**THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH, LEYTONSTONE RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1207111** THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH, LEYTONSTONE REC.ISTERED CIIARITY NUMBF.R 1207111 DIDEPEf+lJ)F.NT FL4MINER'S, REPORT FOR THF, YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 I report to the Parochial Church Council (PCC) on my examinatioi) of ihe accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 Deceii)ber 2025 ivhich is set out on the following pages. Respon*ibilitie.s and b&8is of report As the charity's trustecs you are responsible for the preparation of thc accounts in accordance with the rcquiremcnts of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act.). J rcport in respcct of my cxa]nination of the ¢harity's accounts earri¢d out undcr scction 145 of thc Act and in catrying out my cxamination I hdVL folluwLd all the applic&blc Dircctiolls given by thc Charity Cuininis5ion under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examiner's statcment J have completed my examination. I confirni that no matcrial matters h&ve come lo my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. accounting rccords wcrc not kcpt r¢spcct of thc charity as rcquircd by scction 130 of thc Act. or the accounts do not accord with those record%; or T have no Concerns and h&ve come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention shoiild be drawn in this report in ord¢r to enabl¢ a proper understanding of the a¢¢ounts lo be rcachcd. Dean O$borne FCA Clay Ratllage StreveJ)l+ & Hills Suite D, The Business Ceiitre aringdon Avenue Romford Essex RM3 8EN Date: ST JOHN THE BAPTIST LEYfoNSTONE - Registered Clwity Number 120nii TRUSTEES REPORT 20Z5 Aims and Purposes St John's Parothial thurch Council (PCC) has the responsibiIity of co-operating with the Clergy in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the churd pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical" and also to maintain the fabric of the church. the church hall. and the grounds. Objectives and Activities St John the Baptist Church tEytonstone (St John's) is a lively, diverse. family-friendly churdi in the heart of the ieytoT￿One conununity in East London. We seek to share the love of God and good news of Jesus C￿]St through all that we do, whether it is on Sunday or Wednesday at our worship Servi￿5. or serving the community throughout the week St John's is part of the Churth of England, in the DI0￿Se of Chelmsford, and the Deanery of Waltham Forest. We work with other churches in Irytonstone for the annual RerneMbran￿ Day serv1￿. the Walk of the Crosstwalk of Withess, and to support the Food Share. We look to increase our collaborations in the future. St John's is part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest and n￿IntainS good working relationships with the local community and the Counal. The Church hosts the regular meetings of the'Leytonstone Town Team,, a group of local businesses and residents, who work with the Council to help guide improvements to the area and to support local businesses. The thurch has also partnered with the Council in two recent ventures: 'Summer at St Johns,, and the Wtonstone Community Cinema. The Metropolitan Poli￿ organise interfaith events aimed to encourage and deepen understanding between different faith communities and these are attended by clergy whenever possible. The PCC considers guidance from the a)arity commis￿on on public benefit when planning its activities, particularly the specific guidan￿ on the advancement of religion. We try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parÈsh FinalTrustees Report 5/5126 community through worship and prayer. pastoral care for people living in the Parish, and missionary and outreach work. Safeguarding The PCC ensures that a member of the thurch has lead responsibility for safeguarding in respect of its activities, that it considers safeguardms at its regular meetings, and that its employees and volunteers are reLTUited safely. Our Safeguarding Offi￿r carries out DBS checks on those who hold qualifying positions as set out in the Church of England's latest Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance, and ensures regular training is undertakeTL We aim to hold a dedÉcated Safeguarding Servi￿ eath year aimed at increasing awareness of Safesuarding in our Church. and to promote a safe experience in church for all who attend. Aehievements and Perforniance Worship and Prayer The PCC is keen to offer a Tange of services each week that our congregation find both benefiaal and spiritually fulfilli￿. r current pattern of worship is the main Sunday service at 1tr30AM which indudes groups for children, and mid-week services of morning prayer and Holy Communion. We aIso hold occasional evening services to mark the seasons of the year. such as Advent. Lent, Passiontide, Easter and Ascensio￿ and our Patronal Festival. We were pleased to continue a Servi￿ of Choral Even￿)ng On￿ a montlL Our Sunday morning service typically attracts a congregation of 68 adults and 10 children. The Se￿1￿ is live-streamed and attracts a 'virtual congregation. of about 56 people. The midweek Communion Servi￿ is usually attended by about 14 people. All are welcome to attend our regular servi￿. A LTeche facility was set up this year and has been well received, attracting between three to four families two of whom are new to chuTth. Final Trustees Report 515126 Sunday School runs for children from five years old, in Sparkler and Trailblazer groups aged 3 - 7 and 8+. Provision for older children and those in teenage years is being discussed and we hope to be able to provide groups to support theTn in the future. We are very grateful for all those who volunteer faithfully and tirelessly for creche and Sunday School to support families and children in the churclL As well as our regular Servi￿ we enable the communÈty to ￿lebrate and to thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. tn 2015 we celebrated ten baptisms with candidates, ages ranging from babies to late teens. and one confirmation. We held one funeral in the thurth as well as conducting two funerals in non-churth locations, and four disposals of cremated remains in the churchyard. We undertook a complete revision of the Electoral Roll in 2025 and resulting in a decrease in the number of members. Electoral Roll NUM1￿ on roll 91 127 Additions 12 DeletÈons 21 the Parish outside the Parish 91 the roll Deanery Synod Three members of PCC sit on the Waltham Forest Deanery Synod. This provides PCC with an important link beLween the parish and the wider governance structures for the Church. Final Trustees Report 515126 Church Building We await resistration of a Twrow strip of land to the rear of the adjoining the retail site now occupied by Aldi. We are grateful to London Over the Border for funds to assist with this. The gutter between the North wall of the church and the offi￿ started leaking and is causins damage to the interior of the ChurdL Quotations for the repair were sought. We are aware that we need to start planning for a replacement for the gas boiler in the Churth. The PCC has di5CUSsed the Church of England's policy of moving towards NET ZERO and agreed that this should inform our decision-makins soing forward. Chvrchyard The appearan￿ of the churchyard continues to improve. reflecting the work of the Community Payback team. Being in an urban location with deprivatio￿ the churchyard experien￿ anti-s(Kial behaviour induding drug use and rough sleeping. We were grateful Eor the assistance of our local counallors and Safer Neishbourhoods team in managing these issues. The beautiful Victorian Grade 2 cast-iron railings were repaired by Keystone again. following a second inodent of damage by a vehide driving up Leytonstone High Road. Their repair is a specialÉst job, and we are thankful that most of the cost was covered by our insuran￿. Following the theft ofbrass handrails from the main steps leadins up to the thurth in 2024. the handrails weTr replaced with wrought iro Churth Hall The church hall is used by the Sunday School; a forLnightIy young adults, group; a monthly prayer meetin& Vintage Tea for seniors. and CoTtununity Payback. Additionally, the hall is hired out to dubs and societies, and various exercise dasses take pla￿. The hall is resularly hired for private events such as birthday parties. FinalTrustees Report 515126 The hall is in a poor state of repair and architects KFf have drawn up plans for refurbishment of the kitche￿ the heating and the r(x)f. We await registration of the Churth Hall with the Land Registy. An estimate was obtained from UK Power Networks to increase the supply of electricity to the building. Funds raised by the annual Ride and Stride event were set aside for the refurbishment of the kitche￿ and several individual donattons were received. The heating also needs upgrading as one of the gas boilers is near the end of its useful life. Agai￿ we will be guided by the NET ZERO policy. Pastoral Care We run a Tange of activities that offer pastoral care to the congregation and the community. There is a prayer group whose memk*rs regularly pray foT those in need. We have a pastoral team whose member5 Visit thi)se who are housebound or in care homes or hospital. The clergy visit the sick and take Holy Communion to their home. The dioir visited George Mason Lodge care horne to sing caTols at Christmas. The monthly Vintage Tea is very popular and aims to redu￿ loneliness amongst senior members and provide a Spa￿ to develop friendships and community. The Mayor of Waltham Forest has visited the Wmtage Tea. We also hold services which provide an opportunity for pastoral care at times of the year, such as'In Loving Memoty, and the dI￿Ual Christmas memorial ser￿￿ run in conjunction with Di￿lty Funerals. We held an Animal Welfare Servi￿ in September with an opportunity to remember pets which had died and were pleased to welo)me the Right Reverend Lyrnie Cullens. Bishop of Barkin& to preath at this servi￿. Some members of the church meet in Home Group5 between seTvices. either online or in person. The groups offer Bible study, prayer, fellowship and mutual support. FinalTrustees Report 515126 Mission and Evangelism For many years, the church has supported the annual Christian Aid appeal. In 2025, we also supported the Children's Society through a collection at the ChristingIe Service and the Felix Projett charÈty through collecttons while carol singing outside our Rocal supermarket, and at the Carol Servi￿. We have worked with Community Payback on the Maintenan￿ of the churchyard. A LÉsht Party was held on 31* October for children of primary school age. The church is gifted with a wonderful strategic town-cEntre locatio￿ with a forecourt and churchyard in addition to the attractive listed building 0£ the thurch itself. Part of our mission is to be at the hub of the Leytonstone couununity, and we work in partnership with the London borough of Waltham Forest and others to host a range of events including lighting of the ChristTna5 tree: Daylight Music: Shake the High Road; Pitchstone; Orchestral con￿rtS and LeytODStone Folk. We held a joint event in the Hall with the Leytonstone Festival. December saw the launch of the Community Cinema in conjunction with the Counal and we are grateful for their sUPPOrt. aergy attend meetings of the IEytonstone Town Team WOTking with the Council and local businesses to improve the High Street. Meetings are held in the church. Ecwnenical relationships We have a Food Share collectton point inside the church, and every Saturday mornin& there is a collection in the thurthyard. we are blessed to receive donations from individuals and Residents Associations. The donations are tlien taken to the church of Holy Trinity St Augustine of Hippo, from where they are distributed at a Tuesday food bank The incumbent attends an interfaithbreakfast OTganised regularly by the Metropolitan Poli￿. which brings faith leaders together from across the convnunity, to foster good relationships. Final Trustees Report 515126 Finanaal ReFiew St Johns holds both a Community and a Busin￿ Premium ME Account with Bardays Bank PLC. Restritted Funds areheld atCCLA Investment Management Ltd in the CBF Churdi of England Deposit Fund. Following on from our registration as a charity we submitted our first accounts to the Charity COMMI￿On. Income Donations and Legacies rose from £112.764 to £130,535. The increase was due to donations for the work to the diurch hall. Combined income from Charitable and trading activities wa5 £28,552.29 in 2024. The 2025 accounts show these as separate income streams: £15,228.70 from tharitable. and £10.24657 from Tradin& a total of £25,775.27. Investment income rose from £2,695.34 to £3.82431. reflecting both hisher de- P05its and higher interest rates. Other income fell from £15.367.09 to £6,161.45. We continue to fa￿ very significant financial challenges but were able to pay our redU￿d Parish Share in full. We joined the Parish Giving Scheme and welcome new donors to join this cost effiaent method of giving. The insurance premium increased significantly after three daims to rePair/repla￿ the railings and handrails. The cost of energy continued to be a major cause for concern. Our net expenditure was £8779.24 for the churdL We continue to be very dependent on income raised through lettings of the church hall, and of the churth itselt. particularly for concerts. io Staffing and volunteers The Parish was served by our vicar Reverend Liz Blackham in her first full year of Ministry at St Johns. We are gratefut to retired dergv who offer their services to enable continuity of the service pattern. We continue to n￿]ntain Reverend Pervaiz ￿ as a &lf-Supporttng Minister on our register and hope to welcome him back when he is able to return to ministry. FinalTrustees Report 515126 In September Silvanus Brightie started work as an Associate Minister on a paTt-time basis. Dr Neil Houghton undertcK)k a three-month Pla￿meTht at St Johns as part 0£ his Following a long sabbatical Peter Scott decided not to retum to the role of Director of Music. We are grateful to Peter and his family for all their contsibutions to church life over many years. Ben Summers continued as organist at Sunday Communion services and special service5. We are fortunate to have a robed choir at Communion ServI￿S and EverLsons. We would like to thank all the church members who work so hard to make the church welcoming every week. We would like to thank the volunteers for their hard work in Administration, rna7ntenan￿ of the buildin& flower-arrangin& music makin& the Welcome Tew Refreshments team. Creche volunteers. Sunday School teachers and helpers, and the e-mission team. li Strncture, Governance and Management PCC members are appointed according to Church Representation Rules. Membership of the PCC includes all dergy. thurchwardens. and all members elected by those members of the con8re8ation present at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting who are on the electoral roll. All those who attend our services are encouraged to join the electoral Toll and stand for election to PCC PCC is responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concem and importance to the parish. The full PCC met eight times during the year, on 28th January (by Z(M)m), Isl ApriL 6th and 27th May, 2nd June, 15th July, 16th September. and 18th November. Administrative inforniation Final Trustees Report 515126 CorresD0nden￿ address 0£ the church is 825 Hiqh Road, LEytonstone, London ill IHH.The PCC is a corporate body governed by Parothial Church Counal (Powers) Measure 1956, (Church Representation Rules 20Lj. St John's is regkstered as a charity. the (]wity Registration number is 1207111. Bankers are Bardays Bank PLC. I Churchill 14a￿. London,E14 5HP and CCLA, PO UOX 12892. Dunmow, Essex CM6 9DL Solicitors are Winckworth Sherw(x)d, Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road. London SEI 9AX Book-keeping servi￿5 and Independent Examiner 15 aay Ratnage & Co, Suite D, The Business Centre, Faringdon Avenue, Rornford, Ewx, RM3 8EN. PCC composition following the APCM in May 2025: Warden Ward Elethd Membu5 Vacan I￿ Chair Fa jolff￿)Tr-Ja[[ Katharine Smith Rebecca Motunra o Dada Vacan MAd Approved by the PCC on .5.[￿& 2D* .and signed by Rev. Liz Blackham FinalTrustees Report 515126 Leytonstone St John the Baptst Charity 1207111 Sofa Swrate Dosignated For the period from 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 t￿￿tiOnS ￿ le5a .71 21￿1$ 1WWJ 1WJ.70 116&( 112,764.05 15.767.86 12784.73 2.￿.34 15.367.1 15,528.70 10246.57 3￿4fj1 6.161A5 IX8.*13 1￿18 6.I0&(XI 5SAS R8ISitvJfL￿ 3ffi3AI 420426 1378￿47 1Th) 1537.77 121￿￿) 16.fk5&671 12441&70 21.7￿ 14,774.70 9JILY) lo523T￿ I1.7￿ 1%11&55 16m)SY 11.74&56 14058.n 4Q19 327.19 2328026 P27.191 I232￿￿) 212.IKJ LèinSAo5￿ rninKestrnetrt*sets (>￿?1) 16IWJ> 11￿37 24237.& .175J7 I)J4128U4 9N11Z97 1,C*4525Jg 1,0412W4 Gènord DD8ignated Re8t¥ict•d Endo￿nt 31MW2025 A 3111212024 Flxed assets TaruL4eK65ets 928.m 4.101 931824. 9a723 928.723.00 928.723.00 101.60 931824.60 urrent a5591S C&shABwl(thl 27.43*(kfj 51ST151 S3. 27NtsOS 51AT151 s3,￿5￿3 132.70139 I12￿.34 112.565.34 132.701a9 Uabllltlos Net ¢urrent ass•ts 18s5 Gurrent liabmltles 27N33.05 51.5r151 $3.69&83 131701.39 112.565.34 Tot•1 as8•ts curr•ht Mabilill•s 27.433.05 98029531 57.797A3 1.W525.99 1,041.Z88.34 Liabllltles Totsl n•t awt* lou Ilabllfti•¥ 27A3105 $803￿$1 57,797A3 1,0￿525.9$ 1,041.288.34 presénted by Unréstrirted 31W.76 Deslgnatod 453W1 45￿.0) gJ4586. 24.137m 35,49152 E￿ign￿l. FWI W.txAldirg 24.137.CO 24.137.00 Ro¥trict0d Restr&￿.(knr £ieA95 7.13909 917.40 2.184.95 7.13&89 917AO R*kn(J£d.P4ptL4 lri 10.IKXi( 21,rKo.ixi 1.511.(X) 4￿.00 1,(6926 17T.36 874.19. 1,￿1.60 2,1￿28 41.18 12>251 2,040.37 3245 171 874.19 s)m 1.1￿.71 70 1.169.77 70. 0561.Charity(xlled 1281. 2,n3.83 ¥).(K) 111S928 13.￿1￿3 145W.$2 0701- Lyles IT29 4,T29J8 3x5.93 371.(A) 6,60D.Th) A2 37111J l)ortation5 legaciES Totals 89,2￿77 2165115 1&W3 130,534.05 112,764.05 InGomo from Gh*7table a¢tivlts"es 1101.FEe¥ tr￿￿r￿J5 1230.Churth Fdl lethtK>.fvOIF￿s 1232.ClxAth hatttetry.EkxSasa 1&3.CthLYchMI leiW.(Srfs Fwxty 1234-chkkthI￿118￿4.th&Ll￿¥E￿S 1215.chwth￿118uj.￿.Le￿￿tyEFdk Y237.Chwthtr41 1￿hr￿.￿frtxDI￿Y￿f*E 1474.CKII 3,767. 5.11X)I 1A10m 5.4S).(KJ 5DD.(N) 750.￿1 43J.(K) 765LX) Totsl General DesigTrJl8d R•strirt•d Endown*nt Last ￿ar 1240.(￿ ha}leth￿5.7Arte 1241-{￿N￿ haietbr4E-TitN￿le￿ 1￿.(￿) 1&84 79.36 IncoTh from charttable ad¥¥llles Tot 1.903.70 13.62&00 15,S28.70 15,767.86 Othertradlng activilrés 127 t27D) 1.1￿.64 1.461 09)S.MntyeTea 0910. Fundra￿1￿j￿ty 1191_10 1,13o(e 6.10 a191.10 1.134. &10 4￿.00 437.C 1.771.84 3,701INI 1244.Cthurthld&'n95 1251.S*e5.CA)adiTri I￿).(￿0T￿N￿dan￿sa8s 3225.IKJ 437JJ) 33trt) Other tradlng acYvtt*¥ T(¥ta 9.98&57 260.00 10.246.57 I2,7￿73 Inv88tm&nt8 1m.B***11b￿c&￿8CO*i￿8sl 1,￿18 1,8X18 3,￿.81 Investrnents Total$ 1,$08A3 2.695.34 Other Income OQKJ1. 131D. ￿￿ar￿{* A5 1461.711 15.828N) 15.367.09 6,1(LS. 6.10& 6.161AS Othar Income Totals 56A5 6.105.QQ lo1.649.￿ 37.78U8 26060.11 16629&38 159379.07 Expendlture on". Raising funds 1rn.C£6ts ￿st￿￿t￿p{W[￿gn 3ffi3.41 3.863A1 4W426 4,2￿26 2A70.77 Rthlny lunds Ttstsl$ 340 2.537.77 Expendlturn on charita1￿ acti¥iti05 1731.v￿T0a￿￿e5 1n2-￿￿$ 581S2 5819 Z7T7 2.7T19) SI￿72) 3,9101 17I 391620 53h95.sj 2,635.CQ 1910.Mrrtstyrwishstrwp* M)2.Qy*M"$ir88s 17.( 2101.￿hr￿Je￿ts* céir¥JJnbwl 21￿1.￿W￿r0ey￿e5 cétypfA 140AfjI 121.63 274. Yotal Gert•ral Designatsd Restricl•d EndoThnt Thi$ >*•r Last Jear 2105.mtsid•￿ F895.Cc¥w 23.75 132.co 2175 132m 711Aa. 474.19 219)-Ur*s 1￿.¢N} 13).Tr) 2l70.EdL￿afjC 2201-P*shtr•nirKJaThJmissh 191 19126 8,W.14 n4AO 5,493.KJ 541. 14 2310-ChurthCth(s-￿¥ 231l-ChUthN￿M￿g-￿ts￿￿ 2%￿0.￿l[lar￿>ti￿1Kj 471 47_01 3017_10 3.817.10 11599S1 2.421(K) 2.051n1 3923 2.051.15 7&31.c￿¥rf 151728 1￿￿7 1.(M121 1.94728 19937 2333.aearMrwJmaiBrias 1.￿127 21I1.PAlirYJs rwrs 7,1(&(A) 7.1LiS.Q) K4.OD 19340.84 2MI.thI￿tstic ?%1-tharges￿rn 4fAA9 S)J7 170.40 4,W 3,707JJ 109J3 13ffk 119 1.921.￿] I￿.45 119.93 1.921. I￿1￿4 2368.￿r￿ sstt 2￿9.￿r￿rye￿tseS 2401.(knrthnrrir￿-￿&￿c 24I0.Ctrtarth rLrriry"yas 2420.(￿Urtth 7&74 76.74 67 67.63 1367.62 4411.62 .277.53 73.67 I￿327 12226 5A11fj2 27753 2520. QM￿r0.dthr*J 2530. rUnnIry.d&*￿ty 254D. ftrrirvJ-EBs 2550. ￿￿1 runnbro.1￿Uran 1261.95 2,191.12 1.197.74 1J2.64 1.976.79 2g*.12 15D.(X) 1.(WA70 1y7 I,[￿70 1,947.99 123&81 1.58&66 2701.