Annual Report 2025

Administrative Information

The Church of St. Thomas is situated in St. Thomas’ Circle, Werneth, Oldham OL8 1SF. The correspondence address is St. Paul’s Vicarage, 55 Belgrave Road, Oldham OL8 1LU.

The parish is part of:

• the United Benefice of Oldham and Werneth.
• a Mission Partnership with the parish of St. Thomas, Werneth.
• a Mission Community with the parishes below.
• the Deanery of Oldham and Ashton.
• the Diocese of Manchester.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity excepted from registration with the Charity Commission.

The Parish Bank Account is with NatWest. The Insurers of the Parish are EIG.

St. Paul, Oldham

Christ Church & St. Saviour's, Chadderton

St. John, Failsworth

Oldham Parish Church

St. Mary, Balderstone

St Stephen & All Martyrs, Oldham

The Parish

The parish contains a variety of property which includes owner occupier, rented, council houses, apartments and sheltered housing. There are terraced houses, a legacy of the cotton industry, and a mix of semi and detached houses. New homes have been built in the parish.

Deprivation

The population of the parish is 6,755.
It ranks 176th out of 12154 parishes for overall deprivation, where 1 is the most deprived parish.
It is among the 1.45% most deprived parishes in England.

The parish is straddled by 4 "Lower Super Output Areas".

A "Lower Super Output Area" (LSOA) is the smallest geographical unit for which demographic data is produced:

The Parish's four LSOAs rank 448, 1,222, 3274, and 6352 for deprivation out of the 33,755 LSOAS in the country, where 1 is the most deprived LSOA.

We make the following observations:
~ These LSOAs are in the 1.3%, 3.6%, 9.7%, and 18.8% most deprived LSOAs in the country.
~ The three most deprived LSOAs score particularly badly for income deprivation, deprivation among older people, and deprivation in the living environment.

Diversity

There is a disproportionate mix of religious and ethnic communities in the parish: British, Asian, Black African, and Eastern European. The parish has been rated as having the highest ethnic diversity (i.e. highest proportion who are not White British) within the Diocese of Manchester at 88%. Many of these are South Asian. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many people of African and Eastern European origin are moving into the parish. The proportion of South Asian residents is slowly reducing.

Schools

There are a number of schools in the Parish: St. Thomas, Werneth (CE) Primary School, St. Patrick's (RC) Primary School, and Werneth Primary School.

Index of Multiple Deprivation

PCC Object

The Parochial Church Council has the responsibility, according to law:

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

PCC (Powers) Measure 1956

PCC Structure & Governance

The method of appointment of PCC members is broadly as set out in the Church Representation Rules, with one exception: Church Wardens may be elected for an unlimited number of consecutive periods of office. The Hon. Assistant Priest is also an ex-officio member of the PCC.

Thus the PCC currently consists of 6 elected members, depending on numbers on the Electoral Roll. In addition, there are ex officio members: 2 Deanery Synod Representatives; 2 Church Wardens, the Vicar, and Curates.

All who attend Church are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Church Representation Rules

PCC Membership

October Church Sunday Attendance

These figures are the figures from our October Attendance Census, but rounded to the nearest whole number.

St. Thomas' Primary School generally has a Weekly act of worship in church, attended by about 450 children and about 25 adults.

Electoral Roll

There are 10 names on the electoral roll.

Revd. Nick Andrewes

Vicar's Report

This has been a mixed year at St. Thomas'.

Church

Sadly, there have been a number of deaths among our most faithful, long-established congregation members, including those who received Holy Communion at home.

Over the year, we put together a successful application for repointing and stonework on the S. side of the church, obtaining a grant for approximately £120,000. The building is still assessed as vulnerable to going on the at risk register. This may make grant applications more likely to be successful going forward.

While numbers remain low on a Sunday morning, nevertheless, it's lovely to have so many young people enjoying, and participating in, church services. And of course Thursday morning School Worship is a real joy: with 450 children plus 25 staff members.

The PCC this year has dicussed streamlining organisation on a Sunday morning so we can prepare for worship: permanently fixing TV screens in church; colours at the high altar; inviting members of Betel church to clean on a Saturday in lieu of rent; a regular pattern for Bring & Share meals; the stonework and repointing, the gates, gardening and clean up days.

Community

Use of the church continues to grow, steadily. This year the Martial Arts Group has expanded, and at the time of writing, we have started hosting a HAF holiday club during school holidays.

However, we know that we continue to scratch the surface: we continue to look for partners to run activities, and to develop our capacity to host one-off events. Our timetable is by no means full.

We were pleased to obtain a grant to secure the English Classes for three years.

Conclusion

It has been lovely to see so many young people continue to grow in their faith and ministries, in a variety of ways. They are a great blessing to us, and to each other, as a church community! The small size of the congregation gives a great opportunity to step out in faith and explore creative ways in which we can serve on a Sunday morning in a variety of ways.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to you all for all that you do in the life of the church, and to express the joy and privilege of being Vicar here at St. Thomas'.

Revd. Nick Andrewes

Mission Action Plan

Warden's Report

In many ways the year January to December 2025 has been quiet. The services have run efficiently and we have been fortunate to be able to experience a variety of styles by having not only our vicar but initially three curates. Two remain with us whilst the third, Reverend Darren Quinlan left us to take up a post in Wales. We thank them all for their teaching.

Our numbers have remained relatively static but sadly we have lost another loyal and long standing member, Michael Albrow, who will be missed. However the continuing willingness and ability of our young people to participate in the services is a significant positive.

Use of the Church by outside groups has continued to grow to the benefit of our finances. Some are local community groups which see the Church as a local asset. However this increased use does mean that keeping the Church in good order has become more time consuming.

For those interested in organ music our organ, a listed instrument, features on Youtube being played by Jonathan Scott (look up Scott Brothers Duo) and includes some interesting facts and views of the Church.

Over time the hawthorn trees surrounding the church have shown signs of decay. In October we successfully were able to fell six of the worst affected trees and fortunately a house near-by with a wood burning stove took the wood away. Our concern was shown to have been valid when a storm three weeks later brought down another hawthorn which luckily fell into the church grounds without causing any structural damage.

Another ongoing problem is that cars are parking across the vehicle access gate and some driving into the Church circle to park. Gates which can be locked would resolve one problem but a grant would be needed to fund the cost. Putting up “do not park” notices and / or getting the authorities to paint restriction line markings are also under consideration.

Once again thanks to everyone for your time and contributions to the running of our Church.

Graham Lees

PCC Treasurer's Report, including Gift Aid

RECEIPTS

Our Direct giving in 2024 was down by £2,726 compared to 2024. Tax recovered from Gift Aid was obviously down by £639 compared to 2024. Sadly, yet again this year we lost a few of our congregation and this is why the direct giving is down.

Room hire is up by £1,350 on 2024, wish is good and thanks to Nick for bringing in more people to hire our church.

PAYMENTS

Parish share for 2025 was £9,270 which we paid in full.

Running expenses electricity, gas, water rates and insurance were slightly up on 2024. Unfortunately our gas prices have increased by 50% in November 2025 and so we will see a large increase in 2026. This is due to the fact that over three years ago before gas prices increased nationally I managed to get good deal, which we now realise how good it was.

Ordinary Parish Expenditure was down £2,809 on 2024.

Overall, we do finish with a credit of £2,378 this is due mainly to our parish expenditure being down this year.

I would like to thank everyone who has set up standing orders to donate on a regular basis to church and also encourage anyone else if they would wish to use the envelope scheme that I have plenty of spare envelopes.

GIFT AID

We have 15 regular Gift Aid donors and we can also reclaim gift aid from loose collections and anyone who uses the envelopes but does not pay tax themselves.

In 2025 we recovered £3,483 in tax, this really does help our finances.

Janet Campbell

Financial Report

Eco Church Report

St. Thomas' has previously received the Bronze Eco Church award. This is a certification scheme that encourages us to take small practical steps in our care for God's earth, and towards reducing our carbon footprint.

Four of the different areas are Bronze, and we are working towards silver:

The PCC has committed to reducing the Parish's carbon footprint year on year by 10% - using the 2022 figure, 25 tonnes CO2 net, as a baseline. The 2025 figure for net emissions was 27.2 tonnes, however, the target set by the PCC is 18.225 tonnes. Clearly we are not moving forwards.

Because St. Thomas' is a church with one of the highest net CO2 emissions, it was selected for a free Decarbonisation Plan. This has now been received, and will be considered by the PCC in 2026. While there are no easy solutions, the next step will be to draft and weather proof the south side of the church.

Gina Andrewes

Safeguarding

St. Thomas Werneth Church remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding to ensuring a safe environment for all, particularly children, young people, and vulnerable adults. I thank all those who have contributed to safeguarding efforts throughout the year.

This report reflects our ongoing dedication to maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all as we strived to continuously adhere to the safeguarding policy set out by the Church of England, ensuring compliance with national and diocesan guidelines through enhanced procedures for reporting concerns; updated contact details for safeguarding officer and encouraged training requirements for all volunteers and staff working with vulnerable groups.

Currently, the Sunday school for children service is not active and children present in church are under supervision of their respective guardians or named responsible adults. Also, all group activities in the church ground continues to ensure safeguard of people attending and their safeguarding policy reflect the National safeguarding policy and the House of Bishop policy for a safer church to protect the vulnerable adults, children and young people.

Thanks

Mercy Ekhoesuehi

Safeguarding Policy

Deanery Synod

The Deanery Synod meets twice a year, with representatives from individual parishes in Oldham and Ashton Deanery. It is, among other things, a means by which local churches can raise concerns that may need consideration by the Diocese. It is also a means by which they may discuss, and vote on, issues of concern to the diocese and national Church.

Both clergy and lay people from each parish attend. Meetings are now taking place in person. We are looking for new representatives this year. Please volunteer if you would be interested in attending.

The most significant matter on the table this year continues to be the emerging Diocesan Strategy.

• Growing Younger
• Church Planting and Revitalisation
• Developing Missional Leaders
• Parish Renewal.

Revd. Nick Andrewes

Pastoral Care

Care home visits take place with Nick, Zahra, Darren (up until June) and Richard presiding at services of Holy Communion across both the parishes of St Paul and the St Thomas. We also provide cover at Nursing Homes in the parish of St Mark Glodwick and others where congregation members live.

The care homes include

• The Coppice,
• Tree Tops,
• Park House, and
• Dry Clough Manor.

Likewise holy communion at home is available to those unable to attend a service in church due to infirmity.

Thanks to Judith for her diligence in her ministry of Holy Communion to those who can no longer come to church.

Megan Locklin

Children's Society

The St Thomas Church of England, Werneth, Parish is proud to report that 2025 through House Box collection and Christingle raised a £115.00 to fund the charity in supporting the young and vulnerable children in the society.

We Thank You and would want to beg you to continue supporting.

Mercy Ekhoesuehi
Godswill A. Oseki