PPC Minutes - October 2017

Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting
Thursday 12th October 2017
St. Gregory’s Social Centre
7.30pm
Present: Father Clement, Emma Bowley, Amy Jarkulisz, Pam Looi, Veronica Brown, Terry Breed, Bron Coleman, Cath Jackson, Rebecca Jinks (Minutes), Kathryn Timmons, Peter Fryer

1. Opening prayer was led by Rebecca.
2. Apologies: Marlene
3. Matter Arising from last meeting

• Easter Holy Water: the small plastic bottle retails at 0.95p and was felt to be too expensive. A cheaper version might be available from St. Joseph’s, Leicester, the Mount Saint Bernard shop or Militia Immaculatae in Leicester. Perhaps parishioners might be asked to bring their own bottle. Further investigation required.
• Communion Antiphon: it was agreed to allow a longer pause after the announcement of the Antiphon to allow the congregation to find the words on the newsletter sheet and join in.
• Walsingham / Parish retreat: it was strongly felt that the Rosmini Centre was the preferred venue for a parish retreat and worth exploring as an alternative to the Walsingham pilgrimage every other year. The contact is Fr. Mullen at the Rosmini Centre. A possibility might be a Saturday near the feast of St. Gregory (Sept.3) or St. Alban (June 22), but this would depend upon the availability of the centre. Peter offered to contact Fr. Mullen and Kathryn offered to accompany him.
• Security of church building / lock on safe: Terry informed us that John B. has the lock for the church door and this will be fitted any day now. The locksmith will be inspecting the safe lock in the near future.
• Damp in Church / fabric of church: Terry reported that a down-pipe had been fitted and that we now have to wait for the wall to dry out. The folding door into the classroom is also due to be fixed, but was quite a complicated job.
• In Memoriam: thanks were expressed to Kathryn’s sister for the beautiful lettering on the cover. There was discussion over the possibility of having a record of all deceased parishioners. A computer-generated list could be more easily updated than a hand-written version and the task of typing up the records could be divided between several people. Monica Walling to be contacted to see if there is a record that can be used as a data source.
• Children’s Mass: the first Sunday of the month. Young people to do / share the reading / offertory procession. One “problem” is that so many of the youngsters are serving on the altar. We already have a Youth Mass on the feast of Christ the King, usually have a Stations of the Cross and the ever-popular Christmas Mass. Whatever is decided upon needs to be easy to achieve due to the difficulty of arranging any form of practice. Should we be trying to increase the number of families who come? Closer liaison with Primary Schools? Rebecca reported on the successful involvement of the children at a Mass in another parish where musical instruments/percussion had been involved. Could there be toys/books for families with young children?

1. Arrangements for Christmas Services: Father had been delayed, but arrived at this juncture and was able to confirm arrangements:

• Sunday 24th December: 4th Sunday of Advent 9.00am Mass as usual.
• Sunday 24th December: Christmas Vigil Mass at 6.00pm in the Social Centre with the children’s traditional Nativity. Carols from 5.30pm.
• Monday 25th December: Christmas Day Mass at 9.00am
• Father Clement will need all his vitamin pills with one Mass on 23rd Dec, three masses on 24th Dec and two Masses on 25th December in the two parishes.
• The Carol Service on 17th December is due to be held in Syston this year.
• Veronica to check that Jean is available to play at the Christmas Vigil Mass.

1. Mass preparation routine checklist: we need to have an organisational check-list. Emma to produce a visual guide in consultation with Wilf.
2. Vestments / Sacristan: we do not officially have a sacristan. It is thought that Marie-Hélène might take on the role of coordinating this and will draw up a list of what we have/need. Part of our monstrance is missing, but Terry mysteriously announced that there was good news on this matter that would be revealed the following morning! (Please see the end of these minutes for an update on this topic)
3. Candle lighting Prayer: Peter shared a translation of a French prayer that was being used in St. Mary’s, Loughborough. It was agreed that two laminated sheets would be available (Kathryn) with the possibility of a framed version next to the votive candle stand.
4. AOB

• New shelf for the Sacred Heart Statue was under construction and Terry announced that this should be installed before Christmas.
• Eucharistic Ministers: the dearth of Eucharistic Ministers was again raised. Could a rota be arranged? Father could distribute hosts while two Eucharistic Ministers would be responsible for the Precious Blood. This would reduce the number of Ministers needed at each Sunday Mass. Fr. Clement ask the PPC to pray for this special intention as well as a calling for a parish deacon.
• Cath spoke about “Mary’s Meals”, an organisation that provides a meal each day to deprived children in schools around the world. Could this be an Advent Charity in the first instance?  Cath had sent off for details, but projects included a “Backpack Project” whereby backpacks were filled with school items. Could the schools be involved? De Lisle? A presentation could be made at the end of Mass to encourage parishioners’ contributions. There is now a link on the parish website to this organisation’s website – it is well worth a visit.
• Finance Committee & Social Centre reports: these had been missed off the agenda but would be included at future meetings. Father is still looking for someone to do the parish accounts.
• Mass Books: these cost just under £2 each. Each year there were three books and therefore for the three years (A, B & C) the cost of sponsoring a set of books was £18 (9 x £2). It was suggested that there would be a sticker inside the books giving details of the sponsor who might request prayers in memory of someone. Alternatively, the relevant amount might simply be donated. It was proposed that the young members of the PPC should try and find a formula of words that would be appropriate and help with the production of the stickers. Special thanks to Emma and the Youth Group who accepted to help us on this. (Please see the end of these minutes for an update on this topic)
• November Flowers: Father suggested that parishioners might like to make a donation of flowers in memory of a particular person. It was pointed out that usually the person(s) responsible for Church cleaning provided flowers. There was a fund that could be called upon, but rarely was – most people seeing the provision of flowers as part of their cleaning duty.
• Father reported that he had received details of a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi from 3-8 June. The cost of £638 caused a sharp intake of breath as this did not include meals other than breakfast. A poster could be put up at the back of church and reference made in the newsletter.

1. Date of next meeting: Thursday 7th December
2. Closing prayer: the meeting closed at 9.07pm with a prayer from the “Mary’s Meals” website

 
 
 
Circulation: Father Clement, Marlene Corrall, Emma Bowley, Amy Jarkulisz, Pam Looi, Veronica Brown, Terry Breed, Bron Coleman, Cath Jackson, Rebecca Jinks, Kathryn Timmons, Peter Fryer
 
Hot off the press!
Monstrance: On Friday morning, as promised by Terry, Father was delighted to find a beautiful monstrance donated by the Convent at Rearsby.
Mass books: there are two books per year and so there are six in the three-year cycle. These cost £2.11 per book once p&p are included. For example, if each parishioner were to sponsor 10 books this would amount to £21.10. Over the three years we shall have received 600 books. More details later. ​