Present:
Fr Kevin Thornton
- Alex Krzyz
- Belinda Barber
- John Green
- Jayne Middlemas
- Rose Krzyz (Chair)
- Jim Conway
- Gill Foster
- Jacinta Campbell
- Stephen Parker
- Philip Rostant
Absent:
- Stephen Spooner
- Eva Kaltenthaler
Fr. Kevin led the prayer.
1. The Minutes of the Last Meeting were approved . Jayne suggested a few grammatical and spelling corrections to the amended constitution which were approved by all. Rose asked Jayne if she could amend these errors and pass on a copy to her. Jayne kindly agreed to do this.
2. Matters arising:
Philip Rostant explain the legal position regarding the parish council, and his fears as to what will happen if in the future parishes might amalgamate and the parish of St Francis would have a parish priest that did not approve of parish councils. He explained that Canon Law mandates a financial committee but not a parish council, and so in that situation the parish council could still meet up but the parish priest could choose to ignore all its recommendations. John pointed out that that was the reason why the change was made to Item 1. Under Meetings in the constitution to now read “The council shall meet at the discretion of the chairperson and/or the request of the parish priest.”
Philip felt reassured that the other changes that were made were for the constitution to better reflect current practice. Rose added that the best way to ensure the survival of the parish council is to make sure that it reflects the opinions of all parishioners and that it is open and transparent in all its work.
3. Annual reports from various sections:
Pastoral care & Community: Gill and Belinda presented their annual report which reflected the good work done in enhancing the involvement of the parish with ‘Churches Together in Hallam’. On behalf of the parish council and the parish of St Francis, Rose thanked them both for the sterling work they did in promoting this area of parish life.
Maintenance: Alex reviewed the work done in putting in the handrails in the church and in providing safe access into the church on icy and snowy conditions. The spreader is now in place. Chairs in the Parish Hall have been cleaned. Access to the Tool Box has been established, but a new meeting needs to be put in place, since Alex, John nor Jim could attend the proposed dates in March.
The women’s toilets need to be given a face lift. Notices look scrappy and give a poor impression to visitors. The hand drier might need replacing. This was evident at the Margaret Silf meeting.
Spirituality: Jacinta presented the Spirituality report. There has been a development in the liturgical events taking place for Advent and Lent. The last event with Margaret Silf, was attended by around 40 people, with only around 25% belonging to the parish of St Francis. Jacinta asked the question if the parish council thought it was right to put on these programs to our expense to benefit, in the main, others outside the parish. There was unanimous agreement that these liturgical events are to continue and to be encouraged and advertised in the parish and beyond. On behalf of the parish council and the parish of St Francis, Rose thanked Jacinta and Stephen (in his absence) for the sterling work they did in promoting the liturgical life of the parish.
Justice & Peace: John referred back to the Justice and Peace report presented at the last meeting. Rose thanked him for keeping the parish council updated on the work of the Justice and Peace group.
Communication: Jayne presented an updated report on the visits to the parish website. This continues to be a very useful communication tool when parishioners are away, or when visitors come to our area. On behalf of the parish council and the parish of St Francis, Rose thanked Jayne for the sterling work she did in communicating the events taking place in the parish council to all parishioners.
Youth & Nurture: The Holy Communion programme is half way through completion. The confirmation date has been set for the 22nd September at 7.00pm. Rose asked Stephen Parker if he would put together a programme which others could deliver. The division of topics to different members of the community meant that the task was not too onerous. Rose offered to help with one or two of the talks.
4. Arrangements for AGM
Fr Kevin could not be there at the proposed date of the 20th May, so the date was changed to the 3rd June. The draft items to run as follows:
- 7.30pm Start. Rose reads out the annual report, announces new members and dates of next meetings (15th July and 16th September)
- Followed by the financial report read out by a member of the financial committee.
- Any questions? Distribution of evaluation leaflets (What have we done well? What can we do better?)
- Cheese and wine / soft drinks.
Important Dates:
- 3rd June 7.30pm
- AGM
- 5th October
- Parish Day (Joint Mass and Parish Fair)
- 15th July
16th September - Next PC meetings
Action Points
- Fr Kevin to inform finance committee of new AGM date and time
- All to send electronic copies of their annual report to Rose
- Alex and Rose to look to refresh toilets
- Gill to finalise Good Friday arrangements
- Rose to book hall for the 3rd June
- Rose & Alex to provide cheese, biscuits and wine for around 40 people
- All parish councillors that can, to meet at the parish hall at around 6.45pm to arrange seats and eats and to help with washing up