Held on 15/12/2009 at 8:00 p.m. at Milton House, Wet Lane, Draycott.
2. Attendance,
apologies and welcome
6a. Church refurbishment- community payback
Sue
opened the meeting with a prayer. Tricia Heckbert took the chair.
|
Present David Cheetham Richard
Dingley Sylvia Dingley Chris Green Tricia
Heckbert Colette Jeff |
DC
RD SD CG TH CJ |
Tricia
Lumley Sue
Rose Victor
Skinner Apologies Thea
Oliver Barry
Rose |
TL SR VS TO BR |
The minutes were agreed as
an accurate record, subject to some minor typographical amendments.
3a. (book review in Church
Newsletter) Nikki Devitt had written one.
3b. (meeting with Nikki and
Cathy Lowe) Arranged for 20th January.
(nothing raised formally)
The supervisor for community
work by offenders has been in touch with David, and will come and visit in the
new year. We don’t know what routine of work will be suggested, and will have
to be flexible. We should be as welcoming as possible and let them know that
their work is appreciated. DC would try to be there most of the time they were
working, and it would be useful if others could also be there when possible.
The initial jobs would
include removing old paintwork (especially in the porch), and hacking back
decayed plaster. We might have to put up with some weeks of the church being a
mess, and make alternative arrangements for our services.
i.
Enclosing
the north choir aisle
David had previously
circulated and discussed his ideas for this- it would involve the boxing in of
a portion of the church east of the north transept (kitchen) and north of the
chancel (using stud walling to fill up to the
two arches overhead). It would incorporate two doors- one from the
kitchen area, another from the choir.
This was proposed formally
to the PCC by TH and seconded by CG. All were in favour. BR and TO had
previously expressed their approval.
ACTIONS:
SR to approach husband Piers
to assess the stud walling job with a view to putting in a bid to carry it out
himself. NB. He would need scaffolding/ tower to be supplied.
DC to finalise plans with
the architect (George Chedburn), and then apply for a faculty to approve the
works. NB. This could probably not be done under de minimis rules, but it would be helpful to have the support of
Mr. Chedburn as he sits on the DAC.
ii.
Cupboards
RD approved the replacement
of wardrobe, chest and sideboard in the vestry with cupboards along the back
wall or on the west wall. We could re-site the old pew.
iii.
Pin
board
RD also thought we should
have a ‘pin board’ along the north and south walls of the church between the
top of the radiators and the bottom of the windows. We could then do without
the movable boards at the back of the church. There was approval for this
arrangement.
iv.
Seating
The chairs had been very
durable but were inadequate both as to comfort and appearance. This was high on
our ‘wish list’ of things to put right.
v.
Flooring
SR thought that it would
greatly enhance the space and its flexibility if the floor were uniformly
covered. At present, the chairs are most often used to simply replace the pews,
partly because there is such a distinct central aisle.
vi.
Disabled
access
We must be careful that any
developments do not hinder disabled access. The church entrance could be
equipped with a ramp.
We have some temporary lighting. Will wait for Thea to
arrange something more permanent. (NB. Also in chancel – blue plastic covering
over the organ. This was still needed for the moment but would be cleared away
as soon as possible).
Are we going to switch printing from Kings of Wessex
school to the church office in Cheddar?
We reviewed the options and found that it was 5p per
sheet for black and white in the church office, and 4.1 in Kings of Wessex. A
drawback of the school was that it did not operate over the summer.
ACTION: Recommend
carrying on with the school for printing- partly due to cost, partly because it
has worked well up to now- and also it is less work for us.
The meeting was very approving of the ‘relaunch’ of
the newsletter under its new editors, and wishes them well for the future.
The LMG are supporting the Diocesan course, produced
by the environmental group. Title is ‘Love for the Future’ and it will be
released in January. It has 6 sessions and has a DVD.
We have some support from other churches. The
Methodists and Roman Catholics would like to be involved. The Baptists are
interested but would like to inspect the course material first. Hilary Thomas
has offered to co-ordinate the groups.
ACTION: SR to ask
Hilary Thomas to make a contribution to the next magazine(s).
SR wants to arrange the timetable to allow her to stay
after the service for coffee. This may sometimes be facilitated by having
someone else lead the service in Cheddar, allowing SR to arrive late. However a
longer term arrangement is required that would reduce or eliminate the need to
go from one service to another so quickly.
RS asked for feedback on the new services. We voiced
some opinions- generally the consensus was that we like them.
Looking forward to our joint service on the 31st
Jan, DC suggested that we just sing the hymns, as the tunes of the Gloria etc.
be unfamiliar to Cheddar folk.
DC said that the wire door designed to close over the
wooden one at the back was to be removed, as it is no longer functional. He
proposed the same for an iron curtain rail that was no longer in use. The
meeting agreed.
ACTION: DC to
remove these items to the recycling centre.
There is £1800 in the general fund current account and
£4515 in the deposit. There is £10,600 in the fabric fund (taking the current
and deposit accounts together).
Parish share for next year will cost us an extra
£1000. This partly reflects the increased attendance.
DC asked everyone concerned to make out end-of-year
accounts (Linda Whittle- Children’s Society; Tricia Heckbert, Christian Aid).
DC asked about the Friends of Somerset Churches and
Chapels- we had agreed to subscribe but he had not heard from them this year.
ACTION: CG/RD (and
anyone else!) to find out what was happening with our subscription.
SR had just been to see the school play, which was
very good.
The school are going to do a ‘sort of’ Christingle
service this Friday.
We have invited all children to activities between 3-5
pm this Saturday.
(Defer, as Thea is away).
Pulpit exchange worked well. There will be another one
in February.
Next year’s Pentecost celebrations- a ‘children’s
day’, once more at Flagstaff Farm.
Ken Brown is organising a young person’s trip to
Greenbelt.
There is a ‘Worship without Words’ event planned for
31st January- watch this space!
The next readership training for Chris and Nikki would
be on 31st January- a pity as this coincides with the joint service.
They had recently carried out visits to a funeral director and a crematorium as
part of their funeral ministry training.
TL had recently attended Deanery Synod, which had been
very good. Topics included Christian Aid and the Environmental Group.
ACTION: We should
bring up environmental issues in a forthcoming PCC.
SR reported that the new curate would be ordained on 4th
July at Wells cathedral. Her name is Christine Butler. She is currently
training at Durham.
21st January 2010- 8pm at SR’s house
(Yeoddens); 3rd March 2010- 8pm (tba)
11th April 2010- APCM