St Peter's Church PCC Meeting
2 June 2015 7:00pm - 9:15pm
Minutes
Present:Helen Ball, Hannah Beck, Pam Brush, Rachel Fell, David Fisher, Sarah Harrison, Sue Heapy, Tim Hurren, Christine Jack, Jason Knowles, Oliver Longstaff (Chair), Sarah Martin, Christine McManus, Sue Pearce, Jane Reeve, Dennis Richards, Kerry Simpson, Helen Stalker and Angus Turner.
In attendance: Carole Raw
Apologies: Barbara Agar, Mark Hattersley, Michael Hunter, Sian Lockwood, Nigel McClea, Richard Nolan, Stella Pilling and Patricia Stableford.
1.Welcome and opening prayer
Oliver took the chair and welcomed Revd Brendan Giblin, our Area Dean, to the meeting. Brendan opened the meeting with prayer.
2.Apologies
Apologies were given on behalf of those absent and noted.
3.Acceptance of minutes
The minutes of May's meeting were unanimously approved.
4.Matters arising
4.1Sri Lankan silver platter: Rachel to ask Tony about the whereabouts of this.
4.2Placing of tables for PCC meetings: Ken to be asked whether the table arrangement can be made more square, so that members can see and hear each other better.
4.3Task Groups: the Standing Committee are yet to consider further support for various Task Groups, but will do so.
4.4Safety in church: after a short discussion about the safety issues raised at the last meeting, it was agreed that the mechanisms for dealing with an emergency are in place (the police are always quick to respond) and that the individual referred to in the minutes does not pose a threat to safety, those who deal with him being aware of his particular situation and needs.
4.5On the issue of the notice board blocking CCTV, it was noted that this is only a problem when the board is not pushed back. It is proposed to put the board on wheels and move the hymn number box in order to alleviate this problem.
5.Acceptance of minutes of subgroups
Minutes of the Communications Group were tabled and accepted. Tim noted that Lesley Day has agreed to take on PR and media relations for the church and that Marion Chambers has agreed to help with the weekly news sheet (the deadline for submissions will be noon on Wednesday going forward).
6.Fabric committee
Oliver reported that there is currently no group which has overall responsibility for the building and it was felt there should be one. Angus has agreed to chair the group, for which Oliver gave thanks, and other members may include John Stableford and Stuart Holland.
It was unanimously agreed that a Fabric Committee should be formed and that Angus should be tasked with formulating its terms of reference and membership.
In relation to the care of the vicarage during the transition, Rachel agreed to send the diocese's guidelines on this to Angus so that this could be brought within the Fabric Committee's remit.
7.AOB
7.1Finance Group: Oliver reported that concerns had been raised about the success or otherwise of the planned giving campaign and the feasibility of paying our Share this year. It was agreed to postpone discussion of this until at least September, given the ongoing section 11 and 12 processes.
7.2Bank account: David reported that the bank require a formal resolution of the PCC to change the authorised signatories on the mandate for our bank account(s) from Charlotte and Stuart to Sian and Oliver (David to remain an authorised signatory).
It was therefore resolved that the authorised signatories in the current mandate, for the accounts detailed in section 2 of the mandate form, be changed in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the mandate form and that the current mandate will continue as amended.
8.Section 11 meeting
It was agreed to postpone discussion of the Parish Profile to the end of the meeting. Brendan put the meeting's discussion in context, saying that the aim of the process is to work towards putting the profile into a form that conveys the essence of St Peter's and what makes it special to someone who doesn't know it or Harrogate. He also noted the important role of the two parish representatives, who ultimately have a power of veto over any proposed appointment.
8.1Appointment of parish representatives
The appointment of Sian Lockwood and Oliver Longstaff as the PCC's two representatives was unanimously approved.
8.2Advertising the vacancy
It was unanimously resolved that the Patron be requested to advertise the vacancy.
8.3Joint meeting with the Patron and Area Bishop (section12 meeting)
Rachel reported that the proposed date for our "section 12" meeting with the Archdeacon, Bishop James and the Patron was Monday 28 September, as both the Bishop and the Archdeacon are available on that date. As a consequence, we should not formally request a meeting at this stage (as once a formal request has been made, the meeting must take place within six weeks of that request). Therefore, whilst it is the intention of the PCC to request a section 12 meeting, it was agreed to postpone a formal request for this meeting until late August/early September.
8.4Area Bishop's statement
It was unanimously resolved to ask the Area Bishop for a statement in writing describing, in relation to the parish, the needs of the diocese and the wider interests of the church.
8.5Resolutions relating to women priests
It was unanimously agreed that no vote would be taken on either Resolution A or Resolution B in section 3(1) and (2) of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993.
8.6Parish Profile
Rachel explained that the draft Parish Profile tabled to the meeting was largely a factual, background document for internal use by the Bishop and his staff. It would, however, form the basis of the profile brochure that Brendan mentioned.
Aside from minor and drafting amendments and typographical errors, the main amendments made to each section of the Profile were as follows:
IParish Information
Section 5: to include the date the parish boundary was extended and amend to refer to the number of the households doubling as a result of the extension.
IIParish/Community Information
Section 1(b): to note that the unemployment rate is significantly higher in the parish than in the Harrogate area generally.
At 8.00pm there was a short break for coffee. The meeting reconvened at 8.15pm.
IIIChurch Information
Section 2(a) to delete reference to stoles being worn at Afternoon Church.
Section 2(b) to amend to refer to average giving per member of the AWC.
Section 8(c): to refer to the quinnquennial taking place later in 2015 and to the expansion and rebuilding (rather than refurbishment) of the meeting rooms etc.
IVOutreach and Mission
Section 4(b): to include a separate section in relation to Messy Church.
Section 5:
Breakfast Club: to remove references to local and national businesses and to Sainsburys - instead refer to support from local churches, groups and shops.
To refer here (or somewhere else suitable) to the Drama Group and to monthly Holy Communion services at the Adelphi and Emmaus House.
Workplace ministry: to reflect that prayer cards are no longer distributed.
To refer to the Church being open all day, 7 days a week and to the prayer cards in church.
VIILay Education and Participation
Section 1: There are about 10 Junior Boys Brigade members, 5 people have completed the Christian mentoring course and about 30 attend Evening Fellowship on average.
Section 4: delete reference to finding additional users and uses for church premises, as given the extent and number of current uses and users this is not a significant area for development.
VIIIAdditional Information
To add information about:
Music group at Afternoon Church (Sarah to provide)
Animal Welfare as a further ongoing project (Helen to provide)
The organ (Oliver to provide)
The Drama Group (Oliver to provide).
Hannah to redraft the section on bells and bellringing and send to Rachel.
IXThe New Priest
Oliver reported that a consultation exercise is underway to identify the key qualities and skills sought in our new Vicar. Each of the church's groups (as per the Annual Report) had been asked to comment, together with 21 external organisations and the congregation have also been asked to comment on the yellow postcards at the back of church. To date, 71 individual responses have been received, 12 from internal groups and 4 from external organisations. The cut off date for responses is 19 June.
Oliver proposed that a small group is formed to collate the responses and then circulate a suggested form of words to go in this section of the profile. This was agreed and Oliver, Jane, Helen and Sue Heapy volunteered for the group. Brendan advised that the person profile should match with where we think the church is going and what stage of development it is at. It should also correlate with the specific aims of our Mission Action Plan so that the new Vicar is a position to lead us in fulfilling those aims. It was acknowledged that we won't be able to reflect everyone's views but should try and reflect the general consensus.
Jason then drew attention to the "Growing through a Vacancy" booklet, in particular the fact that larger congregations where there are tensions in the parish tend to lose people during a vacancy and the importance of the PCC in dealing with this positively. The importance of communication was emphasised, with the need for regular updates on where we are in the process (perhaps in the form of "Next Vicar News").
The meeting concluded at 9.15pm following closing prayers.
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