## **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2025** ## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH OF ST MARY'S SHAW CUM DONNINGTON** ## **CHARITY NUMBER 1172611** Page 1 |**Contents**|**Page**| |---|---| |Trustees Annual Report|3| |Receipts and Payment Account|10| |Statement of Assets and Liabilities|13| |Independent Examiners’ Report|14| Page 2 ## **Annual Report for the Year Ending 31[st] December 2025** The members present their annual report together with the financial statements of the PCC of St Mary’s Church for the year ended 31[st] December 2025. ## **AIMS AND PURPOSES** St Mary’s Church is situated on the northern edge of Newbury and serves the areas of Shaw, Donnington and Clay Hill as well as the more rural areas to the north. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility to co-operate with the priest-in-charge, Revd. Raymond Obin, in ministering to the parish and achieving our aims as stated below. It also has the responsibility for the maintenance of the church building on Church Road, Shaw, including the adjoining Church Centre. The activities of the PCC are regulated by the Church of England, Diocese of Oxford. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** St Mary’s Church aims to respond to God’s love in Knowing Jesus, Sharing God’s Love and Caring for People. We are a welcoming community who aim to reach out to all the people in the Parish as we worship together, tell people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and care in spiritual and practical terms wherever we can in the community. We strive to fulfil these objectives through: - A secure and varied pattern of Worship, Prayer and Bible Study, in church, the church centre, care homes and schools. - Provision of pastoral care through a committed pastoral team. - A strong musical tradition and enjoyment of worshipping through music. - Close working relationship with local schools, especially our church school (Shaw cum Donnington Primary School), the Parish Council, the Village Hall Committee and local organisations. - A welcoming and interesting programme of social activities. - Working co-operatively as members of Christians Together in the Newbury Area (CTNA) and the Newbury Deanery. - To facilitate much of our work, we are committed to looking after the fabric of St Mary's Church, Shaw cum Donnington and its Church Centre, which provides a well-regarded space for many community activities. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** ## Worship and Prayer The PCC strives to meet the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of our community by offering a varied pattern of worship, prayer and bible study throughout the week, using the church, the church centre, as well as in care homes and schools. In 2025 we had a service of Holy Communion or Morning Prayer every Sunday at 10am. Baptisms were held during the morning service or separately, depending on the circumstances. We held a weekly Meeting for Prayer in the Church using some of the liturgy from the Morning Prayer and a mid-week Communion service on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Wednesdays of the month. We held a week-day afternoon service for our Home Members before Easter, Harvest and Christmas. Our services are easy to follow, using a projector and screen for liturgy and lyrics, and we make available a printed order of service in large print for those who need it. We have a monthly prayer breakfast on the first Saturday of the month. We held a Lent Page 3 course. We have an email ‘Prayer Chain’ and share requests for prayer with members of the congregation who have chosen to receive them. Shaw cum Donnington Primary School come to the church four times a year for special services and Trinity School (secondary) use the church for their Christmas assemblies. COINS (Christian Opportunities in Newbury Schools) used the church for their prayer meetings and Christmas and Easter events which are attended by other local schools. We have a particular focus on making sure all are made welcome at our services, and we deliver a Christmas Card to everyone in the parish with details of our Christmas Worship. There are currently 61 people on the electoral roll, 43 are residents and 18 non-residents. A new roll was completed last year. Our Sunday attendance decreased in 2025. In 2025 we baptised 5 children. We conducted 3 weddings and the clergy conducted 15 funerals at St Mary’s or the Crematorium and 1 internment of ashes. These services are essential to our commitment to spiritually support everyone in our parish as they enable our community to journey with God through life and to give thanks to Him at the milestones along their earthly pathway. We have monthly Holy Communion services in the 5 care homes in the parish. ## Deanery Synod Two members of the PCC sit on the deanery synod. This provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church. ## The Church and Church Centre The church centre was maintained in order to make it a welcoming space for meetings. This includes the various church groups who meet in the church centre, a drama group and Bridge Church (a Newbury Free Church) who used our facilities to hold prayer meetings and run a holiday lunch event. The inner south door was replaced and the handrails were fitted to the Lych gate. A team of volunteers continued to work on the churchyard to tidy and to plant bulbs. The grass was cut at regular intervals by the Council contractors. ## Pastoral Care The Barnabas Group, supporting those in the community who have been bereaved, continued to meet weekly in the church centre. The Myrtle Café project continues to provide a Monday meeting point and support for those who are isolated and lonely in the community. The monthly Lunch Club for older members of the community continued to be popular and minibus transport is provided as required. Home Members (those older members of the community who can no longer attend Sunday worship) were invited to St Mary’s for special events at Easter, Summer, Harvest and Christmas and joined together in a Communion Service followed by afternoon tea. The ‘Reminiscence’ project continued in 2025 and the group meets in person to share memories on particular themes. Page 4 Members of the church keep in regular touch with older members of the community who are no longer able to attend services. A church outing by coach to Exbury Gardens was arranged. ## Mission and Evangelism Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. At St Mary’s, we demonstrate this by our Pastoral Care activities and support for charities at home and abroad. We pack shoeboxes of gifts as part of the ‘Link To Hope’ scheme. We are a collection point for the West Berkshire Foodbank and support Action Through Enterprise in Ghana with fundraising. We organise special collections for appeals run by Christian Aid. We hope to restart our Youth Work in the future but, until this happens, we are pleased to support the youth work run by the Jesus Disciples Community Church who meet at a local community centre, as one of our Christmas charities. We organised an ‘Easter Kids’ event for local children. We support the Bible Society and Bible Sunday was marked on 26th October. The local Boys’ Brigade group moved to St Mary’s in 2024 and run weekly activities in the church centre. The group is supported by Revd. Ed Yates as Brigade Chaplain and by a team of volunteers. The group have struggled to recruit new members but it is hoped that this will improve in 2026. The Boys’ Brigade has a Girls’ Association and welcomes both boys and girls to join. The Parish Council organised a summer community fete and The Boys Brigade and St Mary’s took part by providing games and craft activities for children. Every home in the parish (now almost 7,000 approximately) received a Christmas Card with information about regular services and activities. ## Ecumenical Relationships St Mary's is a member of Christians Together in Newbury (CTNA) and has a strong history of working together with Christians of all denominations. ## Other Activities We would like to rebuild our work with families and children and look forward to seeing more children at our Sunday morning services in the future. Our weekly ‘Meeting Point’ group for parents and pre-school children has been running for many years with the support of dedicated volunteers and continued in 2025 with a small number of families attending. Our fundraising activities included a Burns Night Supper, a slide show, a choral concert by a local choir and a coffee morning. Our 200 Club continued in 2025. We held our APCM in March. In May we hosted a concert as part of the Newbury Spring Festival programme. In September we held our Harvest services, including Harvest Evensong followed by tea. In October we held our Annual Bereavement service and tea. We take environmental issues very seriously and actively encourage and promote ways in which the congregation can get involved in protecting our environment at a local and national level. We include ‘Green Tips’ in our pew sheet and ‘Remote Action’ suggestions in our weekly email communications. We held an ‘Environment’ service and joined in the national Count on Nature. We are a Fairtrade Church and purchase fairtrade coffee and tea for use in our after-church café. We have achieved the Silver eco-Church award. Page 5 ## St Mary’s, Shaw-cum-Donnington Financial Review 2025 The financial accounts for 2025 are set out in their required form on the following pages, and comprise the following documents: Receipts and Payments Account Summary Receipts and Payments Details Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of 31[st] December 2025. Independent Examiners Report which has been signed by David Cobbett following his review and comparison of the PCC’s accounting records with the financial statements. These reports were reviewed by the PCC on 20[th] January 2026. ## Receipts and Payments Accounts ## Receipts ## Voluntary Income Total receipts on unrestricted funds were £34,536. Restricted donations for charity (money collected for Christmas Charities, Cancer Care Calendars in 2024, ATE and West Berkshire Foodbank via the church account) of £392 were also received. Cash collected in 2025 and in previous years by the Barnabas Bereavement Support Group (£993) is now held in the church account and is managed as a restricted fund. Overall, voluntary donations decreased by £2,424 in 2025. ## Activities for generating funds The 200 Club raised £1,792 for general funds. Other fundraising events included a Burns Night Supper, a coffee morning at St Nicolas Church, Easter, Harvest and Christmas Teas organised by the Pastoral Team and a choral concert. ## Income from investments The income from the Jones Will Trust was £11,000. This is lower than in previous years as funds were put aside for a major roof repair due to take place in 2026. The freehold house in Walton Way continues to be let and provided an income of £8,043 after management fees, annual boiler servicing and repairs arranged by the letting agency were taken into account. ## Income from church activities Service fee income has decreased due to fewer funerals taking place in 2025 compared to the previous year. ## Other Income Other income was £4,832. The main items were a VAT refund of £1,685 (south door), Parish Share refunds for 2023 and 2024 (£587), Lunch Club donations and tickets to Exbury Gardens for a church outing. ## Total Income Income for the year was £78,048. This has decreased since 2024 due to the reduction in all areas of income. ## Payments The Cost of Events in 2025 was £3,810 and included prizes for the 200 Club, Burns Night and Harvest Lunch expenses and the coach trip to Exbury Gardens. All of these activities generate income for the church or, in the case of the coach trip, were funded by the participants. The Lunch Club restricted fund has now been totally spent (due to the higher food and transport costs) and Lunch Club will be subsidised by general church funds in 2026. Page 6 Charitable Donations in 2025 were £678 and included money collected at Christmas Services in 2024, payments for Cancer Care Calendars purchased in early 2025, plus donations to CAP, Bible Society (church donation on Bible Sunday and from the coffee morning held at St Nicolas Church), West Berkshire Foodbank (from funds raised at the Christmas Tea in 2024 and the choral concert in March). Money raised at the Christmas services in 2025 were banked in 2026 so are not recorded here. Funds were also raised for special collections and events and these were paid to the charities directly so do not appear in the church accounts. The following amounts were donated: £20 to Fairtrade Foundation from the ‘Big Brew’ event. £151.00 to Christian Aid for the Myanmar earthquake appeal. £116 to Christian Aid from the cake and plant sale. £507 to Christian Aid from envelopes in church and community donations in Christian Aid Week, £100 to Bible Society, £77 to the Christian Aid Harvest collection. £71,986 was spent from unrestricted funds, and a further £82 from restricted funds, on church running costs in 2025. The major item of expenditure was St Mary’s Parish Share contribution to the Oxford Diocese of £25,454. This amount is approximately 56% of the Parish Share paid by similar parishes as Raymond is a self-supporting minister. £10,267 was spent from the £50,000 legacy fund on a replacement for the inner south door. The other item of capital expenditure was the final payment for the lychgate handrails of £1,044. £6,620 remains in the legacy fund and there are no plans to spend this fund currently. ## Net Result Total payments for 2025 were £87,867 compared to receipts of £78,048 giving a deficit of £9,819. The planned expenditure on capital projects was the main reasons for the deficit. Funds held in General Reserve were used to cover the deficit. The PCC will continue to explore where savings can be made and extra income generated in order to ensure that St Mary’s remains financially viable and is able to continue its commitments to the congregations and the community. St Mary’s has an aspiration to return to paying the full Parish Share within the next few years in order to support a full-time member of the clergy in the future. It is noted that St Mary’s hasn’t paid the full Parish Share since 2020 when there was a full-time Incumbent. Cash funds at the end of 2025 were £76,353 split between a business current account and three savings accounts. This includes the sum of £2,584 held in the Youth Work Restricted Reserve Fund, £1,496 in the Pastoral Team fund and £853 in the Barnabas fund. The total amount in the restricted reserve funds at the end of the year was £4,933. This represents money that was raised for a specific purpose and can only be spent on those items. Reserves Policy – It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to £30,000. It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The total amount in the unrestricted reserve fund at the end of 2025 was £64,584. I anticipate that the church reserves will remain stable in 2026. ## Conclusion I would like to thank everyone who continues to support St Mary’s financially by their regular giving and support of special events. Thank you to the Finance and General Purposes Committee for their close monitoring of the finances and church property. I would like to thank Tony Bradford for maintaining the day-to-day financial records. Thank you to Steve Joplin for all his work in recording cash and envelope donations. Thank you to Heather White for acting as our Gift Aid Administrator. Thank you to David Cobbett for kindly acting as our Independent Examiner again this year. Page 7 ## Staff and Volunteers We would like to thank the many volunteers who continuously work so hard to make our church a welcoming and lively community and further our mission and outreach work. A special 'Thank you!' must go to our Churchwardens, Mrs Ros Stuart and Mrs Lesley Almond, our Treasurer Mrs Rachel Haslam, our Assistant Treasurer Mr Tony Bradford, our Financial Team member Mr Steve Joplin, our Independent Examiner Mr David Cobbett, our Verger Mr Derek Harwood, our Administrator Maggie Wiseman, and our PCC and Committee members. We are also very grateful to Roger Snelling, Tony Dawkins, Nick Breach, Councillor Paul Bryant, Libby Goldsack, Barbara Bradford, Janet Sporton and others for all the many jobs they do to maintain the church and the church yard. The volunteers have given hundreds of hours of their time to make St. Mary’s Church a loving, attractive and welcoming church that actively serves its community. We said goodbye to Maggie in October 2025 following her resignation from her job as Church Administrator due to health issues. Welcomed Christine Jago who joined as Church Administrator in December. ## Structure, Governance and Management The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Mary’s the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent, the curate, the churchwardens, the church’s elected deanery synod representatives and those elected as members of the PCC at the APCM, and the Verger, who is co-opted to the PCC. All regular members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. The Electoral Roll was reviewed in 2025 and all members were able to reapply if they wished to do so. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including decisions on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. Deanery Synod representatives and Churchwardens are ex-officio. Other PCC members are elected at the APCM, or in the case of the Verger, co-opted. ## The full PCC met 6 times during the year. Given its wide responsibilities, the PCC has a number of committees each dealing with a particular aspect of parish life. These committees are Ministry, Finance and General Purposes, World Partners and Pastoral. Fundraising activities are led by individual members of the congregation. All committees report back to the PCC regularly with minutes of their decisions being received by the full PCC and discussed and voted as necessary. ## Administrative Information The ecclesiastical parish of St Mary's comprises the civic parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington as well as the Newbury Electoral Ward Clay Hill and other small areas of Newbury Town. It is part of the Newbury Deanery within the Diocese of Oxford of the Church of England. The correspondence address is: The Church Office, Church Road, Newbury, RG14 2DR. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2011) and a charity registered with the Charity Commission. Our Registered Charity Number is 1172611. Page 8 ## **PCC members who have served at any time from 1st January 2025 until 31 December 2025 are:** - Priest in Charge: Revd. Raymond Obin - Assistant Curate: Revd. Ed Yates ## **Ex Officio members:** - Warden: Mrs Ros Stuart - Warden: Mrs Lesley Almond - Representatives to Deanery Synod: Mrs Libby Goldsack and Mr David Willetts ## **Co-opted members:** - Verger: Mr Derek Harwood ## **Elected members:** Mrs Mary Dawkins Mr Mark Hutson Mrs Rachel Haslam Mr Mike Stuart Mr Steve Joplin Mrs Barbara Bradford ## **Electoral Roll Officer** Mr Derek Harwood ## **Other Officers in addition to PCC Members** ## **Gift Aid Secretary** Mrs Heather White ## **Service Stewards:** Lesley Almond Barbara Bradford Sally Breach George Cummins Mary Dawkins Karen Fenwick Libby Goldsack Rachel Haslam Mark Hutson Mary Hutson Wendy Seamons Ros Stuart Mike Stuart Janet Sturgess Jane Yates Page 9 Recetpts Pa￿￿15 A((oum Si Mory's Sh•w-cum Donnington Parochial (hwch Council Ac¢ounts the w40d ftom 01101120￿ 10 311￿12025 Unre5triaed fifftds Re5triaed Endowment fifftds funds ToThi funds Previous Year ReceipT% Voluntjry Income Fundraismg Income from investments e34.536 01 £4,788.31 £20.155.61 £11.83190 £3.889.29 ei.385_20 £518. e35.92121 e38.344.89 £5,306.31 £10,927.51 £20.155.61 £22,152.42 £11.832.90 e16.951_11 £4.832.09 £5.461_82 Income from Church acti￿￿e5 Other incorninE resource5 Assets & invellment sales Total re(eiits £942.80 £75.202.12 £2A46. £78.048.12 ￿93￿57.1$ Payments Costs of generating funds Donations io char¥Eie5 Church runninE Costs Governance costs Major capttal expen*Jiture Assets & inve5trnent purchases Toial paymenfs £2.303.68 £275.Cil £71.986.09 EIS05.85 £403.17 £8L74 £3.809.53 £5.786.74 £678_17 e803.84 t72.￿7.83 £68.491.10 £11,31L20 £11.311.20 £22,049.81 £85A75.97 £1.990.76 £87.866.73 £97,131.49 Ejtcess of receipts o¥er paymeftts -£10.673.85 £855.24 43.295.74 Cash fvr￿s previous year £82.093.59 t4.077.￿1 £86.171.39 Cash fvrK15 this year £71.419_74 £4.933.04 £76.352.78 Notes" The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in Kcordance with the Church Accounting ReEulatiM5 2CI)6 u5illE the receipts and poyment5 basis Page 10 ftecelptsand Paymerrts Details. De¢embei 2025 St Sh&w4¥m&)nh*Trgto Yeor to December2025 Unre5tmed Restricted YearTotal PrevvJu5 Year Voluntsry income DOn￿lOn5- StafvJin¢Ortss Donations- EAvelopt Schtmes Donation5- Pansh Gmng Scheme One off grft5 IGrfrAidedl One off Erfts (Noi Gffl Aiaedl Cash collections at ser¥ Cash i01￿C￿0￿5 at Weds/Bap5 ColleCt￿nsfor¢haTI[￿S Tax Refynd on GrIf￿lj Legacies Bamaba5 5.MO. 5.310.iXI 2.060.CQ 14.524. 1.678.46 406.55 4.506.46 33.30 392.17 5.98651 5,729.L)) Z,025.Tr) 13.316.84 3.654_83 544.73 4.818_85 127_20 412. 7.716.44 14524_TJ 1.678.46 406.55 4%)6.fj6 33_30 392.17 5y&51 933.03 993.03 55.921.21 344A9 Fundrais￿8 Fundrai$￿teveThts Grants 4,78131 518. 5.3Cffj.31 8.127_51 2.BOO. 4.7B&JI Iq927Jl Income Mrs F BJone5 Wtll Trust incrffie Rentfrom 125 Watton Wav Dank mteTtST ii.rrK).r 8J)43. lJ12_61 ii.ow.r 8.043.1X) Lt12.61 U.500.C#) 8.357_01 1,295.41 aiJ55.61 Irrtome from a¢ti¥ities SeyvKe fees Ma￿1 hire After servKe cèle 8989.th1 2578.69 27L21 &983.LKI 2.578.69 271.21 10.493_90 6.199_50 257.71 ll3319D 83￿) Other re50yrces Othtr WKome RefvThts 5.302.29 587. 4.245.C8 587.LY) 5.461.82 338929 7.7O).74 5.461A2 Bank Error Iorher incomel Nott-Tht5 figure has been exduded from the'other ￿orn1r* resources. Sub Total and the'Totsl In(orne' amount. Page 11 UnrestrKted Resmtted YearTotal Pre￿OU5 Year Corts olgeneratyry Costs of Evenls IYTrJ.68 I.￿5.85 3,809.53 5.786.74 1505AS 5.7*74 Donal￿?￿$ to Choiiiies Charrties ourgoinE5 275.Ll) 403_17 67&17 803.84 275Jll 17 67U7 Church Running Colls Pan5h (l￿t￿bUr10n io dKKe5e SeT¥Ke fee5 Salar*s lrttl Adm'r +VerEer PAYE * Nat Ins Ministry TrairnnE LIKal Mi55K)n Rtpairs & mamtertance Insunnce Electricitv Ga5 Telephone + Intemet Offbte co5t5 BaDk serwKe charges Phoiocopying Pr￿￿nE Housekeeping Cop¥Fithr Litente Fees Church hall COSTS Upkeep ofsewe Organistfees- normjl $￿e￿ Otheriosts After 5ervKe iafé 125 Wakon minorexFeftses 25.453.89 s.￿.c 12,020.50 2,404.10 15L05 25.453_89 5.805.C41 12,020.50 2.404.10 15L05 23.788.71 5,617. 10.157.48 1,132.59 8L74 BL74 3.293.08 6,468.88 3.759_24 2.974_Crf> 7B4.64 1,19L79 322_00 2,563.57 6,814.44 4.349.70 2.B91_(K) 791_52 2,115.t2 127.59 439.37 245_30 834.50 459.72 251.76 95.28 4.7(X>.(K) 219.34 38.09 537.02 3.293.08 6.468.88 3.759.24 1974.(Xl 784.64 1.19L79 549.57 25L55 349.75 472.86 205.48 50.71 4910.(XI 209.C¥J 119.10 561. 549.57 25L55 349_75 472.86 205.48 50_71 4.910_LK 2CVJ.00 119.10 56k. SL74 66.49LJO Bank frTor (Other c05ts1 Ntste- This fiÉwe has exduded from the'church Runnhig COSTS. Stsb Toial and the Totil Expen5e5' amount_ 7.7￿.74 lThlependeni examinerfee M•joF C•tAtal expendwe Church Centre knghtsng CCTV Inxallation Rwf Repair Church Wind￿$ Lvchgate HBndrnls 2.303.81 3.396.L¥) 8,370.Q) S.BO¢. 1.176.(M) 1.044.Tr) 10.26720 10.267_20 A$5eis & itsyesthierts pJrfhoses Purchases of assets Purchases of investfflents llJiL20 21N9AI Page 12 St Mary's Shaw DonniWOn Parothi&l Chur¢h CoutK A¢counis for the ye8r ended Jlst D￿ember 2025 Statement of Assets and Liobilitie5 a5 ai 51￿ Deiembef 2025 Unrt5tricted Designaied knds fund5 Restr￿ed Endowment Total fund5 funds fund5 Monetary Assets Bank Current accourn Bank General Reserve accowt Bank Resuicted Reserve acccoJnt 8ank Nati￿WIde k£o￿t Totol £6.661.32 £40.173.94 £6.661.32 £51.773.19 £170.01 £17.748_26 £76,352.78 £6.83622 £4.763_03 £170.01 E17.748.26 £64.581.52 £6J36.22 £4.933.04 rixed assets 125 Wakon Way Show I bed freehold 25% share in Mrs FB Jones Trusr Liabilities None Debiors None Desi£n8ied Funds OrKan Mainter5ance LeEacy £216.04 £6,620J8 Restricted Funds Charr(ies Youth Work £0.00 £2.583.89 £0.00 £L496_37 £852.78 £4.93*04 Lunch Club Pa5tOfal Teaffl Barnaba5 Group Touls É6,836.22 No values have been Shown for the Ftxed Assets because current values are not known. To ascertain these would reouire proless¥)nal valuations Ihe cost of which is unjustffied whers Ihe PCC ha5 rto current inteniion to realise them. The purchase prKe ot 125 walt￿ Way in September 2thJ6 was t133.5(KJ These financial mtements were reviewed by the Parochial Church Council on the 2Clh January 2026 PCC Chairman Trustee Page 13 (HARITY (OMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF SHAW CUM DONNINGTON On accounts for the year ended 3111W2025 Charity no (if any) 1172611 Set out on pages J ￿3t1.1￿￿e5 a5 at 31st Decembw2025. St Mar