PRESENT
Bishop John Arnold, Fr. Tom Egan, Fr. Damian Cassidy, Brian Hunt, David Clark, Marianne Ahearne, Pat Bolger, Ramon Landi, Eddie Albert, Jane Landi, John Wilson, Gerard Barden, Peter Coleman, Jackie Reddington, and Gregory Howard
APOLOGIES
Clyde Webb and Celia Webb
OPENING PRAYER
The meeting started with a prayer.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING ON NOVEMBER 17th
The minutes were signed as correct
MATTERS ARISING
BUS STOP. Still nothing from London Transport. Eddie will inquire again after Christmas.
BENCHES. Date for installation is 11th February 2009. Can the benches be nailed down? Might be a bit drastic – we could use markers to note their position. It would probably be impossible to clean the floor whilst they are being installed as the whole operation should only take one day.
CHURCH CLEANERS. Two people came forward and have been passed on to Eileen.
PARISH HALL
The letter explaining the change of Hall use has been written but not yet published. There was a worry that parishioners might think there was something suspicious about this not being made public before the Bishop’s visit. The general view was that there was no need to think this – people who want to complain will complain and we can refute this particular accusation by pointing out that we told the Bishop ourselves. In any case, people are always free to write to the Diocese at any time.
Should we expect a great deal of opposition? We have our arguments concerning it’s misuse (see previous minutes). The Hall is used extensively as a Church Hall by groups of parishioners – which is it’s primary function.
FINANCE
We will have to pay for the benches when they arrive in February. We will have some low-key fund raising then – we can ask people to Gift Aid any donation they might like to make – need to order special envelopes.
Planned Giving boxes: could we include a Gift Aid form when they go out, so that anyone not on GA has an annual reminder.
WEBSITE
Can we republish items of interest that have appeared on the Diocesan website, or should we/can we supply a link? Bishop John offered to check with Eddie Tulasiewicz at the Diocese.
PRAYER AND EVANGELISATION
Bishop John: Large parishes will have a number of important tasks that need performing by lay members. All those doing the jobs are effectively, “ambassadors for Christ”. The Parish Council is central to a lot of these things – they should always keep an eye out for “what we can do.” There will be people who might need our help during the current economic downturn. Social awareness is very important: the parish should know who needs what help. People who “only go to church” contribute nothing – they do not live the Gospel. We need to operate outside Sunday mass times.
Do we include the whole community? Do we reach out to those Catholics who do not attend church? How do we keep our young engaged in the church community?
We need to address these things as a parish, and as individuals.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL
The School has been asked to implement a School Improvement Plan – developing it’s relationship with the community at large, and the parish in particular.
The children regularly attend events in the church and recently led an Advent Mass, which went down well with the parishioners who were there. For some years now the Bernadette Club has invited the school choir to sing at their Christmas party.
We advertise their social and fund-raising events in the newsletter and on our notice boards if we are asked to – it is not always clear if parishioners “hear” these announcements.
We do try and accommodate their “in-school” requests – the priests go into the school for Mass, as well as inviting them into the church. The classes visit the church regularly for guided tours.
Could we involve the school choirs with our Sunday masses? Yes, but they should join our choirs rather than come as a group – there would still be a link between the communities, but it would be on an individual level. There has always been a strong link between the school familes and the Folk Group choir – perhaps this needs to be encouraged? Peter Coleman offered to look into this.
We have good links with families that are part of the parish, but not all the school children attend Mass here. It was easier when the staff were also parishioners. The government has weakened our links with the school by changing admission regulations.
Could the school’s newsletter be distributed from the church? Where would this fit with child protection issues? According to the Bishop we can print pictures of children as long as their names are not connected to the picture.
Another approach would be to get the children talking to our older parishioners as part of a “Living History” strand. Maybe the Bernadette Club could help?
We could use the website as well as the newsletter to make links between the church and school.
FUND RAISING
We need to appeal for the benches, but be sensitive in the current climate. Pat Bolger will organise gift aid envelopes. The school recently donated £300 towards a bench.
Legacies: The Diocese are revamping their literature – we will organise an appeal when it has been finalised.
JANUARY SALE: The proceeds from this will be earmarked for new hymn books.
PARISH TEAM
The team meet on Monday afternoons. They have given three Advent talks this month, which people have enjoyed. Our Advent and Christmas services have been planned.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
CATECHISM CLASSES
We have had a lot of trouble obtaining the FHC books this year – finally Mary Sutton photocopied the whole thing as the children had already had two sessions without them. The books arrived the following week, but are being kept back for next year.
The catechists for the children who attend non-Catholic schools are not happy with the books they are provided with. In particular, they do not feel they are appropriate for the older children on the course. Fortunately, they have been able to create a personalised programme for their classes.
The children on the NCS programme have displayed a varied knowledge of their faith. Some don’t seem to have been in a church at all. We need to make sure that we help them properly – we can make up what they are lacking. We shouldn’t write anyone off – they have made the important step by coming to us in the first place.
NEWSLETTER:
Can weddings and baptisms be mentioned in the newsletter as funerals are? Yes, but the newsletter is always full, sometimes it is difficult to prioritise. We can try to welcome new arrivals on a monthly basis.
Bishop John Arnold concluded the meeting by thanking the Parish Council for the work the councillors carry out on behalf of the parish. Lay assistance is more important than ever.
NEXT MEETING will be on Monday February 23rd at 8.15 pm.
There is also a Finance Committee meeting on Monday February 9th at 8 pm.