Annual Report

ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, NASH

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church

Council for the year ended 31 December 2025

Rector of the Blackthorn Chase Benefice: Rev Jaqueline Dove

Bank: Lloyds Bank

Parochial Church Council (PCC) membership

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.  The following served as members of the PCC during 2025:

Annual Review 2025

Administrative information

All Saints’, Nash, is situated in the middle of Nash, a small Buckinghamshire village between Milton Keynes and Buckingham. The church was designed by G E Street and the foundation stone was laid in November 1857. A Thornton benefactor gave the land on which Nash church was built, so the parish is called Thornton with Nash and consists of the two villages. Thornton Church is now redundant and under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

The PCC is a charity exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.

Thornton with Nash, together with Beachampton, Thornborough and Whaddon, form the Blackthorn Chase Benefice.

Rev Jacqueline Dove resigned with effect from 15 February 2026 to move to Kent.

Church services

Nash had the full range of services but continued to recognize that some people remained cautious about cross infection and so, at communion services, there continues to be the option of having the wafer intincted by the priest.

Except for the major festivals, the service pattern continued to be Holy Communion on the first and third Sundays, with morning or evening prayer on the second Sunday, and a family friendly Church4All on the fourth Sunday.  When there are five Sundays in the month there is a Benefice in one of the churches, often Nash which is central and easier of access.  There were 56 services in total. Normal Sunday Holy Communion services had an average attendance of 20. For the Morning/Evening prayer services the average was 11 and for the family friendly Church4All services it was 9 adults but no children.  The church held a VE Day service on 4 May and an All Souls Service in November to remember loved ones. The mid-week Sacred Space meditation took place throughout the year in the Church – the figures for those attending Sacred Space are not included in the above service and attendance figures.

The weekly “Church at Home” sheet continued, giving readings, a homily, and intercessions.  It was distributed by email with a few copies hand-delivered for those without internet access.  Thanks are due to Rev Dove and Pam King (and to those who contributed homilies and intercessions) for producing this sheet and to Pam for the delivery.

There was one funeral service, followed by a burial in the churchyard. There were no burials of ashes. There were two baptisms.  There were no marriages in 2025.

Thornton Church had one service, a carol service, in 2025.

The Church Electoral Roll had twenty-eight members, including 7 non-residents.

Review of the year

The APCM to review 2024 was held on Wednesday 9 April 2025 in All Saints’ Church. The Annual Report and the Financial Statements for 2024 were approved.

No-one was willing to become Church Warden and so the position remained vacant with the essential duties undertaken by other members of the PCC. The other officers and PCC members continued as before.

There were no major works undertaken in 2025, but several repairs were undertaken; details of this are given in the fabric section below.

The pastoral and worshipping highlights of 2025 were:

• The Prayer Group (with six regular members) continued to meet fortnightly to support the work of the Benefice, Nash Church, individuals in difficult situations and various national and international events.
• The Nash Fellowship (with up to nine members) met approximately every two weeks and was led by Rev Dove and Margaret Hedges. Members appreciated the opportunity to meet and share, and to study a range of biblical and other themes. Thanks are due to Eileen Horton, Delia Higgs and Linda Beech for hosting the group.
• Sacred Space – a short time of meditation in the Church was led weekly by John Hamilton with up to eight people attending.
• A soup lunch was held on Ash Wednesday following the communion service.
• Small potted plants were given to the ladies at the Mothering Sunday service and delivered to church families in the village for those who were unable to attend the service.
• The church held a village lunch in July which was a sell-out.
• Activities for young children across the Benefice were held on Good Friday and Christmas Eve. The children enjoyed various craft activities related to the relevant church festival. The numbers attending were 4 for Good Friday, 6 for Christmas Eve.
• The Nash village fete was continued in June 2025 and was blessed with good weather. Thanks are due to Pam King for running the organizing Committee. This was a social and financial success.
• The church participated in the Nash Annual Produce Show.
• The church organized a harvest tea and auction of fresh produce on the afternoon of the Harvest Thanksgiving Service with the funds being given to the Red Cross Emergency Fund. The dried goods were donated to the Buckingham Food Bank.
• Throughout the year, Rev Dove organized WILD – an activity for young children. She was assisted in this by Pam King and Gracie Court.  The sessions were held on the second Sunday of each month in Nash Village Hall and the children often spent some time in Nash church.  This was supported by a grant from the Oxford Diocese but will not continue following Reverend Dove’s departure.
• The church organized a “spring” clean of the church and a churchyard clear-up in November in association with its patronal festival. The Annual Service of Remembrance was held the following day with a short service at the War Memorial followed by a service in church.
• The Nash Choir sang at the Christmas Carol Service on 21 December. The church was nearly full, and the congregation enjoyed Christmas cake, mince pies and mulled wine afterwards.
• The church continued to have responsibility for the bi-monthly Nash church/village magazine with Mrs Anna White as editor.

The church building and churchyard

The grass in the Churchyard was cut by Alan Wall on a voluntary basis, for which the PCC is very grateful.

Following the receipt of the Quinquennial Report in December 2024 quotes have been sought for repairs to the roof and other parts of the church and for the replacement of all the guttering and down pipes. As always this has been a lengthy process to find suitable contractors and the process is still ongoing. It is hoped that  some or all of the work will be carried out in 2026.

A leak to part of the roof between the chancel and the nave on the north side meant that remedial work had to be carried out. While carrying out the work the roofer reported that he considered that the nave roof should be replaced owing to its poor condition.

The entrance door to the vestry and the main door were both repainted and the step into the vestry was also repaired.

Various repointing and repairs were carried out to the churchyard walls. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission installed a plaque on the churchyard wall to indicate that there were war graves in the churchyard.  In fact, there are two war graves in the churchyard.

The church was grateful to have two new wooden benches donated for the churchyard.

Finance

The Financial Statements and associated notes, which have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis, are attached.  They have been independently examined by Mr L York, ACIB.

2025 was a year without major expenditure on the building or the churchyard. But the quinquennial had highlighted maintenance issues, particularly in relation to the roof and the guttering, which will require further fund raising to do all the work strongly recommended.

The £3,314 of income tax reclaimed from HMRC under gift aid and the gift aid small donations schemes has been added to the associated type of giving and is not listed separately.

In June the PCC received a legacy of £10,000 from the estate of Neil Wyatt whose mother is buried in the churchyard. This has made a material difference to the financial position of the PCC.

Twelve members of the congregation make monthly payments by standing order which gives the church a regular monthly Income, but the continuing generosity of those who donate at services through the brown envelopes is important for the financial health of the church, enabling the PCC to pay its parish share in full and, by committing to monthly payments to the Diocese, to get a 1% reduction.

Financial summary: The 2025 financial statements show a surplus as receipts were £14,633 higher than payments.  As explained above, the Wyatt legacy explains a large part of the surplus.  Other important factors are:

• The regular giving through standing orders and the weekly brown envelopes increased by nearly £300 with one person switching from envelopes to a standing order.
• The parish share increased by £460.
• The Gift Day was nearly £4,454, an increase of £517 on 2024.
• There was a fete in 2025, of which the church’s share was c£1,500.
• Fees continued to be substantial, contributing £954, but only half of the 2024 receipts.
• Interest rates continued to be higher than at the start of the 2020s.
• The grass in the churchyard was cut by a Nash resident on a voluntary basis; the expenditure shown relates to his expenses. This is a substantial saving to the church.
• Only £2,390 was spent on the fabric of the church and the churchyard wall. Substantial expenditure is expected in later years.

Detailed comments on the various figures in the attached tables are given in the notes.

Parish Share 2026 and beyond: The parish share for 2026 will be a 4% increase on 2025. This means the share, at £10,165, will be over £10,000 for the first time.  Paying by monthly direct debit means that we will get a 1% reduction to £10,063 or £838.61 a month. The direct debit payments will be reduced by 10% for each full month that there is no Rector of the Blackthorn Chase Benefice.

Since its inception the Blackthorn Chase Benefice has benefitted from its parish share meeting only some 60% of the Diocese’s cost in employing a Rector.  The Deanery Chair and Treasurer have for some years wished to change the relativities between parishes throughout the Deanery but have not reached any conclusion about what changes should be made.  This is “promised” for 2027.

Conclusion: The church is fortunate that it has significant reserves, but it also has the prospect of spending large sums on the building, particularly the roof as the north roof may need to be completely replaced in the next few years, which is likely to require more external fundraising.  Also, the church’s income is dependent on variables such as fees and the fete income and the regular cadre of worshippers from outside the parish.

Thank you

Particular thanks go to the Ministry Team for the Blackthorn Chase Benefice led by the Rev Jacqueline Dove, ably assisted by Rev John King, Rev Rupert Bursell, John Hamilton LLM, Pam King and Sally Green. Thanks are also due to the Rev Max Wigley for preaching at a service.

Nash Church would not function without the hard work of the people who give of their time to help the church to operate. We are a small parish and depend on the dedication and hard work of all who help to facilitate the work of the church. In particular, thanks go to:

• Each and every member of the PCC for their valued contributions
• Our organists and volunteer choir members
• Our Fabric Officer
• Our Treasurer
• Our flower arrangers
• All who carry out the valuable work of cleaning the church
• Alan Wall for cutting the churchyard
• Lynn Legrove for donating two new benches for the churchyard.
• Pam and John King for donating a lectionary for use at the lectern.
• Members of the village and congregation who helped us clear-up the churchyard and clean the church, and who contributed generously on Gift Day.
• For those who carry out other work and assistance not specifically mentioned above
• Michael Williams, for continuing to pay for the village website, on which the church (and other village organizations) have pages
• Anna White for editing the bi-monthly Nash Newsletter

Nash PCC, March 2026