MINUTES OF PCC MEETING -   Wednesday 14th December 2011      


Minutes of the P.C.C. Meeting held on Wednesday 14th December 2011 at the home of Moira Peden.

PRESENT John Davison (chair), June Davison, Ken Denholm, Moira Peden, Margaret Denholm, Barbara Lamb (minutes), Margaret Hammond, Joan Davison, Revd June Barras, Revd Aubrey Richardson, Bill Rowntree, Vera Taylor, Audrey Lamb, David Hammond.

WELCOME  The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. He reminded members that the original intention for the monthly PCC meetings was to have them last for 1 hour. In view of the length of the last two meetings he has concluded that an hour is unrealistic (especially if people have to give reports and we want meaningful discussions) and so he proposed that the time target for meetings be relaxed to 1½hrs. The PCC members agreed.

PRAYERS  were led by Revd June Barras.

APOLOGIES  Revd Canon Janet Brearley, Revd Margaret Hobrough.

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING  The minutes of the meeting on 15/11/2011 were accepted as a true record.

MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES
• Christmas crib is now travelling and doing its rounds. Parish Christmas Card (advertising services) has been distributed. UNICEF Jar of Grace is in church and being ‘filled’.
• ‘Terrier’ is bought and in church.
• Moira felt the Advent Carol Service had been most enjoyable and successful and thanked all those involved in its organisation. The service certainly had been well received generally.
• New Paschal Candle Stand to be bought by Ken and Margaret - The Area Dean recommends that the PCC discusses and formally approves any gift donated to the church (including the candle stand) before that gift is then installed and used in the church. The chairman established that no-one on the PCC had any objection to Ken and Margaret’s gift and thanked them once again for their kind donation.
• The shortage of service leaflets has hopefully been sorted; Ken has agreed to collect copies (35) from Warkworth each week. Revd June also agreed to liaise with Ken and help with the collection of leaflets on occasions. Discussion took place regarding the possibility of copying our own sets of leaflets but it was agreed to stick with the current arrangements at the present time and review the situation if issues arose.

CORRESPONDENCE
• The treasurer has received a letter from the National Churches Trust inviting us to support their Christmas Appeal. In view of the fact we have already decided upon our charity giving this Christmas, members decided to file the letter without further action.
• The chairman had received information from the Emily Easten Trust set up to help over 60 year old spinsters who are baptised in the Church of England and who need financial support. The information was noted and placed on file.

REPORTS
Churchwardens’ Report
The Quinquennial inspection has been carried out and the architect is returning on 16th December to sort a couple of minor matters.
Roof repairs been carried out by Hillerby’s of Blyth. The problem has been found and hopefully repaired.
We are still waiting for quotations regarding a new lighting system. The wardens feel that if no progress has been made by the end of the year we should seek quotations from other electricians.
A portable gas heater (with gas bottle) has been offered to replace the electric heater in the vestry. Members felt that this should prove more economical and agreed that the wardens replace the old electric heater as soon as possible.
The wardens alerted the PCC that the three year agreement for servicing the boiler was coming to an end and suggested we could now shop around for a cheaper firm to carry out the servicing. The treasurer agreed to get quotations.
Treasurer’s Report
The recent expenses paid to two visiting vicars have now been reclaimed.
We have paid for the annual servicing of the fire extinguishers. The treasurer feels this annual charge to Chubb is very expensive and wondered about alternatives. Bill said he had experience of maintaining extinguishers and would look into the matter and report back.
We have paid for the printing of the parish Christmas cards.
The treasurer informed members that the annual organ service should have been done in August but has not yet been carried out. Revd Richardson agreed to give the company a ring to chase them up.
Income since the last meeting has included fees for a recent burial and £30 for sale of cards in the church.
Deanery Synod Report
Revd June Barras and David Hammond attended the last Deanery Synod meeting which was “an enjoyable and exciting meeting”. The main speaker, Robert Warren, used pictures of angels and led discussion about ‘the angels of the church’. Groups talked about their thoughts and feelings and then shared them. ‘What motivates us in our faith?’ was the main theme and it was felt that such a discussion would be beneficial to us within the PCC or the congregation.
Local Ministry Group Report
(our LMG representatives on the PCC are Revd June Barras, Margaret Hammond and Barbara Lamb)
The LMG has recently reviewed what it has achieved and looked at what still has to be done.
Christmas services were also discussed and sorted. However, it was felt that organising services was not the main aim of the Local Ministry Group. Revd Barras reminded PCC members of the original threefold aims of the LMG, namely: (1) outreach to young people, (2) uniting the two parishes in worship, and (3) supporting people in their vocation. She explained that the aims have been met to varying degrees, although the extent of this may not have been fully appreciated through lack of communication. The group hopes to address the “lack of communication” issue in January. Also in the coming year the LMG will seek to broaden its brief according to the current guidelines for such groups.
Margaret H. voiced disappointment and concern that the Sunday School numbers at Acklington have dropped drastically. Children appear to have many other attractions on a Sunday morning and it is quite a challenge to get them involved in Sunday School and church life. We somehow need to make activities more exciting and get children (and their parents) motivated to attend and support.

FUTURE PURCHASES/IMPROVEMENTS
David suggested we could commemorate the 150th celebration by purchasing (from the money raised) a sound/hearing system for the church.
Treasurer Joan urged caution with spending proposals because, although we have at present £4,465 in the general fund, we need a minimum of £2,000 to start the year. The cost of the quinquennial will be £500+. The boiler and organ need to be serviced. The next bill for oil will be around £600 and, most sobering of all, the quota for next year will be £10,000.
Ken reminded members that the lighting issues still needed sorting out and, in his opinion, a new improved lighting system was more of a priority than a sound system.
A debate then followed as to whether an improved lighting system was more essential than the installation of a sound system. Various views and opinions were voiced and valid reasons were given in support of both. It is obviously important that the congregation need to both clearly see and hear what takes place during services.
The treasurer informed the meeting that we had £8,000 in the restricted fund but she believed that this money was not intended for such projects but rather held in reserve for when major restoration work is required.
As time was running short and there were still other items on the agenda, the chairman decided to end the discussion stating that we would return to the debate on “proposed future spending” at the next meeting.

CHURCH FLOWERS
Joan asked, in view of cut flowers becoming very expensive to buy, how members felt about just filling two vases for the Sunday services rather than having the pedestal as well. This prompted Margaret D. to highlight an issue regarding the two altar vases which had been donated by the family of a past church warden. There has been a meeting with the Area Dean who advised that the vases are to be removed from the shelf behind the altar during Advent and then not to be replaced. Margaret D. expressed concern that if the vases are put into a cupboard or placed on a window ledge then they may not get used for their intended purpose.
The chairman stated that as flowers are not placed in church during the current advent period the issue could be held over to the next meeting when, hopefully, the PCC members could formulate an agreed flowers/vases policy which meets with everyone’s approval. Meanwhile he advised Vera and Margaret H. (who have volunteered to display flowers for the Christmas period) just to use their discretion and place flowers where they think is appropriate using any vases or pedestals as necessary.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Revd Barras pointed out that several people tripped over the steps at the church gate after the school service last night. She asked if we could consider the possibility of reflective strips being placed along the step edges to aid visibility in the dark. Ken said he would look into to this matter.
Margaret D. informed members that she had booked the village hall for the church Summer and Autumn Fairs next year, Saturday 9th June and Saturday 10th November respectively.

DATE AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING
Barbara proposed that we could perhaps forego a meeting in January and have our next PCC meeting at the beginning of February. The chairman asked for a show of hands and the majority view supported the proposal. It was then decided the next meeting will take place on Wednesday 1st February 2012 at Moira’s (20 Acklington Village) beginning at 7.00 p.m.

CLOSING PRAYER
The meeting finished with the Grace at 8.35 p.m.