St Mary’s Pastoral Council
Minutes of Meeting held on Wednesday 8th October 2014
Present:- Roger Townley (Chair), Frances O’Brien, Mary McQueen, Pat Nicol, Sharon Murdoch, Mary-Rose Wightman
Apologies:- Fr Eamonn, Francis Breslin
Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the 10th of September were read and approved.
PPC Correspondence Box:- A letter was received in the PPC box expressing concerns about the amount of collections there have been recently, i.e two for the retired priests fund and two for the church hall, which were in quick succession. The writer also requested that parishioners should also have access to a balance sheet regarding the church hall. Members discussed this and concluded that the retired Priest collections are compulsory and determined by the Diocese. As for the Hall collections, it was felt if people cannot afford to give, then they should not. As Fr Eamonn is on holiday, this letter will be brought to his attention on his return.
Embracing Change:- Sharon had a meeting at Largs Academy with a cross section of Catholic children re their views on their faith and attending mass etc. She collated their responses and presented them to the Embracing Change consultation meeting that she attended on behalf of the Parish. A sample of their comments was read out at the meeting.
Volunteers are still required for the success of any future Youth Group and Children’s Liturgy.
Sharon had researched children’s books for the bookshelf at the back of the church and the list will be passed onto Fr Eamonn for him to make the final choice.
Forward Planning:- Fran said that the Bereavement Group will do most of the organising for the Mass for the deceased of the Parish on Wednesday 26th November 2014. The Parish Council have been asked to help with the teas and coffees afterwards. Fran said she has booked the hall for afterwards.
Roger will contact Ron Bissett re Advent House groups. The idea of perhaps holding more Candles in the Dark evenings was also discussed and of holding a ‘Taize’ evening. This would of course be dependent on someone being available to host such evenings. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Communications:- Pat said she wished to do further research re the Twitter account for the Parish and is waiting to speak to a priest in a neighbouring Church who has just set up an account for his Parish. She wants to find out about his experiences so far and the parishioners response to it. She will report back at the next meeting.
Proposed School Merger:- The topic was discussed and it is felt that the plans for a new super school in Largs are being ‘steamrollered’ through and that Parishioners perhaps are not aware of the impact that this may have on future of Catholic Education in Largs. A series of Public meetings have been arranged in Largs and it was felt that Parishioners should be made aware of these. Notification of these dates will be put in this week’s newsletter.
A.O.B . Lounge has been booked for Thursday 11th December at 7pm for the PPC annual Christmas Dinner.
Date of Next Meeting: - Wednesday 5th November 2014 at 7pm.