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2025-12-31-accounts

The Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester

The Parochial Church Council of The Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester

ANNUAL REPORT for the Year 2025

St Swithun’s, Hempsted

St Mary de Lode St Mary de Crypt

Presented at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

12[th] April 2026

THE PARISH OF HEMPSTED WITH ST MARY DE LODE AND ST MARY DE CRYPT, GLOUCESTER

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

12 April 2025

AGENDA

  1. Welcome and prayers

  2. Apologies for absence

  3. Explanations and Notices

  4. Election of Churchwardens

  5. Minutes of the APCM held on 6 April 2025

  6. Matters arising from the Minutes

Looking back

  1. Finance

  2. Fabric

  3. Deanery Synod Report

  4. The Rector’s Report

  5. Reports of committees and other church activities

  6. Safeguarding Report, ratification of safeguarding policies and election of Parish Safeguarding Officers

Looking forward

  1. Elections to the Deanery Synod

  2. Elections to the PCC

  3. Appointment of the Electoral Roll Officer

  4. Appointment of the Independent Examiner/Auditor

  5. Appointment of Sidespeople

  6. Parish during vacancy (i.e. without a Rector)

  7. Any other business

  8. Closing Prayer

Page 2

Legal and Administrative Information

St Swithun’s Church is situated in Hempsted, St Mary de Lode Church is situated in Archdeacon Street, Gloucester and St Mary de Crypt Church is situated in Southgate Street, Gloucester, all part of the Diocese of Gloucester and within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Rectory, Rectory Lane, Hempsted, Gloucester GL2 5LW.

1. The Parochial Church Council

This meets to share with the Rector in deciding and implementing parish policy. It is legally responsible for the church buildings and furnishings. The PCC is a charity, exempted from registration with the Charity Commission under The Charities (Exception from Registration) Regulations 1996.

PCC Members who served during the year are as follows:

Churchwardens: Mr Richard Lane (ex officio)
St Mary de Lode
Mr David Knight (ex officio)
St Swithun’s
Mr Peter Gould (co-opted)
St Mary de Crypt
Deanery Synod Mrs Mary Gould (ex officio)
Representatives: Mr Stuart Saxton (ex officio)
PCC Members: Mrs Debbie Hotchkins Elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Mrs Rachel Laughton Re-elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Mrs Roxanne Nicholls Re-elected 2025 for 3 yrs
Mr Nick Roberts Elected 2024 for 3 yrs
Mrs Charlotte Saxton Re-elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Mrs Jenny Simmonds Elected 2024 for 3 years
Miss Pam Tracey Re-elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Independent Bal Bhandal
Examiner: 25 Horseshoe Way, Hempsted, Gloucester.

Bankers: NatWest Bank, 21 Eastgate Street, Gloucester (for Hempsted) Lloyds Bank plc, Eastgate Street, Gloucester (for St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt)

2. Aims and Organisation

The main purpose of the PCC is defined in the Parochial Church Council (Power) Measure 1956 as:

“to cooperate with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical’.

Page 3

On the 1[st] May 2012 ‘The Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester’ was formed from the previous two parishes, and is part of the Gloucester City Deanery that meets five times annually for the synodical purposes of sharing in and supporting the work of the church nationally.

The PCC met 5 times during the year with an additional 3 extra ordinary meetings.

3. Church membership and Attendance

The last Annual Meeting was held on 6 April 2025

Electoral Roll: 92

Average weekly church attendance: 34

Objectives and Activities

During 2025 the PCC had the responsibility of cooperating with the Rector, the Reverend Canon Nikki Arthy, in promoting, in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical.

Apart from the PCC there is a Standing Committee, Ministry Team, Messy Church, Pastoral Assistants, a Safeguarding Committee, Finance Committee, Eco Church, Coffee & Chat (in partnership with Hempsted School), Coffee, Cake & Conversation (Outreach), Friends of St Swithun’s (FoSS), Stay and Play (Hempsted and St Mary de Crypt).

The PCC employs Hempsted Children and Families Worker, Rachel Laughton, Parish Treasurer, Clare Morris and the Parish Administrator, Claire Saunders.

Page 4

Table of Contents

AGENDA ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Legal and Administrative Information ........................................................................................................ 3
5.
Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting .............................................................................. 6
7.
Financial Report for the Year ended 31 December 2025 .................................................................. 10
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1 ............................................................................................................... 11
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 2 ..................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3 ............................................................................................................... 12
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4 ............................................................................................................... 13
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 5 ............................................................................................................... 14
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 6 ............................................................................................................... 15
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 7 ............................................................................................................... 16
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8 ............................................................................................................... 17
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 9 ............................................................................................................... 18
PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 10 ............................................................................................................. 22
8a. St Mary de Lode Church - Fabric Report for the year 2025 ................................................................ 23
8b. St Swithun’s Church – Fabric Report for the year 2025 ...................................................................... 24
8c. St Mary de Crypt Church – Annual Report for the year 2025 ............................................................. 26
9.
Deanery Synod Report ...................................................................................................................... 30
10.
Rector’s Report ............................................................................................................................ 32
11.
Reports of committees and other church activities including safeguarding ............................... 34
11a. Hempsted Parish Magazine Report ............................................................................................... 34
11b. Children and Families Worker Report 2025 .................................................................................. 35
11c. Worship Report for 2025 ............................................................................................................... 38
11d. Eco-church report ......................................................................................................................... 40
11e. Outreach Report............................................................................................................................ 41
11f. Friends of St Swithun’s ................................................................................................................... 43
11g. Social and Catering ........................................................................................................................ 45
12.
Safeguarding ................................................................................................................................ 48
Parish Policy on the Safeguarding of Children and Young People .................................................... 49
Parish Policy on the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults ................................................................... 51
17. Sidespeople/welcomers for 2026 ....................................................................................................... 52

Page 5

5. Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode & St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester held on Sunday 6[th] April 2025 at 11.15 am at St Mary de Lode.

Present:

Reverend Canon Nikki Arthy (Chair)

23 Members of the Laity

1.Welcome & Prayers

Nikki welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a prayer.

2. Apologies

Apologies for absence were received from Clive Hotchkins, Joan Eales, Irene Davenport, Rachel Laughton & Dorothy Evans.

3. Explanations and Notices

Copies of the agenda and reports had been circulated. Nikki thanked those who had written the reports and Claire for compiling the annual report.

4. Election of Churchwardens

Nikki thanked Richard, Peter & David for their work in their roles and said how blessed we are to have them. It was proposed by Mary Gould to increase the term of churchwardens for a further 6 years, this was seconded by David and all were in favour.

Richard Lane is willing to remain churchwarden at St Mary de Lode – proposed by Dot Stephens, seconded by Elaine Fletcher and all were in favour. Nikki thanked Richard.

David Knight has completed his first year as churchwarden and is willing to stand again as churchwarden for St Swithun’s – proposed by Rachel Laughton, seconded by Pam Tracey and all were in favour.

Nikki thanked Peter Gould who is willing to stand as warden at St Mary de Crypt – proposed by Dot Stephens, seconded by Florence Reigler and all were in favour.

Nikki asked everyone to give all of the churchwardens our support.

5. Minutes of the APCM held on 28[th] April 2024.

The minutes of the last APCM held on 28[th] April 2024 had been circulated with the reports. There being no alterations and nothing to add, it was proposed by Mary Gould and seconded by Roxy Nicholls with all in favour that the minutes should be accepted.

6. Matters arising from the minutes

There were no matters arising from the minutes .

Looking Back

7. Finance

Nikki reminded us that Peter resigned as treasurer over a year ago and has generously been continuing as Interim Treasurer. Nikki is hopeful of appointing a new employed treasurer with the interviews taking place the following week. She also thanked Pauline Bolton the Independent Examiner for examining the accounts. She informed the meeting that the accounts had been agreed by the PCC at its last meeting.

Page 6

She asked Peter if he wanted to add anything to his report. Peter said that his report is comprehensive and didn’t have much to add.

He highlighted the fact that income from the Parish Giving Scheme and associated gift aid had increased and commended the fundraising efforts of PCC members. We have also had some generous donations from parish members all of this leading to healthy bank balances but he reminded us that much of this is restricted. Forecasts are currently showing a £5k deficit which could be a lot worse.

Nikki added that climate change has led to increased expenditure with trees being upended which needed removing and flooding in de Crypt.

There were no further questions for Peter and Pam Tracey thanked Peter for all his work and everyone gave him a round of applause.

8. Fabric

St Mary de Lode: Nikki thanked Richard for his report and asked if he had anything to add. He said that the recent survey of the church has highlighted problems with the gutters which is going to be expensive to fix due to the cost of hiring the cherry pickers before any repairs have even started. He said he will have more of an idea in the coming days after consideration by DAC. Nikki added that Listening Post are very grateful for all Richard has done in his role.

Pam asked whether we could apply to the Ecclesiastical insurance charity fund regarding the gutter repairs and Nikki said that we already do apply to them and will continue to do so.

There were no further questions for Richard.

St Swithun’s: Nikki thanked David for his report and asked if he had anything to add. David said that the contract re the Community Payback Team should be signed this week and he was grateful to Nick for reestablishing the relationship here.

Pam thanked David for volunteering for the post of churchwarden and for all that he does. Cath Wain also wanted to express appreciation for all of the people who look after the churchyard.

Nikki drew our attention to the Eco-project and the working towards new heating and flooring in the church. Prices have risen since the original quotes and we have raised £70k but probably need another £130k. Nikki asked if anyone knew of anyone who could help apply for funding etc. Dot asked if the works could be done in stages but Nick explained that the contract needs to be completed as a whole.

St Mary de Crypt: Nikki expressed her thanks for the report which had been prepared by David Evans. There were no questions.

Nikki said that they were working towards another lottery grant re the sanctuary which has significant Tudor wall paintings.

She also said that there was a new risk to de Crypt and that is the loud music coming from speakers on the outside of Harveys wine bar opposite de Crypt. This goes on from early morning till late at night and is disrupting services and concerts. Nikki is asking our MP and local councillors to help as well as environmental heath to monitor the sound levels. There is also a Slovakian church which has opened on the corner of Greyfriars which is also causing a noise disturbance.

Jenny asked for an email address that we could send our complaints to.

Nikki reminded members that one member of PCC needs to become a trustee at de Crypt. She finished by thanking all of the staff and volunteers at de Crypt.

9. Deanery Synod

Page 7

Nikki thanked Mary & Stuart for their report. Mary encouraged people to take things seriously as times are changing. She said that the focus is very much on the Deanery Strategic Plan which is looking at collaborative working and grouping of parishes and opportunities to share paid roles re admin and treasurers for example.

Jenny thanked Mary and Stuart for keeping us up to date and for all that they do.

Pauline pointed out that the last sentence in Mary’s report should read “Giles and Mary were duly nominated.”

10. Rector’s report

Nikki reminded us that our life together is strategic on how we shape parish life and is based on ‘Life Together’.

Nikki thanked members of the ministry team, the PCC, churchwardens and the trustees at de Crypt. We are blessed with our volunteers with 74 on our books.

She is grateful for people who are fundraising and for the increase in the number of PGS members. She thanked everyone for all that they do and all that they are.

Cath thanked Nikki for everything that she does.

11. Reports of committees and other church activities

Hempsted Parish Magazine: Nikki reminded everyone that the magazine now has fewer hard copies and is hybrid due to escalating costs but the parish is still underwriting the cost of the magazine by £400. Nikki thanked Terry and Don and Pam thanked the magazine team.

Children & Families worker: Nikki thanked Rachel for her great report with photos, unfortunately Rachel was unwell so couldn’t attend the meeting.

Nikki said great work is being done in this area and the fruits are being seen with increased intergenerational worship.

Nikki said we have funding for Rachel’s position but we must look at sustainable future funding for Rachel.

Pauline said that we need to grow new leaders in this area as it is a lot of work for Rachel on her own.

Pam said how dedicated Rachel is and to thank her for her work.

Worship: Nikki thanked Rose for her report and everyone who plays a role in worship. Nikki said that we welcome feedback on worship and particularly thanked Pauline & Geoff.

Eco-Church: Nikki said that this is particularly important with the Church of England’s target of net zero by 2030.

Nikki stressed that she is currently acting chair but is hoping to be replaced. There is great

intergenerational work in this area and Peter said how amazing the recent presentation was and how vital it is that we support the group as there was little Parish support at the meeting.

Nikki said we need to get moving on this at de Lode and pick it back up at de Crypt.

Outreach: Nikki thanked Mary for her report. There were no questions but Mary encouraged people to come Friday coffee and service at 1pm. Nikki thanked all those who are involved in outreach.

Friends of St Swithuns: Nikki said it was great that this had been relaunched and thanked Debbie Hotchkins and Di Turner for their report. There were no questions.

Page 8

Social & Catering: Nikki thanked Jenny and Debbie for their report and to all those who provide coffee at all the churches. We are always looking for people to join the team.

12. Safeguarding report, ratification of safeguarding policies and election of Parish Safeguarding Officers

Nikki said that due to safeguarding being in the spotlight re Church of England, she is hugely grateful to Mary & Roxy for their work as safeguarding officers but reminded us that there was lots of work re the safeguarding hub and thanked everyone for their commitment to safeguarding.

Mary thanked all those who have completed the training, whether on line or in a group.

Both Roxy and Mary were willing to stand again as PSOs, this was proposed by Jenny, seconded by Pam and all were in favour.

Nikki drew everyone’s attention to the safeguarding policies, Mary Gould was proposer for both, seconded by Giles Field and all were in favour.

Looking Forward

13. Elections to Deanery Synod

Deanery Synod elections do not take place this year. We are grateful that Stuart Saxton and Mary Gould remain as the Deanery Synod representatives for the parish.

14. Elections to the PCC

Roxy Nicholls was willing to stand for re- election to PCC. She was proposed by Cath Wain, seconded by David Knight and all were in favour. Nikki reminded everyone that we still have a space for a PCC member and as Stuart is standing back as vice chair the PCC needs to elect a new one. Nikki thanked Stuart and gave him a gift.

15. Appointment of the Electoral Roll Officer

Stuart Saxton agreed to continue as Electoral Roll officer. Stuart thanked everyone who helped out with the new roll this year. He was proposed by Roxy Nicholls, seconded by Dot Stephens and unanimously agreed.

16. Appointment of the Independent Examiner

Pauline Bolton has stepped down as independent examiner and no-one has come forward as yet. Peter said it is up to the PCC to identify a new independent examiner.

17. Appointment of Sidespeople

Nikki asked everyone to look at the list of sidespeople in the report. The whole list was proposed by Cath Wain and seconded by Pam Tracey with all in favour. Nikki thanked all those who do the important job of welcoming.

18. Any other business

Jenny appealed for someone to come forward as Health & Safety officer as we need one to comply with our Charity Commission registration. Nikki thanked Adrian Armstrong for all that he did when was in the role.

We all remembered Peter Canning and John Marshall who died this year and Nikki said a prayer.

19. Closing prayer

The meeting ended at 12.30pm with all saying The Grace together.

Page 9

7. Financial Report for the Year ended 31 December 2025

ALLOCATIONS OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

The following rules have been applied:

OUTPUT ANALYSES

The accounts have been prepared on a “Receipts and Payments” (Cash) basis. Numbers are rounded to the nearest £, and totalling may result in minor row and column discrepancies. There follow:

COMMENTARY

My draft notes this year pointed to an improvement in Parish ‘operating’ funds, with a significant reduction in annual deficits for the next 2 years. This was because:

ii) Lysons Hall. Victoria Jolly now manages the hall lettings and billing.

ACCREDITATION

The certificate is at Annex 10.

The independent accreditor this year is Bal Bhandal, who has given his services voluntarily. I will be pleased to pass on the PCC’s appreciation of the time he has generously spent on our behalf.

Clare Morris, Treasurer

Page 10

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 1
Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt Annex 1
Parish code: 616123 2025
Analysis by church
Income & Expenditure 2024 to date
for theyear ended 31 December 2024 Parish St St Mary St Mary Total
general Swithuns de Lode de Crypt Parish
Income
Plannedgiving (gift-aided) 27,118 2,095 2,235 155 31,603
Plannedgiving (other) 0 0 0 0 0
Other collections at services 0 2,798 1,599 20 4,417
transfer to Parishgeneral 8,902 -4,893 -3,834 -175 0
Other Giving & Donations 1,270 6,228 706 1,000 9,204
Special Appeals, incl Gift Day 3,270 0 0 0 3,270
Tax recovered 7,655 0 0 0 7,655
Legacies 0 2,000 0 0 2,000
Grants incl VAT rebate 9,300 16,043 0 0 25,343
Fund-Raising Events 3,172 1,604 312 0 5,087
Dividends & Interest 1,821 0 20 3,888 5,729
Income from Properties 0 248 0 0 248
Parochial Fees Income (net) 5,712 5,712
Magazine Income 1,759 0 0 0 1,759
Church Hall Lettings 0 3,651 7,000 0 10,651
Other Church activities 0 0 0 0 0
Insurance claims 0 0 0 0 0
Sale of Fixed Assets 0 0 0 0 0
DdC donations 120 0 0 0 120
Other Income 5,466 0 18 950 6,434
Total Income 75,565 29,775 8,056 5,838 119,234
Expenditure
Fundraising costs 1,435 600 0 0 2,035
Donations to charities 1,155 20 0 0 1,175
Parish Share 35,000 35,000
Staff costs - Administration 10,139 10,139
Clergy expenses 3,198 3,198
Insurance 0 3,041 3,199 5,144 11,384
Routine/Minor Maintenance 4,602 3,969 2,404 3,350 14,325
Office BB/Tel; Website mtce, Printing 1,565 0 0 0 1,565
Church expenses/ services 344 0 52 0 397
Churchyard maintenance 0 1,144 0 0 1,144
Flowers 0 0 0 0 0
Music 1,395 0 147 0 1,543
Utilities(heating & lighting) 2,000 1,451 2,142 99 5,692
Utilities(water) 0 279 223 0 503
Cost of Trading (Magazine & Hall) 1,800 2,263 0 0 4,063
Magazine 1,800 1,800
Lysons Hall 2,263 2,263
Lode Hall 0 0
Sundry Expenses 7,133 1,020 0 20 8,173
Total Operating Expenditure 69,768 13,787 8,169 8,613 100,336
Major Expenditure(fabric)
Repairs to Churches(incl architect fees) 0 470 0 5,474 5,944
Other 0 10,985 0 0 10,985
Major expenditure(Grant funded)
C&F 23,896 23,896
Total Expenditure 93,664 25,241 8,169 14,087 141,161
Funds balances
Surplus/ (Deficit) for theyear -18,099 4,533 -113 -8,249 -21,927
Transient and otherfunds held
DDC -120 0 0 0 -120
Funds balances at 1 January 63,229 22,961 3,353 3,535 93,078
Balances atperiod end 45,010 27,494 3,240 -4,714 71,031
0
TOTAL CASH 71,031 0
Swithun cash 0
Natwestparish account 70,423
Lode cash 0
Lloyds Lode account 512 70,935
Lloyds Restoration Crypt 0
Lloyds General Crypt 0
CCLA reserves 96 96
PARISH TOTAL 71,031
Other funds via PCC as agent
Christian Aid Collections/Donations 747
Christian Aid Collections/Donations(est GA) 105
Christian Aid G&DCC(Choir) 401
Total Christian Aid 1,253
Christingle 64
Children's Society boxes 364

Page 11

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 3
Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt Annex 3
Parish code: 616123 2025
Parish by fund type
Receipts & Payments Account Parish excluding Discover DeCrypt
for theyear ended 31 December 2025 Unrestricted Restricted Total Discover
General Designated excl DdC DeCrypt
Income & Expenditure Funds in
Voluntary income Parish a/cs
Plannedgiving 31,603 0 0 31,603
Collections, donations and othergiving 19,244 0 22,990 42,234
0
Income tax recovered 7,655 0 0 7,655
Legacies 2,000 0 0 2,000
Activities forgenerating funds
Magazine, Hall lettings 12,113 297 0 12,410
Income from Properties 248 0 0 248
Fund-Raising Events 2,865 0 2,223 5,088
Investment income
Dividends & Interest 3,098 0 2,631 5,729
Fees and other income
Parochial Fees Income 5,712 5,712
Insurance claims 0 0 0 0
Sale of Fixed Assets 0 0 0 0
Other Income 5,634 0 800 6,434
Total Income 90,172 297 28,644 119,113
Expenditure
Church activities
Donations to charities 1,175 0 0 1,175
Children & Families Worker 0 0 23,896 23,896
Parish Share 35,000 0 0 35,000
Clergy expenses 3,198 0 0 3,198
Church running expenses 19,960 0 2,500 22,460
Churchyard maintenance 1,144 0 0 1,144
Cost of trading 5,348 750 0 6,098
Running costs 0
Administration(incl staff costs) 11,631 0 74 11,705
Other 12,024 0 7,532 19,556
Major Expenditure
Repairs to Church Buildings 5,944 0 0 5,944
Repairs to otherproperties 10,985 0 0 10,985
Discover de Crypt Xfer of shared funds 0 0 0 0
Total Expenditure 106,409 750 34,002 141,161
Surplus/ (Deficit) for theperiod -16,237 -453 -5,358 -22,048
Funds balances
funds balances at 1 January 47,759 5,814 39,465 93,038 40
funds balances 31,522 5,361 34,107 70,990 40
71,030
Other Assets:
a. Assets held by Gloucester Diocesan Trust in Church of
England Investment Fund - Income Shares(CBF)
Investments held on behalf of: Shares Historical
St Mary de Crypt held Cost
Proceeds of Sale of St.Aldate's burialground 2,593 2,682
£
Meaton-Bell Ropes 43 48
£
St Mary de Lode
Old Burialground 31 143
£
b. Non-financial assets are as recorded in the Inventory or
Terrier
c. The Lysons Hall is held under a 30 year lease from 1st July 1998 at an annual rent
of £1; rent for the full term was paid in advance.
Other Liabilities:

Page 12

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 4
Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester Annex 4
Parish code: 616123 2025
Movement in Funds funds at 1 Jan 2025 funds 2025
£ £ in £ out £ transfer £ £ transfer
Parish -general unrestricted 25,934 78,387 (72,664) 31,657
Magazine designated 1,742 1,754 (1,800) 1,696
Hempsted Village fund restricted 409 - - (409) 0
Children & Families worker(SLT) restricted 35,104 - (23,896) 11,208
63,189 80,141 (98,360) (409) 44,561
St Swithuns, Hempsted -general unrestricted 20,580 28,838 (25,241) 24,176
Fabric-other (Un-designated by PCC 4 Aug 2021) unrestricted (526) - - -526
Friends of St Swithuns restricted 2,909 937 - 3,846
22,963 29,775 (25,241) - 27,496
St Mary de Lode, Gloucester -general unrestricted (1,246) 8,056 (8,169) -1,359
Fabric - other designated 4,598 - - 4,598
3,352 8,056 (8,169) - 3,239
St Mary de Crypt -general unrestricted 2,491 3,057 (8,993) - -3,445
Fabric restoration restricted 1,043 3,431 (5,744) - -1,270
St Mary de Crypt funds held in Parish a/c restricted -
3,534 6,488 (14,737) - (4,715)
total Parish funds 93,038 124,460 (146,507) (409) 70,582
Discover DeCrypt Funds in Parish a/c
DDC 92018project) 40 40
DDC Friends donations held restricted 120 (120) - 0
DDC funds in Parish a/c atperiod end - 40
Notes: (439,642) 70,622
sub-total unrestricted-general 51,030
sub-total unrestricted-designated by PCC 5,768
89,504 sub-total restricted(PCC) funds) 2,576
93,038 sub-total restricted (DDC funds) 40
Transfer from Hempsted Village Fund 409
sub-total restricted(C & F Worker via SLT) 11,208
totalfunds in Parish a/cs 71,031
Bank Reconciliation
Cash & Bank balances
Cashfor bank(RD) -
NatWest - Parishgeneral account 70,423
Cashfor bank(RL) -
Lloyds - St Mary de Lodegeneral account 512
Petty Cash - St Mary de Crypt -
Lloyds - St Mary de Crypt general account -
Lloyds - St Mary de Crypt restoration account -
CCLA - St Mary de Crypt reserves accounts 96
Petty Cashfloat(JGfor Parish expenses) -
total cash and bank balances 71,031
uncleared transactions -
Totalfunds 71,031
check -

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PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 5

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 5 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 5
Parish of Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and
St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester		 Annex 5 Annex 5
Parish code: 616123 2025 2025
Fund balances by year from 2019 funds@ end 2025 end 2024 end 2023 end 2022 end 2021 end 2020
£ £ £ £ £ £
Parish -general unrestricted 31,657 25,934 23,422 19,835 16,490 7,380
Magazine designated 1,696 1,742 (492) 187 1,290 113
Hempsted Village fund restricted - 409 409 409 409 409
Jubilee fund designated - - -
Youth Workerfund(SLT) restricted 11,208 35,104 26,347 25,091 27,417 3,550
Loan to related charity (repay 2017) unrestricted - - - - -
44,561 63,189 49,686 45,522 45,606 11,452
St Swithuns, Hempsted -general unrestricted 24,176 20,580 2,416 407 183 (1,119)
Lights replacement designated - - -
Fabric - Roof repair designated - - - 4,512
Fabric - other designated (526) (526) 975 2,515 (1,765) (1,167)
Transfer from Hempsted Village Fund restricted 409 - - 2,182
Friends of St Swithuns restricted 3,846 2,909 2,776 2,208 2,034 2,034
27,905 22,963 6,167 5,130 452 6,442
St Mary de Lode, Gloucester -general unrestricted (1,359) (1,246) (822) 2,869 4,016 5,332
Towergrant restricted
Tower fund designated
Fabric - other designated 4,598 4,598 4,598 4,498 13,262 13,587
3,239 3,352 3,776 7,367 17,278 18,919
total Parish Funds excl St. Mary de Crypt 75,705 89,504 59,629 58,019 63,335 36,813
St Mary de Crypt -general unrestricted (3,445) 2,491 11,567 16,512 15,219 14,133
Fabric restoration restricted (1,270) 1,043 (740) 4,273 5,740 7,364
St Mary de Crypt funds held in Parish a/c restricted 40 40 40 - - 240
(4,675) 3,574 10,867 20,785 20,959 21,737
total Parish funds 71,031 93,078 70,496 78,804 84,294 58,550
Notes
excludes Discover DeDrypt project and Old Schoolroom accounts now held under Dis cover DeCrypt Charity (CIO)

Page 14

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 6

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 6
C&F Worker Annex 6
Grant/Fundraising Summary
Grant in hand at 01/01/2025 35104
Grant received 2025 0
Fundraising 0
Total funds 35104
Expenditure 2025
Employee Salary, PAYE, NIC, WPP 22413.90
Employer WPP 387.62
Home working allowance 250.00
Expenses of office 844.20
Other direct expenses 0.00
Total 2025 23895.72 23896
Funds in hand 11208
Movement infunds G10(check) 11208
Difference(WPP) 0
Monthsfunds remaining 2024 rates 6

Page 15

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 7

Annex 7 Annex 7
2025
PARISH FUNDRAISING 1 JANUA RY 2025 to 31 DECEMB ER 2025
2024 2025
Fund Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2025 TOTAL ALL
PARISH
ECO Costs
Fundraising		 0
764		 439.61

229.50		 439.61
993.90
160.00 175.00 104.61
229.50
ECO 7540 **77.00 ** 429.60 763.40 **30.00 ** 327.55 1627.55 9167.55
ECO Gift Aid 1875 0.00 1875.00
Swithun Gen 877 140.00 200.00 **275.15 ** 19.75 30.23 665.13 1542.45
Lode Gen 180 16.00 16.00 196.00
Crypt Gen 0 0.00 0.00
Other 300 0.00 300.00
PARISH TOTAL 11537 0.00 0.00 0.00 **0.00 ** **217.00 ** 445.60 603.40 **30.00 ** 527.55 **275.15 ** 19.75 259.73 2098.57 13635.29
FOSS
Membership 388 10 20 95 392 65 15 597.00 985
Other 0 750 337 1087.00 1087
FOSS TOTAL 388 10 0 20 0 0 0 0 845 729 65 0 15 1684.00 2072
C&F
Raffle (sales) 2261 0.00 2261
Raffle (Costs)
Raffle (Nett)
Danceathon		 101
2161
1447		 0.00
0.00
0.00		 101
2161
1447
Gift Aid 3125 0.00 3125
Other 12886 0.00 12886
C&F TOTAL 19619 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 19619
TALENT CHALLENGE
Talent Challenge **200.00 ** 30.00 1617.50 1847.50
240.00
Cost 240.00
Talent Challenge Total 1607.50
GIFT DAYS
St Swithun 1254 3270 3270.00 4524
St M de Lode 1002 0.00 1002
St M de Crypt 0 0.00 0
GIFT DAY TOTAL 2256 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3270 3270.00 5526
Grand totals 33799 8660.07 40852

Page 16

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8 PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 8
**Hempsted with St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt ** Annex 8
All cash-producing funds at year end
(Funds highlighted thus are in Ethical Investment Fund)
Vested in: Agent: Y/E value
£
Shares
No
Income
£
Notes
St Mary de Crypt CCLA
CCLA/DBF
CCLA/DBF
CCLA/DBF
CCLA/DBF
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA
CCLA		 163,984.62
87.35
58,615.54
972.03
700.76
1,264.32
24,544.25
654.28
7,989.62
7,395.99
1,540.07
32,664.66
316.08		 54,479.94
N/A
2,593.00
43.00
31.00
420.04
8,154.27
217.37
2,654.36
2,457.14
511.65
1,445.00
105.01		 4690.71
2.71
1602.22
26.57
19.26
139.00
701.45
502.88
(Total)
901.92
incl above		 Restricted funds ceded to DdC
v insurance premiums (part)
Cash reserves fund depleted by
DdC project funding
General use, including
insurance balance (via DdC)

All UEC funds apportioned
according to unit holding
(approx 50/50), in terms of the
charity, to the Rector from
time to time and the PCC
School charity transferred to
DdC as part of CIO creation
Interest element
St Michael Church Lands
Restoration
General funds
Meaton Trust (Bellropes)
St Mary de Lode
Gloucester Diocesan Trust
Ecclesiastical Charity & Thomas
Withenbury For A Sermon
St Mary de Lode & St Nicholas
Relief In Need Charity
United Ecclesiastical
Charities
St John the Baptist UEC
SMdC UEC-Sermons
SMdC UEC- RF
SMdC UEC- CofE Purposes
Discover DeCrypt CIO
George Jennings SMdC
Jennings for Sunday School
NB: Additional information is at 'Parish Charity Summary' (Word)

Page 17

PCC Accounts 2025 - Annex 9

Treasurer duties and processes

Annex 9

General

1 Work with cash-handling volunteers at Hempsted and St Mary de Lode and St Mary de Crypt in the recording and banking of cash into the various accounts in use across the parish.

2 Keep up to date those persons designated as signatories for the various accounts.

3 Respond to any CCLA (who care for investments and deliver periodic dividends and interests) requests to update our data.

4 Using the Diocesan Cashbook, log all income and expenditure to the various accounts, with the aid of the Analysis spreadsheet reconcile and balance at each update, and review forecasts. This information will be used to inform the PCC of the financial position.

5 Review sums due to the DBF for fees paid via the parish (Weddings, banns, monuments), and pay as required.

6 Pay promptly by BACS all invoices received. Some (e.g. for major works) may need confirmation from the relative churchwarden.

7 Reconcile and balance all accounts at year end ready for accreditation of results and submission to the PCC and APCM for adoption.

8 Arrange to have the accounts in their final form to be accredited by an ‘independent and competent’ person.

9 Prepare the new year’s Diocesan Cashbook and Analysis files with brought forward figures. TEST THEM. 10 Prepare and present to the PCC bi-monthly the latest financial position, using the Annexes in the Analysis spreadsheet. Add comments as necessary. Respond to questions.

11 Liaise with Parish Administrator over Gift Aid claims to HMRC.

12 Make any claims for VAT refunds for eligible works under the new scheme. (LPOW scheme has ended.) 13 Update payroll spreadsheet each month. The current WPP provider is NEST.

NB: A new signatory will be needed to replace N Arthy.

1 Bank accounts in use in the parish

Bank Sort Code Account Number Signatories On line user Notes
National
Westminster#		 600902 05021154 C Morris
P Gould
R Davenport
N Arthy		 Yes
Yes
No
No
# Claire Saunders, parish administrator, is also a stand-by signatory with on-line access to pay bills. This account
will be used to pay any parish bills, or receive any parish income for any of the three churches.
Inpractice, many payments in and out are via long-standing DD or SO arrangements on individual church accounts
Lloyds 309348 00535817 R Lane
P Gould
N Arthy		 No
Yes
No		 St Mary
de Lode
United Ecclesiastical Charities(St Mary de Crypt)
Lloyds 309348 00624364 P Gould
N Arthy		 Yes
No		 School
_Mentioned here, but this account now forms part of the DdC accounts, the trust income having been transferred_
to the CIO for DdC with the responsibility for upkeep of the school.
Access to accounts and all other management sites (e.g. NEST, Charity Commission, Payroll involve a multitude
of User Codes and Passwords. They are recorded on a securefile accessible by MJG.*

2 Categories of funds managed by the accounting system (using the Diocesan ‘Cash Book’)

All funds received or spent are classified as:

3 Requirements of financial system

Page 18

The fundamental principles of this recording and reporting are enshrined in the usual form of the treasurer’s report at page one.

4 Diocesan Cashbook

This is a robust Excel spreadsheet (issued yearly by the Diocese). It feeds dependant ‘Analysis’ spreadsheets designed to deliver the information required by the PCC, and to maintain forecasts.

In addition to the bank accounts mentioned in 1 there are notional accounts for St Swithun (currently to log R Davenport’s income reports), and for St Mary de Lode (R Lane). Sums reconciled (x) as having been banked and having been entered as ‘transactions’ are transferred then to the relative main account. See Transfers tab.

Transactions to notional Account Codes a and c will require cross check against the bank statement and returns from RD and RL before the entry can be marked as having been thus checked (x). As a rule, the Balances tab should show the notional accounts remaining at zero following entries.

On the ‘Balances’ tab a similar verification of the ‘source’ and ‘recipient’ (again by inputting (x) will bring the ‘Statement balance’ in line with the ‘Actual balance’. Discrepancies must be resolved before the file can be RECONCILED. Once reconciled, it is not possible to reverse.

5 Aids to analysis using the Transactions tab

Each column has, at its R/H head, a box that, when clicked, shows a default list of all options in that category (e.g. clicking the box at MONEY IN will show all values entered to date in that column. Clicking a box for the value being searched will deliver a list of such transactions.

Page 19

This facility will also work in tandem, i.e. selecting an income code plus and income sum will define the list further.

Amendments to entries may be made here, but return to the usual layout (where all entries are shown) must be by reversing the selection process (Select all).

This is a valuable tool. It is important to remember to return all heads to ‘Select all’ when finished.

6 Output files (Analysis)

These files are ‘tied’ to a relevant Cashbook version (year). Each year:

7 Funerals

Gloucester City Funerals (GCF was set up in 2018 to centralise all funeral requests and delivery) bill clients for ALL fees, and, upon payment, will remit a sum to the parish (BACS) nett of standard DBF funeral fees. Such sums may include:

Logging of GCF payments as transactions with Account code 14 will result in an entry in the ‘Parochial Fees’ tab. The treasurer is responsible for the completion of the return (from details given by GCF) and for the passing on 3[rd] party payments (visiting minister, organist, etc). In some cases, the organist will have been paid in cash by the warden sexton (de Lode).

8 Weddings

The management of wedding bookings, billing is via the Parish Administrator, who will keep the treasurer informed of bookings bills and deposits. Payments will be made via the Administrator or direct by BACS. The treasurer is responsible for payment to 3[rd] parties (Weddings and Funerals), AND must record other standard fees due to the DBF on the ‘Parochial Fees’ tab. Such sums are defined in annual updates issued by the DBF and filed in the ‘Fees’ file. And are to be remitted to the DBF at intervals (quarterly). Observe the notes referring to inaccuracies (Cell J9 et seq)

Wedding deposits must be recorded as such in the ‘Parochial Fees Return’ tab.

9 Monuments

Payments will be received (usually by cheque) via the Rector or Administrator. Such payments are recorded as Code 14 Transactions, and, like funeral payments, will appear automatically on the ‘Parochial Fees’ tab. The treasurer will note the ‘outgoing’ columns with the sums due to the DBF (as shown on the annual DBF definition) and to other third parties (if appropriate). Payments to DBF will be made as for weddings (above).

10 Banns

As for weddings, but no DBF payment is due.

Page 20

11 Payroll

Pitt, Godden & Taylor (PGT) are contracted to produce payroll information monthly to enable payments to staff. Two contracts exist for Parish and DdC staff, but they are contained in one payroll system and output that is accessible via the routes mentioned in paragraph 1. Reports setting out sums payable to staff, HMRC and NEST are produced automatically and we are notified of their availability by email (currently to admin@swithunandmary.org.uk).

Downloaded files will enable the extraction of data for management purposes in addition to payments. In the parish we only have the C&F worker and the treasurer as employees. NEST payments are made by DD in the month following calculation.

12 Hints

Page 21

PCC Accounts 2025- Annex 10 Indap•nd•nt Examln•r' r•porttoth• Parochlal Church Counell(PCCI oftho Parlsh of Hempsted vllth St Maryde Lode and St Maryd• Crypt In thg Dloco¥e of Gloucester. I havè ÈxAmineil the account of this parish for 2025. The 8ccountS baiknc and 8rÈ well près8nt8d. Such qu8$tlon$ 8$ I hAvè rai$ad hÉv8 been an5w8red to rny $8t15f8ction. No m8tt&r8 h&vè come tts my tsttention which givè MÈ reasonable cguse to b8lieve thet in 8ny materiol respect the requiremen15 of Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011 to keep &ccountin8 records an¢J prepare account have not b88n met. Isi8n8tur¢l IPrini n8m81881 Bh8nd81 IDatel March 2026 (Add￿8$)25 Hoi¥eshoe Wey. Hempsted. Glouce8ter lQuallllc8tlonl FCCA Page 22

8a. St Mary de Lode Church - Fabric Report for the year 2025

BELLS

The Church Bells were examined by the Tower Keeper, Trevor Morley on 20[th] February 2025. The frame the Bells sit on requires painting and the floor of the Bell Chamber will require cleaning. This will all be done at a later date.

Inspection of the Tower and roof took place on the 31[st] January 2025 by Toby Falconer. Gutters were cleaned and it was noticed that the north-east pinnacle required attention. Mark Handcock of Centreline was contacted by the Architect to look at all the four pinnacles on the Tower. Funds are being made available for this work.

The metal rainwater down pipe on the north side of the Tower had a split in it and required replacing.

Rory Wilson of the DAC Office visited the Church after this inspection and mentioned there were funds available to cover the repairs to the Tower pinnacles and rainwater goods.

ECO-CHURCH

Matt Fulford from the DAC Office visited St Mary de Lode Church on the 8[th] September 2025. He examined the gas boiler and radiators. The boiler will have to be replaced and the existing pew heaters brought up to date. I was informed that the cost to replace the heaters would be approximately £40,000. He also noted there were some strip lights that needed to be replaced by LED lights. The five-year inspection for the electrical system was carried out by S & P Electrical Engineers of Stroud, which took place on 24[th] September 2025. I was told the system required updating and the cost would be £3,466.

Enquiries are being made with other Electrical Contractors who deal with commercial systems in order to obtain another quotation.

Richard Lane, Churchwarden

Page 23

8b. St Swithun’s Church – Fabric Report for the year 2025

Twelve months almost to the day since my first report to an APGM, I am happy to reflect on a busy year, but one without the major mishaps which were highlighted in last April’s survey. The Community Payback team have worked assiduously alongside Adrian Armstrong’s men to maintain the beauty of the churchyard; the church organ has behaved itself, and benefited from its annual service and tuning; the church bells have been rung more frequently than in recent times, with performances before the Christmas carol service, and heralding Nikki’s farewell service on March 1st, following initiatives from Daniel Nelmes, and Trevor Morley; the heating system has not let us down, with some warmth on winter mornings; autumn storms have not, touch wood, caused us any unexpected expense; and, bats, deer, and badgers have not presented the problems of the past, except to the rectory garden!

The issues that I highlighted a year ago as needing attention, have all been addressed, with one still to be completed. Permission was granted to Graham O’Hare to investigate and refurbish the Lysons Vault, which he did, and presented his documentation to the Lysons Trust. Nick Roberts managed to track down and purchase the fail safe equipment to allow safe access to the tower roof. A full electrical inspection of both church and hall was carried out, with some necessary upgrading applied. The gas boiler passed its annual service, and responded properly from the end of October through to spring. Thanks to the persuasive skills of Pam Tracey, funds were forthcoming for the redecoration and reflooring of the Lysons Hall - and many thanks to Giles Field for his finding, and supervising, painters and floorers to complete the tasks.

The Eco-Church Project is still awaiting progress towards completion. We appointed Orchard Fundraising, to produce the moneys required to meet the costs of the programme, but they argued, quite correctly, that they could not approach potential donors until the parish had permission from the diocese, via a ‘faculty’. Nick Roberts undertook the necessary application work, and we have been granted the ‘faculty’, and he will liaise closely with Orchard to resume the process of fundraising once more. Perhaps in twelve months time the underfloor heating, new flooring, and redecoration will be under way, and nearing completion.

Key points from PCC Reports from the past year:

March 2025.

June 2025.

September 2025

Page 24

November 2025

January 2026

March 2026

David Knight, Churchwarden

Page 25

8c. St Mary de Crypt Church – Annual Report for the year 2025

Discover DeCrypt is a charity based in the centre of Gloucester in the Church of St Mary de Crypt and the adjacent Tudor schoolroom, both of which benefited from a major restoration project completed in 2019. We aim to share our faith in Jesus Christ, to promote the story of our history and heritage and to enhance the life of our city.

Following our vision of sharing our ‘faith’, ‘story’ and ‘life’, Discover DeCrypt has continued throughout 2025 to welcome people from far and wide in the spirit of Christian hospitality. In addition to groups which use our buildings on a regular basis, we received 22,500 visitors this year alone.

----- Start of picture text -----
St Mary de Crypt
by night
----- End of picture text -----

2025 has seen Discover DeCrypt continue to develop as a thriving community hub which makes a significant contribution to the life of the city. Our Christian ethos remains at the forefront, but we have a vision which is inclusive and a wide range of different groups make use of our facilities.

The main challenge facing Discover DeCrypt during 2025 has been the management of the small balance in our operational accounts, with maintenance on the historic building and repairs to the heating system bringing significant demands. The Round One Development Grant we were awarded from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2024 has been used to implement the development phase of a major new conservation project in the chancel and sanctuary. We have had the services of a professional fundraiser and activity planner and we have commissioned specialist reports on the stained glass, stonework and polychromy. £140,000 has been raised or pledged for the project so far. If we succeed in attracting the Round Two NLHF Delivery Grant to implement the project fully from 2026, this will achieve a complete conservation of what is currently a very vulnerable part of the church, including the stabilisation and interpretation of our wall painting of the Adoration of the Magi.

This report highlights some of the major events we have held in 2025 and the groups we have supported in order to fulfil the three-fold objectives that lie at the heart of our vision.

Page 26

Objective 1 – FAITH: To share an inclusive sacred space

----- Start of picture text -----
Prayers
for Pride
----- End of picture text -----

Objective 2 – STORY:

To preserve and enhance our heritage, making heritage and history accessible

----- Start of picture text -----
Janina Ramirez admiring
our Tudor wall painting
----- End of picture text -----

Page 27

Objective 3 – LIFE:

To provide an inspiring community space that is affordable, accessible and welcoming

Page 28

Thank You

We would like to thank all those who have enabled Discover DeCrypt to flourish this year. A particular debt of thanks is owed to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for its support of the Round One Development Phase of the sanctuary conservation project. We are also grateful to: our volunteers, who welcome visitors week after week; our faith community, on whose continued prayer we rely; our regular hirers, who are always so appreciative of our facilities; and all our visitors and supporters, whose continued engagement and interest has made all we seek to do worthwhile.

Registered Charity Number: 1167097

Charity Details Address: St Mary de Crypt Church and School, Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1TP

The board of trustees has had the following members in 2025: Rev Canon Nicola Arthy (Ex-Officio Chair); Mr Peter Gould; Mr David Evans (Secretary); Ms Ursula Corcoran; and Mr Richard Ryan. Mr Mat McCall became a trustee in June 2025 and Rev Dr Canon Sandra Millar ceased to be a trustee in September 2025 after completing nine years of service.

Trustees are either nominated by the PCC or appointed by the Chair following consultation with existing trustees. The full Board of Trustees has at least four meetings a year, whilst a smaller group referred to as the Operations Board meets more frequently.

The charity employs an operations manager, a communications and events manager, a tea room manager and a cleaner. We benefit also from the expertise and work of the parish treasurer, additional duty managers and our team of dedicated volunteers.

David Evans on behalf of Discover DeCrypt

Page 29

9. Deanery Synod Report

Currently Mary Gould is the only Parish Representative on Deanery Synod as Stuart has been unable to continue because of the pressure of his day job and resigned during the year. Nikki saw out 2025 but has now of course retired

The Synod convened 3 times during 2025 March, July, and November. There were other gatherings for worship and discussions open more widely to our PCCs/members of our congregations

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity there was an opportunity for prayer and praise as guests of Gloucester Community Church at St Luke’s, Stroud Road. The service was well attended by representatives from churches across the deanery. An invitation was extended to prayer-walk the city https://www.pray4gloucester.uk/

20[th] March Synod met at St Nicholas Church, Hardwicke. The Rev’d Richard Martin had recently retired and moved away. Jo Pestell, Area Dean (AD) sent him our prayers and very best wishes for a long and happy retirement. We had a warm welcome from the team there and were treated to an extensive array of beautiful home-made cakes at the refreshment break.

There was no invited speaker for this meeting as we wished to focus on the next steps to implementing the DSP, noting that our deanery was in line for early funding to support finance and administration.

The roles of any operations lead and an oversite team, relative to those Deanery Standing Committee and the AD needed defining; and terms of reference had to be drawn up. The synod was broadly in favour of the progress made so far.

Before the next Synod on 8[th] July there were 3 opportunities for worshipping together.

As well as prayer and praise gatherings, interested parties have met to discuss the Parish Share. The City Deanery is heavily subsidised by the other deaneries in the Diocese but is still unable to meet its allocation. Parish representatives/incumbents/treasurers/churchwardens were invited to meet with members of the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and Archdeacon Hilary on 7[th] May in Church House to discuss the new approach to their allocations for 2026. There was tension and defensiveness as we all took our seats with copies of the accounts at the ready to state our case. Thankfully, anxieties were soon relieved as there was understanding on the part of the DBF of where we were as parishes. There was transparency in the allocations which were based on what we had said we could afford. There were also of course warnings against complacency and requests that we make every effort to raise our commitments. The phrase we came away with was “realistic generosity”,: response to the generosity we each had received at God’s hand with the very best we could manage.

8[th] July This Synod was held in the Church of St Barnabas where members of synod and our speakers enjoyed a generous finger buffet prepared by a team of volunteers as we held our annual social event at the beginning of a new synod year. The Rev’d Sarah Todd thanked her team and opened the meeting with prayer.

The speaker for the meeting was Rev’d Kate Stacey, Collaborative Ministry Lead (Life Long Learning) from the Department of Mission and Ministry. As her title suggests she was responsible for the development and learning for both clergy and laity as both are called by God to service and to work

collaboratively in the mission of the church within their wider communities. Consequently, training and development are essential for working together and need to be offered in easily accessible ways, such as bite-sized modules rather than 16-week courses as the Pastoral Assistants course had been. To thrive, parishes need called and committed laity, respected and valued in implementation.

In the business meeting that followed members were told of the progress in implementation of the DSP. This was especially so with the Youth Connector, Rev’d Helen Champion and in the moves towards appointing a Deanery Operations Lead.

Deanery Evensong on Sunday 7 September was led by Rev’d Mark Siddall at St James’ Church, Quedgeley. The congregation was small. the sermon and prayers were uplifting.

19[th] November Rev’d Steve Saville, newly appointed priest in charge at St James’ Church Upton Street welcomed the members and opened the meeting with prayer.

Jo (AD) welcomed the members of Synod and also welcomed Lydia Knight, the Deanery Operations Lead for Gloucester City Deanery. She would be starting work in January but was eager to get to know us. Lydia shared a bit of her background and her first reflections on the role she had recently accepted. Each parish and benefice then shared the joys and challenges of their ministries.

The meeting was well attended as members were asked to bring other people from their PCCs and congregations, this is a part of a policy to have more open meetings,

The feedback on the Parish Share meeting with the DBF was very positive. The ongoing treasurers meeting with Jane (deanery parish share coordinator) are proving helpful and mutually supportive.

The Deanery calendar for 2026 was circulated and members were asked to note that on 14[th] March there would be a Deanery Day and we could review Lydia Knight’s first couple of months with us and share our thoughts on priorities.

We also spoke of the need to give some thought in our parishes to the elections to the new Deanery Synod which would happen at our APCM, and the effort we should make to encourage enthusiasm around this role.

Over the year we have D one S omething P ositive with our DSP.

We need more volunteers from the laity to step up at this exciting time and make the voices of their parishes heard

Mary Gould

Page 31

10. Rector’s Report

I am writing this report as I retire from my role as Rector of the parish. It has been a rich 16 and a half years. There has never been a dull moment and seldom a spare one. Thank you for all that we have done and been together in our witness to Jesus Christ and in our service of Hempsted and the city centre. Be assured of my prayers not only during the period of vacancy but into the future.

In common with parishes up and down the land, 2025 was a year in which we sought afresh to address the challenges of parish finances, buildings and finding people to take on different roles. It is hard to care for three listed buildings, find volunteers for key roles and balance the books financially. Following a stewardship campaign, we had some success with fundraising – the Gift Days were particularly good – and membership of the Parish Giving Scheme remained steady. Do join if you are yet to do so. PCC met with the Archdeacon of Gloucester in November to discuss the strain of caring for our three listed churches. Nevertheless, we were encouraged by the outworking of the Deanery Strategic Pathway and the appointment of Lydia Knight as Deanery Operations Lead. It is recognized that further collaboration across the parishes of the city is necessary; things need to be done differently if lay people who take on roles and clergy alike are to flourish.

The Diocesan Vision, LIFE Together shaped our parish strategy throughout the year as follows:

Encouraging new and courageous ways of worshipping in different places which connect with more people

In January we began a new monthly service in St Mary de Crypt entitled ‘Open for All’, particularly reaching out to those within the LGBTQI+ communities. We led worship in Gloucester Park for Pride in Gloucestershire and a service for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Back Badge Service in St Mary de Lode, the Christian Aid service and the Gloucester Day service in St Mary de Crypt were important annual occasions. It was a joy to mark the 140[th] anniversary of the founding of the Gloucester Gordon League with a service and celebration in Hempsted in December, in addition to the annual Gordon League Service at the start of the year. We continued to offer Morning Prayer and Compline via Zoom, worship at Messy Church, through Eco Church, with Hempsted Church of England Primary School and The Crypt School and services for the Steampunk Festivals. The weekly Eucharist remained at the heart of parish life.

Being advocates for flourishing through initiatives which combat injustice, environmental destruction, exclusion and isolation

The Hempsted Eco Fayre that took place in September was a notable success led by Rachel Laughton, Gemma Bates and team. The Mayor of Gloucester and the Lady Mayoress came for an hour and stayed for the whole afternoon, signing up as volunteers for any similar initiative! The Eco Church team continued to work towards the gold A Rocha award. There was significant progress on the Eco Church project which continued to be led by Nick Roberts. The application for faculty to remove the gas boiler in St Swithun’s replacing it with eco heating and flooring was submitted. Sponsored by a generous individual, Orchard Fundraising was engaged.

There were ongoing opportunities for people to gather in warm and supportive spaces across the parish: Coffee Pot at Hempsted, Coffee and Chat for parents from Hempsted School and Coffee, Cake and Conversation in the schoolroom at St Mary de Crypt . Once again, thank you to members of the Coffee Pot team and to the parish and school pastoral teams for making these events possible.

The Community Pantry in St Swithun’s porch continued to be appreciated throughout the year. It is run as a joint initiative of the church, school and local shop in service of the community.

Page 32

In its second year with us, the Listening Post counselling service is now well settled in St Mary de Lode. The counsellors remain very grateful to Richard Lane for his commitment and care.

Nurturing everyday disciples

We continued to nurture everyday disciples through our preaching and teaching, with an emphasis on living our faith 24/7, with the people and in the places of our daily lives. We welcomed the Bishop of Gloucester for a service of Baptism and Confirmation in the autumn which was an encouragement to us all. The bible exploration group continued to meet regularly and the parish Lent group focused on exploring the Christian faith. It was good to welcome to the group people new to faith and those who have been Christians for many years.

Developing diverse lay and ordained leaders

Lay people and clergy continued to pray, learn and work together throughout 2025. We thank the churchwardens David Knight, Richard Lane and Peter Gould (warden), PCC members and our Deanery Synod reps Mary Gould and Stuart Saxton; Stuart stood down towards the end of the year. In May, Clare Morris was employed by the PCC as treasurer. We are so grateful to Peter Gould for all his work over many years as treasurer and for his ongoing mentoring of Clare. Thank you Peter. We thank too members of the ministry team, Parish Safeguarding Officers Mary Gould and Roxy Nichols, the Discover DeCrypt staff, volunteers and Trustees, welcomers, readers, intercessors, musicians, those who clean the churches and care for the churchyards, those who arrange flowers, the Lysons Hall committee and the bookings officer Vicky Jolly, the social and catering team, the magazine team, our Parish Administrator Claire Saunders and many other individuals who contributed to parish life in so many ways. The Hempsted Christmas Tree Festival led by Debbie Hotchkins and Christmas Fair were both enjoyable community events, as were various concerts in both St Swithun’s and St Mary de Crypt .

In 2025, the ministry team comprised Rev Canon Nikki Arthy, Rector; Rev Geoff Eales, associate priest; Rev Canon Pauline Godfrey, associate priest; Cath Wain and Mary Gould, pastoral assistants; Rachel Laughton, Hempsted Children and Families worker. In April, Rev Pauline stepped back from public ministry for some months following an operation. It was very good to welcome her back. Services across the parish continued to be led by both the clergy and lay worship leaders - Cath Wain, Mary Gould, Stuart Saxton and Rachel Laughton.

Investing in people and programmes which excite young people to explore and grow in faith

The Hempsted Children and Families Worker, Rachel Laughton continued to work with children and families in Hempsted Church of England Primary School, St Swithun’s Church and across the Hempsted community. As reported at last year’s annual meeting, we had sufficient funding for this role until May 2026. The Talent Challenge that took place throughout the autumn raised sufficient funding to ensure that the role can continue until the end of July 2026. Having exhausted substantive funding opportunities, after over 5 years we will all be very sad to see the post come to an end. We warmly thank Rachel for all that she has offered. For some time now, there has been careful consideration of which aspects of the work will continue, led by volunteers.

Looking ahead, the parish faces a period of vacancy as the search for a new Rector begins. I know that everyone will support the churchwardens and PCC in their leadership roles.

Rev Canon Nikki Arthy, Rector

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11. Reports of committees and other church activities including safeguarding

11a. Hempsted Parish Magazine Report

200 paper copies of the magazine are printed each month. These copies are available at the Hempsted Post Office/Shop, the porch of St. Swithun’s Church, and Lysons Hall. Electronic copies can also be read and downloaded from the Swithun and Mary website and the Hempsted Village Noticeboard on Facebook. Links to the magazine are also available on other local websites.

For 2026, we have secured £1,900 in advertising revenue from 12 ads, roughly the same as in previous years. Printing costs (based on 30 pages) are estimated at around £200 per month.

Debbie Hotchkins manages the distribution of the paper copies. Debbie is also part of the small but effective proofreading team with Dorothy and Glyn Williams.

Strengths
•
The magazine maintains strong ties with
Hempsted School, featuring regular
articles about the school. Each December,
the cover showcases the winning artwork
from the St Swithun’s Half Term
Challenge.
•
The Distribution and Editorial teams
collaborate effectively.
•
An electronic version of the magazine is
available online
(www.swithunandmary.org.uk).
•
- The magazine includes a monthly
calendar of upcomingvillage events.		 Weaknesses
•
Cost of Printing
•
Some contributors submit articles after
the deadline.
•
Rarely, if ever, receive contributions from
east of Secunda Way.
•
Paper copies are not delivered.
Opportunities
•
Potentially wider readership
•
Online means there is no limit to the
number of magazine pages.
•
Less Paper used.
•
Save Money- Cheaper Printing		 Threats
•
Fewer copies – less visible
•
Reduced income as advertisers don’t like
fewer Paper copies.

Terry Stevenson, Don Stockwell, Debbie Hotchkins.

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11b. Children and Families Worker Report 2025

Introduction

Employed by the church, I work in partnership with Hempsted Church of England school. We aim to do two things, to support children and families across the Hempsted community and to share activities and opportunities for children and families to grow in faith.

School Partnership

In 2025, Rachel Laughton (Children and Families Worker) continued to offer pastoral support to a number of individual children and to small groups in school.

Collective Worship: With Ali Middleton, Assistant Headteacher, we lead weekly Collective Worship Groups with Key Stage 2 children. Children have planned and led whole school Collective Worship based on the values of truthfulness, respect and thankfulness. Worship Group have also written and led prayers during school services in church. Nikki led Collective Worship once a month in school.

We also support Collective Worship through our Open the Book ministry. We share Bible stories with the whole school once a month. The team comprises Rachel Laughton, David Knight and Rose Lane. The children are very willing to take roles in acting out the story and these occasions are always such a privilege to be part of.

SATs in School: A mindful colouring/prayer card was given to each year 6 child at the beginning of SATs week

Coffee and Chat: (see Outreach Report)

Pastoral Support: Nikki, the Pastoral Team and Rachel work with the school Pastoral Lead to identify needs of school families in the community and support with visits, signposting to relevant organisations and services, encouragement to come to Coffee and Chat, making sure that families are aware that Parish pastoral support is available and simply keeping in touch and offering a listening ear. We have a pastoral handover meeting before each school holiday. The parish provides a pastoral phoneline during the holidays.

Coffee and Chat Plus, Summer Holiday Stay and Play Sessions: These very successful free sessions took place on two Tuesday afternoons in August and offered play and craft activities and tea. (Three sessions had been planned but one was cancelled due to extreme heat). The Lysons Hall was used along with the outside space. Children from 0 to 11 years attended with their parents/carers. Coordinated by Rachel, a team of 5 volunteers delivered the sessions. Funding was received from the Gloucestershire County

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Council Build Back Better grant. Publicity was issued by the church through the school as well as in the Parish Magazine and on the Messy Church and village Facebook pages.

SIAMs (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools): Rachel and Nikki work with the school Senior Leadership Team and Sally Hebbs, Foundation Governor, to offer support in evaluating all aspects of the school community and curriculum in terms of its Christian vision and identity according to the SIAMS framework.

Eco Art Day: As part of the Season of Creation and Eco Weekend events in September each class from 1 – 6 came in turn to the Lysons Hall to enjoy art activities based around ‘Peace with Creation’. After a time of outside worship led by Nikki, the children decorated feathers using a range of media that were added to their class dove. The doves were on display in the hall for the Eco Fair weekend and then moved to the school Hall.

Messy Church

In 2025 we held the following Messy Church Sessions:-

Mothering Sunday

Posies made by the Flower Arranging Team were available for collection from the church porch together with a little card. This is now tradition and works well.

Easter

Family Services and Events

Baptisms

When possible Rachel has been present at Baptisms to welcome and read. There was a wonderful service in January when three members of the same family were baptised during the Parish Eucharist.

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Stay and Play

This is the parent and toddler group that takes place in the Lysons Hall on Wednesday mornings during term time. It was wonderful to celebrate the group’s first anniversary in November. The sessions are well and consistently attended. Charging per family means the group is sustainable in terms of costs and there is capacity to contribute to Lysons Hall running costs. The dedicated and skilled team have created a calm and caring space for all who attend. There is a Christian distinctiveness to the sessions in the songs we sing, our prayers and links to other parts of church life. Parents and carers are giving very positive feedback.

Advent and Christmas 2025 Overview

Young Person Volunteers:

We have four young person volunteers, who are a great addition to the Messy Church team and sessions, have taken part in parish events including the Gloucester Day Service and Eco Fair and have written Eco Church articles for the Parish Magazine.

The West End of St Swithun’s

This is being used by children and families when they are at Sunday services and Baptisms. We are very keen to keep it as an open usable space.

Fundraising

Faithful Generations

Rachel led Candlemas dance workshops at Gloucester Cathedral as part of the Gloucester Diocese Faithful Generations day. The dance was then shared at the Cathedral Evensong which rounded off the event. Rachel has been invited to lead similar activities again at Faithful Generations #2 at Cirencester St John the Baptist in 2026.

Children and Families Worker post Funding and Deanery Work

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support for Children and Families work

Rachel Laughton Hempsted Children and Families Worker

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11c. Worship Report for 2025

Morning prayer via Zoom continued to take place each week at 9am on Wednesdays and Fridays with Compline on a Thursday evening.

Worship in various residential and care homes within the Parish continued and where Carol Services were also held at Christmas. Communion continued to be taken to certain members of the Parish in their own homes.

Together with Rachel, the Parish’s Children and Families Worker, two members of the congregation continued to take ‘Open the Book’ to Hempsted Church of England Primary School during assembly each month on Wednesdays throughout the School Year. Coffee and Chat with Hempsted School continued in the Lysons Hall during term time. Coffee, Cake and Conversation at St Mary de Crypt on Fridays at 11am continued, with some joining ‘Prayers for the City’ Service at 1pm afterwards. The Parish Bible exploration group resumed on Monday 20[th] January at 2.00pm until 3.30pm in the Lysons Hall.

Services began on 12[th] January at St. Swithun’s with the Baptism of Christ— Holy Communion at 8am, followed by Parish Eucharist, with baptisms at 10.00am. This was followed in the afternoon at 4pm at St. Mary de Crypt with a new monthly ‘Open for All’ Inclusive Worship Service with music, silence, readings and a short reflection.

On 19[th] January the service was at St Mary de Lode, in the week of prayer for Christian Unity. This was followed in the evening at 7pm at Gloucester Community Church, with the opportunity for Christians from all traditions to meet to launch a vision to prayer-walk every street in Gloucester throughout the year.

The service on 26[th] January (Epiphany 3) took place at Swithun’s at 11am, joined by members of The Gordon League Club.

Candlemas was celebrated at St Mary de Lode on 2[nd] February when the baby Jesus was welcomed in the temple by the faithful Simeon and Anna.

The 9[th] February brought us to the 4[th] Sunday before Lent when Family Eucharist was at St Swithun’s. On the 16[th] February, the third Sunday before Lent, the Parish Eucharist took place at St Mary de Crypt at 11am as part of the Gloucester Folk Festival, with ‘Open for Al’l Inclusive Worship at 4.00pm.

On 23[rd] February, the 2[nd] Sunday before Lent, Parish Eucharist took place at St Swithun’s where the Lent leaflet — Living Hope - was available after the service.

On 2[nd] March, the Sunday next before Lent, the service was held at St Mary de Lode Church at 10am.

Holy Communion on 9[th] March — Lent 1 —was held at St Swithun’s with Holy Communion at 8am, and the Family Eucharist, with baptism, at 10am.

On 10[th] March the Parish Lent Group met and were guided through ‘Stepping Stones in Faith’. On Sunday, 16[th] March —Lent 2 — Parish Eucharist took place at St Mary de Lode, with Open for All Inclusive Worship at St Mary de Crypt at 4pm.

On 22[nd] March the Back Badge Service took place at St Mary de Lode, to commemorate the dedication of the Glosters Memorial.

On 23[rd] March — Lent 3 - Parish Eucharist was held at St. Swithun’s at 10am.

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On 25[th] March, the next before Lent, a Taize style service for Lent took place in the Chancel of St Mary de Lode Church at 7pm, where all enjoyed the silence and beauty of the holy space.

Services continued throughout the year, alternating between the 3 Churches as follows:

Mothering Sunday at St Mary de Lode on 30[th] March; Lent 5 at St Mary de Lode on 6[th] April. Palm Sunday, on 13[th] April, began at St Mary de Lode after which ‘Puzzle’ the donkey led the congregation to the Cathedral for the service. On 20[th] April Easter Sunday was celebrated at St. Swithun’s with an 8am Easter Communion, and Family Eucharist at 10.00am. On 8[th] May at 7.00pm, a service to mark the 80[th] anniversary of VE Day was celebrated at St. Swithun’s Church. Pentecost was celebrated on 8[th] June at St Swithun’s. Trinity Sunday to Trinity 16, 15[th] June to 5[th] October, with the 14[th] and 15[th] marking ‘Creationtide, shared between St Mary de Lode and St Swithun’s. St Swithun’s Day was celebrated on 13[th] July. Harvest Festival Sunday was on 12[th] October at St. Swithun’s, with All Saints and All Souls on 2[nd] November at St Mary de Lode. Remembrance Sunday on 9[th] November at St Swithun’s; Christ the King — Safeguarding Sunday, 23[rd] November at St Swithun’s; Advent Sunday, 30[th] November at St Mary de Lode, with Advent 4, Christmas and Epiphany at St Swithun’s/St Mary de Lode.

With thanks to our Clergy, for Nikki, Pauline & Geoff, together with Cath our Pastoral Assistant & Mary our Pastoral Assistant and Licensed Worship Leader who worked tirelessly in 2025 with services, prayers and reflections, together with hosting Morning Prayer via zoom on Wednesdays and Fridays — not forgetting Stuart for his Thursday evenings of Compline. Many thanks also again to Claire in the Parish Office who sends us the weekly pew sheet, together with a cheery newsletter, which we all look forward to.

Rose Lane

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11d. Eco-church report

Hempsted Eco Church Report

The committed Eco Church team continued to meet throughout 2025. The team comprised:

Nikki Arthy, Dominic Arthy (stepped down midyear), Gemma Bate, Haroop Bhandal (stepped down in September), Sarah Cook, Alan Grove (stepped down July), Sally Hebbs, Douglas Hook, Rachel Laughton, Nick Roberts, Tript Bhandal

Comings and Goings

We bade farewell to Dominic Arthy as he relocated to Scotland for work, Alan Grove due to other commitments and Haroop Bhandal as she embarked upon a new chapter at university, thanking them warmly for their rich contributions to Eco Church. We welcomed Tript Bhandal to the team. Nikki Arthy continued to be Acting Chair and Gemma Bate took on the role of Secretary as of July 2025.

Going for Gold

Sarah Cook and Rachel Laughton have met to go through the requirements to gauge how far off we are from achieving Gold standard. In some meetings, the group have identified areas in which Hempsted is achieving well and those where more evidence is needed. This will continue next year where we hope to get closer to achieving the Gold goal.

Celebrating Success

Looking ahead

Thanks is due to all across the community for their environmental commitment.

Gemma Bate, Eco Church Secretary

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11e. Outreach Report

Christian Aid

Many thanks to all who have supported Christian Aid in anyway this year. A special thanks to 12 supporters who posted just over 500 Delivery Only Envelopes through letterboxes in Hempsted and also to those who agreed to be drop-off points for returned envelopes

Christian Aid Week donations

£ 597 from envelopes plus £380 church collections from all 3 churches = £977 total, plus £108 estimated gift aid gives a grand total of £1,085

The figures for envelopes and church collections are estimates as donations are interchangeable but the relative proportions are probably reasonably accurate.

A CA Week service for the city was held as usual in St Mary de Crypt church on the Friday of that week, Thank you to Nikki for compiling and leading this service.

Lent Lunches

The parish planned 4 lunches in conjunction with St Catharine’s, London Road. We organised 2 each. Together we raised

£ 433 plus £41 gift aid = £474 grand total

There was no Carol Singing outside St Mary de Crypt in 2025

Although there is no section in our parish accounts return to the diocese of sums raised for charities other than the church itself sums raised can be recorded and it is a helpful reminder to recognise the generosity of the community. I propose that on this occasion record 50% of the grand total for the Lent lunches and 100% of CAW donations.

It would be inappropriate to conclude this report without a thank you to Nikki for her fundamental support of Christian Aid locally and nationally, publicly and privately. She was always determined that Christian Aid should have a high profile in our parish and across the city. Thank you, Nikki

Mary Gould

Coffee, Cake and Conversation

Coffee, Cake and Conversation continues to meet on Fridays in the Schoolroom from 1100-1230. There is a number of regular attendees, including some new faces, joined by others who come as they can; plus casual visitors tempted by the cake and tourists.

Homemade cake is always on offer; plus, what can be purchased at the counter, along with good coffee: cappuccino, latte, americano, hot chocolate in many flavours and assorted teas….

Some conversation is confidential and one to one; some is confidential within a small group; some is “just” conversation, which may be lighted hearted or have a darker tone. We are also able to signpost to other agencies when a person needs help of one kind or another. From time to time, we discuss our faith or our concerns about its absence. Some of us pray for one another during the week and find that strengthens our faith and our friendships. Some follow their Friday gathering with the Prayers for the City service in the church.

Thanks to all who contribute to these Friday mornings: Cath, Debbie W, with special recognition of Hellen, the manager of Discover DeCrypt, Morgan, Manager of the teashop and the barista, the

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volunteers and all who attend – not to mention Austin, Mr Bingley, Buddy and other four-footed celebrities. Friday mornings would not be the same without you all.

Mary Gould

Children’s Society (formerly known as Church of England’s Children Society) Collection Boxes

The Children’s Society has some loyal supporters across Hempsted who collect throughout the year to help the Society support many young people to a better start in life than might otherwise have happened. At one time the Society and this collection were closely associated with St Swithun’s but now less so. Even so the church can record the generosity of the parish as we take the responsibility of collecting and banking the money.

In 2025 the boxes yielded £415.44 incl £25 estimated gift aid

Mary Gould

Community Pantry:

Provided for the community by the community. The pantry is located in the Hempsted church porch and is available from 9am until 4 pm daily. We are aware that the pantry is being well used by families and others. Donations of non-perishable groceries are made via the donation basket at the village shop; by individuals bringing items to church throughout the year; via termly school collections and at harvest. We are grateful to all who top up the pantry or donate money for this purpose. We have a policy of checking use by/best before dates before adding them to the pantry and refilling/topping up the boxes once a week. Excess items are kept in the vestry until needed. The HRA have offered to put reminders on Facebook that people are able to donate items via the Community Pantry basket in the shop.

Coffee and Chat:

This meets every Tuesday in term time and continues to be a lively group which is greatly valued by those who attend. Pastoral and practical support is offered to school families by the parish pastoral team in partnership with the school pastoral team and the Family Haven. This year we wished Kate Subryan well in her retirement from her role as Pastoral Lead at school and welcomed her replacement, Ruth Russell. Claire Leighton, Deputy Manager of The Family Haven also joined us as Gail Jones left to take on the post of Fundraiser at the Haven. Ruth and Claire attend the group on a weekly basis and offer support, advice and activities. Mutual support among the families is also evident and there are opportunities for light-hearted fun too. It’s been lovely to welcome Coffee and Chat families at other church events such as Messy Church and other celebrations. There have been visits from National Energy Action with energy saving tips, the Gateway Trust and also from the Community Social Worker and the Early Help Coordinator (Children’s Services).

We have a ‘Prayer Teapot’ available during Coffee and Chat, where those attending know they are able to write and pop in prayer requests. These are then followed up appropriately by the church Pastoral Team.

Christmas Hampers: As in the previous three years the parish pastoral team worked with the school pastoral team to identify school families that would be blessed in receiving food for the holidays. As previous years, it was decided to provide some ‘treat’ food to help make the Christmas season special rather than Christmas meals or pantry basics. Cath Wain wrote a letter bidding for funds for the hampers from Palling Burgess United Charities and the parish was awarded £300 for this purpose. We are very grateful for this grant money which, combined with the kind donations of Yule Logs, mince pies and chocolate coins from Hilary Paskins, Claire Saunders and Mary Gould, meant that we were able to provide hampers for 17 families. Rachel did the budgeting and shopping and was joined by Ruth Russell and Sylvia Bullock in packing and delivering the hampers. The hampers were very well received!

Rachel Laughton

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11f. Friends of St Swithun’s

Pimms & Puddings evening on Friday 5[th] September 7pm to 9pm

was our official re-launch - we opened wide the doors of the Lysons Hall and welcomed 70 people for Pimms & Puddings whilst promoting FoSS. “The weather was a little disappointing but did not dampen our spirits and some even chose to sit outside under the gazebos. On arrival Giles and Dom kindly made up and served the Pimms and Fruit punch; Nikki officially welcomed everyone and then it was time to tuck into the amazing array of wonderful puddings; there was a raffle and our minds were stretched with the table quiz "can you identify these towns and cities in the British Isles?" produced by Richard Davenport. There was lots of chatting and catching up and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. A big THANK YOU to all who contributed and supported in any way, helping us raise £572.80 for St. Swithun's Church Funds”.

Subscription September 2025 ~ August 2026

This is a yearly subscription running from the 1[st] of September to August 31[st] and renewable annually. In 2025 the subscription fees remained at the same as previously £10 per individual / £15 per family / £50 corporate being the minimum amount. Subscriptions for 2024-2025 amounted to 32 subscriptions = £505 for St. Swithun’s Church Funds and subscriptions for 2025-2026 amounted to 30 subscriptions = £527. In addition to these amounts any gift aid will be claimed and added to the funds. Debbie continues to co-ordinate the receipt of applications, recording the information on an excel spreadsheet whilst Claire in our Parish Office reclaims the Gift Aid. Of note: It has been agreed that all money raised under the FoSS umbrella will be used for St. Swithun’s Church Fund only.

FoSS - General Feedback

FoSS (Friends of St. Swithun’s) was originally launched back in 2017/2018; the opportunity to become a friend and ensure the future of St. Swithun's Church whether you came to church or not; a committee was formed; yearly subscriptions taken and events held; sadly until the advent of Covid. Di Turner who sat on the original committee a life-long resident of Hempsted and very involved in the local community but does not regularly attend church was keen to see FoSS take off again and continues to sit on the Committee with Debbie Hotchkins who is a resident of Hempsted and involved in the local community and church with Canon Nikki Arthy, Rector overseeing FoSS. With the retirement of Nikki to whom we would like to thank for her support, help and encouragement over year and wish her well for the future; both Debbie & Di continue on the FoSS committee and of course we will be directed by the PCC who will take the place of Nikki in the future.

FoSS Workshops 2025 – Di Turner

At our Spring workshop held on March 27th '25 we had 17 attendees paying £10 each. After all expenses were met we were able to make donations of £50 to St Swithuns via Peter Gould and £50 to Christine Pullen for the Church Ladies flower fund.

Sadly, due to the "heatwave & drought" the Summer workshop was cancelled.

Equally disappointing, the Autumn workshop was cancelled due to lack of numbers! It transpired that many of our regulars were on holiday.

However, I'm glad to report that the very popular Christmas wreath workshop held on. Nov 27[th] 2025 was very well attended. 26 attended. 23 paid £15 & 3 paid £10. After all expenses were met we were able to make donations of £110.00 to St Swithun’s via Nikki Arthy and £110.00 to Christine Pullen for the Church Ladies flower fund.

We look forward to more workshops in 2026 with the Spring Workshop in March 2026

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History

Hempsted Heritage Open Days September 2025 – the church was open with some displays but unmanned.

Remembrance Weekend – church was open with WW1 & WW2 displays but unmanned Of interest is Llanthony Secunda Priory host “Llanthony History Huddle” on the 2[nd] Thursday each month from 6pm to 7.30pm and all are welcome, no booking required just turn up – free event – donations welcome.

FoSS members are and will continue to be invited to events hosted by the Church and from time to time you can find FoSS updates in the Hempsted Parish Magazine and Hempsted Community Face book page.

The Pimms & Pudding evening hosted by FoSS is an opportunity to promote FoSS and for those who wish to become a Friend or renew their subscription for 2026-2027.

We would like to thank everyone for their support of FoSS in 2025.

Debbie Hotchkins & Di Turner

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11g. Social and Catering

A continued thank you to everyone within the Church and Parish Community, whose generous contributions of time, ideas, energy and donations make events possible.

We are very grateful to everyone who helps in anyway – thank you.

The Lysons Hall Kitchen

As we reported last year, ‘Coffee Pot’ had made a generous offer to replace the old kitchen oven. After checking with our electricians, when they did the 5-year inspection, it was confirmed that the electrics of the hall would not accommodate a hard-wired double oven and so a 3-pin plug Beko CIFY71 / 60cm built-in single fan oven with grill was purchased from a local firm, Gillman’s. It was fitted on 14th May 2025. The total price of £269 was paid by Coffee Pot for the oven, delivery, removing and taking away the old oven, plus installing the new oven. This was researched and overseen by Jenny Simmonds. The PCC thanked Coffee Pot for their financial support.

Bookings for the Lysons Hall

Thanks to both Perry Poole who stood down as our booking’s administrator during the year and a big welcome to Vicky Jolly who has taken on this role with continued enthusiasm and efficient skills.

Redecoration of the exterior, interior and new flooring

Thanks to Giles Field who managed the Lysons Hall external and internal redecoration along with the removal of the old carpet and replacement flooring.

After Church Coffee

Thanks to Gilly Knight for overseeing after church coffee, with the regular team of helpers. A hot drink, often with homemade biscuits or cake, plus a chance to chat after the services is always welcome and much appreciated by everyone who attend.

This thank you is also extended to those who provide us with after coffee and refreshments at St Mary De Lode and St Mary De Crypt churches.

Events…

Music For A Summer Evening – Sunday 8[th] June 2025 at 6 p.m.

Thanks were given to John Pennington, Director of Music, The King’s School, for generously playing a fundraising concert. Tickets were £7 to include a glass or prosecco or soft drink, which were served after the performance. All proceeds went towards the new eco heating for St Swithuns Church. John’s skilled playing of a varied programme certainly showcased our Hempsted church organ.

St Swithun’s Day Celebrations – Sunday 13[th] July 2025

Live Jazz and Cream Teas were back!

The day was designed to be a community event. In the past, jazz and cream teas had been most popular, so we considered how we could bring back this style of event, for the enjoyment of the community. The jazz trio who used to play for us have since disbanded, but Nikki knew of and had seen performing the professional Little Rumba Band.

There was an historic pot of money (known as the Village Fund) set aside for such community events, so permissions were sought and it was decided to book the band, using that fund to pay for it. The event was to be made complete, by the marquee going up and traditional teas of scones, jam, cream and cakes being served, together with copious cups of tea. It really was a lovely event – despite the heat – and wonderful to see the intergenerational response to the invitation to attend.

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The order of the day was 10 a.m. St Swithun’s Day Church service, 3 to 5 p.m. Community Live Jazz and Cream Teas with the Little Rumba Band as our entertainment. Messy Church activities ran alongside in the church grounds.

Hours had been spent on planning. A call out to the Hempsted Residents Association, resulted in some new helpers coming forward. This was very helpful, as 5 of our regular helpers were either away or unable to attend. It was most welcome to have others from the Hempsted community, who are not necessarily church goers, helping in the kitchen, front of house or joining the marquee team (which became a team of 4) and of course to our bakers who supplied the delightful cakes and scones.

Thanks were sent to everyone who had volunteered to help either in the planning or on the day. It takes a strong team to offer this type of event and a good deal of hard work in the planning, ensuring everything is ready and presentable. A special thanks to Debbie Hotchkins who worked extremely hard, along with Jenny Simmonds who organised the event.

The main aim of the event was to bring the community together, an added benefit was that we raised £410 towards the Eco Church Heating, from the sales of teas, donations and the raffle... and then on Tuesday 15th July, St Swithin's Day, it rained!

St Swithun’s Day Celebrations 2025 - Accounts The profit from the event to be allocated to ECO Church heating is £410.00 The cash to be banked… £563.00 + £38.00 = £601.00 * (*Equals Income Sub-Total less Expenditure Sub-Total)

Income Expenditure
Sale of Teas/Cakes £475.55 Teas expenses claimed £56.25
Donations £31.70
Raffle £150.00
Income Sub-Total £657.25 Expenditure Sub-Total £56.25
Historic ‘Village Fund’
For use on community event
towards the band
(internal transfer)		 £409.00 The Little Rumba Band £600.00
Total Income £1,066.25 Total Expenditure £656.25

Christmas Tree Festival – St. Swithun’s Church 2025

The official opening and commencement of the Christmas Tree Festival took place on Friday the 5[th] December in St. Swithun’s Church from 6.30pm to 8pm, whilst on the Saturday the 6[th] December 11am to 4pm as part of the Christmas Fayre it was nice to see those coming and enjoying the trees – welcomed into the church by Nikki Arthy, Giles Field, David Knight and Sally Hebbs. The Christmas Tree Festival remained through the festive season into the New Year 2026 and a welcoming sight for further visitors with the church open daily from 9am to 4pm. Those who contributed this year were: Hempsted ECO Church; Messy Church; Stay & Play; Coffee & Chat; Gordon League (GLRFC); HRA; Women’s Institute; Coffee Pot; Knit & Natter; Art Group; Wine Circle & Social Club; Hempsted Church of England After School Club; our local Neighbourhood Policing Team and St. Mary de Lode. Photos and information regarding the groups and their trees can be found in the Hempsted Parish Magazine January edition Page 16 & 17. (Thank you to Terry Stevenson for the wonderful photos). Alongside the trees were two A-frame displays: The Gordon League depicting their history and early years – on the 5[th] December 2025 Gloucester Gordon League had been in existence for 140 years. Hempsted Women’s Institute evening group in November celebrated 60 years and to mark the occasion their display depicted Hempsted Women’s Institute and their history – of note: in March 2026 Hempsted Women’s Institute afternoon group will commemorate 100 years – concluding there has been a Women’s Institute presence in Hempsted for 100 years. Finally, later in December the Church Flower Arranging Team added wonderful array of flowers and decorations to St. Swithun’s Church. A BIG THANK YOU was expressed to all who contributed.

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140[th] Anniversary Gloucester Gordon League

In conjunction with members of the Gordon League (GLRFC) we jointly came together to a celebration of the 140[th] Anniversary of the Gloucester Gordon League. At 7pm on Friday 5[th] December in a reflective service Canon Nikki Arthy welcomed the 50 or so present; who had bravely stormed the terrible weather which had occurred that day. This was followed by carols, prayers, Gordon League history and future overview (Debbie Hotchkins & James Badham); Gordon League Prayer (John Emery); a handwritten message from the Very Rev’d Andrew Zihni and finally a toast to the past and to the future of the Gordon League. We all enjoyed refreshments of wine / soft drink and mince-pies. Thank you to all who made this occasion possible including those members from the Gordon League. Gloucester Gordon League (founded in 1885) brief history article can be found in the Hempsted Parish Magazine December edition Page 8 & 9.

Christmas Fayre 2025

The Christmas Fayre took place on Saturday 6[th] December 11am to 3pm in the Lysons Hall. The local stall holder’s included: Ronnette’s with their woodwork (Ron Aston & Team), Wreaths & Table Decorations (Di Turner), Holistic Therapies & Gifts (Louise Turner), Cakes/Knitwear/Homemade Produce (Kim Beck & Narissa), Crafts by Leone, Crafts by Molly Gould, activities provided by Coffee & Chat / Messy Church (led by Rachel Laughton); alongside those who were taking part in the Talent Challenge which included a Christmas Cake made by Dot Stephens which was raffled, Tombola-Raffle organised by Kathy/Florence/Debbie and the various person(s) who contributed to the Talent Stall headed up by Pauline Godfrey and her grand-daughter Bella. Refreshments of cakes, mince-pies, tea, coffee and hot chocolate were provided and served by various wonderful volunteers – thank you.

For information:

Sadly, during the Christmas Tree Festival – 3 small trees and a LED pillar candle were taken from the church porch and an abusive message was left in the church alongside one of the Christmas trees.

Community Carol Service – Sunday 21[st] December 2025, 6pm

Refreshments were served in the Lysons Hall of mulled wine & soft drinks alongside mince-pies coordinated by Debbie Hotchkins & Gilly Knight.

Jenny Simmonds and Debbie Hotchkins

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12. Safeguarding

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend the rights of all those who are vulnerable Proverbs 31;8”.

The Safeguarding Team: Nikki, Roxy and Mary have met before every PCC, given a report to every PCC and discussed the Parish Action Plan

The Action Plan is worked out from a monitoring online dashboard which shows the status of the parish’s compliance with the measures determined by the Church of England, nationally and at diocesan level. It is a time-consuming but useful tool.

Enabling training and keeping records is a very large part of Safeguarding and it runs alongside ensuring that any who are eligible for a DBS check go through that process every three years

The company who handles all the DBS applications calls itself 31:8. 31:8 is in fact a Bible reference to Proverbs 31:8 which I have quoted above. This is a very apt reference as it defines what safeguarding is about. It reminds us that safeguarding has a theological basis.

New requirements are added not infrequently, and we are fortunate to have new volunteers too. Training is a 3-year rolling programme; it is not a once and for all activity so roughly speaking about a third of our seventy volunteers and staff refresh aspects of their training every year. Catch-up is nearly always the name of the game! Canon Pauline (Godfrey) has helpfully enabled in person group Basic and Foundation training for those who find working online difficult

In 2025 the Parish became a registered charity and came under the auspices of the Charity Commission. The PCC members became formally trustees and as such were required to have training as a body. This took place at a specially convened PCC on 8 September

The other aspect of safeguarding is pastoral concern and care as we react to issues that our brought to our attention, working closely with Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

As ever it must be stressed that safeguarding is the business of each one of us, hence the Basic Awareness training for all church volunteers. Any concerns should be brought to the attention of either Roxy or Mary, the Parish Safeguarding Officers.

The annual Safeguarding Service, held in 2025 on Sunday 25 November, affords the opportunity to remind all of us of our responsibilities.

The policies which govern how the parish handles its safeguarding responsibilities accompany this report.

Thank you to all those who have completed training and DBS applications this past year. There are difficulties with technology for some but invariably willing cooperation which is much appreciated.

Roxy Nicholls & Mary Gould

Parish Safeguarding Officers

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Parish Policy on the Safeguarding of Children and Young People

  1. The PCC accepts the House of Bishops ‘Promoting a Safer Church: Safeguarding Policy Statement.’

  2. The PCC seeks to provide a caring, warm and consistent atmosphere and environment in which children and young people can develop and grow, and in which they can learn in safety. Children and young people will be treated as individuals and with equal concern.

  3. The PCC recognises the following areas of work with children and young people: Messy Church, Youth Group, bell ringing, Children and Communion programme, Confirmation, serving and taking part in services, training of volunteers for Discover DeCrypt, workshops and concerts for Discover DeCrypt, children’s holiday clubs, Eco Church, Stay and Play (St Mary de Crypt and Hempsted).

  4. The Annual Meeting has elected ROXY NICHOLLS & MARY GOULD to be the Parish Safeguarding Officers to whom all concerns and cases of suspected or alleged abuse must be reported immediately.

  5. 5 The PCC:

  6. I. Will ensure that everyone involved in the care of children and young people, whether through paid employment, volunteer roles or as Trustees, are personally made aware of the House of Bishops policy and the PCC policy.

  7. II. Will ensure that completed personnel records are appropriately stored. All information on workers with children and young people will be kept locked away safely and confidentially in line with data protection legal requirements.

  8. III. Will ensure that every appropriate position is recruited in line with national church and diocesan Safer Recruitment processes and that each person then completes the appropriate level safeguarding training.

  9. IV. Will ensure that it complies with the rolling programme of DBS checks that are supported/administered by the diocese.

  10. V. Will ensure everyone involved in working with children and young people are clear of the nature of the work they have agreed to do and the name of the person to whom they are responsible.

  11. VI. Will ensure the Rector, working with the Parish Safeguarding Officers, will be responsible on the PCC’s behalf for implementing and monitoring the PCC’s policy.

  12. VII. Will ensure that the PCC is regularly informed of the names of those who work with children and young people for parish records.

  13. VIII. Will make adequate provision for insurance cover for all activities for children and young people in line with the House of Bishop’s guidance.

  14. IX. Will make a copy of this policy available to all employees and volunteers of this church, and to parents/guardians.

  15. X. Will ensure that any individual organisation renting/using its premises for activities involving children and young people is aware of its own individual responsibilities to have appropriate safeguarding policies and processes in place.

  16. XI. Will ensure that any complaint made regarding a child or young person for whom we are responsible, who may have been harmed or is in significant danger, will be reported immediately and that we will fully cooperate with statutory agencies during any investigation into allegations concerning a member of the church community.

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This policy will be reviewed at the Annual Meeting. Safeguarding will remain a standing item on each PCC agenda. The Parish Safeguarding Officers will continue to meet with the Rector prior to each PCC meeting in order to share good practice and any concerns and to prepare its report to PCC.

Incumbent

Churchwarden

Churchwarden

Date 12 April 2026

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Parish Policy on the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults

  1. It is the responsibility of each of us to prevent the physical, emotional, sexual, financial and spiritual abuse of vulnerable people and to report any such abuse that we discover or suspect.

  2. The PCC recognises that everyone has different levels of vulnerability and that each of us may be regarded as vulnerable at some time in our lives.

  3. The PCC seeks to promote respectful pastoral care for all adults to whom we minister.

  4. The PCC seeks to promote the safeguarding of people who may be vulnerable, ensuring their wellbeing in the life of this church.

  5. The PCC commits itself to promoting safe practice by those in positions of trust.

  6. The PCC commits itself to promoting the inclusion and empowerment of people who may be vulnerable.

  7. The PCC will ensure that every appropriate position (staff, volunteers & Trustees) is recruited in line with national church and diocesan Safer Recruitment processes and then completes the appropriate level of safeguarding training.

  8. The PCC will ensure that it complies with the rolling programme of DBS checks that are supported/administered by the diocese.

  9. The PCC is committed to supporting, resourcing, training and regularly reviewing those who undertake work amongst people who may be vulnerable.

  10. The PCC accepts the House of Bishops ‘Promoting a Safer Church: Safeguarding Policy Statement’ plus diocesan guidelines.

  11. Each person who works with vulnerable people will agree to abide by these recommendations and any further guidelines established by the PCC. The PCC will promote these recommendations amongst the congregations. The PCC will ensure that the Rector, working with the Parish Safeguarding Officers, will be responsible on its behalf for implementing and monitoring the PCC policy.

The Annual Meeting has nominated ROXY NICHOLLS & MARY GOULD as Parish Safeguarding Officers.

This policy will be reviewed at the Annual Meeting. Safeguarding will remain a standing item on each PCC agenda. The Parish Safeguarding Officers will continue to meet with the Rector prior to each PCC meeting in order to share good practice and any concerns and to prepare its report to PCC.

Incumbent

Churchwarden

Churchwarden

Date: 12 April 2026

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17. Sidespeople/welcomers for 2026

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