Annual Report and Finanaal Statements of the Parothial Churth Council for the year end 31st De￿rnber 2025 The Parish of St John's Church, Doddington Addressforcorrespondence.. The Hon. TreaSU￿r. Ewan Gibb, Stjohn's Church. Daddinoton. DY14 OHL Rector: The Rerfd Prebendary Ashley Buck Bankers: Uoyds Bank Independent Examiner. Mr& Maureen Field I￿r web slte: www.stiOhn￿din8t￿.1x8 The Parochial Church Council of St John's Church Doddington Annual Report for the year ended 31° December 2025 ASM and Pu St John's Doddington Parochial Cthurch Council {the PCC) has the responsibility of cc¥)peratin8 With the Incumbent, the Rerfd Prebendary Ashley Buck. in promotin8 Within the ecdesiastical parish, the whole mlsslon of the Church. pastoral. evangelistic. social and ecumenKal. The Church is a Grade11 Listed Buildin& and the PCC is also responsible for maintainin8the surrounding Churchyard. Objectlves and Actlvltles The PCC Is committed to enablln8 as many people as posslble to worshlp at our Church. and to become part of our parish family. When planning our activit*s. the PCC has considered the Charlty Comm155lon's guldance on public benefft. and In particularthe speafK guidan￿ on charities forthe advancement of reli8ion. The PCC also tries to ensure It adheres to best practice behaviors in respect of ecological responslblllty. Our servlces and worship put faith into practice through prdyer and scripture, muslc and sacrament. We try to enable ordinary people to live out their falth as part of our parish family. through: Worship and prayer: leamin8 about the Gospel, and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus; Provislon of pastoral care for people Imng in the parfsh: and Mission and community 0￿￿ach work In support of thls work, the PCC malntalns the fabrfc of both the Churth and the Churthyard. Athlevements and Perforniance Worshlp ond Pmyer Consistent with its mission and available resour￿. the PCC 15 keen to ensure that a range of services is available each month. Currently these are held every first Sunday {mornin8 Eucharist) alld third Sunday (afternoon Evening Prayer) of the month. supplemented by festival services. as dates fall ITr the month. The PCC sees its mission as reaching beyond the walls of the buildin& out into the community in holdin8 monthly Community events. There are 21 people registered on the Electoral Roll. {2024- 221. Thanks to a generous one-off donation in the year. we acquired a beautiful new lertern Bible. As well as our regular 5ervice5, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey throu8h life. A monthty Holy Communion Service is also held in Doddin8ton Lodge Care Home. There was one burial of ashes durin8 the year. Our annual Carol Service was as usual held jointly wlth our friend5 the Methodlsts, this year at St John's. Lleunerysynod One member of the PCC sits on the Dlocesan Deanery Synod. Thls provldes the PCC with a Ilnk wlth the churches around us. and also with the Di¢xese as a whole. It also receives reports from the Generdl Synod. Churth Fobrfc ond our Projert The Beacon on the Hill Project. COStlng approx. £450.CKXI and funded by a portfollo of 11 (eleven) grant- makin8 bodies was in full swing in the year. Project planning Started In 2017 and followlng a long perlod of plannin8 and fvndin8 applications, the main project expenditure started In February 2024. The Project has transformed the West end of the Church and ground floor of the Tower. We have repaired all our unique cast iron windows, connetted the building to mains water. f￿ed a toilet. improved access. frtted a small servery. and a drop-ln refreshment area. These faolities focus on a collertion and display of physical and di8ital heritage materials thereby creating a heritage dtsplay Spa￿ that acts as a "gatewaf to those tho want to explore the rith and deep heritage of the buildin& community and landscape In whlch the building sits. We are delighted that, as well as meetlng the project speclfied deliverables, we had sufflclent financlal contin8ency left as the project ended to be able to agree with the Lottery Fund that we could add in the refurblshment of the Organ and our aock. We were also delighted that as part of the Project we were able to hold a wide range of heritage and community focused events- workshops, walk5, visits. craft sessions- culminating in our"Son8 of The Hill-. This multimedia concerL created by our songwriter in residence, Sid Peacock, involved local groups and the local school, and was perfomied in May 2025 in Ludlow St Laurence's. A film of that event fornis part of the legacy created by the Project and is available on our website. The work in Church meant we started the year holding servlces at the local village Hall, to whom we are very grateful for their h05Pitality. We were able to resume worship in the Church bulldin8 in April 2025. The Church Is now open from 9am tlll 5pm each day. The PCC belleves that the Proiect chan8es have honoured and complimented the peace and simplicity of the bulldin8 as a place for continued worship and contemplation, and provlded an enhanced community asset for visttors, whether local or from afar. The PCC gives prayerful thanks to the skillful and talented contractors and project leaders we *ffjrked wlth, and we are also very grnteful to all the volunteers who have helped us durlng the year at our events and who continue to help In all aspects of the malnteTran￿ of the buildin& In the communlty events we hokl and worship that take place in St John'% Mlsslon ond Evonqellsm Provldin8 SUPPOrt and v4ents for the community is a demonstration of our falth. Durln8 thts year, we held many community her￿age, outreach and entertainment events, and one sponsored event. The events held Included walks, talks, tlle makln& photO8raphy. writing events, heritage gatherin& heritage visits, community entertainment events and our Songof The Hlll. The PCC gives a huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped, and those who attended those events Harvest Auction raised £198 for Ueobury Mortimer First Responder5. We continue to be active on appropriate Social Media platfornis. and during the Projert we buitt and launched our newwebsite www.st'Dhnsdoddin on.or whith contains information and heritage Inforniatlon from a wealth of talented and 8enerous individuals, as well as detalls of our church events and serylces, and some of the heritsge legacy dlgltal assets created as part of the Beacon on the Hlll project. Other Acdvltles The PCC holds monthly meetings to organize events and sustsin the workings of the Parish. Our Church Warden also attends local Parish Council meetings to provlde updates as appropriate. The PCC Is a member of Caring for Gods Acre, A Rocha I"Eco Church-l and Shropshire Historic Churches Tnjst. Flnandal Revlew The number of activities mean that we have a number of separate Fund& These have to be recorded separately and presented in separate fund types. In accordan￿ wlth accountlng best practlce. Those fitnds fall into the categorles descrlbed below- Unrestricted. Desl8nated, Restrlcted and Endowment. Unrestrfrted Funds-The General Fund The fund which manages the day to day runnin8 of the Church and Parish is the Unrestrlcted General Fund {The General Fund"). Total receipts on the General Fund were £11,128 {2024- £8,388) and payments from thls fund totaled £10,850 {2024- £5.2471 . giving a modest surplus of £27812024- surplus £3,082). Our fall in surplus is partly due to the General Fund havin8 to pay for the interest of £3,567 on the Hereford Diocesan bridging loan (the terms of donor funds not pemitting loan interest to form part of Project costs). We are 8rateful for regular 8ivin& particularly through the Parish Givin8 Scheme. the use of which greatly simplifies cash administration particularly in thi5 age of dosin8 bank branche& PCC income is au8mented by the continued community events we managed to hold. During the year these contributed £3.69912024- £2,128). We also hope that the church improvements will incTease use of the facilities by the communrty and visitors. As a result, on80ing costs will rise (for example, water. electricity}, but PCC hope that, as was envisaged when we undertook the Beacon on the Hill Project, the increased usa8e brings With it increased donations and earned revenue. so boosting general revenues and su5tainin8 the building into the future. Total General fund expenditure was £10,85012024- £5,247). In 2025 this induded the loan interest payment of £3,567 (not a feature in 2024). The lar8est on8oin8 element of our costs is our contlnued glvlng £2,850 (2024- £2.795) to Central Churth purposes The Parish Offerf (which in turn helps pay for our cler8y), and insurance of the building £1,12712024- £1,106). Wlth the surplus of £278 generated this year, the asset balance on the General Fund is £6.278, 51i8htly above our £6,￿> agreed policy target. Designated Funds- Fabrlc Repair Gravryard Maintenance: A