Sacred Heart Waterlooville
Parish Pastoral Council Meeting
Minutes of the meeting held on the 8th May 2014
Present:
Father Kevin, John Paul Lyttle, Sister Margaret, Joy Hastilow, John McCormack , Craig Read, Christine Hartridge, Mark Holland, Mike Francis
05.14.01 Opening Prayers:
Father Kevin opened the meeting at 7.00pm with the reading for next Sunday and prayers.
05.14.02. Apologies for Absence:
Richard Barclay (Chairman ) Jo Austin
05.14.03. Minutes of the Previous Meeting:
The minutes for the previous meeting, held on 13th March 2014 were accepted as a true and accurate record.
05.14.04. Parish Priest's Report:
Father Kevin reported that the Easter services and special meetings had been well attended, and that the recent South African Mass had been very successful and enjoyable. The Parish continued to be extremely busy, with the issue of the number of baptisms to be dealt with under a separate agenda item. He highlighted a number of events to take place later in the year, including two First Communion celebrations, One Mass Sunday, the Parish Meeting which will take place in October, and hopefully the parish celebration of John Paul becoming a Deacon.
He explained that it had been decided that it was not presently appropriate pastorally to be involved in a new fundraising initiative, based on a similar programme to the Living Our Faith one but with monies being retained by parishes, given the tremendous responses made for the earlier programme.
05.14.05. Baptism- parish policy
In order to deal effectively and appropriately with the increasing number of Baptisms being requested, Father Kevin outlined a new parish-based initiative, which would mean that new parents would be directed to the Baptism catechists after attending mass, who would then complete the necessary paperwork, outline godparent /witness choice requirements and invite them to attend an Information Meeting. There would also be a requirement for one of the parents to furnish their own Baptismal Certificate. Craig Read suggested that the relevant information being available on the parish website could preclude many initial calls to the Parish Secretary.
05.14.06 Living Our Faith
Those, whose direct debits are now coming to an end, are to be contacted by letter with a suggestion that if possible, their commitment could continue but be directed to the parish.
05.14.07 John Paul Lyttle : IT group
John Paul reported that a new laptop was now being utilized to support the masses, and outlined areas in which it could be developed, including a greater use of PowerPoint presentations to underpin knowledge of the sacraments. It was felt that a detailed audit of existing software/hardware, along with identification of new suitable material, was needed.
He explained that a new Group CMBC (Catholic Men’s Beer Club) was now meeting on a weekly basis, and had offered to arrange a barbeque for One Mass Sunday.
He reported on the success of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during Lent, and was continuing to develop further opportunities, for which he would be asking people to sign up to.
He
05.14.08 A.O.B
Welcome area for new parishioners: it would appear that there had been a misunderstanding following an earlier request for volunteers, and that the request would to be repeated in the Newsletter.
Messy Church Update: As Kirsty was not present it was not possible to have an update on the Messy Church - but the need to ensure convenient timetabling and clearly identified clear up responsibilities was recorded.
Car Park Use: a potential difficulty with unauthorized use of the car park had been identified. Following a discussion it was agreed that a small group be tasked to discuss the matter further: John McCormack , Craig Read, Joy Hastilow Christine Hartridge and Mike Francis volunteered and would plan to meet before the next meeting.
Children’s Mass and others: John reported that Father Kevin had offered the opportunity of a Children’s Liturgy taking place four times a year. It was agreed that it could provide an excellent opportunity for interculturation.
John McCormack outlined an initiative that Nina was planning, to support families experiencing financial hardship, by, one a fortnight on a Friday morning, offering a ‘50p shop’, at which small amounts of key items would be available, along with suitable clothing etc.
Craig Read reported that he had been able to identify a source for First Aider badges for c £3, for those suitably qualified parishioners who had volunteered. It was agreed e should order 10.
He announced that the Parish Carol Concert would be on 18 December.
He queried what was happening regarding the development of a new , smaller grotto in the grounds of the church garden. Craig agreed to investigate the current situation with regards to the stones from the old grotto.
Mike Francis reported that the link to the parish website was not secure, and following discussion it was agreed that Mark would investigate the updating of the website.
Joy Hastilow gave her apologies for the next meeting.
The meeting finished at 8.50 with prayers
05.14.09 Dates of Next Meeting: 7pm in the Church Centre:
Thursday 10 July 2014
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