St Mary's Church, Headington Barton - Sandhills - Barton Park Annual Report and Financial Statements Of the Parochial Church Council For the year ended 31st December 2025 Presented to the Annual Meeting of Parishioners and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 17h May 2026 Ir￿MbenI. The Revd Bossward {Resigned D￿mber 2025) St Mary's Chur(*) Bayswater Road Headington OXFORD OX3 9EY Registered Charity Number: 1209987 Bank: Lloyds Bank PO Box1000 BX11LT Independent Examiner.. Mr Andrew Gower 28 mil￿ End Long HantM)rough WITNEY OX29 8BX This report was presèntéd to the Parochial Church Council on Sunday 19th April 2026 and was ac£epted and approved by the members. Trevor Jones Vice Chaimian John Gallacher Church warden David Stephens Church warden ## **Introduction** ## **Aims and Purposes** The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Mary’s has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social, and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church. The PCC is a statutory charitable corporate body (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2020). The PCC is registered with the Charity Commission. **Registration no: 1209987** . ## **Membership** Members of the PCC serve either as ex-officio members or are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Members may also be co-opted by the PCC at a later date. All PCC members are charity trustees who must: - Comply with legal requirements - Manage resources responsibly - Act in the charity’s best interests - Act with reasonable care and skill - Ensure the charity is accountable The Annual Church meetings were held in May 2025. The following were elected to serve as members of the PCC from May 2025. The churchwardens’ served from July 2025. ## **Ex-officio members:** **Parish Priest:** Revd Eric Bossward (Resigned Dec 2025) **Churchwardens:** Mr David Stephens (July 2025-) Prof John Gallacher (July 2025-) **Deanery Synod** Mr Trevor Jones [Vice Chairman & PCC Treasurer] **Representatives:** Mr Alasdhair Hedges **Elected Members: Elected annually** Mr Zak Aylett (Resigned March 2026) Mrs Hellen Chama Mrs Bev Field Mrs Pam Horwood Mrs Wendy Jones [PCC & Electoral Roll Secretary] Ms Adina Josephs Mr Emmanuel Kalemera Ms Torie Stubbs **Standing Committee:** The Vicar – The Churchwardens The PCC Treasurer – The PCC Secretary ( _During the incumbent’s absence Alasdhair Hedges joined the Standing Committee_ ). 3 ## **Church Membership** All those who attend our services are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll. Enrolment is a way of saying “I belong.” It is an act of commitment to St. Mary’s Church, and it opens the way for you to have greater involvement in the life of the church at parish, deanery, and diocesan levels. In 2025 a completely new electoral roll was prepared and **66** people completed enrolment forms. ## **Services** On the first Sunday of the month an All-Age Family Service is held at 10.00 and on the other Sundays a Parish Eucharist takes place at 10.00. However, with our move to the Barton Neighbourhood Centre and a lack of available clergy to preside at communion a different pattern of worship was set up, and Morning prayer was introduced when clergy were not available to preside. During services children and young people can participate in separate activities. ## **Church Statistics** The average Sunday attendance in 2025 was 48. There were no marriages, no baptisms, 2 services of thanksgiving for children and 4 funerals of church members. As the church was closed these funeral services were held at other local churches, the crematorium or local cemetery. The total number attending services in the Parish over Easter 2025 was 95 and the number attending worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2025 was 0. (The church was still closed for building work and the Barton Neighbourhood Centre (being a Council owned property) was not open over the Christmas period, so no services could be held). Members were encouraged to attend services at other local churches. ## **Safeguarding** The PCC complies with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). The PCC’s Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually. ## **Parish Policies** - Safeguarding GDPR Policies Recruitment of Ex-offenders • Data Privacy Notice Recruitment • Breach Policy - Disciplinary • Parish Data & Information Grievance Policy Complaints Safety policies Dignity and Respect in Ministry and at Work • Working at Height policy and procedures - • Lone working procedures - Fire Risk assessment 4 ## **Vice Chairman’s Report** Following our last annual meeting, we moved out of the church building so that our Building to Serve project could begin. We have continued to meet at the Barton Neighbourhood Centre on Sunday mornings. The past twelve months have been a difficult time for St Mary’s. We have faced challenges, but despite these we have pulled together and continued to provide a worshipping community for the parish. Difficulties and challenges faced are described in reports in this document. However, these included having no churchwardens following the last APCM, loss of access to our church building, our builder being declared bankrupt at the end of 2025, needing to find new contractors to complete the work, Eric’s ongoing illness and his eventual resignation. Despite these setbacks we found ways to move forward and there have been many things for which we are thankful and should give praise. With Eric’s extended absence, the PCC and Standing Committee organised itself into small teams with many other members taking responsibility for various aspects of our church life. Our form of worship needed to change to “morning prayer” when a priest was not available to administer communion. This brought benefits and a wider experience to our worship and shared the load. Many have helped along the way, so this will be a word of sincere thanks to them. To the Barton Neighbourhood Centre for being able to accommodate us on a Sunday morning and during the week for the Barton Small Group. To David Bird for working tirelessly to manage the B2S project. This has involved seeking grants and liaising regularly with the builders and architects. Hopefully completing in May / June 2026 with a renewed building. John Gallacher and David Stephens felt called to step up as church wardens. David Bird and Will Donaldson have preached and presided at many of our services. Along the way Archdeacon Jonathan, Pam Daniel, Sam Durley and Rob Gilbert have also preached and presided. Reg Field, Nev Jones and Nick Wooding have preached. We give thanks that others have stepped up to set up the room on Sunday mornings, lead our services, provide music, preach, read lessons, provide intercessions, AV and refreshments. We are extremely grateful to Zoe and Zak Aylett for their great contribution. Zoe as safeguarding officer and Zak for gathering the “set up” team. Their change of circumstances has led them to make the difficult decision to leave St Mary’s, but we wish them well for the future. Our small groups and “Roots with Nick and Nev” have continued to flourish. A successful week of prayer for our building and recruitment of a new vicar was managed by Bev Field. Our PCC secretary, Wendy Jones, has provided regular communication with the weekly Newsletter and monthly magazine. All PCC and Standing Committee members that have stepped up over the past twelve months. Sadly, some long serving members of our congregation passed away during the last year. We fondly remember Colin Booth, Joan Brady (former churchwarden), Muriel Enser and Teresa Murphy. Looking forward, we pray for Wendy Jones and David Stephen, our parish representatives in the selection process for our next vicar. 5 There are many things for us to be thankful for. There are events and people that could be mentioned. I apologise for any that I may have omitted, but your contribution is sincerely appreciated. So, let us give praise to God that we are being given resources to continue to worship, renew our building, provide outreach to our community and navigate our way through these difficult times. Let us all look forward to returning to our church building, appointing our next vicar and being invigorated to extend Christ’s kingdom to Barton, Sandhills and Barton Park. ## _Trevor Jones Vice Chair PCC_ _Palm Sunday_ _Sunday service at BNC_ 6 ## **Proceedings of the Parochial Church Council** It has been another challenging year for St Mary’s. The ongoing absence of the vicar on sick leave and the permanent move of the curate to another parish meant we were without a full-time ministerial team. The continued search for funding for the building project, and the subsequent unexpected failure of the building company were yet more problems to contend with. However, despite these setbacks, we have all worked together to ensure that St Mary’s continues to serve the needs of the parish. The Annual Parochial Church Meetings (APCM) were held in May 2025. At these meetings, the Churchwardens and members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are usually elected. Unfortunately, no nominations for Churchwarden were received. The APCM marked the closure of the church building and the beginning of the building work. Throughout the year the Building to Serve (B2S) project has been a major focus of our discussions. David Bird provided the PCC with regular updates about all aspects of the development. Unfortunately, the failure of the building company at the end of 2025 led to delays and the loss of some monies. As you will see from his report, David has done an enormous amount of work leading the project and has worked tirelessly to get the project back on track. He deserves our sincere thanks for all his hard work and perseverance. Shortly after the APCM the new PCC met to discuss a way forward to keep the church running as Eric was again absent through illness. Premises for Sunday services had already been secured but with no vicar or curate (Sam had become curate at Old Marston) we needed to organise ourselves. We were fortunate to have David Bird and Will Donaldson to officiate from time to time, but it was unfair to expect them to continue indefinitely. As a result, several teams were set up to help things run smoothly. These included a Sunday set-up team, an operations team, an outreach and mission team, and an infrastructure team. The set-up team have helped our services at the Neighbourhood Centre to run smoothly. In June members of the newly elected PCC attended an online training event “PCC Tonight” which helps PCCs review their purpose and working practices. Bev subsequently produced a PCC Terms of Reference document outlining the responsibilities etc. of the PCC. A special Meeting of Parishioners was held in July to elect two Churchwardens. We are extremely grateful to David Stephens and John Gallacher who agreed to take on these roles. At the September meeting the churchwardens proposed a revised programme of services to help offset the lack of ordained clergy available to officiate. This has enabled an “every person” ministry with more people involved in the services, through reading, leading the prayers, leading the service, the music or giving a talk. 7 Standing items at every meeting have included a report on the Building to Serve Project, a report of the church finances, an update from the churchwardens and an update from our Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). We are extremely grateful to Zoe Aylett for her work as PSO over the last few years and wish her well as she steps down from the role in March 2026. We hope to appoint a new PSO soon. Our Parish Safeguarding policy was reviewed at the September meeting as was our Recruitment of ex-offenders’ policy. Our GDPR policies were reviewed in October. Each of these policies is reviewed annually. All other policies are reviewed on a scheduled basis. In October, following a data breach with APCS, our DBS provider, we temporarily signed up with thirtyone:eight as our DBS provider and in order to continue using the Safeguarding Hub we also had to sign up to the Safeguarding Hub Service agreement. Following a tendering process the Diocese appointed Verifile as their recommended DBS provider. Subsequently we also signed up with Verifile. In December we learnt that Eric would resign as Vicar at the end of the month. He attended the PCC meeting in early December and expressed his gratitude to the PCC for all that had been done to keep things running in his absence. He expressed his sadness at leaving but was aware that the last three years had been very difficult for all concerned. In January we learnt that the company working on the church had gone into liquidation. Thankfully, a new company was able to take on the work quite quickly so only a few weeks were lost. Official notification of the vacancy arrived in early January and since then, we have started the process of recruiting a new vicar for the Parish. This has involved consultation with the PCC, with the Parish Development Advisor, and the Archdeacon and members of the congregation who were asked what attributes they would like our new vicar to have. In early February we held our Section 11 meeting to appoint two Parish Representatives; David Stephens and Wendy Jones were appointed. The PCC is extremely grateful to the Barton Neighbourhood Centre for allowing us to use their facilities on a Sunday morning for our church services and on a Thursday morning for the Barton homegroup meetings. We are also grateful to John & Anne Gallacher and Amanda & David Stephens for allowing the PCC to meet in their homes. Now, we look forward to returning to a renovated and refurbished church building and to welcoming a new vicar to lead the congregation in the not-too-distant future. _Wendy Jones PCC Secretary_ 8 ## **Financial Report** Details of funds received and spent can be seen in the “Receipts and Payments”. In short, at the end of 2025, we had available funds totalling **£197,772** with £116,713 being restricted for various specific purposes, mainly Building to Serve, and £81,059 for general expenditure. Our allocated parish share rose to £32,806 which wee managed to pay in full. A great achievement. However, this is still less than it costs the Diocese to provide us with a parish priest, £55,061. In 2023 our annual income exceeded the limit for formally needing to register with the Charity Commission. This process was completed in September 2024, and our charity number is 1209987. This does mean that the 2025 accounts need to be formally submitted to the Charity Commission for publication. This year, 2026, will be equally as challenging! There is a parish share of **£32,806** to be found. There are the regular bills to be paid and generous support for our charitable mission giving during the year to be considered. Fundraising for “Building to Serve” will continue to figure prominently and will need our ongoing support and commitment. Despite some setbacks, we are fully committed to completing the B2S project to provide a building and facilities that we can all be proud of. There will also be other, so far unknown, issues that will surely arise. Our church cannot survive without strong Christian Stewardship. Financial support is vital in order that St Mary’s can thrive rather just survive. We must **all** give to the best of our ability. Giving is a part of our faith. It is an outward expression of putting God first in our lives. We should give proportionately, cheerfully, regularly, and most importantly, sacrificially. No one is asked to give more than they can afford, but regular giving is essential, and everyone should carefully consider what they can give. **We should all give what is right and not what is left.** We should all review our level of giving regularly. So, **please** carefully consider your current giving to St Mary’s. If anyone wishes to discuss stewardship, Gift Aid or any other aspect for giving then have a word with me, I will be only too pleased to help. Our Bible offers instances of guidance for giving. For example, the quotation on our giving envelopes from 1 Corinthians 16:2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him”. So, let us all consider our giving and give freely with thankfulness for what God has provided. Finally, I would like to record sincere thanks to Andrew Gower, our independent examiner, for verifying the 2025 accounts. _Trevor Jones_ _Hon. Treasurer_ 9 Sl Mary Headlngton Reeeipts and Payments 2025 Balance5 at T CCLA Lloyds 8ank 2024 237344 29427 28239 2025 249541 16278 61050 Deposit Account General Fund A General Fund 8 295010 326869 Restsi¢ted Funds Barttrn Growefr Includedabove 88rton Path B&gs Building to Serve Communi7y Wother Development Fund Alothewng Youth iVoFk FlowFund P&sÈor81 FtJrnl Spetral Collectlons Cr8rt5 andAcoms 338 iioo 123757 82T 11405 923 iioo 239208 5842 2925 5227 50 956 1050 1671 5661 1391 1491 Recei Stewardship Planned- Bank Planned- Envelopes Redaimed Tax 55006 1565 11624 $0273 1575 10254 68195 62102 Col*iens Church 1963 607 3fj32 70 193 1963 1030 30 165 Fees Donat￿nS Magazine Restricted Funds.. BaTton Growers Barton Park Bags Building to Serve B2S Grants B2S Grfl Aid Community Worf¢er Development Fund Mothersong Youth Wor% 140D 59855 5500 5042 13200 175081 246500 34765 720 400 3500 88497 457467 18 Flower Fund.. Special Collections-. UGACOX Julius & Dora Tear Fund Ukraine 400 500 350 1050 200 2300 Pastoral Fund Cralts, Acorns 180 12198 3588 Interest Miscella￿0￿$ 300 11305 117 179475 534697 St Mary Headinglon Racolpts and Paymgnts 2025 ments C￿rgY Expen888 Church.. 2024 181 2025 440 E*Gtri¢ty Insumn Rates Grounds Broadbandlcopiar Maintenance 11907 3038 219 1160 2416 17S7 8381 1628 257 507 20497 32235 3194 472 2709 11929 32878 Parish Share Mission Supwrt tar & Boths Fee5 Magazine stationery Telephone Music. 135 3181 A77 652 144 650 Organ Tuning F888 270 443 443 5527 Salari88 A￿tricted Funds.. Barton Gro*rs Barton Park Bag$ Building to Serve B2S Buikling B85pok8 B2S Architect Community Worker Development Fun Salaries Mothersong Youth Work 815 454 23336 10011 21600 18684 837 4727 575 435 10078 $60016 24592 80D8 890 2925 81018 16 e06962 18 Flower Fund.. SpecAal Colle¢tions Pastoral Funct Crafts. A¢oms 1250 435 1250 Dan¢ing Oxford Miscellaneous 27 1510 237 14 663795 Balances at 310ec8rnbBr LA DepositAccount Lloyds Bank General Fund A General Fund B 249541 16278 81050 75846 4638 117287 2686 197772 Restricted Funds Barton Grower5 Included above B8rton Park 88gs Building to Serve Community Worker D8velopm8nt Fund SingiNu Mafftas Youth Wortr FlowerFund P8Stor&lFund Special collect￿lS Creft5 arJtlAcoms 923 7100 239208 469 iioo 100869 5672 400 522T 2925 5227 956 IOS) 1671 956 1971 T Jone3 (Hon Treastsrerl 31 0e¢ember 2025 verS￿n 194eb-26 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE P.C.C. OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH, HEADINGTON. OXFORD 1. This report on the accounts of the P.C.C. for year ended 31 De￿mber 2025 is in respect of an examination carried out under Regulation 3131 of the Church Accounting Regulations 1997 and Section 144 (2) of the 2011 Charities Act. 2. My exarnination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 14412) of the Act and to be found in the guidance from the Central Board of Finance. That examination includes a review of the aecounting records kept by the P.C.C. and a comparison of the accounts with these records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees Con￿rning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden￿ that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. 3. In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention al which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the 2011 Charities Act to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the requirements of the Act, as also contsined in the Church Accounting Regulations 1997 have not been met, or b) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. lyl Andrew Gower Independent Examiner ## **Planned Giving / Stewardship report** Our church cannot survive without Christian Stewardship. Regular financial giving to the church is extremely important and can be either by standing order (bank transfer) or the weekly envelope scheme. At the end of 2025, there were twenty-five members giving by monthly standing order to our general fund or Building to Serve and three regularly using weekly envelopes. Several members had withdrawn from regular giving to St Marys for various reasons during the year. We are grateful to those who already give regularly, and if donors are taxpayers, then we can claim a Gift Aid refund on their offering from HMRC. This increases your gift at no extra cost to you. For 2025 we received a tax refund of £10,254 to general funds and £34,765 to Building to Serve. This demonstrates the real importance of Gift Aid with your giving. We can also claim from the HMRC in respect of cash donations collections and contactless giving in church (up to £8,000) and this accounted for £1248, included above. If you would like to join the giving scheme or make a donation by bank transfer, then please contact Trevor Jones for details. _Trevor Jones_ _Treasurer_ ## **Report on the Fabrics, Goods and Ornaments** ## **Buildings** The church building is currently undergoing refurbishment and extension and has not been in use since May 2025. The refurbishment addresses all the defects noted in the last quinquennial inspection report and will ensure the building is fit for purpose and should remain so for many years. For more details, see the Building to Serve report. The Cabin was broken into in March. Entry was gained through a side window from an area concealed by the hoardings and the garden shed. Several windows and interior doors were broken and there was minor damage to some of the toys and other items inside. Police obtained a positive DNA match and arrested a suspect. The damage was repaired under insurance, and windows were reglazed with laminated glass for better security. ## **The Furniture and Brassware** During the building works, the brassware and most of the church furniture has been locked either in the Cabin or in our ISO container inside the builders’ compound. Encouraged by the Diocese and the 20[th] Century Society, we took the opportunity to 13 identify items of furniture that are no longer required. Several items have been put up for sale and money raised will go to B2S. ## **The Organ** The organ was working before the building work started and is protected during the works. ## **The Communion Silverware** The Communion Silverware is cleaned on a regular basis and is in a good state of repair. When not in use the silverware is kept in a locked storeroom. ## **The Altar Frontals and Linen** Altar frontals and most of the linen are in storage – only a few linen cloths and purificators are in use while we are meeting at BNC. They are laundered each week: thank you to those who do the laundry. ## **The Church Grounds** The grounds around the church are being redeveloped along with the building. The uneven path has been dug up and is being re-laid with stronger foundations. The shrubs under the church windows have been removed as the roots were blocking drains and adding to damp problems in the building. Once the builders have finished, the lawned areas will require some attention, but should recover quickly. _David Stephens Churchwarden_ ## **Deanery Synod Report** The Deanery Synod was due to meet four times over the year, but one scheduled meeting was cancelled. Trevor Jones and Alasdhair Hedges represented St Marys in 2025/26, Trevor also served on the Standing Committee and as Deanery Treasurer. ## **Meeting 1** . June, Cancelled. **Meeting 2** . The second meeting in September was held at St James, Beauchamp Lane. After an update from Renew Oxford and the progress of mapping across Oxford, the meeting turned to families, young people and children’s work throughout the deanery. This comprised what has been happening, what new initiatives are planned and what changes are there. This was followed by Milius Palayiwa’s comments from his trip around the deanery and an update on finance. **Meeting 3** . Held in November and hosted by St James, Beauchamp Lane. The meeting initially considered an update on Renew Oxford which had identified six areas of need, focussing on children, youth, families and people in crisis. There followed a round-up of good news stories from the various parishes, before the 14 meeting once again focussed on Finance, considering both the current year and the plans for next year. Deanery Synod ended with a round of thanks for Geoff Bayliss as he stood down from Area Dean. **Meeting 4** . The final meeting of the year was held in February at St Mary’s church hall, Iffley. Led by the new Area Dean, Clare Hayns, the first business item considered news from around the Deanery highlighting the “forest” children’s group at Headington Quarry, St Mary’s Barton’s building progress and the successful bid for a children and families’ worker for St Mary’s Iffley. This was followed by an update on finance for the current year, and the meeting closed with details on the various vacancies in the Deanery parishes. ## _Alasdhair Hedges_ ## **Safeguarding report** St Mary’s PCC complies with its safeguarding duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 _(duty to have due regard to House of Bishops guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults)._ The PCC follows guidance from the Church of England and the Diocese of Oxford. Safeguarding is a standing item on PCC agendas, and our Parish Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually. We use the Parish Safeguarding Hub to maintain volunteer training records in a consistent, accessible format and to monitor training undertaken by them. All volunteers working closely with children or vulnerable adults are required to undertake Safeguarding training and DBS checks as necessary. Online training is accessible to anyone via the Church of England Safeguarding Training Portal. Thankfully, this year only one query was raised with the PSO. Advice was sought from the Diocesan Safeguarding team, but it was not deemed a safeguarding issue. Where a safeguarding concern is raised, it is expected that advice will be sought directly from the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, and it is for them to discern whether further action is needed. Our area Safeguarding Adviser is Sophie Harrold who can be contacted directly on 07350 359809 or at sophie.harrold@oxford.anglican.org In August we were notified of a data breach at APCS, our DBS provider. Initially, it was thought none of our data had been affected, however we were subsequently notified that the details of two individuals had been compromised. These people were informed and steps taken to ensure their personal details were secure. As a result of this data breach the Diocese subsequently went out to tender for a new DBS provider and selected Verifile; St Mary’s also signed up to use Verifile as its DBS provider. 15 Following a meeting with Sophie Harrold in January 2026 the following practical goals were identified: - Up-to-date Safeguarding posters to be displayed in the Community centre and in church to show who to contact if anyone has concerns. - All volunteers to be listed on Safeguarding Hub to help keep track of training and DBS checks. - Current and future volunteers to be emailed a Volunteer Form - Safeguarding Training expectations shared with current and future volunteers. - Safeguarding Policy to be revised annually. Zoe Aylett resigned as our Parish Safeguarding Officer in March 2026. We are extremely grateful for all she has done over the last few years to raise awareness of the importance of Safeguarding at St Mary’s. _Wendy Jones DBS Verifier_ ## **Building to Serve Report** After St Mary’s APCM held in May 2025 we cleared the church for the building work to start and the following Sunday we began to meet as a church in Barton Neighbourhood Centre (Many thanks to BNC for their hospitality!). As you will know from that meeting we did not have all of the funds that we would need in order to complete the work but we went ahead believing and trusting that God would provide and we planned a Gift Day and applied for numerous grants to help towards the cost of the work, praying that the funds would come in. Over the last year we have seen many encouragements and the project will hopefully be completed by late May 2026. It is important that we recognize the tremendous effort we have made to raise the funds that are needed for the B2S project. In June 2025 when the work began, we anticipated needing in the region of £800-850,000 to complete the work. The treasurer’s report shows us that we have done so very well, raising since 2023 around £700,000 and, because of the collapse of Building Bespoke and the need for a new builder to complete the contract, we anticipate a further £300-360,000 needed to complete the work. As of March 2026, we have £140,000 offered in interest free loans from several members of the congregation, around £120,000 in hand, and so we anticipate needing to raise a further £80-100,000 to complete the work. We have continued to apply for grants, and the PCC plans a Gift Day in March 2026. Please keep on praying! When the work began in June 2025, we did not have full faculty permission but decided to go ahead in anticipation that the permission would come, as not going ahead would have meant putting off the builder and incurring greater costs. Building Bespoke completed around two-thirds of the work that was needed on the building and when they went into liquidation in late December 2025, we took the decision to quickly appoint a new contractor having had two companies offer a tender for the 16 remaining work. We decided upon Fennell Construction, who are a small local company, and they began work in February 2026. All along the way we found that there were things which were unknown when we set out on the journey. We have had to completely renew the water supply, renew the rainwater drainage, provide a fire alarm system, fires doors and a completely new pathway from Bayswater Road to Edgecombe Road. Against these costs we have managed to save funds, and one major area of saving was on VAT as we found out that there was an exemption for VAT on work providing for accessibility and work providing for insulation. There is no doubt that our scheme is less grand and less comprehensive than the Purcell scheme that we had been looking at, but it is also clear that what we have done is within our reach and will provide us with a church which is fit to serve the community. We will have a virtually new church with good heating and insulation, secondary glazing, new entrance doors and ramps, a kitchen and accessible toilets, a small office and a separate multi-purpose small meeting room which will also double as a small chapel. We are currently exploring with Oxford City Council plans for a small housing project on the site of the old hall and part of the vicarage garden and in return for the use of the land we will have a new hall at very minimal cost to the church. This Building to Serve project has been a major challenge to our faith as a church, however, it has also demonstrated to us afresh the power of prayer and the generosity of God and his people. Thank you, people of St Mary’s, for your faithful support, encouragement, and prayers. A final special thanks to Trevor Jones who has provided all the financial guidance and help that I have needed and who has continually encouraged me. ## _David Bird_ ## **Outreach and Mission Report** Due to an absence of staff for most or all of 2025, and moving out of our building, we were unable to commit as normal to outreach and mission but continued as far as possible. ## **Missions Support** As usual, our harvest focus and September giving went to Tearfund. Trevor managed to navigate very complex bureaucracy to set up a long-delayed gift to Ukraine following Sergey’s visit in 2024. We had a visiting mission speaker: David Eastwood from OMF. Thanks to Fraser for setting this up. We said goodbye to Luke and Nicole, with Sophia and Elijah, as they moved to France for language study and then work with Wycliffe Bible Translators in western Africa. Please let us know if you would like to receive their news and pray for them. 17 ## **Barton Park** Construction continues and over half the homes are now occupied. We prayer walked around approximately 120 homes and then visited them with welcome bags. We had some good conversations, and one family came to our next service. Visits are currently up to date, but many houses are nearing completion and will probably be occupied during 2026, so another campaign can be expected soon. ## **Christmas Outreach** In addition to our regular visits to Townsend House, Endeavour Academy, and Meadowbrook, our carol singers supported two community events at BNC. We held outdoor carol singing or carol services at Barton Park (focusing on the area visited with welcome bags a few months earlier), Sandhills (with enthusiastic community participation including an inflatable Santa) and with BCC at Underhill Circus. This joint event with BCC has opened doors for other joint events. We distributed 50 Food Hampers from St Aldates and Act: some to Meadowbrook and the rest via the Social Prescribers at the surgery, and 50 gift hampers were given to Bayards Hill School. ## **Social Outreach** Most of our groups are currently closed, but Coffee and Craft continues – see separate report. We may be able to restart some groups when we return to our building. ## **Community Groups** Although we cannot participate as actively as normal, our relationships with community groups remain good and we should be in a good position to move on later in the year. We are supporting the Community Emergency Foodbank via BCC. There are encouraging contacts with Oxfordshire Scouts, about hosting a Barton troop, and with Collinwood URC and Holy Trinity Headington Quarry about joint youth activities. _David Stephens Churchwarden_ ## **Parish Activities** We marked the closure of the church building in May with a wonderful Bring & Share lunch. In September, a few church members again took part in the OHCT Ride & Stride event raising £865 which was split between St Mary’s and the OHCT. Our Harvest celebrations were held slightly earlier this year and were followed by a wonderful lunch cooked by Tim Wraith. In December, we said farewell to Eric and enjoyed another Bring & Share lunch. These occasional lunches and the weekly coffee after church have provided an opportunity for us to 18 catch up with each other. Our thanks go to those who prepare the coffee each week. In early December St Mary’s joined with Holy Trinity Church and Collinwood Road URC to hold a joint youth event. Over the Advent and Christmas period our services were somewhat limited due to the availability of the Neighbourhood Centre. However, we were able to sing carols at various times and places including the Endeavour Academy, Townsend House, the Barton Bonanza, the Christmas lunch at the Neighbourhood Centre, on Barton Park and on Sandhills. We also joined with the Barton Community Church for a joint carol event on Underhill Circus and held a Christmas carol service on the Sunday before Christmas. Over the Christmas period members were encouraged to attend other local churches. The St Aldates charity, ACT, again kindly provided fifty food hampers and fifty children’s gift bags. The food hampers were distributed with the assistance of the social prescriber at Hedena Health, and the children’s gift bags were donated to Bayard’s Hill School. The activities listed in some of the following reports have continued to run and we have continued to engage with our members and the wider community through weekly emails and monthly magazine. We have renewed our support of the Community Emergency Foodbank with members donating items on the first Sunday of the month. In addition, we have forged stronger links with the Barton Community Church and have set up a joint monthly prayer meeting for Barton. ## **Coffee and Craft group** This group has re-located to the lounge at Meadowbrook flats whilst the church is undergoing building work. Several new members have joined since the move. The craft activities are very varied, but everyone is willing to try new skills. Some recent projects have included watercolour sessions, decoupage of photo frames and making clay spoon rests for use in the kitchen. It is lovely to see our ladies enjoying the various creative processes and the sense of achievement with the final results. The sense of belonging and acceptance are important features of this group. The end of each term features an outing for coffee and cake usually to a garden centre, which is very popular. _Anne Gallacher_ 19 ## **Communications Report** A weekly newsletter and monthly magazine were produced and distributed electronically during 2025. Some issues of the magazine were generously sponsored by individuals. Some printed copies of the magazine were distributed and made available in church. We continue to provide this service as an extremely important aspect of our outreach to the parish and the local community. We thank the distributors of printed copies and those who have contributed articles for inclusion in the magazine. If you would like to receive a regular copy each month or know someone who would like to receive a copy, then please do let us know. If you would like to sponsor an issue for just £15, perhaps to celebrate a special occasion or remember loved ones, then please get in touch with Wendy or Trevor Jones. _Trevor Jones Magazine Distribution_ ## **Homegroups** ## **Barton Homegroup** Thursdays 10.00am at Barton Neighbourhood Centre. We met in the church until the end of May 2025. We have then been able to meet downstairs at Barton Neighbourhood Centre, which is a great space with a kitchen, and of course it is warm! Thank you to BNC for their warm welcome and help to the church. If you’d like to come along and see if this is for you, please just pop along or contact **Bev on 0745 676 8511.** Around June 2025 we changed the name of the group from “Eatwells” (the café where the group met before it closed in the covid-19 pandemic), to "Barton Homegroup" to reflect where we are based now. We focus on studying the Bible, praying for each other and sharing what our faith means in the storms of life. In the last year we have studied some of the Psalms in the Bible and learned that honest prayer from the heart about every part of life is a vital part of our relationship with God. Then we did a series on characters from the Old Testament and learned about how God works through faulty people, and about people of deep faith and how they trusted God. In February 2026 we started a new series on the Bible book of Philippians which speaks so much about finding joy in Christ. The group have also led church services in October and January. ## _Bev Field_ 20 ## **Headington Home group** Headington home group meets fortnightly in different homes in and around Headington. We always begin our meetings with a meal and have found this to be a great way to develop meaningful relationships, support one another and share our lives together. As well as enjoying some great food this year, we have also spent time studying the Bible together and have recently been looking at some of the more unexpected answers that Jesus gives to questions in Luke's gospel. We pray for each other whenever we meet and also have an active WhatsApp group to share with one another when we are not together. It has been a challenging year for many of the members of our group, but it has been a privilege to stand together, supporting one another and seeking to grow in our faith. ## _Juliet Wraith_ ## **Sandhills small group** The small group in Sandhills meets on most Tuesday evenings to encourage each other in our faith, study a passage of the Bible and pray together. We sometimes share a meal together and enjoyed an evening at a Chinese restaurant in December. We hosted ‘kerbside carols’ for the Sandhills community in December, which has become a popular annual event. During Holy Week we enjoyed a Passover supper. ## _Anne Gallacher_ ## **Music at St Mary’s** In the last year we have met together as musicians and spoken about our hopes for supporting the worship at St Mary's, we have Felicity and John G. as regular members and are grateful to have had Johnny, who isn't playing at the moment. Our first aim was to have live music at every service, which has been successful, however because we are few in number, we don't often have a chance to play together on a Sunday morning. We have been delighted to have had Wendy, Helen and Mary joining to sing with Felicity - thank you. Obviously, the move to the Neighbourhood Centre has meant a few adjustments, but we are so thankful to the setting up team who help us get sorted out every week, we really couldn't do it without you. Our desire has been to help the church focus on God in our times of worship, and so we are always encouraged as we see (and hear) people really engaging from the heart. It has been a privilege to serve in this way, and we thank God for the opportunity - if you are musical or would like to get involved, please let me know. ## _Reg Field_ 21 ## **Townsend House Care Home, Bayswater Rd, Barton** Townsend House Morning Praise: 10:30am First Thursday of each month Once a month, the Barton Homegroup lead a short morning praise service at Townsend House care home, singing some wonderful classic hymns and songs. This is our group’s community service and outreach, and it is a great way to get involved in running a smaller service. This means chatting to everyone who comes, helping them to have a song sheet and find the right place, giving a Bible reading, leading intercessions, doing a short talk or leading the service from the front – it is a team effort. You are welcome to come along to enjoy the service, and even to get involved if you would like to. We do go to McDonalds afterwards which is always a warm time of friendship. _Bev Field_ 22 _This page has been left blank deliberately_ 23 # **St Mary’s Church, Headington Barton – Sandhills – Barton Park** ## **Financial Report** ## **2025** ## **Registered Charity number: 1209987** **Vicar: Rev Eric Bossward** **Treasurer: Trevor Jones** **Independent Examiner: Andrew Gower** **Bankers: Lloyds Bank** 24 ## **Financial Summary 2025** During 2025, having moved out of the building, St Mary’s faced many challenges but came together to overcome these. Across all funds, the greatest activity was Building to Serve. Electricity reduced to £6,381 (with seven months out of the building) and parish share increased by £245 to £32,806. Overall, our general costs reduced by £23,558 (25.42%) (after excluding costs relating to our “Building to Serve” project). General donations were down to £51,878 compared to £56,641 in 2024. Overall income from all sources was £78,351 after Building to Serve was excluded. Our planned giving by bank standing order, envelope giving, cash giving and one-off donations generally remained steady. Some donors requested that their regular monthly planned giving be specifically to the “Building to Serve” project. In 2023 our annual income exceeded the limit for formally needing to register with the Charity Commission. So, the process was completed in September 2024, and we are now a registered charity. Our charity number is 1209987. ## **General (Unrestricted) Fund** All donations to St Mary’s, not specified for a particular purpose, go into the General Fund used to pay our contribution (parish share) to the cost of ministry and to support services at St Mary’s. The fund held £81,058 at the end of the year. Income from donors continues to cover our Parish Share which was £32,878. Parish Share is agreed within the Deanery and is paid to the diocese to cover clergy stipends, housing, training, pensions and administration. Gift Aid is claimed from Inland Revenue (HMRC) by the parish on giving from individuals who have made a Gift Aid declaration and from small, anonymous cash donations (GASDS). This increases the value of the gift by 25% at no extra cost to the donor. In 2025, we were able to reclaim £10,254. The General Fund is used for Parish Share and all general expenses related to running and maintaining St Mary’s, so electricity, fire and electrical safety, insurance, lightning conductor cleaning, administration, broadband, photocopier, communion wafers, etc. 25 ## **Restricted Funds** ## **Building to Serve** Income for the year was £175,081 from regular giving and gifts, £34,765 from reclaimed gift aid and £246,500 from grants. A designation of £100,000 from General Fund was agreed by the trustees in 2024. At the end of 2025, this fund held £100,869. ## **Barton Growers** This fund supports a small team managing the items being grown in the raised beds on the church grass. There was little activity during 2025 with the building closure. At the end of 2025, this fund held £469. ## **Barton Park Bags** This fund supports provision, when needed, of a small “welcome pack” to families when moving into the newest part of our parish, Barton Park. At the end of 2025, this fund held £1,100 ## **Development Fund** This is a historic fund used to provide for upkeep of the church and minor repairs. Until the end of 2024 salaries for the administrator and the cleaner were taken from this fund. At the end of 2025, this fund held £5,672. ## **Mothersong** This fund is held by St Mary’s on behalf of the “Mothersong Barton” project. A grant was provided from Oxfordshire Well Together Programme. At the end of 2025, this fund held £400. ## **Youth Work** This fund is specifically to support the development of youth ministry within St Marys. At the end of 2025, this fund held £5,227. ## **Flower Fund** This fund is to support the provision of flowers in church as needed. However, the floral arrangements are usually provided by generous donors. At the end of 2025, this fund held £50. 26 ## **Pastoral Fund** This fund is designated by the trustees for use by the clergy in exceptional circumstances where urgent funding might be required. At the end of 2025, this fund held £956. ## **Special Collections** This fund supports our mission giving. At the end of 2025, this fund held £0 with all donations expected having been paid to the respective charities. ## **Crafts and Acorns** This fund supports our Craft group and Children’s group. At the end of 2025, this fund held £1971. ## **Reserves Policy** The trustees have a policy of maintaining £25,000 or 25% of general expenditure in the previous financial year whichever is the greater. This is to maintain a minimum of three months general expenditure. Hence £25,000 would be needed using the 2025 figures. The total general funds of £55,565 available at the end of 2025 would cover 12 months of expenditure using the 2025 figures, which are reduced due to the building closure, or 10 months using 2024 figures. This sum is available for general use to further the purposes of the church and to keep the church running. It is held at a level to withstand any short-term financial risks, particularly inflation and economic pressures for everyone supporting the church and to ensure the church can continue day to day running. The trustees will review this level annually. Restricted funds are available to meet emergency situations. _Trevor Jones Hon. Treasurer_ 27 ST MARYS HEADINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNGIL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER.. 1209987 vtCAR TREASURER: ERIC BOSSWARD TREVOR JONES INDEPENDENT ￿mINER.. BANKERS: ANDREW GOWER LLOYDS BANK OXFORD CITY CENTRE Paye 1 28 ST MARYS HEADINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUPKIL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEklBER 2025 8TATEMeNT OF FINANCiAL ACTIVITIES Restricte VnrEStrKted Desiynated 2W25 2￿24 INCOMING RESOURCES Incoming resources trom generat¢d funds". Voluntsry income Activities for generatry funds Inve5tsng activities 72.879 1,195 11.305 460.501 533.380 1.195 11,305 163.452 3.825 12.198 2ts Total InwmDig resourGes 85.379 460,501 545.880 179.475 RESOURCES EXPENDED Pari8h Share 32.878 32.878 32.235 Utilities Elecmdty Ral¢J 11.907 219 257 In8ur8nc8 1.628 Buildings cost¥ G￿ndS Broadbandlcower Mainlenar 490 2.713 2,713 507 2.416 1.757 MI55iW¥ ond charit￿$ Gifts & Donations Clergy Expenses 1,250 1.250 431 181 440 Stalonery, Prithng & Poslaga Telephon8 144 650 144 477 ANar & Book& Copyright Iicence lee 135 443 135 443 472 270 Cornrnunty WO￿ar Manager learEr Admini5tralon 8,008 6,008 5,592 1.381 55S 18,684 2,080 2.288 359 3.592 555 B¥rtgn Growers BLi1ding lo Se Developmnl Fund Fk)wèr Fund Mothpr?￿9 84rton Youth Work 454 454 594,686 815 54.947 18 2.925 18 2.925 16 575 435 Sundry exp8ns88'. Dancing Oxford Fees PaJtor¥l Fund Mi8cdlane￿S 2.700 2.709 435 1.072 3,181 3.181 237 237 Toldl reoources uied 55.8S7 803.231 e61.088 147.616 In¢omlng louioothol rostsurces 147.730 118208 31.859 Fund¥ at 1 January 87.919 258.950 328,889 295,010 Transfer Fund8 at 31 Oecembv 89.433 119.2 208.e81 Pag• 2 29 ST MARYS HEADINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 BALANCE SHEET Unrestricted Oesignaled 2025 2024 Cvrrent assets Central Board of Finance Debtors Bank balances Petty Cash 75.846 2,516 40,866 75,648 249,541 8.667 81.D59 121.925 77,328 89.726 119,228 208.954 325.669 urront Ilabilitiès Creditor5 293 89.433 293 208,661 119,228 326.869 These awounls were approved by the P.C.C. on 19 April 2026. for presentation to the A P.c f41. and signed on ils behalf by.. Page 3 30 ST MARY'S HEADINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 1. ACCOUNTING POUCIES The accounts have ￿•rt prèpared underlhe historical ￿$1 Co￿entIon and In accordancg with ihe SORP 2015 on 'AG￿v￿l￿g and reportin9 by Chairfios- lhefollu4vlng are the a¢¢owbng p￿ICieS ¥vhi¢h hgve b8en applied In deal￿9 with rn8lerial itpms-.- lal Jonat1￿6 and Charftabl* Grant incvrne Donated Intome ￿ry￿QuI conditions attschèd, including thatgifted under ¥Ktsld. ts taken ￿10 atsxunt V4hen due bythe PCC In¢otne rec9W￿ In urcumstsntèa whsre 3 ckim for ￿payment¢f tsxha5 been made iothe HM Revenue & Cu91oms is grossfjd up foF the lax recovered. Ibl Règtrlct*d and unrestrlcted fundg Restricted fund$ 4re I￿se r?￿1ved foruse on $pstyfied purposes. Expenddure whith meet5those ￿l￿rEa is alloGaled to thai fund. UnreslrictBd funds Bre tho$8 r$¢er￿￿ Dr 9eneraled Ihai ¢an bo Used forlhegener pJrptyse$ tyf the PCC. {¢) Income Artd othèr 8xpendrture Inlorpsl income ￿ taken into a¢¢ountwhen due and expen￿ture when inurred bylhe PCC, r8oardlEss of Ythen paid. 2. INCOMING RESOURCES 181 Voluntary Income Vnre$lricted Restricted 2025 2024 Directto bank EAvelop&5 Colle¢llons Donation5 Grants Tax Recovery Miscellane￿3 50,273 1.57$ 1,*3 30 12.335 62,608 1,575 2,163 163,815 246.900 56.202 117 533,380 63,979 1,56S 2.907 $1.147 23.60D 16.666 3.588 163,452 200 163.785 246,900 37,281 18,921 72.879 460,S01 lr*lA¢tfvit￿$ for generntlng ftJnd$ Unre$lri¢ted Restricted 202S 2024 Fees Magazine 1,030 185 1.030 185 1,195 3,632 193 3.825 2025 2024 1¢) Employqe Emoluments Sa￿￿e5 13.536 22.411 13.536 23,411 Average No ofemployee5'. Page 4 31 SY MARYS HEADINGTON PAROCHNL CHURCH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 QECEMBER 2025 3. MISSIONS AND cHAR￿lEs 2025 2024 WORLDWDE Mark & Jenny Rye UGACOX Julius & Dora Tear Fund Ukraine 3,194 400 500 350 21M) 1.050 TOTAL 1.2S 4. DESIGNATED FUNDS. UNRESTFVCTED FUNDS AND RESTRICTED FUNDS 1 January Income Transfers 202$ EX￿llUre 31 December 2025 Restricted Fundg.. Barton Growers Barton Park Bag5 Building To SeNe Communityworker ttrAfts and A¢orn$ Devel0￿ment Fund Fli)wer Fund P8$ioral Fund other50ng Bart Special Collections Youth Work Total R95thctod Fund8 923 1,100 239.207 454 469 1.100 103.385 458.863 S94.685 8.008 8.008 1.671 5,841 50 956 2,925 1,050 5,226 258,949 300 720 18 1,971 5.671 50 956 400 18 400 200 2.925 1.250 5.226 119.228 460.501 8.008 608.230 Llnrestrfcted Fund$ General Fund 07.919 85.379 8,008 55.857 e9.433 Total 326,868 545.880 664.087 208.681 Pa98 5 32 ST MARYS HEADINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 Indepondont exarnlnoffs Rèportto St M8v*s Hgadlngton PCC I tePDrt on the axounts oflhe PCC forlh8 year8fvJtd 31 De￿rnt￿r 2025. whth ar8 strt aut on the previous pages Respertlve r88ponsib411tl8s of thè PCC and the examlner A5 the membafs oftha PCC you a￿ responsiblè for the preparation of accounts.. yw COnSKler thBt an audit is not required for this year undersection 144121 of th& Chariti&s Act 2011 (the 2011 Adl and that an 1r￿ependentèXgmInation r6eded. 11 Is my wponslblllty to ex8mine the accounts un¢ersection 145 of th& 2011 Act follow the prorAures laid down in the General Diretknon5 given by Ihe Charity Commis510ner¥ saction 14515llbl of the 20t1 Act. and slats whetherparti¢ular mattArs have corne lo my attention Ba54s ot Indèpendent Exami￿￿¥ Statemont y &xanTin&lion ¥ras (xrrBd out in accordancé with the General Directions givfrn by the Charity Commis&on . An èxamination Indudes 8 revwrf of the accounting records kepi by the tharity and a comparison of the a¢coun15 p￿sentsd wlh these rerA)rtt$. It afso indude$ con$idEratson of¥ny unusval items or disclosu￿6 in tho accounts. and seekiry explanatKJn5 from the IrLtstses concerning such matters. Tha prwAures undertaksn do thot prowde 811 the e¥￿enCe which would required in an audit. 8nd consequendy I do not 8xpr8ss an audit opinion on th8 view given by the ac¢ounts. Indopondènt examinevs statem￿£ In connection with my examlnation. no matter has o)me to my attention. 11 oives me reasonabfa cause to bali8ve that in any material respect the requiremènts il to ketp accounting records in acrA>rdan¢e with seGtson 130 of the 2011 Act., or ill to prepam 8ccounts accord with th8 accounting records and to ￿MplY with th? requirèments ol the AtL have Th)t been mel." or 21 to which. in my opinion, attent￿￿ shouFd ￿ drawn In orderto an8b￿ a propfyr understanding of the accounts to be reachBd. A Go￿r ltrliL Dated Page S 33