Fr Tom Egan, Deacon Vincent Malone, John Wilson, Ramon Landi, Patrick Bolger, Gregory Howard, Gerard Barden, John Donnelly, Marianne Ahearne, Felicity Brown, Jane Landi and Pat Madigan.
APOLOGIES
Fr Kevin Moule, Edoardo Albert, Brian Hunt, Joe Sutton, Sean Carroll, Jackie Reddington.
OPENING PRAYER
The meeting started with a prayer, and was chaired by Ramon in the absence of Eddie.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING ON APRIL 26th.The minutes were signed as accurate.
MATTERS ARISING
PARISH HALL. The nature of the “serious incident” with the small child in the ladies was discussed. It was not serious in the sense that injuries occurred, but suggested that some children need to be better supervised than they are.
KNEELERS. We should put a note in the verbals that they need to be cared for properly.
FINANCE
Pat Bolger went through the accounts to the end of June.
- Recurring income is up from 107K -> 110K. Income/offertories are holding up well.
- The Gift Aid Claim has gone to Westminster.
- Recurring expenditure has gone up from 84K -> 87K. The marble floor hasn’t been paid for yet. Comments were made on how good the floor looks, and that it blends well with the wooden steps and benches.
- To June 09 – specific donations is high, mostly for the benches.
- In the year from June 09 – June 10 our bank balance has increased from £161K -> £218K.
We have quite a few offertories paid by standing order, which may explain why our income is doing well, as these are not easily cancelled on a temporary basis. We also have a high percentage of parishioners gift aiding their offering – much credit to Katie and Patrick who keep these figures up to date and make sure the return goes off to Westminster in good order.
The Diocese recommend that every parish has a planned giving drive every four years, but we don’t seem to be under much pressure at the moment. It was suggested that we plan a drive for next November, before the 2011 envelopes go out. We should be thinking about building our finances for the long term.
It was suggested that we target those who could be offering Gift Aid on what they already give, but to leave it until we know more about the planned government cuts in the Autumn. We could also encourage more people to give by standing order as this has many advantages.
Some parishioners are still giving to the 100 Club, although they have been informed that it no longer offers prizes.
Trinity Fund. This is a Diocesan charity, which uses money from the better off parishes, to assist the worse off, particularly with emergency repairs. We might well be asked to donate, or we could offer a 1% donation ourselves. We have not been approached before, but the fund is suffering from the same problems as the rest of us. This parish is fortunate that it is in an improving financial position at the moment.
Parish Hall Payments. Some of these are one-off annual amounts, eg the Scouts/Ten Ten, which may have been paid in different quarters in past years (comparing June 09/June 10).
Hiring the Parish Hall. Past experience has shown that the income is not worth the nuisance factor of noise, cleaning, tidying etc. The Hall is let to children’s parties on a Saturday afternoon and is used every day by Parish groups. All hall users pay something towards the costs.
Appeals: Something tangible gets results, eg. benches, Haiti – a PG campaign may be less successful. Charles Donnington at the Diocese understands the problems and is worth consulting.
PRAYER AND EVANGELIZATION
The Advent talks will cover the changes in the missal and the new responses, as well as the history of the format of the Mass. They will be on Tuesdays in the Small Hall from 7.45 pm – (as stated at the meeting, although the Big Hall has actually been booked on Wednesdays for the talks.)
ECUMENISM
We have strongly featured in Compass this last quarter with coverage of Born for This and the Mass for our Priests in June.
There hasn’t been a Churches Together meeting since our AGM in June.
FUND RAISING
Ten Ten are always willing to put on a show for us, but there is nothing specific in mind at the moment.
There is no parish meal in October or February 2011.
It was suggested that we should always do some fund-raising when there is something that needs paying for, so that the parish can see what things are costing and what they are worth. It is too late to fund-raise for the floor. Some FR can be popular community events as well. All or any parishioner is welcome to come up with a plan!
PARISH HALL
Toilets are still getting blocked. No one seems to know why – it happened during the holidays, when hall use was low.
Is it time to have the hall floor re-sanded, polished, replaced? A fund raising event required?
Should we hold events for other parishes? What would the reaction be?
PARISH TEAM
Deacon Vincent has a date for his Ordination at the end of October. All the parish will be invited – keep an eye on the newsletter.
The Papal Visit has not been easy to keep up to date with. There is a lot of security involved and plans keep changing.
We have been reorganizing the Children’s Liturgy rota, after an appeal in the newsletter.
We are now appealing for catechists for our FHC courses, and will appeal for Confirmation catechists later in the year.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
CHURCH FLOOR. The red concrete area at the back of the church is in constant need of renewal. We have been looking at a resin that should keep it level and looking good with a smooth finish, and also blend in with the wooden floor. We are getting quotes for this work.
CHILD PROTECTION. Since the election the new forms are on hold as the revised CRB plans will probably not go through now.
John and Nicky receive the Safeguarding newsletter from the Diocese Child Protection Unit.
Nicky needs names of new volunteers, (eg. Children’s Lit/FCH catechists) so that she can get their forms completed. She has requested a batch of forms to be sent to the church, and will distribute them when they arrive via the newsletter.
COUNTING TEAMS. One team has suddenly lost a number of members, so new volunteers need to be recruited.
JUSTICE AND PEACE. Need a link to our website.
MINI LECTIONARY FOR READERS. Someone has seen an advert in the Tablet. Might this be a bit expensive? Ramon mentioned that he has a set of books that explain the readings, which were given out some time ago. There are extra copies of these books in the upstairs meeting room. Fr. Tom would like to see the advert.
One sixth of the mass books have “walked” since they were put out in June. Efforts will be made through the newsletter to have them brought back.
The next Parish Council meeting is on Monday 1st November at 8.15 pm.