image courtesy of St Mary Anne’s Episcopal Church, North East, Maryland
St Luke’s Church Annual Meetings – Sunday 17th May 2026
These two short but important Annual Church Meetings were chaired by our vicar Rob in St Luke’s church on Sunday 17th May and were attended by 74 people. The agenda, minutes of the 2025 meeting and the 2026 Annual Report can be found on the PCC page of the website.
The 2026 Annual Report (including summary 2025 Financial Statements) is available here and some printed copies are still available at the back of church. Copies of the full 2025 Financial Statements are available on request from Trevor Jenkins, our Hon. Treasurer: treasurer@stlkhc.uk.
The first Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting) elects churchwardens for the coming year. Members of the Church Electoral Roll as well as other parishioners can attend and vote. The Roll is revised each year and, after the April 2026 revision, now has 221 members (216 when this Roll was established in May 2025). Only Roll members may take part in the business of the APCM.
The Vestry Meeting was pleased to re-elect Janet Chettle as our Churchwarden for a third year, but sorry to be losing Simon Kirkham, who was not seeking re-election. Rob thanked them both for their service and commitment, and Janet presented Simon with a gift as a token of our collective gratitude.
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) followed to carry out various elections and consider reports on Church Finances during 2025, and other important Church matters, set out in the 2026 Annual Report. Jeremy Bostock FCA kindly examined the 2025 Financial Statements and was willing to do so again and was duly appointed as the Independent Examiner for 2026.
We were pleased to elect two parish representatives to the Congleton Deanery Synod, Debs Hinson and Barbara Smith; two new lay members to our Church Council (PCC): Mark Hopwood and Steve Waltho; and to re-elect Stephen Haigh, Steve Smith and Charlotte Webb; all to serve for a 3-year term. Rob thanked them all and welcomed them to their new or continuing roles. He also recorded his personal thanks and those of the whole parish to Peter Cotton, Tim Fryer and William Hall who were standing down after many years active service.
Rob also announced that Alan Rickards was retiring from editorship of the Parish Magazine after an incredible 18 years and presented him with a gift of pens(!) as a token of our gratitude. Gill Brickwood will be assuming the Magazine Editor role this summer.
In his address to the APCM, Rob shared broad details of the major project (St Luke’s 600+) which the PCC has been working on to ensure the church building remains fit for purpose as a place of Christian worship and assembly in the 21st century as we approach 2030. There was strong support from a ‘show of hands’ to press ahead and refine aspects of the project, noting some of the points raised. This will include a questionnaire seeking input from the whole parish.
The meetings ended with Churchwarden Janet thanking Rob and his wife Jean for their leadership, service and witness. This was enthusiastically supported by all those present. Janet presented Jean with a bouquet of flowers as a mark of our appreciation as a parish.