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2025-12-31-accounts

Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the year ending 31[st] December 2025

The Parish of East Leightonstone The Rectory, 15 Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF

St Mary Magdalene Parish Church Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF

All Saints Church High Street, Ellington PE28 0AB

All Saints Church , Church Road, Grafham, PE28 OBB

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Contents

Structure, Governance and Management (3) Other Information (4) Objectives and Activities (4)

Church Wardens Report (4-5) Ministers Report (5-8) Electorall Roll (8) Huntingdon Deanery Synod Annual Report (8-9) Safeguarding (9-10) Prayer Ministry (10) Home Groups (10-11) Grafham Church (11-12) Ellington Church (12-13) Impact Groups: Mission Impact Group (14) -Christian Aid (15) -Children’s Society (15-16) Communication Impact Group (16) Young Peoples Impact Group (16-18) Buildings Impact Group (18 and Appendix 1 ) -St Mary Magdalene Church Hall, Brampton (19-20) Fellowship Impact Group (20-21) Choir (21) Taize (22) Community Outreach -Brampton Befrienders (22-24) -Brampton Mothers Union (24-27) -Brampton Flower Guild (28)

Financial Report Treasurer’s Report (29) Accounting Policy (29) Report of the Independent Examiner (30) Annual Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2025 (31) Designated Funds (32) Restricted Funds (33) Statement of Assets and Liabilities (34)

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Structure, Governance and Management

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio, elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or are coopted or appointed by the PCC itself.

PCC for 2025-26

Ex-Officio Members: Rector: The Reverend Duncan Goldthorpe Church Wardens: Mrs Susan Roberts Mr Brian Radbone Curates: Rev Dr Sarah West (til May 25) Revd Jenny Forester ALM & Deanery Synod Representatives: Dr Frances Stead Mrs Jill Dighton Elected Members: Mr Richard Howells Mrs Patricia Jordan (til Nov 25) Mr Neil Brown Mrs Sue Morgan Mr Graham Smith Mr Keith Wood (from Apr 25) Mrs Heather Clarke (from Apr 25) Mrs Lynne Stone (from Apr 25) Mr Chris Jenkins (Apr-Jul 25) Mr Chris Brampton (from Jan 26) Appointed Members: Treasurer: Mrs Sue Morgan Secretary: Mrs Dawn Ryder

The PCC had 10 subordinate committees during 2025:

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Other information

Correspondence address: The Rectory, 15 Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF Independent examiner: Marissa Harris (from Sep 25) Bankers: Barclays Bank plc, 1 Market Hill, Huntingdon Safeguarding Officer: Jane Rowley (til Dec 25) Pam Clarke (from Nov 25) Lay Eucharist Assistants: Sue Roberts Keith Wood Authorised Lay Ministers: Frances Stead Jill Dighton Mothers Union Branch Leader: Julie Barker Electoral Roll Officer: Lyndon Hutchison and Rachel Hutchison Brampton Befrienders: Dawn Ryder

Objectives and Activities

The PCC is committed to encouraging and enabling as many people as possible to become worshipping members of the church community across the parish. We take seriously the Charity Commission’s requirement that we operate in the public benefit and so seek to help the people here to live out their faith in our community through:

Church Warden’s Report

Firstly, I cannot thank sufficiently Rob Barker for the stirling and painstaking work he has undertaken throughout the year on all three church buildings. He has systematically worked through a number of the items raised in the quinquennial inspection undertaken by an independent surveyor on behalf of the Diocese. This report identifies problems in the fabric of each church to rectify and keep each building in good order. Much of this work undertaken by Rob would normally incur considerable expense for each church but for his many skills in looking after buildings and we are very much in his debt.

In addition, the most exciting news relating to our church buildings is the recent approval provided by The Diocese for us to undertake a significant re-ordering which will provide a much-needed update in Brampton, including toilets and a refreshment area. This project is the largest ever undertaken by the parish and will require a level of support both financially and physically to see it through to a successful end, hopefully within the next 2-3 years and within budget. Dr Trevor Stone has kindly agreed to coordinate this sizable project aided and abetted by 3 other parishioners. This will be a considerable workload and will need to be shared by a number of parishioners, particularly those who have skills which would be useful to help manage this project. We first have to raise a considerable sum before we can approach selected charities to assist us financially, we have already received approx. £140K through the closure of the Brampton Land Trust.

It has been pleasing to see an increase to regular attendance on Sundays in all three churches in 2025 and although we have lost several parishioners from the locality, we have welcomed a significant number of newcomers. Several of these newcomers have also provided much needed support to regular duties within the parish and any persons who would like to also offer their support would be very welcome.

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Some of you may know that I have left the role of Church warden and Brian Radbone is taking over from me and I am sure that Sue and he will make a great team during this challenging period particularly for Brampton in the re-ordering

Supported by the indefatigable Sue Roberts. I feel that during the last 10 years in office that in spite of the interregnum and then the Covid problem the Church is in good shape. Much of this is due to the hard work and enthusiasm shown by our Vicar Duncan. I am sure this will go from strength to strength and it has been a pleasure to work with him.

Keith Wood, Church Warden

Minister’s Report

Introduction

As we look back over 2025, I give heartfelt thanks to God for His faithfulness to us as a parish. This past year has been marked by joy and growth, alongside moments of deep sadness, and through it all we have seen God at work in Brampton, Ellington and Grafham. Our shared life continues to be shaped by the values of Gathering, Growing, and Going , which have framed much of our ministry throughout the year.

Administrative Information

The East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council (PCC) works collaboratively with the Revd Duncan Goldthorpe as incumbent, to promote across the parish the whole mission of the Church—pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical. The PCC is a corporate body governed by the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Church Representation Rules .

It has been wonderful to have Chris Brampton, Neil Brown, Heather Clarke, Jill Dighton, Richard Howells, Chris Jenkins, Patricia Jordan, Sue Morgan, Brian Radbone, Sue Roberts, Dawn Ryder, Graham Smith, Frankie Stead, and Keith Wood, who have been so wonderful in serving on our PCC.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Dawn Ryder (PCC Secretary), Sue Morgan (Treasurer), and Sally Mackenzie (Deputy Treasurer). Your dedication, attention to detail, and behind-the-scenes work keep the parish running smoothly. I couldn’t do this ministry without you.

Occasional Offices

Our parish continues to be a place where significant life moments are marked and celebrated. In 2025:

Weddings: 3

• • Baptisms: 4

Funeral services , we commended the following loved ones into God’s keeping: Shirley Pearson, Rosemary Coles, Margaret Humm, John Mead, Roy Piddington, Christine Hunt, Genevieve Hodges, Margaret Harries, May Hudson, Rachael Hutchinson

It is a privilege for me to walk with families in these tender moments, committing loved ones to God’s mercy and praying for comfort for the bereaved.

Burials of ashes , we commended the following loved ones into God’s keeping: Alan Nichols, Derrick Scothern, Gerry & Joan Challis, Bruce Chapman

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Gathering

Gathering around God’s Word and worship remains central to our parish life. Throughout 2025 our Sunday sermon series explored themes including:

These series helped us immerse ourselves more deeply in Scripture and apply it to daily life. We were richly blessed by the preaching ministry of Revd Jen Forester, Heather Clarke, Frankie Stead, Jill Dighton, Marissa Harris, and Scott Watts, each of whom contributed to worship across the parish. We also benefited from the support of Revd Geoff Boucher and Revd Catherine Wright, who offered much-appreciated cover for my annual leave and funerals.

It was particularly moving to have Pastor Alf Kristofferson, from Wahlestedt, Northern Germany, preach to a packed church on Remembrance Sunday. His words touched many hearts.

Our livestreamed worship continues to reach those unable to attend in person. My thanks go to the dedicated audio-visual team who ensure seamless services each week.

Growing

One of our core values at East Leightonstone is Growing—in depth, in number, and younger . In 2024 we witnessed encouraging signs of growth across all these areas.

We regularly welcomed over 80 people each Sunday morning, including 10–15 children taking part in our groups.

Together with All Saints Huntingdon, we are committed to providing Sunday Evening Youth—a valued space where our teenagers can deepen their faith and form meaningful friendships. We extend our sincere thanks to Frankie Stead, Sarah Gosling, and Ruth Hunt, whose leadership makes this ministry possible.

Growth has also been seen through community connections: Little Fishes , Brampton Befrienders , Tea & Chat , Montagu House , and our school links continue to build relationships and open doors for mission.

Many more people have stepped into ministry—through prayer ministry, personal testimony, music, behind-the-scenes support, and contributions to our newsletter and Sunday services.

One of the great joys of 2025 was celebrating Jen Forester being priested in Ely Cathedral, ushering in a new chapter of her ministry among us.

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Mission Partnership with Revd Bosco Habinshuti

Our mission link with Bosco and Agnes in Nyamata (Diocese of Kigali) continues to flourish. Together we are discerning how best to support the health and sustainability of their parish through prayer, financial support, and shared ministry.

It has been encouraging to witness the hard work, prayer, and discernment that resulted in permission being granted for Bosco to raise funds and begin constructing a new church in Nyamata.

Going

Our call to Go—to love, tell, and transform —is at the heart of our mission as Christians. We were delighted to welcome the community across the parish to services and community events throughout the year, including:

These moments of gathering and celebration continue to strengthen our connection with the wider community.

Transformation remains central to our calling as we respond to the needs of our community. Back in 2021 we discerned the importance of shaping our church buildings into multi-functional spaces that truly serve people today. In November 2025 we saw this vision move forward, with approval granted for the reordering of St Mary Magdalene and for major audio upgrades in Ellington and Grafham. By year-end, we hope to have both Ellington’s enhanced system in place and Grafham’s new system installed, ensuring our buildings are welcoming and accessible for everyone.

It is wonderful that after 4 years of hard work with a great team and amazing cooperation from Nigel Walter, architect, and the Diocese Advisory Committee (DAC) that we were given permission to go ahead with our reordering project at Brampton. We are currently at the point where we need to provide the details about phasing the works, which will have to be approved by the DAC in order to give us flexibility for extending the time needed for completion of works. Two years pass very quickly! The project was fine tuned as a response to discussions held at the PCC away days, where ensuring that we have a multi-functional space was deemed to be essential. This has redefined the project from focussing on toilets and a refreshment area to reclaiming unused spaces in the building, making the building warmer and also making it accessible to all. Trevor Stone has kindly agreed to manage the project.

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Worship

Our worship continues to evolve, reflecting the diversity and enthusiasm of our congregations. We are blessed with a variety of musicians and worship leaders who enrich our weekly gatherings.

Christmas services across the parish were especially uplifting, from Curry & Carols in Grafham to Midnight Communion in Ellington. Our three Carol Services were once again full, enriched by the leadership of Kia Howells and Kate Gentles , and the commitment of an augmented choir.

My thanks go to everyone involved in making worship possible—those preparing prayers, flowers, music, readings, refreshments, audio-visual support, and welcoming.

A Final Thank You

As ever, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all who serve so faithfully—those who lock and unlock our churches, prepare and serve refreshments, provide flowers, welcome people, clean our buildings, verge at funerals, attend Home Groups, support the Mothers’ Union, build relationships in our community, and pray. You make an immeasurable difference to the life of our parish. Thank you.

In 2025, Brian Radbone took over from Keith Wood as Church Warden. As part of this transition, Keith kindly worked alongside Brian, enabling him to shadow the role and learn its many intricacies. Thank you, Keith, for your wisdom and commitment over the past four and a half years.

I also want to express my deep gratitude to Sue Roberts, who continues to serve as Church Warden with such dedication. Her commitment, eye for detail, and passion for people are a tremendous support to me, and together with many of you she helps to hold so much of our parish life together.

As I write this report in Lent, these words feel especially appropriate for us as we look towards 2026:

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20,2

A huge thank you to all of you, the wonderful, committed church members that you are.

Reverend Duncan Goldthorpe

Electoral Roll

Our electoral roll stands at 120 names.

Huntingdon Deanery Synod Annual Report

Deanery Synod continued to consider the number of benefices already in, or heading towards vacancy. The concerns are how churches and their congregations can be supported and sustained throughout this experience.

Exploring this further, group-work and presentations were undertaken during Synod meetings; all ideas and themes emerging, continue to be considered, as per below.

Synod heard that the alignment of South and West Leightonstones under Canon Howson’s leadership produced beneficial examples of collaborative engagement of Ordained, Lay and administrative team members. Encouraging lay individuals to train and other individuals to assist with administrative and supportive roles is ongoing and evolving.

Some of the Deanery Working Groups (Fruitful Churches, Fruitful workers, Fruitful Shoots and Fruitful Assets) had continued to meet, with the subsequent proposal to combine the Fruitful Churches and

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Workers groups. However, groups have now temporarily ceased meeting. Examples of good practice, plus themes and ideas emerging from the groups and exploratory work undertaken during Synod meetings, as above, will now be explored in depth by an elected Continuity Group, which will report to Deanery Synod.

Safeguarding responsibilities and any concerns were discussed at every meeting. Some existing Safeguarding Officers had shown willingness to collaborate with parishes experiencing difficulties in meeting their safeguarding responsibilities.

The Rural Dean encouraged all benefices to ensure they have had their Archdeaconry visitations.

Despite Deanery contributing 6% more in parish share to the Diocese over 2024 figures, financial concerns remained around payment of the parish share with a potential £28k shortfall in parish contributions. This comes on the expected increase of 4% on the next financial year with benefices being prompted to inform the Treasurer of potential infeasibility.

Replacement volunteers were being sought to replace the outgoing Lay Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of the Huntingdon Deanery Synod. Each have indicated their intention to stand down. Likewise, the Diocesan Synod Lay Representative stepped down, and a successor has already been found.

Frances Stead and Jill Dighton – Deanery Synod Representatives

Safeguarding

As a Church, we recognise and affirm the place of children, young people and vulnerable adults in the life and ministry of the church and we take our responsibility for their safety and well-being seriously. We are committed to safeguarding all those who attend the worship and other activities that we offer in our parish. We promote Safeguarding as everyone’s responsibility. Our core commitments are:

The PCC adopted ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ (2017) as our own policy on 25 th August 2020 and confirmed this again most recently on 19th November 2024. However, in July 2025 the Church of England, in agreement with the National Safeguarding Steering Group, decided this document and ‘Protecting All God’s Children’ (2019) would no longer be used. Our policy will be reviewed when the new guidance is available. The Diocese of Ely safeguarding information is available on their website: https://www.elydiocese.org/safeguarding.php.

The Parish Safeguarding Handbook has also been withdrawn. Rather than redrafting and updating the Parish Safeguarding Handbook the National Safeguarding Team are developing a Parish Safeguarding Toolkit.

Jane Rowley has stepped down as the Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). Pam Clark was appointed as the new Parish Safeguarding Officer on 20th November 2025. She will be assisted by Sue Roberts, church warden. Large Safeguarding posters are on display in all three churches giving details of who to contact if anyone has any concerns. These will be updated in January 2026. Parish safeguarding information is available on our church website: https://www.eastleightonstone.com/safeguarding/.

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All PCC members and all church volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults are required to have DBS clearance, complete a Confidential Declaration form and complete the appropriate Safeguarding training modules. The PSO ensures that we comply with this in our parish. The current requirement is for DBS clearance, Confidential Declaration forms and training modules to be renewed every three years.

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Jane Rowley – Safeguarding Officer

Prayer Ministry

The Prayer Trees are used by visitors to the church who will write a prayer request which is subsequently prayed for by a member of the church. At Brampton, there has been in-person prayer ministry each Sunday after the 11am service, although take up has been low and so prayer ministry has been 'on request'. It would be lovely to see more parishioners come forward for prayer ministry.

The 'Thy Kingdom Come' week of prayer (29 May - 8 Jun 25) was celebrated with a half day of prayer and 3 prayer walks (Ellington, Grafham and Brampton). Those who contributed to the half day of prayer or the prayer walks found them to be uplifting and it is intended to repeat the same for 2026 (14 - 24 May 26).

The Prayer Ministry Team communicates via a WhatsApp Group, which is an effective way of communicating prayer requests amongst the group. There have been answers to prayer, which is very encouraging for the Group. A weekly prayer diary continues to be published in the newsletter.

Looking Forward to 2026

More members are sought to join the Prayer Ministry Team. It is hoped to repeat the successful 'Thy Kingdom Come' week of prayer in May, to which all parishioners are encouraged to take part. Prayer will be a vital and cornerstone activity for the re-ordering work in Brampton Church, for which the Prayer Ministry Team is 'ready for the challenge'. Please join us.

Heather Clarke

Home Groups

Background :

After the PCC away day in March 2025 homegroups were identified as one of the key areas that needed to be nurtured and developed. Brian Radbone and Ros Watts agreed to take on the role of Homegroup coordinators.

There was a lack of knowledge about the number of homegroups which currently met, where they met, when they met and who was in each group. A questionnaire was given to those who identified themselves as leaders/coordinators of a group and the responses were collated. A copy of the questionnaire is attached.

The responses showed there are 5 main homegroups:

1 Sally Bashford - Tuesday weekly 7.30pm

2 Sylvia Cullen - Wednesday first and third of each month at 10.15am

3 Alastair Reed - Tuesday first and third of each month

4 Andy and Toks Plumptre Thursday weekly 7.30pm

Since the initial responses another 2 groups have begun. One in Ellington, led by Jen Forester and another for parents with younger children which is led by Mark and Jenny Leeman and held on zoom.

HOMEGROUP leaders meeting October 2025:

Brian and Ros then met with the homegroup leaders to feed back on the responses to the questionnaire and to discuss what the way forward might look like.

A discussion on the ‘What’s the purpose of a homegroup?” led to these responses:

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Also discussed was what materials could be used in homegroups and materials to support new sermon series.

A Q&A session was subsequently held during a Sunday service at Brampton with Sally and Brian covering questions asked.

Areas for future discussion:

Brian Radbone and Ros Watts

Grafham Church

Our two monthly services have been well attended and we have been delighted to regularly see our friends from Brampton and Ellington at these. Candle-lit Taize services have continued on second Sundays in the evenings and attract regular attenders.

During Lent we have once again met weekly in the Village Hall to take part in periods of reflection on bible passages and discussion. These have been followed by delicious home made soups and bread. Cash donations have been given to Christian Aid. Messy church on Good Friday attracted a large number of children and families. There were various craft activities including making Easter gardens and these were followed by a talk and a lunch including mini hot cross buns. It is a very popular annual event and we owe many thanks to all the volunteers who make this happen. On Easter day there was no service at Grafham but in the afternoon Open Church offered tea and cake, traditional music and a pleasant opportunity for families to come into church to see the flower arrangements, the Easter garden and meet friends.

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Our Flower Festival theme was Films and the depiction of those was pretty amazing, the photos from which filled two whole pages of Grafham Gossip, our village newsletter. The Bioblitz which runs concurrently with the Flower Festival was popular with a large group of children, being informative, educational and enjoyable. Tea and cakes served on both afternoons was hugely appreciated by our visitors.

The Harvest lunch which Grafham has held for many years was attended by over 20 people. As usual there was a delicious array of dishes plus wine and soft drinks. Harvest Songs of Praise in the church followed and donations of food were brought for delivery to Godmanchester Foodbank. On 11th October our Fellowship Impact group hosted a Supper Night in the Village Hall. Various hot pots were served with accompanying jacket potatoes, couscous, salads and bread. Traybakes were served afterwards. Diners were very appreciative of the food prepared and we owe thanks to the Fellowship volunteers for their efforts to provide this very pleasant and sociable evening.

This year there were two Christmas trees to decorate, an extra one having been donated by a villager. Our first December service celebrated Christmas Giving with donations of extra special festive treats for Godmanchester foodbank to help those families struggling with the extra costs of providing traditional treats at Christmas. Curry and Carols at the Cinnamon was well attended as usual and the restaurant was packed to capacity to enjoy this jolly evening. Our choir excelled themselves at our Carol service giving us some glorious musical moments. The Christmas cake and

mulled wine were well received after all our lusty singing. Our Crib service on Christmas eve attracted at least three generations of families and it is a joy to know that children are being encouraged to come and hear the true story of Christmas. On Christmas day at our Holy Communion service Christmas gifts were the subject of our sermon as some lucky congregants had been opening them before the service.

We are indebted to those silent volunteers that throughout the year clean our church, provide flowers to make the church welcoming for visitors and make tea, coffee and cakes for our first Sunday services. Also the team of mowers who keep our churchyard tidy and the workshop volunteers who care for the wilder areas. Thank you all.

Hazel Powell

Ellington Church

All Saints, Ellington continues to be a focal point for the significant events in both the Church and village year. It hosts two Sunday services each month, sharing the

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four 9:30 services with our friends in Grafham,and with any “5 th Sunday” providing the opportunity to attend the 11:00 service in Brampton.

There remains a small, but dwindling, band of regular worshippers from the village. Numbers are boosted by our friends from Grafham and Brampton, together with occasional visitors from Easton and beyond. Attendance at the Sunday services, including the officiant and children, varies between the mid-teens to just over 20. Numbers tend to be lower when the weather is colder as All Saints does seem to cling to the cold over winter. We hope to be able to address this as we move forward into 2026/27.

Wednesday morning prayer is attended by an average of 3, including the officiant, and takes place when the Sunday service has been at Grafham. This year there has also been a successful home group, hosted by Liz and Mike Yendley and guided by Jen Forrester, with participants exploring the theme of “Fruit of the Spirit” and its component elements.

Once again Good Friday saw the Townlands Charity distribute 100 packs of hot cross buns to villagers. This continues to be well received with a very good take up. It also provides the opportunity for people to come into the church and see that it is a welcoming place.

We had a successful flower festival over the weekend of the Ellington Village Gala in June raising funds for various village organisations, including the Church, once again overseen by Ann Davies. Ann and Sue also produce the weekly flower displays that are often commented upon in the visitors book . The Gala weekend finished with a ‘Songs of Praise’ at the church, with 32 villagers in attendance.

The harvest Service in September brought in villagers to join in the donation of fresh and tinned produce, and a Harvest Supper and Auction held in the Village Hall, with our own Richard Howells presiding was similarly successful

The Act of Remembrance took place on 8 th November, with 43 villagers observing the silence around the War Memorial in the Churchyard

The run up to Christmas included a Christmas tree festival, organised by Debbie Ruddle, which gave villagers the opportunity to decorate small (60cm) trees in the style of their choice. It was embraced by several villagers of all ages and provided very festive colour in the church. Advent saw a well- attended “Carols at the Mermaid”, the second in the current Post-Covid run, and a highly successful Carol service, one of three across the wider Parish.

The choir, directed by Kate, were the backbone of these services; the service at Ellington attracted 65 people (plus the choir) and Christmas Eve communion at 11:00 PM, was attended by 35 worshipers later in the week.

Photograph courtesy of Debbie Ruddle

The churchyard continues to be well maintained by Walter Howell, Dennis Jolley and the Parish Council. Additionally, the church continues to enjoy the hard work and attention of Rob Barker and volunteers from the village and beyond maintaining the building. This is very much appreciated

Neil Brown

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Impact Groups

Mission Impact Group

The Mission Impact Group met 4 times in 2025: 8 January, 12 March, 7 July and 11 September 2025.

The group’s membership has changed significantly over the year. Current active members attending meetings are Reverend Jen Forester (Chair), Heather Clarke (Secretary), Nicola Childs, and Reverend Duncan Goldthorpe. Reverend Scott Watts is also part of the group but has been unable to attend meetings regularly. During 2025, Ian Stracey and Frankie Stead stepped down from the group, and we thank them for their valuable contributions. The group is looking to welcome new members who wish to be involved in MIG.

Christian Aid is one of our mission partners. £2,000 was raised this year, an increase on the £1,531 raised in 2024. The ‘Count your Blessings’ jars were distributed across all three churches, and a Musical Teas event was held in May. There was discussion about how best to keep Christian Aid visible throughout the year, rather than concentrating activity around the annual appeal, and this conversation continues.

The Diocese of Ely partnership with the Diocese of Kigali continues. Sunday 20 July was marked as Kigali Sunday, with an all age service and communion, with Reverend Bosco preaching on unity. The group continues to support Reverend Bosco and his church in Rwanda prayerfully.

Centre Medicale Evangelique (CME) was confirmed as a mission partner in early 2025. Christians Against Poverty (CAP) became a new mission partner in early 2025, following PCC approval. Heather Clarke completed her Money Coach training and is leading the development of CAP Money Courses for the local community.

Local mission in 2025 included establishing a Christian Book Corner in St Mary Magdalene Church in Brampton as a resource for parishioners.

The annual Bereavement Service was held on 26 October 2025. MIG had noted the parish events of 2025 — the Grafham Flower Festival, Brampton Fete, Ellington Gala and Ellington Flower Festival — as an opportunity to develop a more visible church presence. This has not progressed as hoped.

Partnership continues with the Children’s Society. Money was raised for them through the Christmas collection, and resources were accessed from them for the Christingle event at the local primary school. Christmas collections were also made for Accomplish, a charity supporting disabled children in Africa. Harvest collections were given to Diamond Hampers and Godmanchester Foodbank.

Rev Jen Forester

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Christian Aid

Nicola Childs

The Children’s Society

We raised £864.10 for the Children’s Society in 2025. £282.10 was collected from 5 Coin Box Holders in Brampton. The number of Coin Box Holders reduces each year as people decide to donate by direct debit instead. £582.00 was raised from the donations from our Christmas services in the parish.

Rev Duncan led an assembly at Brampton Village School in December about the Christmas Story about the birth of Jesus and God’s love for everyone. Rev Jen together with a team of helpers led a

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Christingle event at the school the following week. Over 90 children made Christingles and were able to take them home.

The money raised will be used by the Children’s Society to help children aged between 10 and 19 years old. The Children’s Society offers one to one counselling, intensive support and group work for children who have been mentally or physically hurt or who are at high risk.

Julie Barker, Children’s Society Co-ordinator

Communications Impact Group

This report summarises key developments across parish communications, digital platforms, and volunteer support over the past period.

Safeguarding & Email Compliance:

Social Media & Newsletter Team:

Alignment of Communications Channels:

Website Development:

AV and Livestream Support

Chris Brampton

Young People’s Impact Group

Emily Jenkins Coordinator of YPIG, handed over the ministry to Toks Plumptre in the summer due to her relocation away from Brampton.

Children’s Church- The Children’s church continues to take place in the church hall during the 11am service in St. Mary. Two volunteers (Rose and Rachel) stopped their involvement in the Autumn, one due to relocation and the other due to new work commitments. We are thankful for their commitment to the children’s work while they had been present and able.

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We have two groups, 3–10-year-olds: meet downstairs in the hall 11–14-year-olds: meet in the Upper Room.

We continue to use “Energize” as our teaching programme across all age groups. We explored the Fruits of the Spirit last autumn.

We are thankful for an enthusiastic team of volunteers that continue to serve the children and young people in the parish on most Sundays (Jane, Amanda, Brenda, Gill, Brian, Louise, Sam, Pam, Amanda, Graham, Patricia and Margaret).

All-Age Services – We continued to have all-age services through 2025.

Safety and accessibility

Messy Easter 2025 - On Good Friday, nearly 90 of our church family and friends gathered in Grafham Village Hall to think about the events of Easter and to celebrate new life. We enjoyed crafts such as sowing seeds, making Easter Gardens, decorating biscuits

Family picnic 2025- This was held jointly with the FIG which had the focus on bidding bon voyage to the Jenkins family.

Glow Party- Our Glow Party on 31st October was well supported by 13 volunteers, with generous sweet donations from the congregation. We welcomed 17 children, many from the village, and had a joyful and successful event. Thank you to all the volunteers involved in setting up, doing activities, providing food and joining in the fun.

Craft Advent - Praise God for this very successful event with the church hall packed to the brim. We had approximately 50 children attend. Here they did a number of Christmas related crafts, heard the Christmas story, and were treated to a scrumptious banquet. Many thanks to church members who volunteered to set up the room, do the crafts, and provide the meal. 50 children sat attentively, interacting with Frankie as she shared the Christmas story. The children’s eyes were wide open and they were wowed by the food prepared for them.

We have not been able to replace volunteers for the Children’s church. This puts additional pressures on present leaders. The turnout for our Messy/children’s events as opposed to the children’s church is giving much food for thought in how we reach out to the children in our community. Do we need to prayerfully rethink how we do Church with the children and their families?

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Little Fishes in Grafham (compiled by Jane Rowley) - This is still going very well. We meet in the Grafham village hall on Wednesday mornings from 10.00am - 11.30am in term time. We start with a time for free play, followed by a Bible story, songs with actions then a craft. We end with a blessing. We have a good number of children who attend regularly, either with parents or more often with grandparents. Our current leaders are Jane and Kia. Our thanks need to go to Toks who helped out as a leader in October. We are still hoping to find a third leader.

As always, we are very grateful to the team of volunteers who serve the tea and coffee for us every week. We really appreciate this.

We enjoyed taking part in the Ellington and Grafham Flower festivals as usual. For the Ellington display the children decorated fish to go on a large fishing net. For Grafham each child decorated their own colourful coat because our theme was Joseph and his amazing technicolour dream coat. They enjoyed arranging the flowers as well. It is always a fun day because we walk down to the church where Jill makes us very welcome with drinks and biscuits.

This year we were invited again by the Grafham Parish Council to contribute to the Remembrance Day service in Grafham. The children had fun making poppies using apples, carrots and their fingers to print with paint. They looked great. We made a long chain of poppies and wound them round the fencing at the base of the tree behind the memorial.

Little Fishes in Brampton (compiled by Brenda Kennedy)

We meet at The Methodist Church on the Green in the school room at the rear, on Tuesday mornings 9.00 to 10.00, term time only. In 2025 we have had irregular attendance since the summer when regular attendees started at reception or moved away.

In the 2[nd] half of the Autum term, having had no one attending for the 1[st] half, we started receiving some child minders each with more than 2 children. Sometimes we have as many as 12 children and other times none.

The session starts with some free play and the carers chat then we tidy the toys away and we do some singing and dancing, stories and activities and then a craft which the children enjoy and get to take home. We say a prayer where we name each child and ask a

Picture of our Christmas craft

blessing over them at the end. We are having to rethink how we do the crafts as some of the child minders come with 4 or 5 children which makes it difficult to support the children in some of the more complicated craft.

Our leaders are Gill, Rosemary and Brenda. Special thanks to Rosemary who also manages to serve tea and coffee during the session.

Aimee (Toks) Plumptre, YPIG Coordinator

Buildings Impact Group

PLEASE SEE APPENDIX 1 – FULL REPORT AND PHOTOGRAPHS.

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St Mary Magdalene, Brampton, Church Hall

Introduction.

The Church Hall has been busy throughout 2025. Bookings have been pretty stable, with our customers generally very happy with the facilities. As ever, most of the maintenance has been carried out by our volunteer team.

Bookings

We had another successful year. In addition to church use and casual hirers, we had over a dozen regular users, including University of the 3rd Age (U3A) groups. Some regular bookings have been weekly, some monthly, and some twice a month, resulting in a complex patchwork of regular users on the calendar for our booking secretary, Sally Mackenzie, to keep on top of.

Maintenance

Tim Johnson has continued to coordinate maintenance. We had to pay for some work, including fitting of a gate at the bottom of the garden to give children a safe route between Church and the Hall. However, the overwhelming majority, including regular lawn mowing, some decoration, routine maintenance, and running repairs, was carried out by a dedicated volunteer team.

We anticipate that some work to come in 2026 will need to be undertaken by professionals. That may include fence repairs and high-level decoration. Fluorescent light tubes are obsolete and increasingly difficult to source, so ceiling lights will also need replacing very soon.

Last year we reported that Jacky Hammond had taken on our twice weekly cleaning. She sets herself high standards and has been very flexible in fitting her work in with bookings.

Finances

Hiring income was nearly £9,900 in 2025. Utilities, maintenance, and cleaning cost us some £6,800. Overall, that produced a surplus of nearly £3,100. That is in part a result of deferred maintenance work, so we may not expect such a favourable position at the end of 2026.

The Hall Committee

No building used by the public runs itself, and I am again grateful to the Hall Committee and the maintenance team for all their support and hard work throughout the year. It would be invidious to pick out any one of them for special mention; we could do nothing without them all.

Hall Committee Members: Ken Mackenzie (Chair), Tim Johnson (Secretary), Sally Mackenzie (Booking Secretary), Rob Barker, Dawn Ryder.

Grounds Maintenance Team: Tim Johnson, Rob Barker, Shaun Hagan, Ken Mackenzie, Alastair Reed and Graham Smith.

Ken Mackenzie, Chair Church Hall Committee

Fellowship Impact Group

The Fellowship Impact Group (FIG) is responsible for the planning, resourcing and delivery of events focused on the development of fellowship within the parish. We are a small team with representatives from the 3 churches and meet regularly to plan and support social events. Ann Davies earned time off for good behaviour and a well-deserved rest and stepped down in March. Following an appeal, we welcomed June Glover, Sylvia Collen, Sandra Williams and Liz Yendley to the existing FIG team of Hazel Powell, Nicola Childs, Elizabeth Arkle and Dawn Ryder. We love providing hospitality and

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opportunities for our church family and friends to be together in fellowship. We would love you to join us, or would willingly support any events that you are planning or would like to enjoy together.

We began the year by planning a Winter Warming Supper Evening at Grafham at the beginning of February but due to low sign-up numbers we postponed the event. We supported Sue Roberts and the Grafham ladies providing soup for the weekly lent lunches at Grafham from 19[th] March-7[th] April. We celebrated Mothering Sunday by providing lovely cakes for the altogether service on 30[th] March.

Our big event for 2025 was the Ceilidh on the 5[th] April at The Lady Olivia Centre, Brampton. Once again Kate and Bruce Gentles and their friends provided a wonderful evening of dancing and entertainment and lots of laughter enjoyed by over 60 people from the church and community. We provided a ploughman’s supper to keep everyone’s energy levels up. The feedback was amazing with lots of “when’s the next one” comments.

A busy weekend for FIG as we then coordinated the Rwanda Bring and Share Lunch on the 6[th] April, which was a lovely time to hear about and see all the photos from Duncan, Scott and Barbara’s amazing trip.

Nicola led the team for the annual Musical Teas on 11[th] May for Christian Aid. The 28 school children performed a wonderful repertoire to the audience of approx. 80 people, who then enjoyed a delicious array of homemade cakes and a cup of tea. FIG were able to donate £100 from their funds to CA.

FIG got out their scales and ingredients again and contributed to the cakes and scones for Hazel and the team at the very enjoyable Grafham Open Church on Easter Day and the famous Flower Festival and Bio Blitz on the 7[th] and 8[th] June.

Our Summer events included providing cake and bubbles to celebrate Rev Jen’s 1[st] Communion Service on the 29[th] June, organising with YPIG a Bring and Share Family Picnic on the 20[th] July to say farewell to the Jenkins family and having the bacon butties ready at the Breakfast Café before the altogether service on 31[st] August.

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Autumn saw Hazel and the Grafham ladies arrange the very popular Harvest lunch on the 21[st] September. Signups for the re-arranged supper night on 11[th] October at Grafham were slow but a last-minute flurry led to a wonderful evening of lovely food and fellowship.

The final event for FIG in 2025 was supporting the Service of Prayer and Thanksgiving on 26[th] October. June and Sylvia manned the urn and served the guests with a welcome hot drink and cakes.

We are busy planning a Spring Concert with the Rotary Voices and Wyton and Brampton Military Wives Choir on Sunday 10[th] May at 3pm so put the date in your diary and we will see you there.

Dawn Ryder

Choir

As usual, the choir met from mid-October to rehearse for the carol services, which were again sung in all three churches. We were very grateful to Tony Humes for accompanying us in Grafham and Ellington, and to Jo Rondel (piano) and Matthew Goldthorpe (organ) for playing in Brampton. Tony also volunteered to come to most of the rehearsals, thus relieving the choir of coping with me massacring the accompaniments!

This year the choir sang three carols: In the Bleak Midwinter by Harold Darke (an early 20th century setting of the words by Christina Rosetti, with the solo verse sung by Edmund Hodges), Myn Lyking by Richard T Terry (a mid 20th century setting of traditional words) and the rousing Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep by John Stainer (another Victorian composer, and a carol with the memorable second line “Rise and leave your silly sheep”!). Finally, the choir sang the Christmas Blessing instead of it being spoken – a peaceful, melodic arrangement by Philip Stopford.

As ever, the choir put in lots of hard work through the autumn and sang beautifully at all three services.

Kate Gentles

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Taize

The Taize service continues on a monthly basis attracting an average congregation of plus 10. People comment on the calm atmosphere, the ten minutes of silent meditation and the time and space for reflection and prayer.

Many thanks to Heather Joyner for accompanying us on the keyboard.

Jill Tyack

Community Outreach

Brampton Befrienders

We all came back after a lovely break over Christmas on 10[th] January ready to go again. We held the AGM on 21[st] February and split the meeting into two parts with the first being at the drop in with the guests which included a safeguarding talk and the second part with the committee and volunteers afterwards. This seemed to work well and gave an insight into what the committee did to keep things going and the opportunity to review all that had happened in 2024.

The first lunch of 2025 was on 21[st] March – roast chicken, followed by spotted dick and custard for 27. On 9[th] May we had the Christian Aid coffee morning with monies received being donated to CA.

HAPPY 15[TH] BIRTHDAY BRAMPTON BEFRIENDERS

Due to COVID we were not able to celebrate Befrienders 10[th] Birthday so we more than made up for it by celebrating 15 years of the drop in on 16[th] May with a VE Day theme. The volunteers provided an amazing spread including a birthday cake and of course there were a few glasses of bubbles to celebrate. As it was a special event, we hired an entertainer who did a themed musical quiz and a very bizarre karaoke which had everyone in hysterics. A donation received from the Thrift Shop in January helped cover the costs of the party.

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For the September lunch on the 12[th] we went with the very popular Fish and Chips option. The Macmillan Coffee morning was held on 26[th] September. On the 24[th] of October we celebrated Claire Crick’s 90[th] birthday with her request of bacon butties. A couple of new people thought this was the norm and were disappointed to hear that we didn’t provide them every week!! The committee and volunteers came together on the 14[th] November for a catch up lunch and to plan the Christmas events.

We had the pleasure of the Brampton school children’s choir on 5[th] December performing their Christmas carols and songs. The Christmas Lunch on the 12[th] provided by Measures was as delicious as ever, and there was the now traditional couple of glasses of wine. Bob kept everyone entertained with a couple of festive quizzes. We were able to provide this lunch free (42 attendees) thanks to another very generous donation from The Brampton Thrift shop. To round off the Christmas events there were bubbles and mince pies on the 19[th] . Again, Bob the Quiz Master, this time ably assisted by the lovely Pat, provided a fun and lively time, before the 2 week Christmas break.

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Here are some comments from the Christmas Cards received:

Thank you to all the committee and volunteers. I think we have a wonderful team and hope that while providing a warm and welcoming space to our Befrienders we all support each other and have fun. We have been lucky enough to gain two new helpers – Elaine Nichols and Anne Saunders to join all the regulars,: Pat Prince, Norma Tebbs, Pat Lloyd, Judy Jacobs, Margaret Szczpanski, Ann Monkman, Barbara Carter, Pauline Bream, Angie Gale, Gill Stracey, Janet Greig, Elizabeth Arkle, Mary Thomas, Lin Korney and not forgetting, who could, Bob Tydeman.

We also have amazing support from The Parish Council, especially the guys who set up and tear down for us each week.

Here’s to continuing to welcome old friends and new in 2026.

Dawn Ryder

Brampton Mothers’ Union

The Mothers’ Union in Brampton in 2025 was busy with a combination of afternoon and evening meetings. The Mothers’ Union is an international Christian charity which supports families worldwide. This branch has played their part by supporting local Mothers’ Union projects. Our actions may seem small but hopefully we have reached out to people who need help. At the end of 2025 we have 38 members.

In 2025, we continued to raise money for the “Away from It All Holiday Scheme” (AFIAH) and we managed to raise £1521.50 which will support several families to take a holiday break “away from it all”. This is a record amount of money raised by this branch. These families are sponsored by clergy, social services or schools. A holiday gives the family the opportunity of space to make positive memories, build relationships and strengthen family bonds. The scheme is organised by Ely Diocese Mothers’ Union and the money raised is used to pay for the accommodation and travel expenses for a three day break in a caravan in Hunstanton. The money was raised throughout 2025 but in particular at our Garden Party in June, the Village Fete on the Green also in June and the Pudding Evening in October. Thank you to everyone who contributed to these events and made them a success.

We have also sent money to the Worldwide fund, MU Literacy Fund and to the 2025 Summer of Hope Appeal.

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We have supported Mid Cambs and Fenland Women’s Refuges. We collected money and were able to buy slipper socks and facial masks for the mothers and a selection of chocolates and sweets for the children for Mothers’ Day. We spent several more months raising another £350 through donations at our meetings so we could go and buy items needed by the refuges. The committee went shopping in July and purchased 8 single duvet covers, 8 bottom sheets, 8 pillow cases, 4 bedside lamps with bulbs and 4 waste paper bins. These items were gratefully received by Refuge UK.

At our garden party in June, the branch was presented with a RISE UP Bronze Award Certificate. In 2024, Mothers' Union launched their "Rise Up" campaign to raise awareness about domestic abuse. RISE UP stands for R espond, I nform, S upport, E mpower, U nite and P ray. There are three levels of "Awards" to encourage Branches to engage with the campaign. The award was the result of our efforts in 2024 when we put up a poster in the Church Hall, dedicated one meeting to the RISE UP campaign when we held a service of prayers and readings and lastly, we invited guests to the service including the CEO of Peterborough Womens Refuge and Womens' Aid representative and Managers of Hunts and Fenland Womens Refuge. They all attended. We gifted 10 bags of "moving in" items such as body wash, soap, tooth brush, tooth paste, hair brush, sanitary pads, pack of tissues, hand cream shower puff, flannel, pair of bed socks, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant and hair bobbles. Some items were donated, otherwise we purchased the items from money donations collected at our meetings. Following the request from the managers, we also purchased new pillows, sheets and pillowcases to donate to the refuges. We were the first branch to achieve the Bronze Award in Ely Diocese and as a consequence we were featured in the Ely Diocesan newsletter.

We have donated 10 handmade quilts made by Julie Anderson to Hinchingbrooke Hospital Chaplaincy Team to be given as a gift to parents at the funeral service of a baby. We also knitted and donated 30 lap blankets, 3 cannula sleeves and 5 twiddle muffs for the dementia wards of both Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough Hospitals. We were able to donate nearly 30 baby hats to the Hinchingbrooke Hospital Lilac ward. We also donated knitted gloves to the homeless and baby cardigans to the Baby Bank in Wisbech via Ely Diocesan Mothers Union. Please don’t underestimate the impact of our knitting effort as a small gift in a time of need can be very important. Thank you to all our knitters.

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In 2025, we had a dedicated committee of 7 members. My grateful thanks to Elizabeth Arkle, Shirley Johnson, Sally Mackenzie, Sheila Richardson, Nicola Childs and Ruth Goldthorpe.

We have continued to advertise our meetings in The Brampton Magazine and thank you to Sheila Richardson for doing this for us. I was invited to give a talk to the Brampton Ladies Social Club and they seemed interested in our projects. Since the talk I have received three knitted lap blankets from them.

Thank you to Dawn Ryder for sending birthday cards to our members. Dawn has decided to step back from this role and we are very grateful that she sent us cards for so many years. Thank you also to Glen Burton who has agreed to take on the role.

Thank you to Sylvia Collen for coordinating and everyone on the flower rota for the Lady Chapel flowers.

In January we held our Annual General Meeting and welcomed one new member, Caroline. We also looked at the Empower her Literacy campaign that Mothers’ Union was running on social media. We heard the stories of women who were unable to read but gained confidence and self respect by joining Mothers’ Union led literacy groups in Burundi and other countries. We were able to send £200 to the MU Literacy Fund. Everyone is very generous supporting these Mothers Union projects.

In February we held our informal “Chat and Charity Café” meeting when we made items to donate to our causes, supported each other with fellowship and bought items to raise funds for the Away from it All Holiday Scheme. We held other “Chat and Charity Café” evenings during April and November.

In March, Deirdre Reed and Carolyn Shaw of Refuge UK brought everyone up to date about the work at the local womens’ refuges.

Our members contributed to the Mothering Sunday service in Brampton on 30[th] March and the church sent £202 to Agnes in Rwanda to continue helping families. Following the visit to Nymata, Rwanda by Rev Duncan, Rev Scott and Barbara, we have been able to learn firsthand that our money has been used to buy goats which provide a source of income for the families. We were also humbled to learn that they spent a whole morning with the Mothers’ Union in Nymata and they prayed for us.

In May, we welcomed Caroline Deeprose of Angels Foundation UK to our meeting. Angels Foundation is a new charity based in St Ives and they offer the next steps for women to move on from the womens’ refuges. They support the women by providing essential furniture, flooring and appliances to help them rebuild their lives in a safe and stable home. They also provide support concerning the mental health aspects of domestic abuse through counselling. The meeting was very successful and subsequently our members have donated sofas, chest of drawers and other furniture.

In June, we all enjoyed the summer garden party in glorious weather in Julie and Keith’s garden. We invited the Godmanchester wives, the Mothers Union members from St Neots and the ladies from Afghanistan. We were also pleased to welcome Jean Webb, Co Vice President of Ely Diocesan Mothers’ Union who presented our branch with the Bronze Rise Up Campaign award. Everyone enjoyed tea, scones and cakes and chatting.

We sold cakes, flapjacks, cookies, jams and marmalades at the Brampton Village Fete on the Village Green on 21[st] June on one of the hottest days of the year. We were able to tell people about the Mothers’ Union as well as raise money for the Away from it all Holiday scheme.

In July we welcomed Mothers Union members from St Neots and St Ives as well as the congregation of our parish to a walk around Brampton followed by a history talk in St Mary Magdalene church in Brampton. Again, the weather was very hot and perhaps the walk too long but we made it back to the church hall for refreshments before visiting the church. Everyone seemed to appreciate the evening with many positive comments afterwards. We had a retiring collection for Away From it All Holiday fund and many more people found out about the Mothers’ Union as well.

In September, Rev Duncan, Rev Scott and Barbara told us about their trip to Rwanda earlier in the year. As our children were returning to school for the autumn term, we learnt about the cost of education in Rwanda and how many children cannot afford to attend school. The cost per child is

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around £360 per year. Mothers’ Union started in Rwanda in 1966 and today, more than 24,000 members are actively engaged in local projects including health awareness programmes, parenting programmes and saving and credit groups. Our parish has made strong connections with Rev Bosco and his wife Agnes in Nymata, Rwanda. In December we took a picture of us all and sent a “Christmas Card”.

In October, we held our famous pudding evening. There was a record attendance and quite a buzz in the hall. We raised an amazing £410 in one evening for Away From it All Holiday scheme. We learnt that 10 families have experienced a holiday through the scheme run by Ely Diocese Mothers Union during 2025. One family was a single mum with 11 children who went on a holiday from St Ives. St Ives Mothers Union members organised the community minibus to take them all.

For the afternoon meeting in November, we attended a communion service at Hinchingbrooke Hospital Chapel run by the Chaplaincy team. We were able to donate our items to the Hospital as well as meet Alison and Sherly our contacts with the dementia wards of both Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough Hospitals. They were overwhelmed with the items and the table was overflowing with our handmade items.

In December, we ended our year with an amazing devotional meeting led by Rev Scott. We listened to advent music and looked at three icons about the Nativity. A full meeting of people enjoying the quiet space of the meeting and the refreshments.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their time at our 2025 Mothers’ Union meetings and are looking forward to 2026 when we will celebrate 150 years of Mothers Union.

Julie Barker – Branch Leader

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Flower Guild

We began our floral year in March with the funeral of Margaret Humm, a well-loved member of church family. As known by most, Margaret was an avid gardener so we tried to reflect her love of flowers in a natural way as we think she would have liked.

As usual, Easter lilies were done in April followed by flowers for VE day in July.

In August was the Jessop wedding – a lovely young couple returned from Australia to share their wedding celebrations with family and friends – a riot of colour and so much fun to arrange.

In September we did our usual Harvest festival flowers.

We ended our year with white and silver arrangements in church for Christmas.

Guild Members:- Diane Hodgetts, Christine McLean, Jan Dobie, Ruth Wood, Sylvia Collen and Kath Brown

Diane Hodgetts

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Financial Report

Treasurer’s Report

Income – Donations through the Parish Giving Scheme has decreased compared to the previous year, with the number of donors currently standing at 48. While the scheme itself is continuing to operate effectively, there is a need to encourage more people to join in order to strengthen regular income.

There has been an increase in one-off donations; however, these are less predictable and therefore more difficult to factor into budgeting.

The Brampton Land Trust generously donated £140,244 to East Leightonstone Parish. The PCC has agreed that these funds will be allocated towards the planned reordering of St Mary Magdalene Church, Brampton. The Brampton Land Trust has also donated £31,756 to cover the cost of the architect fees paid to date that are attributed to the project.

Expenditure – Our Parish Share contribution was set at £75,469. However, the PCC agreed to contribute £63,000 initially, with a review of the final unrestricted balance at the end of the year to determine whether an additional payment could be made.

At the most recent PCC meeting, it was agreed that a further £6,000 would be paid from current unrestricted reserves to reduce the shortfall. This additional payment will be reflected in next year’s accounts.

Reserves – Unrestricted funds are £20,408 with the £1,917 cash due to creditors. This will be reduced further with £6,000 paid in current year to Diocese of Ely, Parish Share.

In light of the increasing cost of living, the PCC will ensure that the finances are managed prudently and expenditure is closely monitored.

Accounting Policy

The accounts have been prepared on a cash accounting basis. The cash accounting basis means that the various funds show only receipts and payments of East Leightonstone Parochial Council without taking into account of any amounts owed by East Leightonstone Parochial Council as at 31[st] December 2025.

Sue Morgan, Treasurer

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Report of the Independent Examiner to the members of East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council

Accounting Policy

The accounts have been prepared on a cash accounting basis. The cash accounting basis means that the various funds show only receipts and payments of East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council without taking account of any amounts owing or owed by East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council as at 31 December 2025.

Report of the Independent Examiner

I report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ending 31 December 2025

Respective responsibility of the PCC and examiner

As a member of the PCC, you are responsible for the presentation of the financial statements. You consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission, and to be found in Church Guidance, 2006 edition. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considerations from your trustees concerning 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 give a “true and fair review” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with the accounting records with section 130 of the 2011 Act: and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met; or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Accounting Examiner: Marissa Harris Date: 30[th] March 2026

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2025

The Parochial Church Council of East Leightonstone

For the year ended 31 December 2025 Cash Basis

Account Account Unrestricted
Funds £
Designated
Funds £
Restricted
Funds £
Total
2025 £
Total
2024 £
Income & Expenditure Report
Receipts
Giving& Gift Aid 88,580
142,144
32,908
263,632
104,425
Investment Income 1,595
0
0
1,595
1,814
Legacies 0
0
0
0
33,476
Other Income 2,425
11,495
0
13,920
8,689
Mission Donations 0
3,028
0
3,028
3,385
Total Receipts 92,600
156,667
32,908
282,175
151,789
Payments
Parish Share
63,000
0
0
63,000
52,052
Rector/Curators Costs 2,342
2,273
0
4,615
1,353
Church/Hall running costs 19,428
7,896
0
27,324
61,047
Service Costs inc honoraria 977
0
0
977
1,428
Organ Tuning 1,565
0
0
1,565
565
Administration 5,842
0
0
5,842
5,329
Other Costs 327
0
0
327
3,435
Consultancy Costs 0
0
2,881
2,881
18,093
Mission Costs 1,225
1,992
0
3,217
5,809
Total
Payments		 94,706
12,161
2,881
109,748
149,111
Net Income/Expenditure (2,106)
144,506
30,027
172,427
2,678
Cash at Bank 01/01/2025 22,514
18,494
20,871
61,879
59,201
Cash at Bank 31/12/2025 20,408
163,000
50,898
234,306
61,879

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2025 Designated Funds

Receipts - Other Income
Lettings
Brampton Fabric Fund
Other Income
Mission Giving, Christian Aid
Payments:
Church Hall Running Costs
Other Expenditure
Mission Giving, Christian Aid
Surplus for the year
Transfer between funds
Cash at Bank 01/01/2025
Cash at Bank 31/12/2025		 Church Hall
Mission
Other
Total
2025
Total
2024
£
£
£
£
-
-
9,851
9,851
7,461
140,244
140,244
-
1,645
1,645
-
4,928
4,928
3,385
9,851
4,928
141,889
156,668
10,846
7,896
7,896
5,758
-
3,233
4,266
4,266
5,015
7,896
4,266
-
12,162
14,006
1,955
662
141,889
144,506
(3,160)
17,964
3,763
(3,233)
18,494
21,654
19,919
4,425 138,656
163,000
18,494

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2025 Restricted Funds

Receipts
Donations
Payments
Fabric Fund
Mission Grant
Consultancy Costs
Surplus/Deficit for the
Year
Transfer between
funds
Cash at Bank
01/01/2025		 Fabric Fund
Bell Fund
Flower
Fund
Mission
Grant
AV
Donation
Total
2025
Total
2024
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
32,408
-
-
-
500
32,908
47,015
32,408
-
-
-
500
32,908
47,015
-
34,887
-
-
-
-
245
2,881
-
2,881
18,093
2,881
-
-
-
-
2,881
53,225
29,527
0
0
0
500
30,027
(6,210)
-
-
-
16,255
1,208
69
1,964
1,376
20,872
27,082
Cash at Bank
31/12/2025		 45,782
1,208
69
1,964
1,876
50,899
20,872

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2025 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Unrestricted Designated Restricted
Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ 2025 2024
Cash at bank and in hand
Barclays 20,408 154,536 25,190 200,134 27,707
CCLA 8,464 25,708 34,172 34,172
Cash in hand
20,408 163,000 50,898 234,306 59,202
Assets retained for
church use
Church Hall
improvements 130,439 - - 130,439 130,439
Equipment 26,398 - - 26,398 26,398
156,837 156,837 156,837
Cash due to creditors 1,917 1,721 3,638 3,701
Cash due from debtors 319 319 299

© East Leightonstone Parish

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