MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL, ST. BARNABAS CHURCH, LINSLADE, HELD ON TUESDAY,
22nd MAY 2007, AT 8.00PM IN THE CHOIR VESTRY
Present: Marian Dye John Deighton
Keith Saunders Carolyn Birch
Nick Moore Russell Stannard
Miranda Soper Valerie Stewart
Wyn Jones Maureen Gadsby
Simon Soper Jo Thomson
Bruce Benedickter Vicki Faiers
Apologies:
Janet Miller Marlene Richardson
Carol Oakman David Throssell
Also present – Rev John Waller, Area Dean, Annie Cooper, lay Chair of Deanery Synod and Rev Grant Fellows, team rector of Ouzel Valley team.
Keith chaired the meeting. The minutes of the meeting of 27th March 2007 were approved. Proposed by Marian, seconded by John. All agreed.
The minutes of 15th April 2007 were approved. Proposed by Jo and seconded by Simon. All agreed.
Matters arising:
68/06 b) The bibles have arrived and are being used. The sidesmen need to ensure they are available each service.
71/06 Dates for 2007 – The Parish Summer Fair is on 9th June. Back to Church Sunday is 30th September. (This was discussed under item 5/07 on the agenda)
72/06 Youth Leaders – The Friday youth club has now restarted. 5 people have agreed to help on an occasional basis and the CRB forms have been distributed.
New items for this meeting:
1/07 Move to St Alban’s diocese
Keith introduced our guests and asked Annie and John to comment on the proposed transfer of Linslade parish from the Oxford Diocese to St Alban’s Diocese. From a Deanery point of view, although Linslade is a functioning part of the Mursley Deanery and will be missed, Annie said that the deanery appreciates that what is proposed is right for this parish. Regarding the appointment of a new priest, Rev John said that Bishop Alan is keen for the practicalities of the appointment to be for the “future” and not for the present situation.
Rev Grant is pleased that we want to join the Ouzel Valley team and explained the current situation. He said that Linslade joining the team ministry should give cohesiveness to the town with lots of opportunities to share mission. He explained the process of the move that will incorporate joining the team ministry. St Alban’s will send a scheme with proposals for joining the diocese and inaugurating a new team to include Linslade. There will be a period of local consultation and it will then be sent to the Church commissioners. There has to be a rationale behind any objections. After the consultations the scheme is ratified. Simon asked if the process could move more quickly. The scheme is ready but is waiting on the confirmation of the repairs to the vicarage. Keith asked that the churchwardens be kept appraised of the situation and Rev John and Annie will request this. Rev Grant was asked about the procedure for advertising the appointment and he explained about the recent appointment at Heath and Reach that had only been advertised internally. The Parish Profile must be right before an advertisement can be made.
The next step is to confirm who is handling the appointment and this has to be agreed between the Bishops of Buckingham and Bedford. Rev John and Annie will chase this.
There being no further questions, John, Annie and Grant were thanked for their time and they left the meeting.
7/07 Parish profile
Keith explained that the version that had been circulated was a draft and he would welcome any observations about the content – typing errors etc would be seen to later. All agreed that it was a magnificent effort and would not need a great deal doing to it. It may be a bit long and some of the parts about Leighton Buzzard may be omitted. The final version will be available soon.
2/07 To approve appointments
The list of appointments had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Co- chair Keith Saunders
Deputy chair Nick Moore
Treasurer Jo Thomson
PCC Secretary Carolyn Birch
Friends of St. Mary’s John Deighton
Gift Aid Secretary Vernon Smith
Churches Together Carol Dixon, Marian Dye
Christian Aid Derek May
Fetes and Bazaars Marian Dye, Marlene Richardson
CRB clearance Nick Moore
Child protection Melvyn Gardner
Children’s advocates Jenny Smith, Derek May
Sunday School leader Jenny Smith
Editor of Parish Magazine John Vickers
Chair of Worship committee Gill Saunders
Chair of Parish Outreach Heather Darvill
Chair of Stewardship Committee Russell Stannard
Chair of Social Committee Marian Dye
Standing and Finance committee members - Incumbent, Churchwardens, PCC secretary and treasurer, ex officio, Wyn Jones
Buildings committee members – Incumbent, Churchwardens, John Deighton as representative from Friends of St Mary’s, David Darvill as premises supervisor and Janet Miller as bookings secretary.
There was discussion about the purpose of the social committee and this will be discussed later.
Russell proposed and Valerie seconded that these appointments be confirmed. All agreed.
Action –Standing Committee
3/07 PCC dates 2007/8
These had been circulated prior to the meeting. In principle PCC meet on the 4th Tuesday in the month with the exception of August and December. The October meeting is the 5th Tuesday because of half term. It was agreed that the APCM should be on a Sunday as it was successful this year. The date is 27th April 2008.
4/07 Mobile phone antennae
A précis of the model licence and a copy of the letter to local residents had been circulated. It was noted that there was an article in the local papers about the proposal. The PCC were asked to agree in principle that the churchwardens should sign the agreement after the consultations have been satisfactorily completed and the other stipulated conditions, for example concerns about the precise positioning of the antennae, had been met.
It was proposed by John and seconded by Bruce that the churchwardens sign on behalf of the PCC subject to the stipulated conditions being met. All agreed.
5/07 All-age service- 17th June
The PCC is to lead the All-age service on 17th June and it is proposed to base it on the “Back to Church Sunday” initiative (30th September). David has agreed to co-ordinate the event as long as he has the full support of the PCC. It was immediately apparent that members were inspired by this project and ideas were forthcoming – Russell to preach, baptism group to get names of families and Miranda to check wedding lists, Keith to involve youth leaders and Sunday school leaders, put the information on the website, etc. Keith will work with David to arrange the 17th June service and members were asked to do what is asked of them! All agreed.
6/07 Parish share
Keith explained there were comments made at the APCM about the size of our parish share and how our share was met this year and that we had agreed to discuss it at a PCC meeting. The secretary had received a letter from Bill Marshall stressing the points made at the APCM. Copies of his letter were distributed. (Copy in file) Keith stressed that the clergy and churchwardens felt it was important to pay our share last year. Jo explained about the parish share generally and said she had a letter from the Deanery treasurer about how the share is calculated. It is a fiendishly difficult calculation that appears to increase disproportionally with the increase in population and electoral roll and is not easy to follow. Linslade pays far more than any other parish in the Mursley deanery, but it is the largest parish. It was noted that our share should be considerably less once we are in the St Alban’s diocese. We therefore have a problem this year that could be rectified in following years. Jo is to advise the Mursley deanery that we shall have extreme difficulty in paying our share this year.
Regarding the points made in Bill’s letter, members generally agreed with the points about the size of the share but not on other issues. It was felt that St Mary’s is part of the parish and has the services of the clergy. The terms of the Dorothy Hall bequest had been checked by the Independent Examiner and were for the general purposes of the parish. This was a one off use of the fund for a particular circumstance and was not seen as setting a precedent for future use in this way. The point about apportioning some of the fund raising from the hall to the general fund was not viable.
The last point in the letter, about the illegality of the nomination and seconding of the Independent examiner by the Treasurer and a member of the PCC, is wrong. The churchwardens have checked the most recent edition of the church representation rules and it is correct practice. The secretary is to write to Bill about this as it could question the integrity of both the treasurer and the Independent examiner.
Action- Secretary
8/07 Hall project
Minutes of a meeting of the hall committee had been distributed prior to the meeting (copy in file). Since then the committee had met again and although a lottery application is waiting to be sent, it was agreed that there are not sufficient funds to continue with Stage 2 this year. The big issue is the lack of heating for next winter. It is suggested that a new boiler and radiators are installed, that can be expandable, and that, with the new roof and windows, would make the hall habitable. There should be a grant to help with the heating. The current work should be completed in July. The PCC supported this strategy.
9/07 Christian nurture- Emmaus course work
The minutes of a meeting to discuss the Emmaus Course and House group material had been distributed (copy in file). Wyn said that the people involved at the moment are at different levels on their spiritual journey and as the House groups are all different it would not be a good idea for them all to follow the same material. Valerie expanded on this and said that we need nurture groups for newcomers that she and Wyn had offered to run. It is suggested to do an All age service explaining the Emmaus course. This would fit in nicely with the Back to church Sunday and some courses could start in September.
The PCC were asked to support the following:
1. Housegroups continue to select their own material until a new incumbent is appointed.
2. The new incumbent to be asked to consider suggesting themes, or selecting and /or preparing material which could be offered to the housegroups which will be in line with the preaching plan.
3. A well planned, well supported long term Emmaus Course programme that will lead to more confirmations, an increase in the number of Housegroups and the growth in the number attending Sunday services.
This was agreed.
10/07 Standing committee report
A hole appeared in the church roof that necessitated immediate repair. This is currently being done and will cost £1568 including VAT.
11/07 Any other business
a) The Leighton Linslade Christian Ecology group held a meeting on 19th April 2007. They discussed the May Fair stall that highlighted re-cycling. They are to hold a prayer walk on Monday 16th July starting from Tesco’s at 7.30pm. They will walk from Tesco’s to St Mary’s, Old Linslade, for prayers and readings, before returning to Tesco’s. All are welcome. The group are also going to Elstow re-cycling centre on Monday 13th August.
b) Keith has been investigating the repair of the church clock. The remedies could be very expensive but there are some strategies that can be tried before looking at major repairs.
The meeting concluded with The Grace at 9.40 pm.