WONSTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 21st June 2010 at Red House, Sutton Scotney.
Present: Revd. Sue Foster (Chairman), Col Peter Barrett (Churchwarden),
Mr Wally Taylor (Treasurer), Dr. Angela Lewis (Secretary), Dr Sarah Hobhouse, Mr Peter Clarke, Mrs Sandy Fitzgerald, Mrs Bettina Betton.
Apologies: Capt Andrew Betton, Mr Nicholas Wood, Mr Steve Mullins, Mr George Gray.
1. Minutes of Meeting 22nd March 2010.
In the opening paragraph Mr Clarke should have been spelt with an ‘e’.
The minutes were accepted as a true record by those present and signed by the Rector
2. Matters Arising
Dr Hobhouse reported that all the paperwork for the sponsored cycle ride had now been completed and there were no further actions required until the ride took place.
Col Barrett has contacted Moulding Builders about the lime mortar repairs but as yet has heard nothing from them.
Revd Foster has mentioned Mr Gray’s concerns regarding the behaviour of the Church Commissioners to Brian Walker, who will further the matter at Diocesan level.
Mr Clarke inquired whether Mr Taylor had spoken about the Loseby graves. Mr Taylor said that this would be mentioned later.
Chancel handrail: Revd Foster reported how pleased she was with the handrail and that many people had commented on the added security and confidence it gave them.
The Flower Festival was thought to have been a success, having raised £491 before taking gift aid into account. It was remarked upon that it had been good to involve local organisations in the activity, and a further idea would be to produce a calendar for sale with photographs from the Festival and other events through the church year such as the Harvest Festival and fete. Mrs Fitzgerald reported some new interest in stitching kneelers. An interesting comparison was drawn with the Flower Festival at Bullington Church on the same Sunday, when a relatively large amount of money had been taken, possibly due to the inclusion of a cake stall and a raffle.
Mr Clarke reported that plans for the open gardens on the 27th June were well on track. Teas would be in his garden and plants for sale at The Old House.
Church Meadow has now been cut so if raking has taken place, parking may be possible there; if not, James Landale has kindly given permission to use his field for parking.
3. Parish Share 2011.
Mr Taylor explained that there is a suggestion of a 3.4% rise on last year’s share, giving a figure of £22,656 for 2011.
Revd Foster explained that there appeared to be a 3% stipend increase, however there was a 1.5% clawback because of the N.I. increase. Mr Clarke suggested that the Benefice as a whole composed a reply to the Deanery. There will be a Benefice meeting in early July to which PCC Treasurers will be invited. Mr Clarke felt that a resolution would be needed from tonight’s meeting as to whether it would accept the proposed rise. The Rector proposed that the meeting with the churchwardens and treasurers should take place before a decision was made. Mr Clarke suggested that we might respond saying that we note the Deanery’s request and that it would be reasonable to accept up to 3.4% increase.
The general fund has a deficit of £1500 after six months but the fete is still to come. Hopefully Holy Trinity’s share of the fete income will cover this annual deficit (£3000).
4. Churchyard Repairs.
Mr Wood and Col Barrett had noted some dangerous and unstable gravestones. Mr Clarke had contacted Blackwell and Moody who have visited the site and found further repairs to be necessary. They have estimated £856 plus VAT to drill with steel pins to the bases to restabilise and to sink cracked gravestones.
Mr Taylor noted that if the bill exceeded £1000 then VAT could be reclaimed. Mr Clarke suggested sinking any table graves that needed support.
The meeting agreed to accept the quote.
The Rector requested a supply of gravemarkers, for which Mr Clarke suggested that stone numbers already stored under the belltower could be used.
Revd Foster has written to the parish council, requesting records of parish council burials so that their graves can be found.
5. Fete.
Dr Lewis mentioned the possibility of a barbecue for the stallholders after the fete, and offered to discuss this with Henrietta Wood. It was thought that a charge of £5 per head could be made.
6. Fundraising.
It was generally thought that a calendar for sale was a good idea.
Dr Hobhouse suggested a cookbook with favourite recipes from the parish. The Rector thought that Richard Vellacott might help with printing.
7. Rector’s Report.
Revd Foster was pleased to report a good attendance at Palm Sunday and other Easter services.
She thanked the members of the committee for covering Capt Betton’s various duties in his absence.
The Christian Fellowship was continuing to meet on a monthly basis at Ruth Guy’s house and was very well supported. The Rector recorded her thanks to Ruth Guy for this.
She reported several deaths recently at Sutton Manor however was pleased that the contact with Sutton Manor had improved so that she had more time to establish a relationship with the residents.
She was also grateful to Karen Kousseff for representing her at Sutton Manor when she had been unavailable.
Revd Foster explained that she was finding the workload on many Sundays very heavy, with up to five services to conduct. Various options were discussed and all present agreed that she needed more support where possible and that she would suggest to the Benefice the workload that she was able to cope with. Colonel Barrett suggested that Canon Job had previously said that he was always willing to help out at Holy Trinity.
To avoid a clash with Hunton Church, Harvest Festival would be at 10 o’clock on the 3rd October.
8. Treasurer’s Report.
This had already been largely covered. Revd Foster congratulated Mr Taylor on the charitable giving that Holy Trinity was again managing.
Mrs Fitzgerald reported that she was having difficulty recruiting collectors for Christian Aid Week. Dr Hobhouse suggested putting envelopes in local shops might be a solution. The Rector thanked Mrs Fitzgerald for coordinating the collections.
9. The Churchwarden’s Report.
Colonel Barrett will continue to follow up Mouldings for their quotation on the lime mortar.
He reported difficulty covering bell ringing for all services, particularly during the summer holiday period.
A request had been received from the ringers at Evercreech to ring appeal in Holy Trinity to celebrate a forthcoming wedding in the parish. A discussion followed about payment for such visits.
In general a donation would be given by the ringers, however ringing a peal causes wear and tear on the bells and that this should be reflected in the money donated. Mr Clarke suggested that each case should be considered in its merits and suggested £10 per rope for this particular request.
Dr Hobhouse volunteered to represent the PCC at Karen Kousseff’s priesting service at Winchester Cathedral on the 3rd July at 6.30.
On the matter of car parking the situation was becoming critical at funerals and weddings and Revd Foster suggested that an area of the field should be fenced off for use as a matter of urgency; there had been several accidents in the ditch recently.
Mr Clarke mentioned the very successful use of matting for parking surface at Longstock.
The use of a portable fence to create forty spaces was discussed to avoid planning permission issues, although it would still be necessary to reduce the hump into the field.
Mr Taylor explained that the land belonged to the Church Commissioners but it would still be necessary to compensate James Gray for loss of income. Mr Taylor noted that there were sufficient funds in the fabric fund. Revd Foster would be happy to approach James Gray once a decision has been made although it would be helpful to know where Captain Betton had reached with his previous negotiations.
10. Deanery Synod.
Mrs Fitzgerald reported that the Deanery Celebration Day had been a great success with over two hundred people attending and thanked Col Barrett for his support on the day, however she was disappointed that there had been no display from Holy Trinity. She concluded that the event was worth repeating in the future.
11. AOB.
There was discussion about the speaker system in church having been used at a wedding and then been difficult to restart for the next service. Various options were presented. Mr Taylor suggested that people could bring their own portable sound system. Mr Clarke suggested that the system should be operated by a member of the church or further that detailed instructions could be left; however it was decided to leave things as they are, for the present, and monitor the situation.
Mr Clarke enquired about a possible children’s activity day during the summer holidays. Mrs Betton thought this was unlikely but could be done at Christmas. He also suggested that an estimate should be obtained for the painting of the bell frame as required by the Quinquennial Report. It was thought that Mr Cornick might have this in hand.
Mr Clarke enquired whether an allotment had been taken up for the growing of church flowers but Mrs Fitzgerald felt that, at present, she had not got sufficient time to devote to this despite his suggestion of a contractor to help with rotavation. Mrs Betton suggested that as an alternative people on the flower rota could possibly share the greenery in their gardens more effectively. It was agreed that it would be helpful to have the rota posted on the website and church notice board with a copy for the rectory.
Mr Clarke enquired about the progress of the next Safari Supper, which Mrs Betton said that she would be happy to arrange that when her husband returned from overseas.
Dr Lewis requested approval for obtaining a quotation for the rebinding of Holy Trinity Altar prayer book which was given and could be paid for from the fabric fund.
Revd Foster explained that official recognition was required for Eucharist assistants to obtain a yellow card.
Dr Hobhouse and Captain Betton required this approval and Mrs Fitzgerald, Col Barrett, Mr Taylor and Mr Cornick should be added to the list of assistants.
Mr Mullins had enquired whether it would be possible to hold PCC meetings after Sunday services, however those present agreed that they found evening meetings easier to attend.
Mrs Betton requested that more assistance was required with providing coffee after Benefice services in view of the larger numbers involved. Dr Lewis felt that an electric kettle in the vestry might be helpful.
The installation of a kitchen and lavatory was discussed. Due to the expense of introducing water and difficulties with planning requirements, Dr Hobhouse agreed to make enquiries about the placing of a portable lavatory.
12. Date of next meeting.
The next PCC meeting will be on Monday 6th September, 8pm at Lake House, Norton.
The meeting closed with the Grace.