MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL, ST

minutes of a meeting of the parochial church council, st. barnabas’ church, linslade, held in the CHURCH VESTRY at 8.00 p.m. on Wednesday 28^th february 2002

Present:	Revd. C. Dyer	Mr. N. Peerman
	Mr. C. Griffin	Mr. D. Darvill
	Mr. K. Saunders	Mrs. J. Miller
	Prof. R. Stannard	Mr. G. Gill
	Mr. M. Gardner	Mr. N. Moore
	Mr. J. Deighton	Mrs. F. Morrow

Apologies:	Rev. W. Jones	Revd. K. Dally
	Mrs. A. Cudby	Mr. S. Soper
	Sqdn. Ldr. W. Forde	Mrs. M. Gadsby
	Mrs. M. Stannard	Mrs. V. Stewart

The meeting opened with prayers

Minutes of the meeting of January 22^nd 2002

There were two amendments to the previous minutes: Mr. Darvill clarified that the cost per copy from the new copier would be 0.85p and that this price did not include the paper.

The minutes were signed as by Revd. Catherine as an accurate record of the meeting.

Matters arising from the minutes:

23/01
Lighting.

The new choke units for the lights had been manufactured but a technical problem was causing a further delay to the installation of the lights. This would probably not be completed until the end of March. Mr. Darvill reported that any increased costs would be recovered from the suppliers.

25/01
Louvres.

There had been no further progress on the installation of the Louvres and this would probably occur in March or April once good weather could be guaranteed.

41/01
Diocesan Convention.

Sue Smith had agreed to act as "champion" for this role. Her first task would be to find about 8 people to attend on Thursday and Friday and about 20 others to attend on the Saturday (13^th July).

42/01
Worship Committee.

The committee had not yet met but Prof. Stannard had agreed to chair it. Dates were being arranged and it was hoped to hold a meeting before Easter.

47/01
Photocopier.

This had arrived and was functioning well.

New items:

49/01	Sharing Life and Parish Away day. Mr. Darvill had produced a sheet to summarise the outcomes of the day and this was given to the congregation at the Sunday following the conference. A copy of this summary is appended to the file copy of these minutes. Winston Forde had also produced a development plan to be considered by the new P.C.C. However, Revd. Catherine stressed that taking the actions forward was the responsibility of the P.C.C. Revd. Catherine said that she would like to add In the questions of Christian nurture and of Pastoral Care. We needed, she said, to bring new people into church but also to understand what we were bringing them into. Mr. Darvill proposed a motion to accept the priorities as outlined (together with the two extra proposed by Revd. Catherine. Prof. Stannard seconded the motion which was passed nem. con. It was agreed that the Standing Committee should suggest one person from each group to co-ordinate its activities. It was also agreed that ideally a member of the P.C.C. should be on each group. This would be agreed at the P.C.C. following the A.P.C.M. It was agreed that it had been a profitable, refreshing and positive day.
50/01	Finance. Accounts had been examined and approved. Mr. Griffin referred back to his decision, reported to the January meeting of the P.C.C., on the presentation of the accounts. These appeared to show a deficit of approx. £9000 but there was an Income Tax rebate of approximately £6000 still expected, leaving an apparent deficit of expenditure against income of just over £3000. With the removal of the various accruals, the accounts were easier to read. Mr. Gardner mentioned the possibility of a stewardship campaign and Prof. Stannard raised the issue of putting the necessary percentage increase of 15% to parishioners. It was clear that the wider church faced enormous problems of finance and that solutions would have to be found to very complex problems. Mr. Deighton proposed and Mr. Darvill seconded a motion to accept the accounts to be presented to the A.P.C.M. and the motion was passed nem. con. Revd. Catherine thanked Mr. Griffin for all his work on the accounts.
51/01	Churches Together Nobody had attended the last meeting but more shared services would be taking place in the coming weeks and months. Revd. Catherine reported that the Baptists had officially withdrawn from Churches Together. Revd. Catherine mentioned the very successful and moving civic service the previous Sunday.
52/01	Consultation on Clergy Stipends and Pensions Three representatives would be attending the consultation on March 16^th in Milton Keynes.
53/01	Acceptance of Reports. The P.C.C.’s report, with some amendments, was accepted for presentation at the A.P.C.M. The motion to accept was proposed by Mr Griffin, seconded by Mr. Deighton and agreed nem. con. Other reports from church organisations were tabled.
54/01	Summer Fair Mr. Griffin proposed and Mr. Darvill seconded a motion to approve Mr. John Deighton as the raffle promoter ant the Summer Fair on June 8^th. The motion was passed nem. con.
55/01	Belltower The visit of the Barnacles to the Church Tower on Saturday 2^nd March was noted.
56/01	AoB It was agreed that the Churchwardens would have a second key cut for the organist’s cupboard so that access could be gained in case of the organist’s illness. Revd. Catherine raised the issue of child protection and the requirements to appoint a Parish Child Protection representative. It was agreed that this should be discussed by the Standing committee. The new Deanery Youth Worker was Mark Berry who had been introduced to the last Deanery Synod.

The meeting closed with prayers at 9.53 p.m. Reverend Catherine thanked all those who had served on the P.C.C. in the previous year and looked forward to working with the newly elected council following the A.P.C.M.

23/01	Lighting. The new choke units for the lights had been manufactured but a technical problem was causing a further delay to the installation of the lights. This would probably not be completed until the end of March. Mr. Darvill reported that any increased costs would be recovered from the suppliers.
25/01	Louvres. There had been no further progress on the installation of the Louvres and this would probably occur in March or April once good weather could be guaranteed.
41/01	Diocesan Convention. Sue Smith had agreed to act as "champion" for this role. Her first task would be to find about 8 people to attend on Thursday and Friday and about 20 others to attend on the Saturday (13^th July).
42/01	Worship Committee. The committee had not yet met but Prof. Stannard had agreed to chair it. Dates were being arranged and it was hoped to hold a meeting before Easter.
47/01	Photocopier. This had arrived and was functioning well.