ALL SAINTS CHURCH, SHERBURN IN ELMET ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025
Administrative information
All Saints Church is situated in Sherburn in Elmet, near Leeds. It is part of the Diocese of York within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, 2 Sir John Lane, Sherburn in Elmet, Leeds LS25 6BJ.
In 2022, the Parochial Church Council (PCC) voted to apply for registration as a Charity with the Charity Commission, with all 18 current members (listed below) becoming founding trustees. The application was approved on 7 June 2023 and 2023 was therefore the first year of its operation as a Charity, number 1203459. It is now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
CIO trustees (formerly PCC members) who have served from 1[st] January 2025 until the date this report was approved are:
| Incumbent: | The Revd Chris Wilton | Chairman |
|---|---|---|
| Curates: | The Revd Peter Townley | |
| The Revd Caroline Comer-Stone | ||
| _Churchwardens:_Jonathan Sharp | Electoral Roll Officer, Deanery Synod rep | |
| Richard Allen | ||
| Elected members: | ||
| Donna Carter | ||
| Avril Evans | Secretary, Deputy Warden, Deanery Synod rep | |
| Mark Fletcher | Treasurer | |
| Llew Guest | ||
| Margaret Jones | Deputy Warden | |
| George Mackin | Health & Safety Officer | |
| Craig Mason | ||
| David Morgan-Cox | Deputy Warden | |
| Ken Stott | ||
| Janet Burgis | ||
| Ex-officio: | Elizabeth Wilton | Deanery Synod rep |
| Barkston Ash Deputy Wardens (ex-officio): | ||
| Gwyneth Stephenson | ||
| Peter Burgis | Lay Vice Chair | |
| Officers not members of the PCC: | ||
| Hayley Sharp | Safeguarding Officer | |
| Angie Wilton | Benefice Administrator |
Structure, governance and management
The CIO adopted its current Constitution on 22 March 2023, which governs all aspects of the structure, governance and management of the CIO.
Objectives and Activities
The object of the CIO is the promotion in the ecclesiastical parish of the whole mission of the Church of England, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The CIO also has maintenance responsibilities for All Saints Church, Sherburn in Elmet, and its Church Hall.
The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community in Sherburn in Elmet. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and strives to assist in putting our faith into practice through prayer, scripture, music and sacrament.
When planning our activities we consider the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.
Achievements and Performance
There are a total of 104 members on the Electoral Roll, up from 100 members last year, which saw thw start of a new roll. There are 93 on the Roll at Sherburn and 11 at Barkston Ash.
Attendances show a mixed picture. The average weekly attendance, counted during October, was 148, up from 137 in 2024. Christmas attendees numbered 415, compared to 278 in 2024. However, the ‘usual Sunday’ attendance was down, at 127, compared to 143 in 2024.
Secretary’s Report
The full PCC met six times during the year, with an average attendance of 12 out of a possible 17.
George Mackin (Health & Safety Officer) has been hard at work making sure that the church, churchyard and hall are in good order – and also the boilers!
Fundraising and social events have been and are being organised; ideas put forward include bingo, wine tasting, race evening and afternoon tea.
At our July meeting, Bishop Matthias of Ho, Ghana, joined us. He thanked us for the monetary support we give to the churchin Ho. It is hard to imagine how little money and how few clergy they have for such a vast Dicoese. He also spoke about the political situation.
Qwe now have three ‘flag masters’! They are Richard Allen, Peter Burgis and Craig Mason, following Geoff Harrops’s retirement after doing this for some time. George Mackin proposed an informal working party be set up to do any jobs required. It was agreed that George would organise this. It was agreed that Simon Dennis be appointed as our independent examiner.
Financial Review
It was pleasing that in 2024, for the tenth year in succession, the free will offer (of £45,000) was paid in full, with the valuable assistance of Barkston Ash to the tune of £3,000. The CIO voted to increase the free will offer to £47,000 for 2026.
The 2025 budget proved generally accurate in predicting performance. Fees received were again ahead of budget, which reflects another better then expected year in terms of occasional offices. A significant anonymous donation enabled the books to be balanced in 2024. However, such generous donations have not been forthcoming in 2025 and financial performance has therefore suffered. Reserves, built up by other generous private donations, have been consumed too fast and unless more is contributed soon, some payments, for example, the free will offer, will need to be suspended to balance the books. The Treasurer addressed the congregation during Lent in 2026 to highlight the financial plight of the PCC.
Total receipts on ordinary unrestricted funds were £117,279 and are detailed in the Financial Statements. Payments totalled £137,441.
Reserves policy
It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds (if possible), which equates to approximately six months unrestricted payments, to cover emergency situations that may arise from time to time. After positive financial performance of recent years, it is disappointing to note that we currently hold only about 2.5% of annual expenditure as reserves.
Fabric Report (Churchwardens)
The physical building is in good condition considering its age.
David Sherriff completed the Quinquennial Inspection during the course of 2025. In April 2026, David gave a presentation on the results of his report and a programme of works has been compiled. There is quite a lot of work that can be undertaken by the community. Fundraising events will need to be planned for the larger repair items.
Over the last couple of years we have mentioned the deteriorating condition of a section of the boundary wall, particularly that section of the eastern boundary wall near the post box. Once again, the wall has not moved significantly during 2025 and George Mackibn, our Health & Safety Officer, is liaising with an engineer regarding how best we undertake repair works. Further information is contained in the Health & Safety section of this report.
In previous years we have reported our concerns about the small amount of space that remains for new grave spaces. The relevant agencies are aware and we await further information. We need to continue to engage with the 1[st] All Saints, Sherburn in Elmet Scout Group in relation to regularising their occupation of the Scout Hut with a new lease.
All items on the inventory of goods and ornaments are present and correct. British Gypsum have recently very kindly added to the inventory by donating a new lawnmower.
Health & Safety
ROUTINE MONITORING The next schedule (half-yearly checks) commenced on 1[st] May 2026. ELECTRICAL PAT Testing and Periodic Electrical Installation reports have now been completed for both the church and the church hall. Next installations inspections are due by 3 January 2029. PRIEST’S STONE: Proposals: Dr Carrington of Skillington’s carried out his survey in June 2025. His report and costed proposals were received in February 2026. BOILERS We await a quotation for the replacement of the defective single radiator in the chancel. The loud background noise reported in February 2026 when the boilers were in use has now ceased. NEST Remote Control system is in operation The ‘Nest team’ is working normally, Summer use envisages the heating being off from May to September. EAST BOUNDARY RETAINING WALL: Monitoring of the wall has continued in 2025. \it is evident that the worst affected areas of degradation continue to become more noticeable. These are chiefly where patches of render skim and loose infill material within the wall continue to fall away. This is particularly obvious in the area around the letter box. NEW CHURCHYARD PLAN: The new plan is still nearing completion; however, the register of grave references requires considerable further work, including the updating and addition of all new graves and cremation plaques since c1997. Deanery Synod Report
We have had two meetings of the Deanery Synod in 2025::
On 16 June, Gerald Foxthe Diocese of York’s Racial Justice Advisor, gave a talk on how to be inclusive in our churches and benefices.
On 6 October, we had a talk from Mari Palmer, Diocesan Director of Education, on how to involve children and families in our churches, and how to get involved with the community through, for example, ‘Open the Book’.
‘Open the book’
Our Open the Book group have been into Saxton church to perform our bible stories to the pupils of Saxton CofE school as follows:
In June 2025, we told the story entitled ‘Road to Emmaus’ In November 2025, we performed ‘Scribes & Pharisees’ And in December 2025, we performed ‘Star Watchers’.
Our little group are always made very welcome by both staff and pupils and the children respond well to our plays and we encourage them to interact with us where appropriate.
We intend to go into school twice a term and perform both Old Testament and New Testament bible stories where appropriate. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to MR Rick Weights, Head of Saxton School, for letting us perform Open the Book to his pupils.
‘Chat-a-cake’
Chat-a-cake is growing month by month. Our group consists of ladies, a few men and some married couples. We now have at least 50 members. As usual Cora Allen, lead for Chat-a-cake, prepares a programme at the beginning of the year and gives everyone a copy of what is happening. Sometimes our programme has to be changed at the last minute, but the lovely people in the club are just so easy to please and the joy of just sitting and chatting is really all they need.
In 2025, the activities of Chat-a-cake have included Table Quizzes, Bingo, Beetle Drives, Afternoon Tea parties, Flower Arranging and a few speakers.
Chat-a-Cake has become a large family group. The love and joy shared among us is so inspiring. Chata-Cake is a great community success and we have to thank Father Chris and Father Peteer for all the support they have given to this club.
‘Chat-a-knit’
Chat-a-knit is growing from strength to strength; numbers have recently grown to around 20. \the ladies have produced over 70 beautiful patchework blankets which have been donated to: St George’s Crypt (30 blankets); Ukraine War Victims (28 blankets); St Leonard’s Hospice (4 blankets) and Hilltop Care Home (4 blankets).
As well as blankets, we are still producing poppies to complete the display around the Church Tower. This project will be finished by November 2026. All our donations are presented as All Saints Parish Church and we have had Ian Brown, our press officer, send items to the Selby Times.
Chat-a-knit meets every Monday afternoon in the Church Hall. Not only is the amount of knitting produced outstanding, but the love and support these ladies give to each other is just fantastic.
This is another successful club run by our church. Thank you to Father Chris for giving us the opportunity to meet in the Church Hall..
Safeguarding
Our Safeguarding lead, Hayley Sharp, is delighted to report that there have not been any new safeguarding issues reported since the last report. She will continue to send regular reminders about photography to all the church Whatsapp groups.
The church continues successfully to rum ‘Sing Joy’ children’s choir, ‘Open the Book’ schools project, Sunday School and the monthly family service. ‘Sing Joy’ and Sunday school are up to date with all safeguarding procedures and Hayley is in regular contact with the leaders and am consulted as required for events and new initiatives. ‘Open the Book’ has five volunteers who have all been safely recruited and completed safeguarding training. As per the last report, an additional two members of the congregation have volunteered but have yet to engage with the safer recruitment and training and therefore this is a reminder to the PCC that they should not be involved in recruitment for this activity until the necessary training has been completed.
We have now been using the dashboard system for over two years and this has been an effective way of continually updating our systems. Hayley is pleased to report that we are currently at 82& compliance and at Level 3. She plans to update some outstanding items relating to DBS renewals and training over the coming months. She will then share an Action Plan with the PCC for any outstanding items. She continues to monitor and update the dashboard at regular intervals.
Our main safeguarding objective over the next six months is to ensure that everyone involved in the PXCXC or activities with children or vulnerable adults has completed the relevant training courses in the previous three years. This affects a large number of the church community and Hayley is currently contacting those who are required to update their training.
As part of the Diocesan recommendations, we are moving to a Diocese-led Hub system to manage our safeguarding records. Hayley has begun gaining consent form those this impacts.
Dashboard Action Points:
The website contact details require updating We are moving to a Diocese-led Hub system for safeguarding records – all to sign their consent. Risk assessments to be compiled for Chat-a-cake, Family service and ‘Open the Book’. Completion of training as discussed above. Completion of PCC DBS renewals. Completion of one Sunday school DBS renewal Completion of one Choir Master DBS renewal Safer recruitment for two ‘Open the Book’ volunteers.
Within the last 12 months the church has had the introduction of Sing Joy children’s choir and the Open the Book schools project. The latter has five volunteers who have all been safely recruited and completed safeguarding training. An additional two members of the congregation have volunteered and are currently going through safer recruitment and training. The choir has been very successful and has attracted new families to the church. The Musical Director and the Safeguarding Lead are currently compiling a risk assessment for this activity to complete safeguarding processes.
The Diocese completed an audit in October and I am pleased to report that we reached level 3 – safer practices. We have now been using the dashboard system for over 12 months and this has been an effective way of continually updating our systems. As at 18 May 2025 we remain at level 3, with 81% of actions complete. Hayley continues to monitor and update the dashboard at regular intervals. The compliance rating fluctuates and can dip when new activities are added and we need to get all the processes and paperwork in place. However, this remains a high compliance rating.
Our main safeguarding objective over the next six months is to ensure that everyone involved in the PCC or activities with children or vulnerable adults has completed the relevant training courses in the last three years. This affects a large number of the church community and I am currently contacting those who are required to update their training. Hayley has discussed with Father Chris and the church wardens that it may be beneficial to deliver this as a group in the church hall. This would allow discussion and may be more suitable for some people.
Dashboard Action points
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The website contact details require updating – please use the email on the website hayleysharp29@outlook.com, and we also need to display the contact details for the diocesan safeguarding adviser on the Parish website. This remains an urgent action on the safeguarding dashboard and has been for some time.
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At the next meeting we need to review the Church of England data protection policy and minute this - this is an annual requirement.
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Risk assessments to be compiled/reviewed at the next PCC meeting for Sunday school, Chat a Cake, Family service, Sing Joy, Open the Book.
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The PCC to annually review and approve the list of non-church activities involving children or vulnerable adults. This needs to be recorded in the minutes.
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Policy for the recruitment of ex-offenders has been compiled and needs to be presented at the next PCC and adopted.
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Completion of training as discussed above
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Completion of three PCC DBS renewals
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Completion of two Sunday school DBS renewals.
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Safer recruitment for two Open the Book volunteers.
Bell ringing
We are a small and friendly band of ringers, and at best we have a pool of six ringers who can ring on some Sundays. We have been delighted to welcome a new learner who will soon be confident enough to join us on Sunday morning.
A debt of thanks is owed to the ringers of Saxton and Wistow who help us ring for weddings.
A new ash stay has been purchased for the treble bell.
During 2025 we have been visited by ringers from Leeds, the Young Ringers Cycle Tour and the Yorkshire Tykes. We have visited Barwick and Aberford to ring their bells.]
As always we are grateful to Jamie, our tower captain, for all his hard work.
Flower arranging
The flower arranging group continued to be a small but agile group of seven volunteers in 2025. In 2026, we have gained an additional volunteer with Caroline Jackson who is a fantastic asset to the group, bringing our total volunteers back to eight.
Angie Wilton has stepped down from the main flower arranging rota and we thank Angie for her contributions over the years.
We continue to have a fantastic response to help in ‘preparing’ the church for our key occasions, these being; Mothering Sunday, Easter, Harvest and Christmas - around 10+ on most of these occasions. A huge heartfelt thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who continue to support the group, especially those who give up their time for the ‘key occasions’.
We have been Asked to reduce our use of Oasis for our church arrangements – we will only use it minimally for our key events and will reuse each time to keep use to a minimum. Vases will be used as a priority for the rest of the year.
Sheila Hawking is also a support at our key occasions in decorating the porch and tidying away following these occasions. A big thank you to Sheila for her continued support.
Eco management of the churchyard 2025/26
In 2025, the edible garden has been further developed, all of the building rubble has been removed and more perennial plants have gone in. Hopefully over the next year, it will fill up and will be able to produce more food for visitors.
Flower beds are still a work in progress, including a new one along the south wall of the church, but they are filling up and maturing. Many of the plants in the new bed especially were donated from various sources, helping to keep costs down.
The PCC approved the purchase of a scythe at the end of 2025 and this has made managing the meadow much easier, several extra cuts have already been done to drive down the soil fertility and knock back undesirable species like nettles and brambles. The wild garlic and bluebell bulbs in the woodland meadow are flowering and doing well, and over the next year I aim to remove more of the weed species and create a low dead hedge to define this area and protect the bluebells.
Moving forward, I would love to increase our plantings to improve the site for wildlife and visitors, and also so we can possible explore the idea of selling excess flowers to raise church funds. We also need to go ahead with water butt installation as soon as possible to make the churchyard more climate resistant and reuce water bills.
Family Service (First Sunday)
We are pleased to report that the First Sunday family service is proving to be very popular with all age groups in the congregation. Sunday by Sunday the numbers are growing and it is wonderful to see so many children attend as well as our own Sunday school children. It is so encouraging.
We are blessed with a good selection of people who are willing to do the talk, especially Jenny and Llew. The children love to follow their stories. At Christmas 2025 Jenny produced a nativity play that consisted of children and adults. The congregation had been asked, in advance, for their participation and it was just brilliant to see all the congregation taking part. The older members were reduced to tears as it reminded them of their early years’ nativity plays.
In addition to people doing the talk, we have a good selection of members of the congregation willing to do readings, and prayers. This year we have been able to involve our children much more as they are wonderful at reading and producing their own prayers. The confidence they show is amazing.
Each Sunday we do our best to pick hymns which tie in with the talk. In the case of new hymns, we send a link to all the people on the Benefice WhatsApp and ask them to have a listen to get the tune! On special occasions Alistair has very kindly come along and played the piano for us.
It is a joy to all the coordinators to get such great response from the congregation. We are truly blessed.
Music: Choirs & Organ
Since the last report, it has been another positive year in the musical life of All Saints. The choir has continued to learn new music, as we enhance and lead the musical side of services. With an eye on the future, there has been a focus on adult recruitment which has seen only limited success, as was similarly reported to the APCM in 2025. Due to ill health, retirements and individuals stepping back for other reasons, the numbers in the main church choir are now at the lowest they have been for some years. Whilst sustainable at present, this does now represent a medium term risk to the liturgical arrangements with which we have become familiar and are part of our worshipping life at All Saints.
I would very much welcome any expressions of interest in singing and the music, and individual circumstances can be discussed in order to create arrangements that work for new choir members. I am also very happy to discuss part-time and flexible arrangements around all important family life, work and other commitments.
On Sunday 19 July, we are embarking on a 'Come & Sing' Evensong with refreshments - so do consider coming along to partake in a lovely summer's afternoon of music! More information will follow on this initiative, as it will on a short series of organ 'Coffee Concerts' on Saturday mornings, which make a return for 2026 as a fundraising initiative.
An area of great encouragement has been the continuation and success of ‘Sing Joy’, our choir for young people. Once again, ‘Sing Joy’ performed at the Christmas Fair, an equivalent event at The Motorist, and most notably at the hugely successful Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This has also evolved into successful participation in the fourth Sunday Sung Eucharists, which feature a responsorial psalm and an anthem. I am extremely grateful to the Ouseley Church Music Trust for their generous grant funding towards this important work with young people, who clearly thrive when submerged in the glories of church music, and the excitement of their robes!
The church organ remains in good condition and is well maintained, capably leading music week by week with all of the colour, sensitivity and command that is asked of it. Two minor faults were addressed during the year with great efficiency. On Saturday 25 October 2025, we marked the 150th anniversary of the completion of the instrument, and an evening concert to mark this was very well attended, raising over £400 (after expenses) towards church funds and with the event covered by the Selby Times. I would like to record thanks to those who have acted as Assistant Organists - Peter Sharp, James Lowery and Matthew Lazenby, who have enriched our musical life, not least when I have then been able to direct the choirs in more complex music. I remain grateful too for the kind support of Mandy Jones and Michelle Hilton, my organist colleagues across the benefices.
Sunday School
Sunday school at our Church is now a permanent fixture. We have a total of ten children who attend on a regular basis. The two youngest children, aged four, are now at the stage where they want to get involved and they love the craft activities.
We are richly blessed with the children, they are so eager to learn and give one hundred percent to their lessons. We now have five leaders which means that we each have a specific day to present the lesson. The activities that we make out to tell the story are aimed at two age groups – 7 to 10 years old and 4 to 6 years old. The little ones will usually have one sheet to complete as well as crafting, whilst the older children will do crafting, word searches and complete question sheets.
Unfortunately, there are times when our projector doesn’t work properly and it is very frustrating when this happens. We would like to buy a smart TV on a stand to use for our lessons. It would be a lot less hassle and it would save us having to close the blinds.
This past year we have been looking at the miracles of Jesus in great detail. We then moved on the teaching the children all about the fruits of the spirit – love, kindness, patience, and trust. We still have to do peace, faithfulness and self-control. We have also looked again at the ten commandments. We pray that our Sunday school will keep growing. We are blessed that the children we teach are so willing to learn and have a great respect for each other.
Church hall
Three (Canasta, Mah Jongg and Bridge) of the four U3A groups who use the Hall continue to meet every week, all year round, as does the Thursday night group. The fourth U3A group, Country Dancing, meets twice monthly, and have a two-month break over the summer months. Barbershop sadly continues to struggle with their numbers, so do cancel their practices if they know numbers will be low. Guides meet regularly on Tuesdays in school term-time; the Yoga group continues with their twice weekly sessions; and the Zumba group continues strongly with full classes at all four of their weekly meetings and also meet on Bank Holiday Mondays. Jean, who runs the classes, even had an extra session on her own to record an online class! As always, they are very accommodating if asked to cancel for parties and church events, usually Friday evenings and/or Saturday mornings. Camera Club meet weekly from mid-September to May, though with occasional expeditions out or to competitions with other Camera Clubs; the Local History Society meet once a month from October to April, though missed the December meeting as they held a Christmas party elsewhere. Sadly Jackie and Malcolm Metcalfe stopped running their their dancing classes completely at Christmas, but we are delighted to welcome a new group, the Sherburn Patchwork Group, who, following a trial run in February, now meet monthly on a Friday, for six hours at a time. They seem very happy indeed with the space available to them. The monthly Chat-a-Cake meetings continue to thrive, as does Chat-a-Knit which now meets every Monday and coffee after the Sunday morning service is always very busy.
There have been the usual annual meetings of the Boghoppers and the Yorkshire Association of Church Ringers General Committee at the beginning of March. Once again, the Hall has provided a place to change and keep instruments safe for the Silver Band concert on 5 September, and a place to rest/change between rehearsals and performance for four musical events, including a concert by Featherstone Male Voice Choir. There have been seventeen children's party bookings, a family party for my own family, and four funeral teas, which sadly included those of Brenda Laycock and Janet Burgis, plus a private gathering to celebrate the life of a family member.
Other regular or one-off events have taken place as usual, with two very enjoyable Quiz evenings (a general knowledge quiz in October with Virginia Chard and Jean Glover, and just this month a quiz with Caroline & Warwick Comer-Stone), Ascension Day breakfast, harvest lunch, no summer fair, but a very successful Christmas Fair (thank you Fr Peter for being Father Christmas again, this time with Jonathan as his assistant!!) and Grand Prize Draw, making Christingles, a very busy Marriage Preparation Day in February, Messy Church (joined this year by our Methodist friends) on Good Friday etc. There was also a coffee morning in September in aid of Macmillan nurses, organised by Cora and Gayle Allen in memory of Matthew.
The usual Lent lunches took place, once again in the format of a more in-depth discussion in the Church Hall, followed by lunch, which worked very well. We also hosted the Deanery Synod meeting last June and the Deanery Chapter meeting in November, and we had a special meeting in April for church architect David Sherriff to explain the details of the Quinquennial Inspection.
As always, very grateful thanks to Gwyneth Stephenson, Virginia Chard and many others for all their help in the kitchen at the bigger events, and to everyone who helps with the tables whenever necessary and the regular church coffee.
To repeat last year's remarks, the need for a new kitchen and toilets is becoming increasingly urgent, though it is hoped that some progress is now being made with that. Huge thanks of course to Peter Burgis for his continuing excellent, conscientious and unflappable care of the Hall, even when struggling with hospital appointments and caring for Janet as her health sadly declined until her death at the end of March – thank you, Peter.
Marriage Preparation
Most weddings this year are again during the summer months. We had another successful Marriage Preparation session in February attended by seven couples, which covered nearly all of the nine 2026 weddings at all the churches apart from Micklefield, ranging from organist Alistair's wedding to Claire just last weekend to the end of October. Fr Chris meets all couples at the time of their initial booking, and has seen the couples who were not able to attend the Marriage Preparation Day separately. There are currently five weddings and one renewal of vows booked so far for 2027, the first booking not until June 2027.
Baptism Preparation
There have been just 13 baptisms at Sherburn over the past year since the last APCM, one of which was of an adult, though with families for nine baptisms as the other churches attending the Baptism Preparation sessions here. There are ten bookings at Sherburn, and two for the other churches, over the next four months. Unfortunately, it remans the case that there are often changes of dates, or sometimes non-confirmation of dates, or no-shows at the preparation evening, etc which can be very time-consuming when juggling times and dates at all the churches.
Many thanks as always to Caroline, Donna and Elizabeth for helping with refreshments at Baptism Preparation evenings, and to Margaret Jones who now helps sometimes at the Sherburn baptisms. As I say every year, I would really, really like someone else to take on the whole job of arranging baptisms - but still no takers so far !
Approved by the Standing Committee on 13 May 2026 by permission of the PCC of 25 March on 9[th] April 2024 and signed on their behalf by Revd Chris Wilton (PCC chairman) and Mark Fletcher (Hon Treasurer).
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF SHERBURN IN ELMET
Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025
Receipts & Payments Account
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Restricted funds TOTAL 2025 | TOTAL 2024 | ||||
| Note | £ | £ £ |
£ | |||
| RECEIPTS | ||||||
| Voluntary receipts: | ||||||
| Planned giving - standing orders | 24,181 | - 24,181 | 24,376 | |||
| Planned giving - envelopes | 180 | - | 180 | 1,152 | ||
| Gift Aid at standard services | 519 | - | 519 | 1,568 | ||
| Plate at standard services | 4,601 | - | 4,601 | 2,635 | ||
| Funeral, Baptism & Wedding collections | 3,431 | - | 3,431 | 3,358 | ||
| Gift Aid at Funerals, Baptisms & Weddings | 45 | - | 45 | 235 | ||
| Tax recovered (Gift Aid & VAT) | 17,548 | - 17,548 | 13,496 | |||
| Donations (Gift-Aided) | 140 | - | 140 | 31,503 | ||
| Donations (Legacies) | - | - | - | - | ||
| Donations (Other) | 2 | 6,161 | 20,057 26,218 | 34,326 | ||
| TOTAL | 56,807 | 20,057 76,863 | 112,649 | |||
| Receipts from activities generating funds: | ||||||
| Fund raising events | 4,576 | - | 4,576 | 4,794 | ||
| Day by Day Scheme | - | - | - | - | ||
| Miscellaneous sales | 902 | - | 902 | 804 | ||
| Box, Candles etc | 258 | - | 258 | 309 | ||
| TOTAL | 5,736 | - | 5,736 | 5,907 | ||
| Receipts from Church activities | ||||||
| Fees | 2 | 17,285 | 5,193 22,478 | 21,384 | ||
| Wedding fees for paying out | 2 | - | 1,341 | 1,341 | 1,664 | |
| Grants | 2,500 | - | 2,500 | 1,000 | ||
| Insurance claims | - | - | - | - | ||
| Church Hall income | 7,988 | - | 7,988 | 7,035 | ||
| TOTAL | 27,773 | 6,534 34,307 | 31,083 | |||
| Receipts from Investments | ||||||
| Bank & Deposit Account interest | 373 | - | 373 | 583 | ||
| Dividends | - | - | - | - | ||
| TOTAL | 373 | - | 373 | 583 | ||
| - | ||||||
| TOTAL RECEIPTS | 90,689 | 26,591 117,279 | 150,222 | |||
| PAYMENTS | ||||||
| Church activities: | ||||||
| Charitable, mission & relief agencies | 2 | 444 | 22,517 22,961 | 31,745 | ||
| Diocesan share (Free Will Ofer) | 3 | 45,000 | - 45,000 | 41,000 | ||
| Diocesan fees | 2 | - | 9,593 | 9,593 | 736 | |
| Wedding fees paid out | 2 | - | 1,265 | 1,265 | 1,295 | |
| Church Light, Heat, Water | 8,252 | - | 8,252 | 6,596 | ||
| Church Telephone | 1,131 | - | 1,131 | 1,118 | ||
| Building maintenance | 4,040 | - | 4,040 | 29,076 | ||
| Church Hall costs | 4,417 | - | 4,417 | 5,255 | ||
| Churchyard costs | 890 | - | 890 | 1,172 | ||
| Insurance | 5,190 | - | 5,190 | 5,119 | ||
| Cost of services | 5,818 | - | 5,818 | 5,790 | ||
| Pay | 4 | 17,953 | - 17,953 | 18,585 | ||
| Administration | 10,931 | - 10,931 | 6,716 | |||
| Travel expenses | - | - | - | 122 |
| TOTAL PAYMENTS EXCESS OF RECEIPTS OVER PAYMENTS TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS Cash at bank 1 January Cash at bank 31 December |
104,067 33,375 137,441 154,325 |
|---|---|
| - 13,378 - 6,784 - 20,162 - 4,103 - - - - 34,375 2,136 36,511 40,614 - |
|
| 20,997 -4,648 16,349 36,511 |
Statement of Assets & Liabilities
| Cash Funds Bank current account Bank deposit account TOTAL CASH FUNDS Other assets TOTAL ASSETS Liabilities TOTAL ASSETS RETAINED FOR CHURCH USE Notes to the accounts |
TOTAL 2025 TOTAL 2024 6,428 -4,648 1,780 4,814 14,569 - 14,569 31,697 20,997 -4,648 16,349 36,511 - - - - 20,997 -4,648 16,349 36,511 - --- Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds |
|---|---|
| 20,997 (4,648) 16,349 36,511 |
|
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1 The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the receipts and payments basis.
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2 All designated collections, wedding cash, and Diocesan fees owed to the Diocese are paid into the restricted "Fees and Designated Collections" account. Payments are then made from this account according to the purpose of the income received. Diocesan fees are paid to the Diocese, designated collections are paid to the charity or other body for which the collection was designated, and wedding cash is paid out for the services of the organist, choir, verger
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3 Total Free Will Offer was £45,000, paid in full, with donations of £3,000 from Barkston Ash.
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4 Payments are made to the organist and additional organists for baptisms etc, the Benefice secretary and the verger / hall caretaker.
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5 There were the following related party transactions in the year: Mr P Burgis is a member of the PCC and was paid £4,100 for services as verger and hall caretaker Ms A Wilton is the wife of the Chair of the PCC and was paid £5,142.50 in the year for her work as Benefice Administrator
Approved at the Standing Committee on 13 May 2026 by permission of the PCC of 25 March Signed by Rev Chris Wilton (PCC Chairman) and Mr Mark Fletcher (Hon Treasurer)
Independent examinerfs report to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints. Sherburn in Elmet {Registered Charity Number: 12034591 I report to the members of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints, Sherburn in Elmet Ithe trustees) on my examination of the accotjnts of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2025. Responsibilitles and basis of report As the trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act'l. I report in respect of my examination of the Parochial Church Council'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 14515llbl 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. l. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act,. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for atcounting and reporting by charities 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. Signed.. Name.. Simon Dennis Applicable listed body. Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Address.. 10 Dunbar Croft, Queensbury Bradford BD13 IQX Date.. 11 May 2026