St. Mary’s Church, Haynes – PCC Meeting
Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday May 28th 2019 at 7.45pm in The Stable
Present: Revd Dean Henley (Chair), Ann Adams, Jennifer Hayward (Churchwardens), Nick Cullum, Jan Diffey, Warren Foot, Amy Johnston, Julie Longbottom, Valerie Oertel, Carol Watts, Elizabeth White, Mike White
DH opened the meeting with prayer
DH welcomed members to the new PCC, especially welcoming Amy Johnston as a new member
Apologies: Sally Cripsey
Election of Officers
Vice Chair: Valerie Oertel was proposed by MW, seconded by NC and elected unanimously
Secretary: Elizabeth White was proposed by VO, seconded by JD and elected unanimously
Treasurer: Julie Longbottom was proposed by JD, seconded by AA and elected unanimously.
DH thanked these people for undertaking the offices.
Declaration of Eligibility Forms for newly appointed Trustees
All PCC members are obliged to complete a form for their eligibility for office . AJ completed form. Please note these forms are stored securely separately from PCC Minutes.
The Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 12th March and of the short Extraordinary Meeting (to approve the accounts) of Sunday 14th April were signed as a correct record.
Matters arising from 12/03/19
Smartwater Renewal: AA reported that this has been done by Mr Kinns
Electricity Smart Meter: JL to make further enquiries about whether this is possible for the church, both in terms of the type of meter, and the strength of the mobile signal Action: JL
PA System: NC had met up with a man to discuss new PA system for the church but he had not come back with a proposal. The lectern microphone is now working well but NC commented that those doing readings from this microphone should be encouraged to project their voice. NC said there is a receiver under the Bishop’s chair which would work well with one lapel mike and there is the possibility of providing a fixed, small discreet mike on the altar. DH said he was happy to wear a lapel mike but if it started ‘booming’ or making noises he would abandon it. Christopher Strong had asked to wear a lapel mike when taking services. VO asked if SC could wear a lapel mike when taking services, as although she has a strong voice, she tends to move around, and takes some of the bigger services such as the Crib Service when the background noise is loud and she cannot be heard at the back. A lapel mike should help with this.
Visit from the Historic Churches and Monuments Society – Ampthill : MW said that this visit on 21st March had been very successful There were about 20 visitors, they were extremely interested in the history of the church, they made a donation, and expressed interest in returning for the Church Teas in the summer.
Rose Bush in Memory of Jean Limbrey: DH said that since the rose had been planted one of Jean’s daughters had died suddenly, and the other daughter had asked whether a second bush could be planted alongside in her memory. MW said he would liaise with NC about the planting and DH to speak to daughter. Action: DH to speak to family, MW and NC
Chairman’s Report: DH referred to his e-mail, circulated to all, re pastoral reorganisation in the Deanery. The Bishop wants to lose 2 posts, Harlington being one, and one other. Our Deanery does not pay all its Parish Share and therefore there is a need to save money. DH does not anticipate that any more parishes will join the Benefice of Campton, Clophill and Haynes
Serious Incident reporting: DH drew attention to the importance of this and said that if he was aware of any such incidents (information re this had been previously circulated) he would have to report them to the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer.
Churchwardens’ Report: AA and JH have now been formally sworn in at a service conducted by the Archdeacon. AA gave the following report.
Church Gutters. Mr Kinns has cleaned all the gutters and replaced a slipped slate. He also applied smartwater to all lead on the roof.
Electrics Peter Morgan has completed a check of all church electrics and a certificate will be issued. He was called back last week as the light over the organ did not work after the checks had been completed. This has now been repaired.
Quinquennial Report We are pleased to report that there was only one item in Category 1 (urgent dangerous items that must be repaired within 6 months) This was the cross on one of the graves (Nellie Rault) which had become detached from the gravestone. MW and some of the Working Party have now removed this cross. As this is a War Grave, MW will contact the War Graves Commission to inform them it is in need of repair Action: MW
A few areas were Category 2 (essential work, repair to be carried out within next 2 years) – mainly joints that need repointing
Work is also needed under Category 3 (work to be completed within the quinquennium) -repairs to the stonework.
We would like to recommend that the work under Category 2 be left for the time being and next year we could get a quote for this work and some or all of items in Category 3.
The PCC in agreement with this
The PAT testing and fire extinguishers service is due in July this year.
AA also reported that a swarm of bees had been removed from the external wall of the tower but there are still bees visible at the top of the Tower. JD had noticed there were large numbers of dead bees in the kitchen area of the church, and on the carpet outside. These have now been removed and there is now no evidence of dead bees.
Christian Aid: AA said that many people said they did not receive CA envelopes – they had thrown them away thinking they were advertising leaflets. Many people did not answer the door, or did not have money and several of the collectors did not want to collect again
Discussion followed as to whether to continue the collection next year. The money has not yet been counted so decision to be made at future PCC meeting.
JD commented that the Hunger Lunches had been very successful but some said that they involved only a few people. JL suggested that a slip could be put in each envelope saying to put the money through the collector’s door. Decision on CA collection deferred.
Quinquennial DH asked what was said about damp. Damp was only referred to as a side issue, not as a main problem. DH said that David Llewellyn should be invited to the next PCC meeting to speak to his report and answer questions Action: JH
DH raised the issue of Roof Alarms. The Diocese wants churches to have roof alarms in case of lead theft and is offering grants for these. St. Mary’s does not have much lead, the mobile signal is not strong, the alarm would need to be monitored and management fees paid, and we are covered by Ecclesiastical Insurance for lead theft up to £15,000. Therefore DH was not keen to proceed and all were in agreement.
Treasurer’s Report. JL spoke to her accounts to date which had been already circulated.
The income to date is £16,335 and the expenses are £13,333 although these do not include the last month’s Parish Share. The £1000 Churchyard Grant from the Parish Council has just come in. MW thanked JL on behalf of the PCC for the clear accounts.
Fumes from the Boiler House MW said that on several occasions people had smelled a strong smell of oil on entering the church and feared there was an oil leak. He said that there is a clear hole between the Boiler House and the church (which can be seen from both sides) which is a fire risk and therefore when the ride on tractor is started in the Boiler House the fumes come into the church. Advice has been sought and this gap can be filled by specific fire resistant expandable pillows. AA will contact Alan Morgan and the builders about this hole and all were in agreement that the fire resistant pillows were the way to proceed
Action: AA to contact AM and builders, MW re work
Church Notice Boards. EW said there is only one small notice board in church which is full of policies, and more boring information. It would be good to have another Notice board for more specific church information but there is a problem with space. JD suggested that perhaps we could recover the back of the standalone notice board where children’s work is displayed to make it more attractive. The porch noticeboard also needs recovering in material. This item to be reviewed at a future PCC.
Messy Church. AA said that Messy Church has had between 3 and 5 children and the subject and activity is linked to the theme of the Second Sunday Service. There will be no Messy Church for the next 3 months as the leaders are away.
Fundraising and Future Events:
Summer Fair 6th July – Helpers required for Book Stall and Bric a Brac
Church Teas – July and August – Organisation in hand for these (thanks to Gill and Alan Morgan) Meeting on Thursday 27th June 2.30pm in church to set up in preparation for the Teas.
Ukulele Evening – 26th October in Mission Hall followed by Ukulele group at Mission Hall Service on 27th
Ceilidh 2020 7th March 2020. This will be the 10th Ceilidh
Correspondence None. EW circulates all correspondence received by e-mail
AOB AA said there had been 2 Stable Bookings for October 2019
Dates of future Meetings:
Tuesday July 9th – Now rearranged for Tuesday 16th July
Tuesday 10th September 2019
Tuesday 12th November 2019
Tuesday 14th January 2020
Tuesday 10th March 2020
APCM – Tuesday 21st April 2020
The meeting closed with The Grace at 8.55pm