27 January 2026, 7:30pm
Present: Father Kevin, Mike Campbell (chair), Deacon Stephen Parker, David Bellamy, Jen Benzies, Richard Bushell, Sam Caldwell, Eva Kaltenthaler, Maria Levesley, Sarah Lynch (minutes), Richard McQuinn, Sian Price (SP2), Ben Ryan, Stephen Spooner
Apologies: None
Opening meditation: two minutes’ silence, led by MC
Minutes of the last meeting: passed without debate
Matters arising:
- Roof repairs: DB confirmed the roof was repaired last week, some parts repaired and one reroofed, cost approximately £4500. with spare tiles being retained for future use. However, there was a new leak today during the storm from the Velux over the Blessed Sacrament chapel and the roofer is coming out to look at it.
Action: DB and SC with anyone else able to assist will move the spare tiles into the garage.
- April visit by Franciscans: we have offers of accommodation for the three visiting friars plus volunteers to take them around. The trip may also include a possible interview with Radio Sheffield and some form of engagement with youth within the diocese. There will be a focus on Friday night 17th April with mass, a session led by one of the priests, and a shared meal.
- Equipment: EK said at the Lexio event there were evident shortages of some equipment and the cupboard seems to be full of non-functioning items. There needs to be a sort out and then some essential purchases, a couple of extension leads and maybe a raise-and-lower table or a two-level trolley. DB may have a suitable projector which can be raised and lowered he could offer to the parish. Jon Dale could be asked to assist if needed in respect of the system.
Action: MC said he and Alex Krzyz, with DB, could go through the cupboard to identify and clear out the broken stuff.
Parish Roles and Responsibilities
Ahead of the meeting, MC had looked at the directory on the parish website and noted it was very out of date. He had circulated an updated version and some comments had been made. Some other additions were given to MC during the meeting.
Regarding descriptions for the roles, it was felt that primarily DB’s role as parish clerk needed clarification and he is going to write a description. It was agreed ideally there would be a deputy for him, which can be addressed once there is clarity about his role.
Action: DB will do a description of his role.
Jonathan Yewdall’s role was discussed, whether he is sacristan as well as being responsible for the altar servers. If sacristan, as it was felt he was, we need a description of that role, as many in the meeting were not certain what it entailed.
Action: MC is going to ask Jonathan to do that. MC will then provide the updated information to the webmaster(s) for uploading.
DB pointed out there needs to be certainty about who is responsible for the sound system in church. After discussion, it was felt this maybe falls into Jonathan’s role, albeit Stephen tends to make the final checks. However, if a problem arises during a service, noting there are four knobs around the church, anyone technically capable could step in to deal with it.
Photos of the parish council in the narthex needed to be updated.
Action: All PC members who have not already done so are asked to provide photos to DB at the St Francis email address.
There was discussion about the use of the Assisi Hall and it being rented out. One yoga group uses it at the moment and pays per session. It would be available to other groups but the Finance Group did not feel the need to push that as it does not provide significant income.
There was a discussion about how the people named for each area could be contacted whilst protecting the privacy of their contact details. There has been a suggestion that we could have more parish email addresses, in addition to the office, and someone DB is in touch with at diocesan level is waiting to hear if we want more. It was agreed we could have one for the office/enquiries and one for the parish council. It may be that email addresses for those who do The Franciscan and The Chronicle but their views would need to be obtained. Fr Kevin does not wish to have his own separate email address for confidential emails, which he feels is not the way people address such issues. SP advised that in other parishes priests do not have personal addresses which are public.
Action: DB will notify the relevant person of the email addresses we require, which could be added to the webpage.
The Parish Computer
Queries have arisen about who has access to the parish computer and what information is stored on there. SP advised this arose from a parishioner raising concerns about potential access to confidential information. DB advised we have three parish computers, the first being desktop which Fr Kevin and he goes on. There is a laptop which Paul Doherty and David Kaye, those who count the collection, use, and DB can access it as well. There is finally a very secure password protected Raspberry Pi on which DB stores data, which can be accessed through the laptop and his own devices. It was felt there could be problems if DB suddenly was not around. It was agreed Fr Kevin and SP should be able to access the Raspberry Pi maybe also the Chair of the Parish Council.
SP noted there have been queries about confidentiality and access to information. Parishioners want to know what information there is about them available and stored at church, and who has access to it. There is some information from the diocese which comes and is time-limited confidential and some sensitive documents come for consultation amongst the clergy. We therefore need to be able to reassure anyone raising queries about confidentiality. Apparently, according to Ed Whitaker, there are no diocesan guidelines about this but individuals should not be given access to the parish computer on an ad hoc basis due to the need for confidentiality. Others also have specific information, eg RM has a fire stick for gift aid purposes. We also don’t have a named data protection person. The key people who need to observe confidentiality are Fr Kevin, SP and DB, but even they have not been specifically advised regarding confidentiality. DB is working on a data protection policy and it can be addressed within that. Regarding information, most of it is on the ‘black box and some by the provider of the card reader if a donor signs up to gift aid which can be accessed by the parish.
Action: SP and MC will talk to DB outside the meeting about access to the ‘black box’ in the event of his absence. DB will advise if he feels a sub-committee is needed to address this because he has too much else to do.
Parish Survey:
It is three months since the survey closed but feedback has not been given in any detail. EK, BR and DB and now JB had previously agreed to pull together some action from this. BR sees two strands, the need for feedback to the parish sooner rather than later, even if not in detail, and then there are things we could maybe action but will need more dedicated resources into the future. Regarding the latter, BR advised we could pull out the key themes from the survey and align them to existing parish council groups where they exist, eg music or justice & peace, or identify other groups that are needed for other matters. There will also be some matters which honestly cannot be addressed or changed and we need to acknowledge that.
SB agreed with the urgency to feed back soon, to say what we can do now, what we are not going to be able to do, and what other matters we want to work on. Regarding the latter, that is where we maybe set up a meeting to discuss. SK suggested we may want to revive some of the groups in the parish council that have fallen by the wayside since Covid, including mission and pastoral care. Parishioners could then be invited to subgroups addressing those areas. SS suggested it was important to be precise about what the groups are about using clear language as otherwise people will not volunteer. SC suggested we use the wording that was used in the responses to the survey. The preliminary work could be done by email shared with all parish council members, if an individual or a small group pulled that together soon.
Action: BR, JB and EK are going to meet to start this process.
Spirituality & Liturgy:
EK is going to take over the lead on this from SP. EK, SS and SP have met to set up some events for the year. There are three events already planned:
- There will be a healing service led by SP with Sr Helen on Saturday 14th March.
- Stations of the Cross are to take place on Good Friday morning, by way of a mediation.
- There will be a day on the Eucharist on 23rd May.
For the future, there may be a blessing of pets, noted to be appropriate in this year of St Francis of Assisi; a CAFE course on prayer, a topic which came up in the parish survey; and a discussion is taking place around ways in which we might support bible study in the parish.
SC suggested in Lent or Advent we could consider the parish working through a book published by the CTS wriiten by his uncle. Also, in the Year of St Francis, we could consider if there is any more we could do on that theme, there could be a pilgrimage to here for the diocese to gain the plenary indulgence that is available.
J & P Report:
The main theme has been the Live Simply campaign. ML advised we are waiting to hear about our assessment. There has been good fundraising for CAFOD including the panto, toilet twinning and Advent stickers. The wildflower garden is going to happen again. Involvement with a soup kitchen is being considered. SL mentioned that St Mark’s in Broomhill are looking for assistance with theirs due to decreasing numbers. There will continue to be bimonthly topics, also information about parishioners already volunteering to highlight their projects and encourage others to volunteer.
Youth Ministry:
RB gave an update. Confirmations took place before Advent, ten candidates going forwards for confirmation. Previously the parish council funded a celebration for them and a small gift and, if the group still wants to mark it, funding for that was approved.
First Holy Communion preparation has begun again. Altar servers are thriving. The Youth Group is to regenerate soon (14-18 year olds).
It was noted there is a gap between children making their Holy Communion and the Youth Group, something which would ideally be addressed by one or two other youth groups. There is a diocesan youth group, covering it was thought a slightly younger group, who met in the parish last Sunday as The Hub was not available to them. For anything to be provided for younger children, there would need to be others willing to take this forward.
Finance Committee:
We have spent quite a bit of money, doing work on the roof amongst other things, which might mean tightening our belts over the coming year, but we are still in a positive financial situation. Our heating bills are going up significantly. The accounts are well underway to be ready for the AGM.
Maintenance:
DB advised some blown lights have been noted in church and an electrician has been asked to come and deal with this. He will also see if we can replace the bulbs with more eco-friendly ones, particularly in the Assisi Hall. Some repairs of plaster and decoration will be needed after the roof leaks. The lines in the car park are to be addressed and a tree surgeon is coming to look at dealing with possible dead trees in the car park.
AOB
DB advised some young people in the parish are going on the Lourdes Pilgrimage in June, under the auspices of their schools. Parishes are being asked to contribute for adult pilgrims. Last year, in the Jubilee Year, we funded two pilgrims. The cost this year would be £1010 a person. One suggestion was we contribute the equivalent of one pilgrim but it could be shared if more than one pilgrim wishes to go. The pilgrims would need to fundraise for the balance. RB queried why we particularly focus on Lourdes over other possible pilgrimages. It was agreed this needs more thought and will be adjourned to another meeting.
The international mass last Sunday was a big success, in bringing people together in a very special way. A thank you note has been passed on to Susanne Staub by MC, to go all those involved in organising.
Matters raised by Fr Kevin
Fr Kevin had no specific matters to raise.
Mention was made (not by Fr Kevin) that it is Fr Kevin’s 65th anniversary on 28th May. There was a discussion about how the parish would want to mark this. It was agreed cake and wine would be offered after mass (suggested date 31st May). A papal certificate would also be obtained.
Action: SC to organise the obtaining of the papal certificate. Arrangements for the celebration will be considered at the next meeting.
Closing prayer: led by Fr Kevin
Next meeting: 10th March at 7:30 pm in the parish room