Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council
Thursday 14th March 2019 at 7.45pm
Present: Fr St John, Terry Breed, Veronica Brown, Bron Coleman, Peter Fryer, Stephen Giacchino, Cath Jackson, Rebecca Jinks, Pam Looi, Kathryn Timmons.
1. The meeting opened with a prayer.
2. Apologies were received from Marlene Bartlett and Amy Jarkulisz.
3. Matters arising from last meeting: The Advent charity, Marys Meals, had raised £255. This will be match funded by the government.
The plaques on two of the three items made by Denis Hargreaves are in place. The plaque on the altar crucifix will be fitted soon.
The clutter has been dealt with. The area next to the garage is clear as are the loft and storeroom in the Social Centre. The problem of the garage needs further discussion. Kathryn will tidy the notice board at the back of the church.
Parishioners in need: we need to be aware of those in our community who need support. We should ensure that they continue to receive communion if they move out of the parish.
4. Memorial PlaquePermission was given for the memorial plaque from St Alban’s Barrow to be placed in the Cemetery Chapel in Barrow.
5. Replacement of the safeIt would be very expensive to buy a fireproof filing cabinet to store official records. Fr John will check Diocesan guidelines.
6. Holy Communion and Confirmation Programmes Rebecca reported that there are five children in the Holy Communion group. They made their first Confession last week. They will make their First Communion on June 9th. How will the parish celebrate the day and will the church be overcrowded? What provision do we need to make for this?
The Bishop is coming for Confirmation on September 20th. Preparation will alternate with that of the First Communicants. There are four or five candidates at the moment.
Thanks were recorded to Rebecca for her commitment to the preparation of the young people for reception of the Sacraments.
7. Altar Servers’ cassocks Some of the cassocks are getting too short. It was agreed that it would be preferable for all the servers to be dressed the same. Rebecca and Fr. John will do further research for suitable replacements.
8. Services: Pentecost Sunday, Peace Sunday, Children’s Christmas Mass The Masses for Pentecost Sunday and Peace Sunday had both been joyful and appropriate celebrations. Some concern was expressed about the Children’s Christmas Mass. We want to be a welcoming community to people who don’t regularly attend religious services. However, there needs to be some thought about ways in which the true nature of the Mass can be explained and respected.
9. Social Centre report Bron reported the Centre has been redecorated; though the ceiling did not need to be repainted the decorators had cleaned it.
There are three new clients using the centre so it is used every day.
10. Finance Committee report A report prepared by Paul Carroll (published below) was distributed to all present. Our grateful thanks is extended to the Finance Committee for their professional handling of parish finances.
11. AOB Are the purple cloths needed for Holy Week accessible? Terry will check.
12. Dates of Future Meetings
The suggested dates were amended to accommodate a change of venue.
The Social centre is not available on Thursdays until 7.45 so for a trial period the meetings will take place on Wednesdays in Barrow after 7.00 mass.
The next meeting therefore will be on Wednesday June 19that 7.30 pm at the Beveridge club in Barrow.
13. The meeting closed with prayer at 8.45 pm
Financial Report to PPC Meeting – 13 March 2019
At the end of period 9 (December 2018) Income was £27,100; Expenditure was £22,000 giving a surplus of £5,100 for the financial year to date. The increased income since the last report is due to the Gift Aid Repayment of £2,700 coming through from the Diocese. Collection income continues to be ahead of the last financial year reflecting what appears to be a rising Sunday Mass attendance and a slight increase in monthly standing orders/direct debits.
The Social Centre is showing a small surplus of £900 at the end of December which reflects rising income from the increased bookings. However the cost of the redecoration will reduce the Designated Fund for the Social Centre to Nil, which means that any future major refurbishment will need to be funded from general funds.
The Bank balance at 31 December has increased to £20,200 but there will be significant expenditure in the final quarter with the redecoration of the Social Centre and a bedroom in the House. This bedroom needs a full replastering, which was not anticipated, but must be done as we need to keep all our properties in a good standard of repair.
Despite these costs which will come through in the final quarter of the year, we still expect to see an overall surplus for the full year, giving an overall increase to the year end Bank Balance compared to the end of last year. We will need to continue to build up our reserves to fund future refurbishment in our 3 properties.
Paul Carroll
Chair Finance Committee
13 March 2019
Thursday 14th March 2019 at 7.45pm
Present: Fr St John, Terry Breed, Veronica Brown, Bron Coleman, Peter Fryer, Stephen Giacchino, Cath Jackson, Rebecca Jinks, Pam Looi, Kathryn Timmons.
1. The meeting opened with a prayer.
2. Apologies were received from Marlene Bartlett and Amy Jarkulisz.
3. Matters arising from last meeting: The Advent charity, Marys Meals, had raised £255. This will be match funded by the government.
The plaques on two of the three items made by Denis Hargreaves are in place. The plaque on the altar crucifix will be fitted soon.
The clutter has been dealt with. The area next to the garage is clear as are the loft and storeroom in the Social Centre. The problem of the garage needs further discussion. Kathryn will tidy the notice board at the back of the church.
Parishioners in need: we need to be aware of those in our community who need support. We should ensure that they continue to receive communion if they move out of the parish.
4. Memorial PlaquePermission was given for the memorial plaque from St Alban’s Barrow to be placed in the Cemetery Chapel in Barrow.
5. Replacement of the safeIt would be very expensive to buy a fireproof filing cabinet to store official records. Fr John will check Diocesan guidelines.
6. Holy Communion and Confirmation Programmes Rebecca reported that there are five children in the Holy Communion group. They made their first Confession last week. They will make their First Communion on June 9th. How will the parish celebrate the day and will the church be overcrowded? What provision do we need to make for this?
The Bishop is coming for Confirmation on September 20th. Preparation will alternate with that of the First Communicants. There are four or five candidates at the moment.
Thanks were recorded to Rebecca for her commitment to the preparation of the young people for reception of the Sacraments.
7. Altar Servers’ cassocks Some of the cassocks are getting too short. It was agreed that it would be preferable for all the servers to be dressed the same. Rebecca and Fr. John will do further research for suitable replacements.
8. Services: Pentecost Sunday, Peace Sunday, Children’s Christmas Mass The Masses for Pentecost Sunday and Peace Sunday had both been joyful and appropriate celebrations. Some concern was expressed about the Children’s Christmas Mass. We want to be a welcoming community to people who don’t regularly attend religious services. However, there needs to be some thought about ways in which the true nature of the Mass can be explained and respected.
9. Social Centre report Bron reported the Centre has been redecorated; though the ceiling did not need to be repainted the decorators had cleaned it.
There are three new clients using the centre so it is used every day.
10. Finance Committee report A report prepared by Paul Carroll (published below) was distributed to all present. Our grateful thanks is extended to the Finance Committee for their professional handling of parish finances.
11. AOB Are the purple cloths needed for Holy Week accessible? Terry will check.
12. Dates of Future Meetings
The suggested dates were amended to accommodate a change of venue.
The Social centre is not available on Thursdays until 7.45 so for a trial period the meetings will take place on Wednesdays in Barrow after 7.00 mass.
The next meeting therefore will be on Wednesday June 19that 7.30 pm at the Beveridge club in Barrow.
13. The meeting closed with prayer at 8.45 pm
Financial Report to PPC Meeting – 13 March 2019
At the end of period 9 (December 2018) Income was £27,100; Expenditure was £22,000 giving a surplus of £5,100 for the financial year to date. The increased income since the last report is due to the Gift Aid Repayment of £2,700 coming through from the Diocese. Collection income continues to be ahead of the last financial year reflecting what appears to be a rising Sunday Mass attendance and a slight increase in monthly standing orders/direct debits.
The Social Centre is showing a small surplus of £900 at the end of December which reflects rising income from the increased bookings. However the cost of the redecoration will reduce the Designated Fund for the Social Centre to Nil, which means that any future major refurbishment will need to be funded from general funds.
The Bank balance at 31 December has increased to £20,200 but there will be significant expenditure in the final quarter with the redecoration of the Social Centre and a bedroom in the House. This bedroom needs a full replastering, which was not anticipated, but must be done as we need to keep all our properties in a good standard of repair.
Despite these costs which will come through in the final quarter of the year, we still expect to see an overall surplus for the full year, giving an overall increase to the year end Bank Balance compared to the end of last year. We will need to continue to build up our reserves to fund future refurbishment in our 3 properties.
Paul Carroll
Chair Finance Committee
13 March 2019
