HOLY APOSTLES PARISH CHURCH, LEICESTER ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025
AIMS AND PURPOSES
Holy Apostles Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of working together with the Priest-in-Charge, Curate, associate minister, the wardens and staff in promoting, in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church building and hall of Holy Apostles, at the junction of Fosse Road South and Imperial Avenue, Leicester.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
We seek to build up the congregation through:-
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worship, prayer and teaching
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pastoral care
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outreach to the community
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responding to the needs of the church and community through the occasional services
To facilitate this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of Holy Apostles Church and hall.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
We minister to our congregation through our Sunday services. Throughout 2025 we held a weekly 10:30 service in the church with groups for children now known as HAL’s kids. We held café style church services in the hall when there was a 5[th] Sunday in a month.
Prayer is encouraged through the monthly Prayer Diary and seasonal prayer bulletin. As a church we supported the Global prayer initiative ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and have prayer gatherings once a month. Personal prayer for specific needs is offered in church on Sundays as well as via our WhatsApp group.
Our discipleship groups continued meeting in the church hall, and at Wyggestons for mutual encouragement in bible study and everyday faith. Daily Bible reading material was circulated with the monthly prayer pointers.
There were 43 people on the Electoral Roll (as at 31.12.25) of whom 13 are resident in the parish. The Sunday attendance counted during October, was 31 adults and 8 under 16 yrs
Attendance is usually increased considerably for festivals. In 2025 we held our usual events and services for Christmas. The Christmas Café and tree festival was very well attended and led to over 600 children and young people come to the building on
school visits and for the scouts Christingle service. Our own Christingle service was attended by 88 adults and 35 under 16s.
The connections with the two primary schools in the parish continued to grow through 2025 with assemblies being taken by the clergy once a month in each school, as well as support for RE lessons both in school and in the church. Imperial Avenue infant school came to church for a special assembly at Easter, harvest and Christmas accompanied by staff and parents. St Mary’s School year 4 children also held their carol service in church with 65 children and 50 adults.
During 2025 we have celebrated 0 marriage and 3 funerals,1 baptism and 7 confirmations
Pastoral Care is an important feature of the church’s ministry, with visits to the sick and housebound. Ashley Prince continues to support this ministry as pastoral assistant with PTO (permission to officiate).
Safeguarding is taken seriously by the PCC and the Promoting a Safer Church document has been adopted. The church has policies for the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. All roles are recruited according to the safer recruitment guidelines. DBS checks are carried out as required and safeguarding training undertaken at the level appropriate for each role. Safeguarding is regularly brought to the attention of the whole church. In so doing, the PCC has complied with its duty to act according to the House of Bishops guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The PCC uses the Safeguarding dashboard to support compliance with regulations.
The parish safeguarding officer is Dawn Clements, Ian Newcombe; leads the safeguarding of vulnerable adults.
Mission and outreach is strategic and multi-faceted. We have reached out to our community through making links with local schools and community groups. These include long running groups such as Tiddlywinks; our parents and toddler group and Soup-er Group, a monthly lunch for older people. In 2025 Welcome Place continued to provide a warm friendly space for people to drop in. It includes refreshments, an opportunity to pray together and lunch. In the warmer months a gardening group forms part of this welcome place. The monthly community café has continued to be successful in creating a space for church and non-church families and individuals to enjoy each other’s company, good food and drink.
During 2025 the youth group for young people aged 11-16 continued to grow. The aim is to provide a safe space to come and meet with friends after school, to have fun, eat together and begin to explore aspects of faith and spirituality together.
Manor House foodbank is a focus for our support for the poor in the community. The church supports
Christian partners In Mission In 2025 The church supported Andrew Fanstone in his work with Iris Ministries in Brazil, the Gaza Appeal, Christian Aid and Open Doors as well as local charities, One Roof Leicester, Kings Church Foodbank and Sound
Café Leicester. The offering from the Christingle Service went to support the work of the Children’s Society.
Our buildings are a vital resource in our mission. In 2025 they were used for church events, most notably, the Good Friday café and the harvest supper. Brownies, and other community groups as well as New Covenant Church and Reach Leicester Church also make use of our buildings.
West Leicester Mission Partnership
Holy Apostles is part of the West Leicester Mission Partnership. In 2025 This Partnership encompassed the churches of St. Anne, St. Paul & St. Augustine, The Martyrs, Holy Apostles, St. Peter’s Braunstone Park, St Margaret’s and Wyggestons.
The Mission Partnership leaders continued to meet weekly for morning prayer on zoom until Novemeber 2025.
Deanery Synod
The APCM is entitled to elect two people to the Deanery Synod who are ex-officio on the PCC. This provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church. In 2025 we had one such representative.
2025 STAFFING
Revd Jenny Ridge (Priest in Charge) continued to lead the church forward with the support and encouragement Rev’d Andrew Micklethwaite (assistant minister) until his retirement in May 2025, and Rev’d Dr Nick Henwood as curate.
Margo Henry continues to work in the office as our church administrator.
Francis Hruszka continued in the role of Church cleaner.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial Review of 2025
In 2025 we saw a significant (14%) reduction in total receipts on unrestricted funds which were down from £72,252 to £61,977. There were 3 main causes for this, the largest being a reduction of approx. £5,000 in donations. There was also a significant reduction of over £2,000 received from both bank interest and hall income. While it is possible we may see hall income recover the bank interest will continue to reduce as interest rates decline and as we draw down on the balance on deposit. Giving income may of course rise but we need to recognise reversing the long-term decline has not been achieved by many churches.
Expenditure within the general fund was down by approx. £2,000 which means that the net deficit (after mission giving fund transfers) increased from £1,065 to £8,979. It is worth noting that sometimes we have some receipts or payments for the year that fall after the 31st December cutoff used for the accounts but this year we had a significant amount for the church and hall gas that would normally would have been paid in 2025 which was invoiced late due to the switch to the new gas supplier in the autumn; given the significance of this it has been noted in the church accounts. We
also received the Parish Giving Gift Aid payment for December in January though this was a smaller amount (£453) and the timing of this payment does vary significantly from month to month.
During the year the PCC closed the account held by the Diocese on our behalf and the funds were paid into our CCLA account. This was simply an administration simplification because of the additional paperwork in maintaining a separate account via third party, delays in getting statements and because accessing them took weeks rather than the 3 days for our CCLA account. The funds held at the diocese were for “ecclesiastical purposes” (in other words unrestricted) but in the past the PCC had designated them for the Building Development (BD) Fund and that has not been changed by this move.
In our restricted funds the main expenditure was the replacement of the hall heaters and the church carpet (although some donations to that cost reduced the net impact to the fund). Additionally an amount of £3,444 was spent on the concrete survey of the main church. We also invested in our Children and Youth work by heavily subsiding attendance at the Youth Weekend Away and funding training for Children and Youth Team leaders. We receive monthly donations to both the Building Vision (BV) and Children and Youth (CYP) funds. We also hold a modest amount (£668) in our Hardship fund.
We continue to give away 10% of the amount received in the “Donations and Legacies” section minus the grants received (which are usually for a specific purpose). Our reserves policy is unchanged (an amount sufficient to maintain normal ongoing operations for a 4-month period) and so based on the 2025 accounts approx. £22,000 of the funds in the General Fund are for this purpose.
In 2025 the PCC held the Parish Share offer for 2026 at the same amount as in 2025.
In 2025 the PCC purchased a CollecTin Card Reader to aid gifts by bank card which has been possible for some time on request but now can be done without assistance).
David Ridge, Treasurer, Holy Apostles PCC
VOLUNTEERS
We are extremely grateful to all who volunteer in whatever capacity to enable the ministry of the church to progress. Thanks go particularly to those who have cleaned the church, maintained the church garden’s and kept the carpark tidy as well as those who serve in a variety of ways on a Sunday.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with Church Representation Rules.
The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish.
The PCC met on 7 occasions during the year (January, April, May, June, August, October, November)
The PCC has a Standing Committee which has power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings subject to any directions given by the Council.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The parish church of Holy Apostles is located in the West End area of the city of Leicester, at the junction of Fosse Road South and Imperial Avenue. It is part of the Diocese of Leicester within the Church of England. Correspondence should be addressed to Holy Apostles Church, Fosse Road South, Leicester LE3 1AD.
The PCC is a corporate body (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2023) and Charity Registration was completed in January 2021. Holy Apostles, Leicester is a Registered Charity in England and Wales No: 1192946
Holy Apostles has a Priest-in-Charge; Rev’d Jenny Ridge and had associate priest Rev’d Andrew Micklethwaite (until May 2025) and curate Rev’d Dr Nick Henwood.
Ministry at Apostles is supported by the Associate minister Ian Newcombe and the authorised Pastoral Assistant, Ashley Prince (PTO). Susan Brownsword is a locally authorised minister.
PCC members who have served at any time from 1st January 2025 until the date this report was approved are:
Ex-Officio members:
Priest-in-Charge: Revd Jenny Ridge Associate Minister Rev’d Andrew Micklethwaite (until May 2025) Curate Rev’d Dr Nick Henwood
Wardens: Elizabeth Gooderham (until May 2025) Melanie Carter (from May 2025) Elaine Swanson (from May 2024)
Co -opted members Associate Minister: Ian Newcombe Deanery Representative: Ashley Prince
| Elected Members: | David Ridge (2022-2025)(2025-2028) |
|---|---|
| Ashley Prince (2023-2026) | |
| Sue Brownsword (2023-2026) (lay chair) | |
| Carole Dagley (2023- Sept 2025) | |
| Mark Wigston (2024-2027) | |
| Nwachuckwu Nwabufo (2024-2027) | |
| PCC Secretary: | Margo Henry (as part of her role as church |
| administrator not as a member of PCC) | |
| Treasurer | David Ridge |
The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Apostles, Leicester Receipts and Payments Account
For the period from 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025
| Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total | Prior year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | funds | total funds | |
| Receipts | |||||
| Donations and legacies | £41,040 | - | £1,484 | £42,524 | £48,602 |
| Income from charitable activities | £6,445 | - | - | £6,445 | £8,877 |
| Other trading activities | £2,755 | - | - | £2,755 | £2,962 |
| Investments | £11,736 | - | - | £11,736 | £14,009 |
| Total Receipts | £61,977 | - | £1,484 | £63,461 | £74,450 |
| Payments | |||||
| Raising funds | £360 | - | - | £360 | - |
| Expenditure on charitable activities | £63,246 | £3,394 | £10,844 | £77,483 | £78,042 |
| Other expenditure | £3,285 | - | - | £3,285 | £2,929 |
| Total Payments | £66,891 | £3,394 | £10,844 | £81,128 | £80,971 |
| Excess of receipts over payments before transfer | (£4,914) | (£3,394) | (£9,359) | (£17,667) | (£6,521) |
| Transfers: | |||||
| Gross transfers between funds - in | £13,292 | £5,357 | £12,000 | £30,648 | £22,081 |
| Gross transfers between funds - out | (£17,357) | (£1,292) | (£12,000) | (£30,648) | (£22,081) |
| Excess of receipts over payments before other gains | (£8,979) | £672 | (£9,359) | (£17,667) | (£6,521) |
| Net movement in funds | (£8,979) | £672 | (£9,359) | (£17,667) | (£6,521) |
| Reconciliation of funds | |||||
| Excess of receipts over payments at beginning of the year | £52,325 | £159,015 | £65,347 | £276,686 | £283,207 |
| Excess of receipts over payments for the year | £43,345 | £159,687 | £55,987 | £259,019 | £276,686 |
Notes to the accounts:
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1) No payments were made to trustees during the year other than for reimbursement of out of pocket expenses
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2) The parish moved to a new gas supplier in October and delays in the first billing led to approximately £1030 of gas costs being payable in 2026.
Registered Charity No: 1192946
Page 1 of 5
The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Apostles, Leicester
Statement of Assets and Liabilities (by code) As at: 31 December 2025
| Class and nominal code | General (Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Endowment Total Last year |
|---|---|
| Fixed Asset - Tangible Assets 6431: Office Laptop £256 - - - £256 £512 Total £256 - - - £256 £512 Current Asset - Cash At Bank And In Hand 6501: Bank current account Nat west £1,333 £1,661 £3,939 - £6,933 £3,537 6505: CCLA deposit account (Held at SMH) - - - - - £26,292 6510: CCLA (CBF) deposit account £41,626 £158,026 £52,210 - £251,862 £246,126 6590: Cash in hand £130 - - - £130 £220 Total £43,089 £159,687 £56,149 - £258,925 £276,174 Liability - Agency Accounts 6699: Agency collections - - £162 - £162 - Total - - £162 - £162 - Net total assets £43,345 £159,687 £55,987 - £259,019 £276,686 |
£256 - - - £256 £512 |
| Represented by General (Unrestricted) £43,345 - - - £43,345 £52,325 Designated - BD - £155,621 - - £155,621 £155,621 Designated - Mission - £4,065 - - £4,065 £3,394 Restricted - BV - - £54,632 - £54,632 £64,241 Restricted - CYP - - £688 - £688 £438 Restricted - Hardship - - £668 - £668 £668 Total £43,345 £159,687 £55,987 - £259,019 £276,686 |
£43,345 - - - £43,345 £52,325 - £155,621 - - £155,621 £155,621 - £4,065 - - £4,065 £3,394 - - £54,632 - £54,632 £64,241 - - £688 - £688 £438 - - £668 - £668 £668 |
Registered Charity No: 1192946
Page 2 of 5
The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Apostles, Leicester
Analysis of Receipts and Payments Selected period: 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025
| Total General Designated Restricted This year Last year |
|
|---|---|
| Receipts Donations and legacies 0101 - Standing Orders 0115 - Parish Giving Scheme 0120 - SumUp / On Line Giving 0201 - Other planned giving 0301 - Loose plate collections 0501 - One-off Gift Aid gifts 0550 - Donations appeals etc 0601 - Tax recoverable on Gift Aid 08A1 - Non-recurring one-off grants 0901 - Other funds generated Donations and legacies Totals Income from charitable activities 1101 - Fees for weddings and funerals 1230 - Church hall lettings - objectives Income from charitable activities Totals Other trading activities 0910 - Fetes / Fayres etc 1245 - Car Park Income 762 - Community Cafes Other trading activities Totals Investments 1020 - Bank and building society interest Investments Totals Receipts Grand Totals |
£3,060 - £360 £3,420 £3,520 £27,148 - £600 £27,748 £33,614 £2,048 - £74 £2,122 £477 £505 - £200 £705 £1,478 £988 - - £988 £991 £297 - - £297 £49 £47 - - £47 £186 £6,547 - £250 £6,797 £6,915 £400 - - £400 £1,000 - - - - £370 |
| £41,040 - £1,484 £42,524 £48,602 £763 - - £763 £799 £5,682 - - £5,682 £8,078 |
|
| £6,445 - - £6,445 £8,877 - - - - £588 £1,325 - - £1,325 £1,330 £1,430 - - £1,430 £1,044 |
|
| £2,755 - - £2,755 £2,962 £11,736 - - £11,736 £14,009 |
|
| £11,736 - - £11,736 £14,009 |
|
| £61,977 - £1,484 £63,461 £74,450 |
|
| Payments Raising funds 1720 - Costs of stewardship campaign Raising funds Totals Expenditure on charitable activities 1801 - Giving to missionary societies 1850 - Home mission 1855 - Community Cafes (Home Mission) 1860 - HALs Kids (Home Mission) 1910 - Ministry parish share etc 2001 - Assistant staff costs |
£360 - - £360 - |
| £360 - - £360 - - £3,394 - £3,394 £3,150 £215 - - £215 £1,308 £1,594 - - £1,594 £611 £702 - £574 £1,276 £1,480 £31,000 - - £31,000 £28,000 £368 - - £368 £419 |
Registered Charity No: 1192946
Page 3 of 5
| Total General Designated Restricted This year Last year |
|
|---|---|
| 2050 - Salary of parish administrator 2053 - Pension for Staff 2060 - Ministry Experience Scheme 2101 - Working expenses of incumbent 2150 - Vicar's telephone 2201 - Parish training and mission 2301 - Church running - insurance 2310 - Church office - telephone/broadband 2315 - Church Office - printing 2330 - Church maintenance 2331 - Cleaning 2340 - Upkeep of services 2350 - Upkeep of churchyard 2360 - Administration 2370 - Visiting speakers / locums 2401 - Church running - electricity 2410 - Church running - gas 2420 - Church running - water 2540 - Hall running - gas 2560 - Hall running - maintenance 2601 - Governance costs examination/audit fee 2701 - Church major repairs - Design & Build Expenditure on charitable activities Totals Other expenditure 2055 - Cleaner Wages Other expenditure Totals Payments Grand Totals |
£8,172 - - £8,172 £6,914 £315 - - £315 £324 - - - - £2,804 £948 - - £948 £1,250 £209 - - £209 £139 £37 - - £37 - £3,241 - - £3,241 £3,159 £364 - - £364 £368 £925 - - £925 £657 £1,350 - £876 £2,226 £2,240 £272 - - £272 £210 £1,346 - - £1,346 £1,919 £1,129 - - £1,129 £1,247 £1,993 - - £1,993 £1,132 - - - - £10 £2,706 - - £2,706 £2,854 £4,105 - - £4,105 £4,789 £576 - - £576 £601 £402 - - £402 £682 £1,121 - £5,950 £7,070 £2,523 £156 - - £156 £252 - - £3,444 £3,444 £9,000 |
| £63,246 £3,394 £10,844 £77,483 £78,042 £3,285 - - £3,285 £2,929 |
|
| £3,285 - - £3,285 £2,929 |
|
| £66,891 £3,394 £10,844 £81,128 £80,971 |
Registered Charity No: 1192946
Page 4 of 5
Thè PCC ollhè E¢cs13s1kal Parlsh of Hofy Apostlès. L•lcè$t•r Fund fflovernent summary ted wriod: 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 £155.621 1fy1241 £15%621 £Yfi32 BV-Pthldingil81 CIP.Chldr¢Th&Yty H&Td5hip-Hatd8hpFur (10270 t5T4 £4.065 £.)45 n8r&l.Gygrl Fu E61W7 1£4th91 EJl.12 Registèred Charity No." 1192946 Page5of5
Holy Apostles Church Hoty Apostles Church, 281 F05se Road South. Leicester LE3 1AD Phone.- 0116 298 3216 Email.. office hol 05tles.co.uk Website www.holyapostles.co.uk Holy Apostle5 Leicester, Ss a Reglstered Charlty In England. and Wales." No. 1192946 Leicester I have approved the accounts set out on pages I to 5 and confirm that I have made available all relevant records and information for their preparation. Signed: Name.. Mr David Ridge Role: Church Treasurer D8te: zl312é. Countersigned: N QCQ Name: Role.. Date 243lLb
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Holy Apostles Church, Leicester LE3 1AD On accounts for the year 31[st] December 2025 Charity no 1192946 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-5 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2025
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
. 25[th] February 2026 Signed: Name: Colin Wood Relevant professional Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 16 Wordsworth Rd Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 4LQ
Oct 2018
1
IER
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
Oct 2018
2
IER