Parish of Cirencester with Watermoor and Chesterton

Minutes of the Parochial Church Council meeting held at the Parish Centre on Tuesday 19th January 2016
at 7.30 pm

Present: Revd Canon L Doolan (Chair), Revd H Gilbert, Mr P Cottey, Mrs M Austin, Mrs A Anderson, Mrs R Gray, Mrs J Henson, Mr A Jones, Mr C Jones, Mr J Light, Mr J Eaton, Mrs J Godsell.

  1. Fr Leonard opened the meeting with prayer.
  2. Apologies for absence had been received from Revd G Grady, Revd P Light, Revd K Richardson, Mr S Smith, Mr D Bristow, Miss P Phillips, Mrs M Gilman, Mrs H Hammond, Mrs J Iveson, Mr R Marlowe, Mr B Janes,

Mrs S Gargett.

  1. The minutes of the meeting held on 16th December were signed as a true record.
  2. Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting. It was noted that Bishop David Jennings will now be leading the confirmation service at 6am on Easter morning.
  3. Finance Report. There was none.
  4. Reports from the sub-committees
  5. Personnel Committee: Nothing to report at this time.
  6. Parish property Group: There was no report available but the following areas were discussed:
  7. The need for £485 to repair the boundary wall at the Parish Centre.
  8. A quote of just over £5000 had been received to replace a section of the roof tiles at 1 Coxwell Street which, after inspection, were deemed to be in a worse condition than previously thought.
  9. As part of the parish review of the property portfolio, there was a need for external consultants to be involved in the process. Luke Sparkes (Thompson & Partners) had submitted a quote of £1400 - £1800 to draw up a report to enable informed consideration to be made on further action.

It was agreed unanimously to progress the above works.

  1. Chairman’s Notices
  2. Fr Leonard advised that a booklet would be circulated to all our churches as to what services and activities were planned during Lent.
  3. He said that there was so School of Faith (SoF) programme for 2016 and felt this year should be one of consolidation of the past few SoF years. There would be opportunities for the local SoF planning group to meet the Deanery group so as to create a more detailed approach for next year.
  4. The Easter morning service with Confirmation would be at 6am (5am as the clocks go back) followed by Easter Eucharists at the usual times. Information is in the booklets.
  5. April 23rd is St George’s Day when a special event is being planned, involving the uniformed organisations, a picnic in the Abbey Grounds and a procession into Church for a service. Fr Leonard said the Mayor and relevant Town Councillors were supporting this and, hopefully following this event, some of the organisations might wish to develop closer links with the church. Participating schools and groups would be asked to organise their own activities. If wet, everyone would meet in church. Fr Leonard asked that if anyone felt they could help to get in touch with the PCC Secretary. He added that,

hopefully, there would be a Chinese dragon present and maybe a knight on a steed!

  1. Secretary’s Notices

Following a letter sent to Mr D Lloyd, Chair of the Friends of the Parish Church, the Secretary reported that he had received acknowledgement of the letter which would be discussed at their meeting on 6th February. Miss Anderson advised that the letter had been circulated to the Friends’ members.

  1. Matters for report from Churches/Halls
  2. Mr Cottey reported that the Parish Hall, Watermoor had made a significant excess of income over expenditure (over £7000) this year.
  3. The Parish Centre security had been upgraded with the insertion of two glass panels in the door leading to the offices which was also protected by an electronic entry system.
  1. Matters for Report from Churches Together in Cirencester
  2. Fr Howard drew the meeting’s attention to the Week of Christian Unity and Holocaust Day.
  3. He also advised that the free Christmas lunch had been successful but quite stressful for the organisers. As a result, the current committee had stood down. It is hoped a new group can be formed to take over.
  1. Celebrating Reader Ministry and Communion Assistants

a. Fr Leonard referred to the communication from Bishop Rachel regarding Reader Ministry and the new

plans for appointing Communion Assistants. He said there would be a service to celebrate the work

and commitment of all the Lay Readers and it was hoped this might also encourage others to consider

this all-important aspect of Christian ministry.

b. The appointment of Communion Assistants no longer needs the approval of the Bishop. Under new
plans the PCC will receive any nominations which will then receive final approval from the
Incumbent. After discussion it was agreed that those nominated would serve for seven years and be
renewed when the Electoral Roll was revised.

It was felt helpful to have laminated lists of the ‘approved’ Communion Assistants in the vestries of
the churches.

  1. AOB
    Miss Anderson said that she thought the churches and their activities were not advertised enough in the various public media. There was nothing in the current Cirencester pack given to visitors via the Tourist Office. She recommended a colour three fold leaflet, properly printed. Tewkesbury Abbey and Gloucester Cathedral both have entries in various booklets as places of interest for visitors, so maybe we should be adding our own Parish Church and Holy Trinity. The new town ‘app’, overseen by Mr David Fowles, was also mentioned.
  1. Date of the Next Meeting:
    Wednesday 24th February 2016 in St Lawrence Church Centre at 7.45pm

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