Present: Mike Campbell (chair), Eva Kaltenthaler (minutes), Richard McQuinn, Stephen Spooner, Father Kevin, Anne Shepherd, Lindsay Reynolds, Anne Marie Appleton (for church hall hire discussion).
Apologies: Stephen Parker, Richard Bushell, Maria Levesley
Opening prayer was said by Father Kevin
Introductions were made as the Parish Council has been newly formed.
Church hall hire:
Anne Marie spoke about how much we charge for hire of the Assisi Hall. Historically there has been no standard rate. Those with some connection to the church have paid less and others more. Those using the Hall have included:
Lodge Moor Choir (£10/hr)
Dance Club (£10/hr)
Military History (£10)
Embroiders Guild (£20)
Museum Society (£20).
It was agreed that there should be a price increase taking into account the cost of energy. It was also agreed that we need to know who is using the Hall. There is a checklist that will need to be filled out in order to hire the Hall and a Diocesan hire form. The new rates agreed were £15/hour for those related to the Parish and for those out of Parish £20. These rates are in agreement with those of similar church halls in the area. The hire fee will go up annually. It was noted that all groups should finish using the Hall by 9:30pm.
Anne Marie will look at the documentation required by the Diocese and work on modifying them for our processes. This is a work in progress and final procedures to be agreed with Father Kevin.
Action: Anne Marie to develop a suitable hire form and checklist based on the Diocesan templates for church hall hire.
Roles in the Parish Council
The following roles were agreed.
Chair: Mike Campbell
Liturgy and Spirituality and Mission and Evangelisation will now be combined to form “Spirituality”: Lindsay Reynolds and Stephen Parker
Pastoral Care and the Community: Anne Shepherd
Justice and Peace: Stephen Spooner
Youth Ministry: Richard Bushell
Maintenance: David Hughes has been filling this role although not a member of the Parish Council. There was a query as to whether or not he is willing to continue this role and whether members of the Parish Council need to contribute to this. Father Kevin to make a list of maintenance issues.
Action: Mike Campbell to ask David Hughes about continuing with maintenance
(Action after meeting. Mike spoke to David Hughes and he is willing to carry on)
Action: Father Kevin to give the Parish Council a list of maintenance issues.
Communications: There was some discussion as to whether or not this was still required.
Secretary: Eva Kaltenthaler
Parish Directory
The Parish Directory is very out of date The Parish Council went through each item and Mike Campbell made notes of changes and ensured there was a name against each item. An updated Parish Directory will be put on the Parish website.
Action: Mike Campbell to put updated Parish Directory on the Parish website.
AOB
Eva asked if in future the Parish Council minutes could be put on the website and the agenda and meeting date/times could be put in the Franciscan. She also asked if the Parish Council could look at ways to interact more closely with the Parish. This was agreed.
Stephen Spooner asked if there were any plans to look at the Parish responses to the recent Synodal process. He asked if there would be a group set up to look at the parish responses and address concerns that were within the remit of the Parish Council. Due to time constraints this discussion was deferred to the next meeting.
Date of next meeting 13 September 2022, 7pm and following one 8th November (Second Tuesday of the month, every other month).
The Closing Prayer was read by Father Kevin.