MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH OF ST

Apologies: Catherine Dyer Maggi Stannard

Graham Gill Russell Stannard (present from 21.30)

Melvyn Gardner Jo Thomson

Valerie Stewart

Absent: Peter Holman Winston Forde

The meeting opened with prayers.

Minutes of the meeting of 22^nd April 2003

The PCC agreed the minutes as being an accurate record of the meeting . In Catherine’s absence, David signed the minutes as an accurate record.

Matters arising from the previous minutes:

David requested that Item 03/03: Removal of pews be deferred until the end of the meeting to allow for longer discussion and this was agreed.

04/02 Parish Hall development: Keith S has written to the Planning Dept in Dunstable re the Parish Hall development. He and David will meet with the Planning Officer to discuss the legal requirements, following which an open invitation will be made to the Parish for anyone interested to join the Parish hall development Committee. (Currently no date available for mtg due to Planning Officer’s holiday.)

02/03 P.C.C. Dates 2003-2004: after some discussion as to the benefits of keeping Lent free from meetings and the need to allow time for the auditing of accounts etc, Keith S proposed a

motion to retain the planned dates and hold the APCM on 27/4/04 with a short PCC mtg on 28/03/04 to approve the accounts. Nick seconded the motion which was then passed unanimously.

05/03 Jo Thomson has produced some information on fundraising for publication in the Parish Magazine.

07/03b Installation of soap dispensers is in hand.

(Action: David)

07/03c The PCC thanked the Tofield family for their donation to provide a new notice board for the church and it was agreed that it would be appropriate to recognise the donation by a small plaque on the back of the notice board. Exact wording to be agreed with the Tofield family by the churchwardens.

(Action: Keith and David)

New items:

08/03 Report of the Buildings Committee

David reported on the first meeting of the Buildings Committee. Some discussion took place about the proposed terms of reference with particular reference to St Marys. It was agreed that the minutes of the Buildings Committee be amended to show the agreed terms of reference and that these minutes should be circulated with the minutes of the PCC Meeting.

(Action: David and Sue)

09/03 Seating in the Lady Chapel

Some discussion took place about the viability of re-arranging the chairs in the Lady Chapel. David proposed unscrewing the chairs that are linked to provide greater flexibility in the seating arrangements and this was seconded by Rebecca. The motion to uncouple the chairs was passed unanimously.

10/03 Parish Plan

The revised Parish Plan was considered. It was agreed to remove the date for applying for a faculty to remove pews as the church has not yet agreed on a way forward. Keith D thanked Keith S for his work on the Parish Plan and this was seconded by David. The motion to approve the plan was passed unanimously.

11/03 Baptism rota for PCC members

Wyn presented a rota for members of the PCC to assist at baptisms, together with a list of duties. Wyn requested that any member of the PCC who could not be present for their allocated day should swap with another member. Wyn offered

to circulate the rota to PCC members who were not present at the meeting.

(Action: Wyn and all PCC)

12/03 Any Other Business

A letter has bee received from Mr and Mrs Mowbray of Old Linslade Manor re the application for planning permission to erect an earth bund to reduce noise levels from the railway. After some discussion it was felt that although this was unlikely to impact in a negative way on St Mary’s and would probably be to the advantage of the church, there was insufficient information to express a view either way. It was agreed that the Standing Committee should monitor the situation.

21.20 It was agreed to take a 5 minute break to consider new information re the removal of pews.

03/03 Removal of pews

It was generally felt that there is much confusion amongst the congregation about what is being proposed and that there is a need to clarify the proposals. Considerable discussion took place about the current and potential future needs of the church and Catherine’s original leaflet and an amended version were considered.

At this stage it was agreed to continue the meeting beyond 21.30.

It was finally agreed that a phased approach is most likely to be acceptable to the majority and that clear information should be given on what the ensuing space will be used for. After further discussion on the various options consensus was reached on a staggered removal of pews with no single phase predetermining the next action. Keith S offered to amend the information leaflet to this effect and circulate it to members of the P.C.C. for any further urgent comment (within 24 hours) before distribution to the congregation on Sunday May 25^th.

(Action Keith S)

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 22.03.