Present:
- David Hughes
- Julie Hughes
- Eva Kaltenthaler (minutes)
- Stephen Parker
- Lyndsey Reynolds
- Greg Ryan
- Anne Shepherd
- Stephen Spooner (chair)
- Dave Stanley
Apologies:
- Father Kevin Thornton
1. Opening prayer:
Stephen Parker led the opening prayer.
2. Approval of last minutes and matters arising
The minutes of the AGM were approved.
Matters arising:
Stephen Spooner welcomed new Parish Council members, Julie and David Hughes.
3. Doncaster Parish Administrator
Frank McDermot, a lay person who administers a parish in Doncaster has been contacted by Stephen Spooner. Stephen has suggested inviting him to the September Parish Council meeting to tell us more about how he runs the Parish. The Parish Council agreed that Frank should be invited to the September meeting.
4. Election of new chair
Greg Ryan was elected the new Parish Council chair and Lyndsay Reynolds as the deputy chair.
5. Parish Council membership
It was suggested that we may need more new members. It was agreed that all Parish Council members would consider inviting friends who are members of the Parish to join the Parish Council. Greg suggested that it may be helpful to give potential members some information on the types of activities the Council is planning over the next year.
It was suggested that in the future e-mail could be used to keep parishioners informed of Parish Council activities and to seek their opinions on specific issues.
6. Assignment of members to sections
Julie has agreed to do the minutes from the September meeting.
Justice and Peace: Eva
Building and maintenance: David
Action: Stephen Spooner to send details of the Health and Safety Toolkit to David.
Evangelisation and Faith Formation: Greg and Lindsay
Pastoral Care and Community: Anne, Dave and Julie
The Pastoral care and social aspects of this group will remain unchanged but the Ecumenical component will now be part of the Evangelisation and Faith Formation section. Anne will continue her work with Hallam churches.
Liturgy and Spirituality: Stephen Parker and Stephen Spooner
Communication: Dave and David
The Council agreed that moveable display boards could be purchased and that these would be very useful. It was agreed that there would be a rethink of the noticeboards.
The Parish Council organogram needs updating to include all current members.
Action: All Parish Council members to send Dave a photo of themselves.
The Council considered whether it would be useful to have a financial report more often. This may be considered in the future.
7. Brief reports from each section
Mission, Evangelisation and Faith Formation: The recent Joy of the Gospel course was considered a success. It was very encouraging to see such high numbers of parishioners and people from outside the parish. Proclaim 15 continues and Lindsay and Greg represent the Parish. A recent Taize evening was held with nearby churches attending as well as a Jazz event in the church.
Communication: An update of notice boards is planned. Dave is exploring the possibility of using social media and may start a parish Facebook group as a way of sharing information with parishioners and others. He will look at ways to update the Parish webpages as some information is out of date.
Liturgy and Spirituality: A day on prayer will be held later in the year with three speakers covering prayer using art, music and liturgy. Also planned is a one day Parish retreat in Spring 2017, led by Stephen Parker. A pilgrimage to St Maries is to be arranged by Stephen Parker, probably in September.
Justice and Peace: The group is considering presenting information for the corporal acts of Mercy on the display boards, a different one each week. The group is also exploring working with City of Sanctuary to support refugees in Sheffield.
8. Any other business
Several children from St Francis have not been allocated places at St Marie’s school. This has been very upsetting for families and will be considered as an agenda item at the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on 20 September at 8pm.
9. Closing Prayer:
Stephen Parker led the closing prayer.