Present
Fr Tom Egan, Fr Vincent Malone, Gerard Barden, Jane Landi, Ramon Landi, Gregory Howard, Patrick Bolger, Patrick Madigan, Sean Carroll, Libby Biberian, Kevin Keenan.
Apologies
Edoardo Albert, John Donnelly, John Wilson, Felcity Brown, Brian Hunt.
Opening Prayer
The meeting started with a prayer
Minutes of the last meeting on 3 October 2011
Minutes were signed as correct.
Matters Arising
Car Park (i)
It is hoped the Scouts will take the patch at the side of the church in hand, and create a space for their trailer.
The area beside the Scout shed behind the church is very uneven, and could be dangerous to walk on, but it could be useful if it was cleared of vegetation and levelled out.
Chris Nagle has asked how the cost of materials required to create a stable space for the Scouts trailer will be covered? It was suggested the Scouts should fund this although Gerard will speak to Chris to find out what actual work is required and ask Chris to get an estimate of the cost involved which the Council can then consider.
Car Park (ii)
The repainting of lines in the car park has been completed and looks very good.
New Parish Secretary
Kevin Keenan was introduced by Gerard and formally elected to the role of Parish Secretary taking over from Jane Landi who had stepped down at the AGM but continued in the role until the position was filled. The Parish Council is extremely grateful for Jane’s dedication and hard work over the years and for ensuring a smooth handover to Kevin.
Finance
In Brian’s absence due to holiday there was no Financial Report, but Patrick Bolger distributed copies of the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2011. These show a loss of £11,849.51 but do not take into account an anticipated tax refund and some offertory income. Once these items have been factored, it is anticipated the accounts will show a net surplus for the period.
The Finance Committee has not had an official meeting for some time. While Patrick, Ramon and Gerard had discussed dates in Brian’s absence, it was agreed, a date should be set once Brian had returned and before the 15th February 2012 when the Annual Return is due for submission. Gerard to contact Brian Hunt to arrange.
Website & IT
It has been suggested we require a cheap and easy way to upload pictures to the website – could we use Flickr?
We could also use the website/computerization to store Parish records. What would be the advantages/disadvantages? Once it is set up it would be quite simple to keep up to date.
Gerard been given admin rights to the Parish website by Eddie and will consider further the practicalities of setting up Parish Facebook and Twitter accounts, liaising with John Donnelly and Eddie as to best next steps. In John’s absence, Gerard reported John felt Facebook needed more thought but Twitter was a promising step.
Prayer/Evangelisation
The day for readers and extraordinary ministers took place in December.
New equipment has been installed to increase sound quality for parishioners listening to mass at home.
Events planned for Advent 2011:
· Exposition (two Sundays)
· Advent Talks
· Penitential services
· Mass for the sick
There will be a recruitment drive for new Alter Servers, including adults, in January.
There will be a course run in February for adults who wish to be confirmed in preparation for marriage.
The next confirmation course will begin in March 2012.
Father Tom reported familiarity with the New Mass is coming along and improving week by week.
Ecumenism
Nothing to Report
Fundraising
Information has been received from the diocese regarding gift aid appeals.
There have recently been changes to Inheritance Tax Laws to encourage legacies to charities but the implications for churches are unclear at present.
Gift Aid is applicable on donations for Masses but in order to claim this, a record of the amount donated and the name/address of the person making the payment is required. Envelopes are available for parishioners who prefer to use the Mass Collection rather than Direct Debit (DD) although there is possibly a section of mass attendees who make offerings via DD but also put cash into the mass collection without Gift Aiding as they have not applied for the envelopes. Patrick will look into donations made for the hire of the Hall, Masses, baptism’s etc and the possible Gift Aiding of these.
A Fund Raising drive has been muted for mid /late 2012 although we must be sensitive to the economic climate and other events. Father Vincent had previously outlined the likely costs associated with the Diocese Twenty Year Plan which may have to be taken into consideration.
Parish Hall
Nothing to Report
Parish Team
Fr Johnson is staying semi-permanently. Fr Thomas will hopefully be returning soon. The recent celebration held in Parish Hall for Father Kevin was very well attended.
AOB
Two new CD players with the facility to support an iPod will be purchased for use in the Church and the Hall.
The boiler has broken down. Repairs will be carried out shortly but it is now 20 years old and may need to be replaced in the not too distant future.
The alarm on the house is broken. Repairs are in hand. Additional lighting is being considered for the front of the house to help security and additional camera’s were discussed at the October Council meeting.
It might be worth looking into the possibility of re-establishing maintenance agreements for the boiler/heating system and alarm system.
Parish Group Volunteer Recruitment Drive – a drive to recruit new volunteers to the various Parish Groups was discussed in the October meeting with a view to having all Groups available in the Parish Hall following Masses on a designated Sunday. The last drive was very successful. Provisional dates to be set at the next Council Meeting, mindful of the busy 2012 calendar (London 2012, European Cup etc.)
Next meetings
· Monday 16 January at 8:15pm
· Monday 19 March at 8:15pm
A Finance meeting is required by 15 February 2012. Gerard to contact Brian Hunt to arrange.