9 September 2025, 7:30pm
Present: Mike Campbell (chair), Father Kevin, Deacon Stephen Parker, Sam Caldwell, David Bellamy, Jen Benzies, Eva Kaltenthaler, Maria Levesley, Sarah Lynch (minutes), Richard McQuinn, Stephen Spooner, Ben Ryan
Apologies: Richard Bushell, Sian Price.
Opening meditation: led by MC
Minutes of the last meeting: passed without debate
Matters arising:
- Jubilee pilgrimage to Padley Chapel was successful, with twenty-five people being present at the mass said by Fr Kevin.
- Boundary wall: quotes were obtained and a meeting held with Hallam FC. A builder was agreed and work has begun on dealing with the tree/vegetation, ahead of the wall being rebuilt. The parish is to pay for the tree surgeon, as the tree is our responsibility, and then the rebuilding costs will be shared equally with Hallam FC. The parish’s share will be paid from our reserves held by the Dioceses.
- Buzzing speaker: an upgrade of the system has taken place and all agreed it was a significant improvement. There is further upgrading which could be done, by way of a new mixer/amplifier, depending on whether it is felt that more still needs to be done.
- St Wilfred’s Tour de Hallam: MC has asked Alan Wenham if he would write an article for the Chronicle about their visit to our Parish. The event was very successful and raised £10,000 for St Wilfred’s.
- Communications: it was agreed the WhatsApp groups set up by BR have been a great addition to our parish communications.
Spirituality & Liturgy:
Deacon Stephen, EK and SS have had their first meeting. A retreat is planned on 1 November on the topic of Lectio Divina. A further possible retreat is being considered for January on the topic of Healing and SS is going to talk to Sr Helen. Likewise, a CAFE course regarding the Eucharist is a possibility.
Returning to having Stations of the Cross in Lent is being considered (we were reminded that the Stations in the church are the spiritual stations rather than the conventional ones, so different prayers would be needed). SC would be happy to be involved with planning for the Stations if that is pursued.
There is a desire to assist those organising Taizé events, particularly in Advent and Lent, in any way needed.
The group emphasised that we should consult with members of the parish as to the type of things they would like to enrich their spirituality.
Deacon Stephen advised that he conducted a baptism recently and are four or five booked in.
Justice & Peace:
ML updated us regarding Live Simply. The toilet twinning fundraising was very successful and all six of the toilets in the church have been twinned, and additionally some parishioners have twinned theirs. The J&P group are waiting to hear about how we can evidence what we have done as part of the Live Simply campaign, to move towards accreditation with CAFOD. They hope more will be heard in the autumn.
The information that was prepared for the monthly activities is available on the parish website, but it was acknowledged that work would need to be done to make it more accessible to those wishing to search through it.
The garden has been a great success and the rescheduled treasure hunt is this coming Sunday.
A brief article about the campaign could go into The Chronicle at some point.
The Covenant with the Poor : monies have gone out and many thank yous have been received. DB will do an update on this to go in The Chronicle.
Youth Ministry:
RB had been unable to attend the meeting but had let us know ahead of time that the youth group has been suspended as all but two members have left for university. He had also confirmed that we have eleven candidates for confirmation, which will take place on 16 November, and members of the PPC expressed that hope that this cohort might provide more members for the youth group in time. It was noted that RB hadn’t asked for any assistance with the confirmation preparation.
Finance:
DB advised the meeting that overall finances healthy and a draft forward budget has been done by DB and SC. Some standing orders have been increased as a consequence of the recent plea in The Franciscan.
Anticipated major expenditures are the repair of the boundary wall (see above) and the required roof repairs. The roof is on the verge of being repaired, quotes having been obtained from new builders as the previous one is no longer available. Views have differed as to the best way to fix the problems. A choice as to the preferred roofer will be made shortly. There is a separate but related question as to whether the issue with one of the Velux windows in the Upper Room not opening should be fixed. SC advised his view was it would depend on the complexity and cost when the roof work is being done.
The sound system in church has been upgraded by a firm who have not yet invoiced us and possibly do not intend to do so. Consideration will need to be given as to whether further improvements can be made, and any cost justified, by way of a new mixer/amplifier.
Maintenance:
See above (Finance).
Reforming the PPC and Re-energising the Parish:
There was a wide-ranging discussion about the role of the PPC, its structure, and how it relates to the Parish. There was also discussion about how the Parish can be re-energised, to the extent that individuals want to be. Retirements of priests within the Deanery/Diocese bring this sharply into focus.
BR had presented his thoughts ahead of the meeting in an email and reiterated that regarding the PPC we need to be clear as to its remit, who is on it and what skills members need. There is also a need to be clear about what we want to achieve as a parish. There needs to be a focus on a long-term vision for the parish, and that requires parishioners to be involved, either through a Parish Day or ‘synodal conversations’ over a longer period of time.
It was agreed that, in principle, there is no need for every decision to be made by the PPC, that decisions could be devolved to sub-groups. SS drew the group’s attention to the constitution for the PPC which can be found on the website, which does not really now reflect how the PPC operates.
There was much discussion about how we start this process, whether the PPC should have a retreat, whether there should be a wider parish retreat. MC suggested we as a PPC needed to gather first to inform an approach to the Parish.
From looking around church, it was felt current numbers were healthy, although have dropped inevitably from the time when we had three Sunday masses and again since Covid. MC stated there were maybe 230 people on the Parish Register.
It was recognised that not everyone in the Parish would want it to change or to be challenged themselves to change. SS pointed out in some ways the Parish is thriving, it is not immediately clear to us what is needed, and a lot of work could be put in to impact only on a small sector of the Parish. Some people are satisfied simply with attending mass on a Sunday, others seek more. The question to be asked was why people come to mass, how we can enthuse them to embrace Christian discipleship in a meaningful way.
Discussion became focused on how we move forward, what the next stage should be. DB offered a template for a parish audit, which could be introduced on 4 October (see below), then draw together a representative group to meet and discuss what might be needed. Queries were raised about whether people would want to get involved, whether it would result in the same core parishioners giving views rather than a wider approach. EK observed it was important people felt “seen”, that they were enabled to be part of the community. MC suggested he pull together a questionnaire/survey, to be given out at the Parish Day on 4 October but also sent out by email, maybe a Google document, which could lead to discussions on the Parish Day. That approach was agreed by all. He will draft a questionnaire/survey and share it with the PPC for input.
It was agreed that the next PPC meeting could be focused on this subject, with members with matters to report on the usual topics providing an update by way of email ahead of the meeting. Between the Parish Day and the next PPC meeting, a small group would be needed to pull together thoughts from the responses we have had. Those who can are asked to volunteer (some PPC members are away on holiday).
Matters raised by Father Kevin:
Nothing was raised, although he rightly pointed out that, given the discussion about moving the Parish/PPC forwards, many people do not like meetings!
Any other business:
- 5 October is the nearest Sunday to the feast of St Francis, and it was agreed we should again have a bring and share lunch after mass. Parishioners should also be asked to bring something for the food bank. MC will put a note in The Franciscan about this.
- There is a Zoom gathering held by The School for Synodality on Saturday 18 October from 11am to 1.30pm, to explore moving on from the final document of the Synod Assembly. The link to register can be found at www.schoolforsynodality.org.uk/news/18th-october-event-exploring-pathways-of-the-synod-journey.
Closing prayer: led by Father Kevin
Next meeting: 11th November at 7:30 pm in the parish room.