable care to ensure the safety of the children, young people and vulnerable adults of St John’s & St Michael’s Churches for whom they bear responsibility. We recognise that children by virtue of legal status and dependency on adults for their emotional and physical needs will always be vulnerable and at a disadvantage.  We also understand that illness, disability, race, mental health and other issues can put adults in a position of vulnerability. We commit to considering these things in our activities – undertaking supervision of staff working with them and risk assessing activities and groups as a check and balance in our work. 

**Risk Management** – is done by Building Management. 

## **3. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** 

## **OUR VISION** 

## **WE WANT TO BE PASSIONATE FOR GOD BY…** 

## **Visibly developing trust in Jesus** 

We will offer explicit opportunities for people to reflect regularly on their journey of faith and then challenge and support them to progress to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ _._ 

## **Readily taking risks** 

We will always be ready to share our faith with others and to be in those situations where the Holy Spirit would want us to be. 

**Banker** :  CAF Bank **Auditor** : Lynne Clifford at Clifford & Co 

## **2. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** 

**PCC Constitution:** The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England.  The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure.  The PCC is registered with the Charity Commission, number 1162098. **PCC Members:** PCC members are elected by the congregation.  We have twelve elected PCC posts.  Four become vacant each year.  On election the post lasts for three years.  Those elected to deanery synod are also eligible to sit on PCC as are wardens and clergy. 

**Induction and training of PCC members:** At the first PCC meeting the PCC shares Holy Communion and all members are given a summary of how the PCCs work and there is an opportunity for questions.  PCC members are invited to attend any relevant diocesan training. 

**Subcommittees and working parties:** The PCC has a subcommittee to help with the day to day running of St John’s which is the Standing Committee.  This is the only committee 

## **Generously serving our community** 

We will actively engage with our local community to provide Christian support where needed and help to develop community spirit. 

## **Unashamedly praying** 

We will live lives that demonstrate the importance we place on praying alone and together and we will be ready to pray for and with people who are and who are not part of our church. 

## **4. ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE** 

During the year, six scheduled meetings of the PCC were held, The main items that the PCC have looked at during the year have been:- update of polices, Various Finances – Fees/Wages/Budget/Approval of financial accounts/Parish 

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share/Giving review, Safeguarding, General Synod, Living in Love & Faith, Song of Praise. 

## ENERGISED BY FAITH AND GOD-INSPIRED AND INSPIRING WORSHIP 

We continued to offer our services online, live streaming via YouTube. 

**Sermon series** included ‘Firm foundations for Life’, God’s mission for His Church’, Women in the Bible, ‘Is that really in the Bible?’ and the Book of Ephesians. 

**Thursday Morning Prayer** at 7:30am continues to take place via zoom and in person. In addition we have a time of Bible reading and prayer on two weekday mornings at 9am also via zoom. All welcome to both.  Prayer ministry is offered at all our services and also a prayer chain is available for any prayer needs at any other time. 

## **OCCASIONAL OFFICES** 

**Baptisms/Thanksgivings:** Our church offers Baptism and Thanksgiving services with 8 Baptisms taking place during the year with no Thanksgivings. 

**Weddings:** No weddings took place at St John’s in 2024. **Funerals:** Our pre-funeral pack with information on hymns, readings and tributes etc is available if required and we are grateful to the bereavement team who continue to support those who have recently had a relative pass away.  This as with all occasional office ministries occurs across the benefice. 1 Funeral service was held in our church during 2024 and 9 took place at Telford Crematorium.  53 attended the joint annual **Memorial Service** held at St Michael’s in March. 

## **EVANGELISM** 

**Aims and objectives of the evangelism Team:** 

- Primary aim to be visionary; seeking God’s vision for outreach/evangelism in order to share the gospel in differing ways 

- Facilitating events and initiatives that will contribute to sharing the Christian faith with others 

The **EVANGELISM sub group** is made up a group of people who meet every 6 weeks to discern what God wants to do through St John’s in order to outreach and share the Gospel. In addition to arranging events, we take time to pray and reflect on where we should be going next. During the year we have met on 9 occasions. 

## **Our activities during 2024 include:** 

- We have produced and delivered 3 more editions of our local newspaper The **Word around Muxton** . This is a low level evangelism initiative delivered to every household in Muxton. Our aim for the paper to provide local interest and information, whilst sharing Good News. The challenge will be to maintain sufficient material to produce stories and news of interest to the community. 

- We continued to deliver 3 **healing services** throughout the year. Whilst numbers of those attending continue to be quite low it is always felt that those who have attended have benefited. It would be good to see our church family extend invites to friends and family as there is no doubt that there is always a need. 

- Our **Community Choir** which attracts both church family members and those from our local community continues to be an integral part of our evangelism. It offers crucial support and friendship to members and their productions are so successful we usually have to add additional showings to cope with the numbers. During the year they put on 3 productions. The Easter and Christmas productions always carry the gospel message. 

- **A Novel Idea,** our book club **,** meets once a month. There is a good mix of church family and those from the community and further afield. This is very much appreciated by those who come along and even when we don’t like the book we read we have great fun discussing why this is the case! 

- In March we provided a day of training for those in our congregations who are interested in developing a way for adults with learning difficulties to worship and develop their faith. This is based on the **Count Everyone In** initiative and the training gave us the opportunity to see if this was something God was calling us to do. The numbers of those interested have exceeded our expectations and we plan to further explore how to proceed. 

- In March we started planning for a **week of mission** for Easter 25. Our overall aim for this venture is to ensure the gospel message is delivered in a way that is appropriate and accessible to the everyone. This initiative would be our primary focus the coming 12 months and to do this we have developed a strategy team to help us. 

- In June we ran our in house evangelism course **SoulSpeak.** This course is always well received by those that come but numbers are dependent upon the congregation inviting people to come along. 

- The **Alpha** talks were delivered to the entire church prior to and during the Easter period. This may have impacted on our **Easter** attendance at all services. Maundy Thursdays **A supper Like No Other** where we produced drama and music to convey the message was a great success attracting over 80 people. Similarly, numbers attending the **Good Friday reflection** were increased. On Easter Sunday afternoon we provided **Songs of Praise** Muxton Style, with a cream tea. This was very much enjoyed by those who came but on reflection we felt Easter Sunday was not the best time for this event. Our **Community Choir’s** production of **3[rd] Day** was central to the delivering the Easter message during this period. 

- In June our **Ladies Day** was, as always, extremely well attended and offered fellowship, fun and a light touch gospel message. 

- **Christmas** again offered opportunities to engage with the community starting with the **Christmas Fayre** at the end of November, followed by **Carol Singing** around the streets, **Carols & Candles** where over 100 people attended, a **Christingle/Crib Service** and a shared **Christmas day lunch** . All of these events attracted people from the community and wider who 

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do not usually come to church, along with our church family. 

members for their continued support and to the fabulous team of helpers/organisers. 

## **Regular activities that have a focus on outreach include:** 

- Tots 

- Community Choir 

- Join Us 

- Lunch Club 

- Forget me not films 

- Youth initiatives 

- Children’s Activity Days 

- Healing Services 

- Book Club 

- Baptism/wedding visits/contacts 

- Bereavement visits/contacts 

- Truth To Tell 

All of these initiatives, new and regular, are crucial to our outreach and provide a valuable resource for our community. Please pray for these groups and especially for their leaders as they discern what God wants of each them and us all in sharing the gospel. 

## **Plans for the coming year** 

- To deliver another SoulSpeak series 

- Count Me In. A ministry for adults with learning disabilities. 

- Mission 25: Who Cares 

- Christmas 

- Continue the development of ‘The Word around Muxton’ 

Please continue to support this area of our ministry and anyone who feels they would like **to join the Evangelism team** please contact Jan Stackhouse 01952 604775 or janicestackhouse@btinternet.com 

## **COMMUNITY** 

**Join Us 4 a Cuppa!** We have now completed our 9th year, when our numbers joining us in church for a cuppa and cake have increased, with newer church members coming to meet new friends and others supporting our various charitable events such as, Think Pink and Christmas hampers for CAP. To celebrate the Olympics held in Paris we provided a French themed lunch, with quiche provided by our local farm shop and French patisserie baked by our wonderful team of helpers.  We also provided tea and cakes on Easter Sunday for the ‘Songs of Praise’ service with hymns chosen by church members. Thanks to all the team who like to think they provide a warm welcome and good company in a church setting. 

**Forget me not films** continues to meet once a month on the 3rd Thursday morning to enjoy a time of fun, fellowship, food and films!  The film is always a golden oldie and sometimes, but not always, a musical.  It has a new start time of 10 am but people arrive any time from 9.45 am.  We always have a break half way through the film to enjoy chatting with others.  If you enjoy good films, good company and plenty of tea/coffee and cake, then please think about coming to join us.  All are welcome. 

**Lunch Club** had a lovely year again this year.  We welcomed more new helpers. We have a great team working each month to provide a lovely two course meal for usually between 45/ 50 people even more sometimes. Thanks to all Lunch Club 

**Tots** meet every Tuesday in term time from 10am to 11.30. We welcome children aged up to the age of 4 with their parent/carer. We have a very varied group of people attending, childminders, Mum’s, Grandparents, carers (and an occasional Dad!) and we have welcomed some of the children and carers to Sunday services. 

There have been several friendship groups formed in the group, and the support between parents and carers is obvious. It is a blessing to see the children grow and develop as they attend, joining in with games and crafts, and requesting songs after story time, which is Bible based. We have a strong band of helpers/volunteers, some who supply crafts for the children which usually relate to the weekly story. 

## **CAP (Christians against Poverty) DEBT CENTRE** 

**‘THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS’** How often have you heard or read that phrase in the last year or two? It can be either annoying or boring or saddening – depending on your point of view or personal circumstances. It’s a very real issue for many here in Telford who find themselves in unmanageable debt. Our debt centre will have been 

open for 10 years by next December. A person ringing our head office in Bradford on the day you read 

this report is likely to have to wait until June for their first appointment. We are working towards alleviating this but we do depend on people like you in St John’s church, who have faithfully supported us all these years. Thankyou. If you are not one of our supporters (either in prayer or as a volunteer or financially) yet, and feel God is calling you to this vital work, do speak to Matthew. 

Another phrase we hear all too often is ‘mental illness’. Our staff and volunteers are finding they need to give more support to our clients, whose lives are more complex and blighted with ill-health, than they did in earlier years. Please keep us in your prayers as we bring Jesus into our client’s lives. What a joy and an opportunity that is. So what happened in 2024? 

- The centre saw more than 40 new clients in 2024. 14 clients went debt free and a number started a debt management plan. By December 2024, since we opened in 2015, 127 people have become debt free that equates to almost £1.2 million of debt repaid or written off. Praise God for each person that has experienced freedom from the bondage of debt. 

- Generous members of St John’s joined other churches in providing more than 50 Christmas hampers to our clients. 

- Nationally CAP has a new CEO, Stewart McCulloch, who was previously the CEO of the Christian Charity Stewardship. 

- Four churches continue to partner together to run the debt centre (St John’s, All Saints, Central Telford and Dawley Baptist). Matthew stepped back from chairing the partnership after nine years of wise leadership. Thankyou Matthew. We are now taking steps to set up the debt centre as a charity. Please pray that the right people will step forward as trustees. 

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- Ann Trehern continues as our centre manager. 

- Jan Stackhouse who had been the centre’s safeguarding officer stepped down after serving us faithfully since we opened. Thank you Jan. Lizzie Brown (our assistant centre manager) has stepped into the role. 

- Hugh Burton, a retired vicar, completed his training as a volunteer debt coach in December 2024 and now sees one new client a month from January 2025. 

- Several fundraising events were held and it was great to see a number of congregation members from St John’s (and St Michael’s) at the fantastic curry and quiz night in November. Join us later in 2025? 

- Our volunteer numbers have reduced slightly and we need more people to join us. Could you help us in this or help financially by completing a standing order form for say £5 or £15 per month? Donations can be made via our account: P C C All Saints Sort Code: 3099-27 Account Number: 00006531 Ref; CAP followed by your surname.  This is a dedicated account for the debt centre that we will continue to use until we are set up as a charity in our own right. 

- Your prayer support for the Centre as a whole, for our clients and for staff and volunteers is very much appreciated. If you would like to join us in our monthly prayer meetings, please contact Ann Trehern at anntrehern@capuk.org. A full CAP Debt Centre annual report is available, on request, from Matthew. 

**Street Pastors** are trained Christian volunteers from local churches supporting the night time economy in their local communities, and are made up of men and women going out in the evenings to offer support by ‘caring, listening and helping’. 

The Telford Street Pastors patrolled throughout 2024 on Saturday evenings, usually from 8.30pm through to 2.30am the following morning, between Telford Centre, Wellington and Newport depending upon where the need was greatest. St John’s and St Michaels have provided active support to this ministry for a number of years and following training for new starters in 2024, the team welcomed 3 new Street Pastors to our ranks including Melissa Michael, a regular member of St John’s.  Melissa joins Simon, Teresa and Ricky from our 2 churches in supporting this mission. Sadly during 2024 we said goodbye to Chris H, who moved abroad with his job, and Justin stepped down due to health concerns. We thank them both for their faithful service and hope that they can both join us again at some stage in the future. The church continues to support this venture financially, and Matthew a member of the management committee. 

The team’s role is to help and support those people who are out in the evenings, helping them get home safely, caring for them when necessary or simply providing a listening ear when they need someone to talk to. We also support the homeless, providing a hot drink, biscuits, woolly hats and sleeping bags, as well as signposting them to the homeless support provisions in the town. A special note of thanks goes to the members of “Knit and Knatter” who when we were running low of knitted garments kindly took it upon themselves to produce a large batch of these for the street pastors to 

distribute to the homeless, for which we and they are extremely grateful. We are now well stocked in this regard for months to come – thank you. 

The team’s presence continues to be highly valued by those out in the evenings, as well as by our partners: the local authority, police, ambulance and venue door staff. The Street Pastors are ably supported by a small but dedicated team who pray for the team and any issues they face whilst they are out. These Support Pastors are an incredibly important part of our team and mission, and Geoff and Sue Lott were able to support in this way during 2024 – thank you. 

In addition to normal patrols we will, for special events at Harper Adams, support the University in helping their security staff with supporting the students safely onto transport from Newport town centre, and this support is truly appreciated and highly valued by the college. 

We continue to appeal for new recruits for both Street and Support Pastors.  A further recruitment campaign is under way and will be followed by a training course which commences on 25[th] April 2025. Please see Simon T should you want to find out more about this challenging but very rewarding ministry as we work to show Jesus’ love for our community on the streets. Indeed, as a first step we encourage anyone interested to join us for an evening as an observer, and experience a night out with the street pastors, seeing firsthand whether this may be for you. 

**WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA** Our website is managed by UKchurches and is smartphone and tablet friendly.  The St John’s and St Michael’s parts of the site are more integrated than on our previous website. Any comments on the website would be welcome.  Please contact Dan with any feedback. Our Facebook accounts are looked after by Lisa, another way in which we communicate with the local community. 

## **WORLD CHURCH & JUSTICE GROUP** 

The WCJ Group includes representatives from both churches with the majority of activities being jointly organised and held in both churches. The joint membership comprises of five members four from St Michael’s and one from St John’s. The group met on three occasions. An additional member from SJM would be very welcome. 

## **Mission Profile** 

A representative from Compassion spoke at both services in August highlighting the good work they do in raising awareness of child sponsorship. Compassion seeks to contribute to the education and wellbeing of children in countries which may not have the infrastructure to support children to their full potential. 

## **Mission of the Year 2024** 

Embrace the Middle East was selected as the Mission of the year and Sue McClellan spoke passionately at both churches on the work of Embrace currently in the most challenging region of the world. 

**Fairtrade** celebrated its 30[th] anniversary this year and both churches displayed posters highlighting this milestone during Fairtrade Fortnight in September 2024. 

## **The Tearfund Big Quiz Night** 

Once again a keen and enthusiastic number of people gathered in November for the annual quiz to raise funds for the work of Tearfund. 

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## **World Prayer Topics in Weekly Notices** 

These continue to be added intermittently throughout the year aimed to assist our congregations to focus their private prayers on current world crises including emergencies and disasters. 

## **Mission Giving** 

|12% of income the St John’s donates to support mission|12% of income the St John’s donates to support mission|
|---|---|
|projects (2.5%), at home (3%) and overseas (6.5%) were||
|donated as follows:||
|Tearfund<br>£1926 + £115 Quiz Night||
|CPAS<br>£1927||
|Nepal Leprosy Trust<br>£1294||
|Telford CAP Debt Centre<br>£1294||
|Mission of the Year – Embrace the Middle East|£713|
|Miscellaneous Giving<br>£300 (divided between||
|Children’s Society, Premier Radio, Christian Institute)||
|The St John’s WCJ group member for 2024 was Di.||



## **YOUNG PEOPLE AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY** _Children’s groups comprise of:_ 

**LIGHT** (our crèche for preschool children) Provision was made for parents and carers to sit in the Acorn Room and watch a live link of the service if they wished.  We do not have volunteers to staff this group at the moment. **SAS** (for children aged 5 to 10) – **SAS** (for children aged 5 to 10) – with regular leaders and helpers we have continued to meet every week, including some school holidays. Leaders/helpers regularly met together to pray for the children and share ideas.  A syllabus from Energize is used, which means that each lesson can build on the teaching from the previous one and then their work is displayed on the notice board.  The Summer Activity Days continued in 2024. Summer Olympics was the theme and we welcomed 90 children into our 'Olympic Stadium' and had 3 days of fun filled singing, dancing, bible stories and sporting activities. Our activities included, noodle javelin, football shot putt and our own mini crazy golf course with a Parisian theme. It was an energetic, mayhem packed event. _Young People’s groups:_ 

**Spark** runs on Sunday mornings during the service, led by Andrew and Simon. To comply with safeguarding, many members of the congregation help. Many thanks to everyone who has volunteered, without you Spark couldn't run. On average, we have around 5 young people each week. **sub:Zero and sub:Extra weekly youth café** During the year, to accommodate the reducing number of volunteers we have run these concurrently.  On occasions we are able to have some good discussions about faith and beliefs, while we eat donuts or cakes in the lounge area. We also give a short talk, and food at the end of each term.  Towards the end of the year attendances have been low but there is a faithful crowd of regulars who appreciate what we offer.  We are also considering whether this is the right format for reaching teenagers in the current climate. 

**SAFEGUARDING** The children, young people’s and vulnerable adults’ work is undertaken within agreed policy statements together with an e-safety policy ratified by PCC. This has been devised along guidelines recommended by the Lichfield Diocese.  The policy statements, ratified by the PCC, are displayed in the church porch and on the church website. In 2024 the Safeguarding Officer was Jan Stackhouse. The 

Deputy Safeguarding Officer was James Tagg for the first part of the year; Gill Steinert has commenced training to replace this position.  A sub-committee made up of members from St John’s and St Michael’s, along with the PCC, review the detail and practice of the policies for the Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.   Everyone involved in ministry with Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults is required to undertake training relevant to their position.   DBS clearance is required for many of these roles. DBS requirements and training records for all staff, both paid and voluntary, are reviewed and lapses reported to the PCC. In addition St John’s and St Michael’s Safeguarding Officers provide support for Telford CAP workforce. During the year a Lone Workers Policy was ratified and Role descriptors for all areas of church life were further developed. 

For the period January- December 2024 **Re St John’s** 

- There were **no incidents** that required a referral to Social Care 

- There were 4 Adult **Cause for Concern** reports filed in respect of 2 people– which were examined and satisfactorily dealt with using St John's and St Michael's Safeguarding procedures, liaising with the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer 

## **Re CAP workforce:** 

- There were 3 Cause for Concerns and 2 records of support/advice in respect of 2 cases. 

## **WELCOME AND CONNECTIONS TEAM** 

The Pastoral team are passionate about caring for each member of St John’s. Life changes and although St John's said goodbye to some of our members, we have welcomed new ones. The Community Choir said goodbye to Anne and Ellie, Scarlet and Wayne took up the reigns. The Choir is well supported by both St John’s Church and the local community. A big thank you to all members for their commitment to the Community Choir. St John's congregation is growing as is the Music Group. The passion of each member of the group as they lead us in worship is wonderful. Our young peoples groups continue to offer many and varied opportunities to explore and learn about Jesus. A big thank you to the Group Leaders and the support offered by the volunteers giving their time for our young people who are our hope for the future. St John’s House Groups meet either during the day time or in the evening. Jan Stackhouse continues to welcome HG Group Leaders to meet sharing ideas and supporting each other. A warm welcome to share a meal together with others at Lunch Club and Join Us give opportunities to enjoy sharing tea/coffee and light refreshments with each other also providing opportunities to form friendships within St John's and also members of the local community. Many close friendships have been formed during these meetings. St John's are grateful for the many opportunities to share the love of Jesus with others. John 13: 34 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 

**The Pastoral group** consists of Matthew Lefroy (Vicar), Julie (Pastoral coordinator), Barbara (Welcome and Nurture), Jane, 

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and Cath. Alasdair is also a pastoral team visitor. The team meet 3 times a year to try to ensure all members of St John’s are cared for.  During the meeting they look at the pastoral list of members which is held by the church. Training is updated annually.  At each meeting they look closely and identify those in our congregation that may need extra pastoral support. Contact is made by phone calls, text messages and the Pastoral Coordinator sends many many cards and flowers throughout the year and arranges visiting involving 2 members of the team for safeguarding reasons. The pastoral team have recently reviewed their ‘Roles & Responsibilities’.  Matthew takes home communion to those unable to attend church.  Future dates for training which anyone can attend will be offered and advertised in 2025. 

**Small mid week groups** continue to be essential to the life of St John’s and St Michael’s and those that attend find them integral to their daily life offering the opportunity to pray and grow in faith together. 

During this current year our small group offer has increased from **6** to **7** in Muxton and from **1** to **2** in Lilleshall. **5** of the groups meeting during the day and **4** during the evenings; membership to the groups is not dependant on which church people attend and there is a healthy and valuable cross over between the 2 churches and the groups they attend. At the end of the year the number of people attending all groups rose from **74 – 100** some people attend more than one group. Each group has its own unique style but all are soundly based in sharing our love of Jesus, learning and deepening our faith and praying for each other’s needs. We use material best suited to our groups and on occasions will follow a common theme or material that has been suggested to meet the needs of the whole church family. 

Most groups primarily meet physically, zoom is sometimes used as a valuable option when either people have been unwell, or the weather has been inclement. 

Group Leaders have met together on 2 occasions during the year to offer each other support, pray, and share ideas and material. In addition, this year we have explored the following topics: 

- We looked at material from RENEWAL by John Hames; a book that focuses on church revitalisation along the way of the cross exploring areas relevant to our home groups 

- Inviting people not currently attending a small midweek group to do so 

- Safeguarding and the implications and good practice for a small groups, developing role descriptors 

- We looked at the passage from Ephesians 3: 14-21 and how this applied to our small groups 

Please pray for these groups and especially the leaders who work hard preparing, leading, encouraging and supporting their members. 

If you would like to join a mid week small group please contact either Jan Stackhouse or Matthew for more information. 

## **SIDESPERSONS** 

This is the 2024 Sidespersons list.   The sidespeople arrive at church for 10.20am to greet our congregation with a smile and hello and to hand out service sheets/notices.  Thank you to all who help.  Please speak to Lesley if you would like to help. 

|Dom & Martie|Ann L|
|---|---|
|Stan & Susan|Alasdair|
|Cath|Colin & Judith|
|Christine K|John & Wendy|
|John & Moira|Pete & Julie|
|Geoff & Mary|Terry & Jan|
|Mel|Simon & Lesley|
|Steve & Heather|David & Sue|
|Gillian|Iris|
|Jeanette|Chris L|



## **CHURCH ATTENDANCE, ELECTORAL ROLL FIGURES AND OTHER STATISTICS** 

**Electoral Roll:** At the 2024 revision the number of names on the roll was 84. After preparation of the Roll prior to today the total stands at 71.  This figure is lower than normal due to the fact that 2025 is from scratch which means everyone has to reenrol. We have 40 women and 31 men on the Electoral Roll of which 19 are nonresident, 5 live in Lilleshall parish which leaves 47 people live in the parish of Muxton. 

**General Attendance:** After an unsettled few years our average attendance is creeping back up.  We continue to offer the live streaming of our 11am service via YouTube.  Our average ‘in person’ attendance during 2024 was 59 adults seeing a slight increase on the previous year. 

|**STATISTICS**|**2025**|**2024**|**2023**|**2022**|**2021**|**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Average Adult**<br>**Attendance:**||59|57|54|Covid|Covid|79|
|**Average Child**<br>**Attendance:**||8|10|10|||15|
|**Adult + child**<br>**attendance**||67|67|64|||94|
|**Easter Day**<br>**Communicants:**||71|76|78|9||122|
|**Christmas**<br>**Eve/Day**<br>**Communicants:**||55|52|107|40|76|62|
|**Electoral Roll**|71|84|88|92|96|95|87|
|**Baptisms (aged**<br>**0-17years): **||8|0|1|1|0|4|
|**Baptisms(18+)): **||0|1|1|0|0|0|
|**Thanksgivings **||0|0|0|0|0|2|
|**Marriages:**||0|0|0|0|0|0|
|**Funeral service**<br>**in church:**||1|2|2|0|0|2|
|**Funeral service**<br>**at crematorium:**||9|12|6|15|10|6|
|**Total funerals**||10|14|8|15|10|8|
|**Confirmations:**||7|0|0|0|0|3|



## **THE DEANERY SYNOD OF EDGMOND AND SHIFNAL** 

St John’s and St Michael’s are part of this wider group of churches in area to the North and East of Telford through to the area north of Bridgnorth and North West of Wolverhampton and encompassing Newport, Shifnal and Albrighton.  Our churches send representatives to regular Deanery Synod meetings where issues affecting the church in the wider area are discussed. 

There were three synod meetings in the year 2024, held at St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston, St. Mary’s Church, Sutton Maddock and St. John’s Church, Muxton. Many members of Synod also attended the annual Archdeacon’s Visitation for both Telford and Edgmond and Shifnal deaneries. 

- 6 - 



During the year we heard from **Rev’d Zoe Hemming** who is the _Diocesan Officer for “Enabling All”_ who explained how her team provide practical information to help parishes find simple, inexpensive ways to assist members of their congregations and visitors, whatever their disabilities (many not being obvious or visible) in being able to fully take part in services and events. We monitored progress made with the Diocesan **“Shaping For Mission”** initiative, considered our response to the new **Diocesan Strategy 2024 – 2030** and viewed material from **Rural Missions** which is designed to help small, rural churches develop their outreach and mission. We also heard a potted history of Sutton Maddock church and shared communion together there. **Malcolm Maclean** (Lay Chair) reported on the formation of the Shropshire Church of England Academies Trust (SCEAT) which 8 primary schools, including Beckbury, are joining in 2025. 

We said farewell to a number of clergy in the deanery: Rev’d Pippa Thorneycroft and Rev’d Helen Morby who are both retiring;  Rev’d Zoe Hemming who is now Cannon Missioner at Newcastle Cathedral and Rev’d Vikki Day who is a Chaplain in the Army.  We were also saddened to lose Rev’d Sally Day who died suddenly at the end of the year.  This means that the deanery now has 14 of it’s 24 parishes currently in vacancy and we are very grateful to those clergy who are providing cover for Sunday services in vacant parishes. 

The deanery representatives appointed to diocesan synod during the year are Andrew Charles and Malcolm Maclean. In the Autumn of 2024, Lloyds informed us that they would be closing our Treasurer's Account and moving it to a Community Account instead. Any activity on this account would incur charges as well as a monthly standing charge, so Kerry has (and still is!) been communicating with Lloyds to change the account back to one that does not involve any charges. 

## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** 

In comparison to the beginning of 2023, following the focus on prayer and giving through Advent, giving at the beginning of 2024 began to increase. Combined with giving via the card machine and some back dated gift aid claims congregational giving though 2024 increased significantly. However, 2025 will not have the benefit of several thousands of pounds of additional gift aid and therefore a close focus needs to be kept on regular giving. There is never a wrong time to review your own personal giving to the church. Additional income is mostly from hall hire and occasional one off gifts, as well as interest on the deposit account. Overall income for 2024 totalled £119,359. The significant outgoings in 2024 were the common fund £34,572, wages £22,700, maintenance and cleaning £5,700 and utilities – which saw a drop to nearly £6,000 compared with over £10,000 in 2023. Other costs for copyrights, office and photocopier total over £4,500. Our Mission Giving, being 12% of our congregational giving was £7,700. The remainder of expenditure is on evangelism and newspaper, youth, activity days, tea and coffee and a few other things to keep church life ‘ticking over’. Total expenditure was £96,000. The deposit account contains £33,700 which is made up £8,000 of restricted youth monies with the balance being reserves for 3 months of operating costs. At the end of 2024 the current account contained £37,000 being £3,700 of restricted monies, £28,000 of unrestricted monies and £4,500 of monies dedicated to 

ongoing major upkeep and repairs to the building. This ‘pot’ is to be increased to £10,000 at the beginning of 2025. As always THANK YOU to Simon as Treasurer and Gift Aid Secretary and to those who give both financially and of their time to continue God’s work around Muxton, the surrounding area and further afield. 

## **A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have given so generously to the church during 2024.** 

The **FABRIC & ORNAMENTS** of our church are in good order and the Church Warden(s) has (have) very little responsibility for ensuring that this continues, due to the PCC SubCommittee Building Management Team. A Log Book listing details of work carried out on the building is set up and constantly updated by Building Management.  An Inventory of church items, including the silver and moveable furniture is also noted. Photographs of all items are included and the silver weighed and hallmarks recorded for insurance purposes. These are both diocesan requirements. 

## **The Building Management Team ensures that our church is maintained at the highest level at all times, is a safe, warm and welcoming place for all.** 

During 2024 the following was carried out: 

The local Parish Council awarded St John’s a community grant of £2,555 and this was spent as follows: 

- A new cooker was purchased and installed; thank you to Lunch Club who put £600 towards the purchase and installation 

- A number of Go Pak tables were replaced 

- A line painting machine was purchased along with yellow paint and the disabled parking lines were redrawn 

- TRVs and valves were purchased for the radiators in the porch 

In addition to the day to day maintenance tasks and upkeep of 

St John’s church, the following has also taken place: 

- The kitchen shutters were serviced 

- PAT testing was completed 

- The fire extinguishers received their annual check as did the emergency lighting 

- A spy hole was fitted to the office door and window film added to the office windows for security purposes 

- Numerous leaks in the ladies and gents toilets have been repaired 

- The middle toilet in the ladies was replaced 

- The carpets have been cleaned 

- The guttering outside the kitchen has been replaced 

- The parking bays were relined and yellow paint was used to reline the disabled parking bays 

The Building Management Team is: Lesley, Steve, Nigel, Simon H and Gill S. Thanks are extended to all, but it should be recorded that Simon, Steve and Lesley carry out the majority of the maintenance tasks themselves saving us thousands of pounds each year. 

CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR AND PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE VICAR Lesley Trotman continues to work as our valued Church 

- 7 - 



Administrator and St John’s Building Manager and we are grateful for all that she does throughout the year. 

Matthew Lefroy (Chairman)                                        6[th] April 2025 On behalf of St John’s PCC 

- 8 - 



## **St John's Church, Muxton Financial Statements for end of month 2024** 

|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**<br>**RECEIPTS**<br>**Voluntary Receipts**<br>Receipts from donors<br>Planned giving<br>Plate Collections<br>Income tax recovered<br>Sum Up Donations<br>Other voluntary receipts<br>Grants (Council)<br>Sub Total<br>Hire of Hall (inc Tots)<br>Receipts from Church Activities (Magazine, Evangelism, Youth)<br>Children Youth Sub Extra<br>Investment Income - CBF Deposit Fund & CAF Bank<br>From St Michaels for Shared Costs (Wages, Office, Copier, Phone etc)<br>Weekend Away 2025<br>Other Income<br>AV<br>Activity Days<br>Restricted Mission<br>Designated Building<br>**Total Receipts**<br>**PAYMENTS**<br>Church Activities<br>Diocesan parish share<br>Outward Mission Giving (12% Mission and other charitable giving)<br>Church Activities  Evangelism, Publicity, Tots<br>Youth & Children (inc Sub Zero)<br>Housegroup & small teams<br>SML Magazine share<br>Resouces, CCLI Licence and misc.<br>AV, Music<br>Activity Days<br>Other Payments - Insurance, bank charges, accountant fees<br>Office costs inc phone<br>Photocopier rental and printing<br>Wages<br>Utilities<br>Maintenance & cleaning & Quninquennial<br>Clergy Fees<br>Other<br>Council grant<br>Weekend Away 2025<br>**Total Payments**<br>Transfer between funds<br>**Excess of Receipts over Payments**|**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**<br>47,794.22<br>1,243.83<br>17,266.19<br>1,449.33<br>4,320.30|**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**<br>47,794.22<br>1,243.83<br>17,266.19<br>1,449.33<br>4,320.30|**Designated**<br>**Building**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**<br>4,500.00<br>4,500.00|**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>2,555.00<br>2,555.00<br>1,266.85<br>114.84<br>3,936.69<br>114.84<br>300.00<br>126.93<br>806.45<br>2,555.00<br>3,903.22<br>33.47|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>47,794.22<br>1,243.83<br>17,266.19<br>1,449.33<br>4,320.30<br>2,555.00<br>74,628.87<br>17,150.75<br>4,378.73<br>627.55<br>1,736.96<br>9,028.05<br>40.00<br>5,896.84<br>1,266.85<br>114.84<br>4,500.00<br>119,369.44<br>34,572.00<br>7,697.91<br>3,333.56<br>946.86<br>17.28<br>393.25<br>2,300.18<br>126.93<br>806.45<br>1,742.39<br>1,381.87<br>2,495.22<br>22,783.37<br>5,828.98<br>5,700.12<br>1,311.67<br>722.84<br>2,555.00<br>1,440.00<br>96,155.88<br>18,713.56<br>114,858.44|**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||47,794.22|||||43,575.92|
||1,243.83|||||1,037.07|
||17,266.19|||||9,070.48|
||1,449.33||||||
||4,320.30|||||8,006.34|
|||||||300.00|
||||||||
||72,073.87|||||61,989.81|
||||||||
|||||||16,880.27|
|||||||3,787.04|
|||||||459.52|
|||||||709.14|
|||||||8,532.60|
|||||||5,088.01|
|||||||10,444.51|
|||||||2,000.00|
|||||||560.50|
|||||||581.01|
||||||||
|||||||111,032.41|
||||||||
|||||||33,894.00|
|||||||7,076.17|
|||||||2,554.30|
|||||||667.97|
|||||||52.53|
|||||||464.00|
|||||||2,134.39|
|||||||448.49|
|||||||901.93|
|||||||1,696.24|
|||||||1,167.47|
|||||||2,359.67|
|||||||22,277.22|
|||||||10,286.77|
|||||||6,746.20|
|||||||1,533.27|
|||||||3,369.10|
||||||||
|||||||5,494.70|
|||||||103,124.42|
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||7,907.99|
||||||||





|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**<br>Bank current and deposit accounts 1st January 2024<br>Bank current and deposit accounts 31st December 2024<br>**Change in Reserves**<br>**STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES**<br>**Cash Funds**<br>Bank current account<br>CBF deposit account<br>**RESTRICTED FUNDS**<br>Youth Fund (Current acc)<br>Council Grant<br>Restricted Mission<br>Activity Days<br>Music AV<br>TOTAL RESTRICTED FUNDS|**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**|**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**|**Designated**<br>**Building**<br>**Fund**<br>**£**<br>4,500.00<br>4,500.00<br>**Designated**<br>£4,500.00<br>£4,500.00<br>**Income**<br>**£**<br>2555.00<br>114.84<br>1266.85<br>3936.69|**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>11,680.72<br>11,714.19<br>33.47<br>**Restricted**<br>**£**<br>£3,714.19<br>£8,000.00<br>£11,714.19<br>**Expenditure**<br>**£**<br>300.00<br>2555.00<br>114.84<br>806.45<br>126.93<br>3903.22|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>**42,780.64**<br>**70,994.20**<br>28,213.56<br>**Total**<br>**£**<br>**£37,204.55**<br>**£33,789.65**<br>**£70,994.20**<br>**Ending**<br>**Balance**<br>**£**<br>1829.21<br>460.4<br>1424.58<br>3714.19|**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||31,099.92|||||39,872.65|
||54,780.01||4,500.00|||42,780.64|
||23,680.09<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**£**<br>£28,990.36<br>£25,789.65<br>£54,780.01<br>**Starting**<br>**Balance**<br>**£**<br>2129.21<br>1551.51<br>3680.72||4,500.00|||2,907.99|
|||||||**Total**<br>**£**|
|||||||**14,384.24**|
|||||||**28,396.40**|
|||||||**42,780.64**|
|||||||**Deposit Acc**<br>8000.00|



**NOTE - At start of year £5000 of unresticted funds transferred on 22/12/23 were still to be credited to the Deposit Account** 



## **Independent Examiner’s Report the trustees/members of the PCC of St John’s Church, Muxton** 

I report on the accounts of St John’s Church, Muxton for the year ended 31 December 2024 set out on the attached pages. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As members of the PCC, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). 

I report in respect of my examination of the accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent Examiner’s statement** 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: 

- Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or 

- The accounts do not accord with the accounting records; 

- The accounts do 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 no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 


L D Clifford FCA, BSC (Hons) 11 Manor Farm Drive Hinstock Market Drayton Shropshire 

14 May 2025