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Minutes of a meeting of the parochial church council, st. barnabas’ church, linslade, held in the choir vestry at 8.00 p.m. on tuesday 21st november 2000

Present:

Mrs. A. Forest

Mr. N. Peerman

 

Mrs. A. Cudby

Mr. D. Darvill

 

Mrs. W. Jones

Mrs. J. Miller

 

Mr. C. Griffin

Mr. S. Soper

 

Mr. K. Saunders

Mr. J. Deighton

 

 

 

Apologies:

Prof. R. Stannard

Rev. N. Cotton (Rural Dean)

 

Mrs. V. Stewart

 

The meeting opened with prayers

 

Minutes of the meeting of 13th September 2000

Two amendments were made to the minutes:

Following a proposal from Mrs. Jones and Mr. Peerman’s seconding a motion to sign the minutes, the minutes were duly signed by Mr. Griffin in the chair as an accurate record of the meeting of September 13th.

Matters arising from the minutes:

14/00

St. Mary’s Tower. The work on the tower had been completed at a total cost of £8759.62 plus £712.75 for the architect’s fees. The work had cost slightly more than expected due to problems revealed once the roof had been removed. Mr. Darvill added that one of the trees in the churchyard had blown over the recent gales; it was agreed to approach a tree surgeon to check that the other trees were not in danger of blowing over onto the church. Two other items in need of attention in St. Mary’s churchyard were raised: the wall by the gate and the gates themselves which did not open very easily. It was agreed that the Churchwardens should look at these issues.

26/00

Interregnum update. Mr. Griffin reported that the Bishop had been asked whether the benefice could be restored now that the Deanery boundaries had been clarified. The Deanery had decided to defer a decision on the benefice until next year; they had concluded that advertising posts as "Priest-in-charge" had not had significant effect in terms of attracting suitable applicants.

The Bishop had approached about 20 people about the Linslade post, but none had been willing to move at this stage.

Mr. Griffin commented on the successful work in the Parish during the Interregnum and expressed the Churchwardens’ gratitude to Mrs. Jones for all her hard work in arranging services etc.

It was noted that the curate’s house had been sold for £145,000 and that the parish’s share of the proceeds would be in the region of £8-9000 which would go into general funds.

27/00

Wiring and Lighting

A plan for re-lighting had been produced by a representative of the Holophane company. A photograph of one of their products was circulated: Mr. Darvill explained that the plan would involve installing pairs of lamps to hang from the arches in the nave, replacing our current lights. Mr. Griffin said that a visit would be made to their factory to view their products and that the Churchwardens would be preparing a presentation for the back of the church. Only when the lighting was decided could the re-wiring proceed. The total cost of the lighting and re-wiring would probably be between £20-25,000. It was agreed that the Wardens should continue to research the project with a view to completing the work in the middle of 2001. This motion was proposed by Mr. Soper and seconded by Mr. Peerman.

New items:

37/00

Deanery re-organisation

Mrs. Jones circulated the letter from the Mursley Deanery Synod (dated 11th October 2000 and signed by the secretary, Mr. Geoff Ball) in which proposed changes to the Deanery were outlined. This proposal involved the eventual reduction in the number of stipendiary posts in the deanery from 9 to 7. No change was envisaged in Linslade’s status as a stand-alone parish with its own priest. Mr. Deighton proposed and Mrs. Miller seconded a motion to accept the changes as outlined.

38/00

Parish Hall.

A new cooker had been fitted at a cost of £213. A quote for repairing the gullies had been received on the roof had been received: the cost would be £732. Mr. Saunders proposed a motion ratifying the purchase of the cooker and agreeing to proceed with the repairs to the roof gullies. Mr. Soper seconded the motion which was passed nem. con.

39/00

Finance.

The financial situation had been improved to the tune of approximately £1500 taken at the Autumn fair. £24,000 would be taken from the deposit account to pay the parish share and this would necessitate some fundraising in December. With the death of Reg Carrapiett, the magazine fund was tied up as he had been the sole signatory. It was proposed by Mr. Soper and seconded by Mr. Peerman that the names of Mr. Griffin, Mr. Darvill and Mrs. Carrapiett be added as signatories on the magazine account. The motion was passed nem. con. Mr. Saunders would write to the bank accordingly.

action: mr. saunders

40/00

Kneelers at St. Mary’s.

A group of parishioners had expressed the desire to construct an altar kneeler in 3 sections along the front of the altar at St. Mary’s. They wished to borrow approximately £300 for materials to allow the work to start, and this money would be repaid by means of coffee mornings and the like. The design on the kneelers would consist of a fleur de lys and lily motif on a blue background. Mrs. Miller proposed and Mrs. Cudby seconded a motion that the funds be made available as requested. The motion was passed nem. con.

41/00

St. Barnabas’ Organ.

A letter had been received from the organist together with a schedule of works required on the organ. Various problems had been encountered recently, particularly with the supply of wind from the bellows to the pipes. The costs would be approximately £9800. It was agreed to defer a decision on this issue until after Christmas and after the receipt of firm quotes for the lighting and re-wiring project.

42/00

Ratification of Order of Common Service (already circulated)

The new Common Service must be used from January 1st. The format agreed by the P.C.C.’s working group was only a small variance from the current ASB. The format produced by the group could be photocopied commercially into a small booklet, and would be more than adequate at least until the arrival of a new priest. All members of the Council expressed their thanks to the members of the working group; Mr. Deighton proposed and Mr. Peerman seconded a motion to accept the format for Common Worship for use the Church. The motion was passed nem. con.

43/00

Website –

    • bookstall
    • USA visitors

A request had been received by the website from an online Christian bookseller that we should provided a link to their site and that we would receive a commission on sales of books thus received. It was felt that with our own bookstall not making large sales, that this should not go ahead.

An approach had also been received on the website from a Church in the USA proposing a link with our young people. This had been referred to Fr. John Russell in Wing as the Deanery who has a responsibility for Deanery youth work. In any case, it was felt that no commitments of this nature should be embarked on until a new priest had been found.

44/00

AoB

  1. The Linsdale singers would be putting a photo of St. Barnabas’ on their new CD. This was agreed.
  2. The Ecclesiastical Insurance inspector had visited, and had reported. The company was offering improved cover at a reduced price, saving approximately £800 p.a. Mrs. Cudby proposed and Mr. Saunders seconded a motion that this new cover should be accepted. The motion was passed nem. con
  3. Some clearance work had been done in the Vicarage Garden by the tenants.
  4. The work on the boundary wall outside the Church was nearly complete.
  5. The lightning conductor at St. Mary’s needed a check. It was agreed to find out whether this work had actually already been done in the recent past.
  6. Mrs. Cudby read out a letter from the Sunday School teachers. It mentioned the First Aid course being attended and requested a grant towards the purchase of a book to be presented to all Sunday School children at their annual party. Mr. Saunders proposed and Mr. Soper seconded a motion that up to £80 be made available from the Chesterfield fund for this purpose. The motion was passed nem. con.
  7. A letter of thanks had been received from Kairos for the £300 raised by the outreach committee. Mrs. Jones agreed to arrange for a representative from the organisation to come and preach some time in 2001.
  8. Mr. Darvill pointed out that there had been some confusion about the dates of P.C.C. meetings and asked that Council members refer to the revised calendar circulated in June. The dates of the next P.C.C. meetings were Wednesday 24th January and Tuesday 27th February with the A.P.C.M. being on Wednesday 28th March.

The meeting closed with the Grace at 9.42 p.m.