Minutes of the PCC Meeting

                         Held on Monday 29th January 2024

 

		Action
1	The meeting opened at 19.10 with prayer.
2	Attendance
	·       Dawn Airey (Chair), Jane Bell, Fiona Clarke (Secretary), Elizabeth Holbrook, Alan Palmer, Sally Quincey, and David Wells. ·       Apologies:   Helen Cracknell, Marion Darker, Heidi Ellson, Melanie Hartung,  Ben Haughton-Scales, Livvi Haughton-Scales, Rob Seaman.
3	Previous Minutes
	The Minutes of the Meeting held on 4th November 2023 were agreed by all who were present.
4	Matters Arising
	None
5	Update on Key Priorities – See Appendices 1 – 3.
	1.     Discipleship (DA) – ·       Connect groups- o   The PCC wish to thank Greg C for his time as Connect Group Facilitator and Co-ordinator. o   DA will co-ordinate henceforth. o   Greg’s group to decide on new facilitator at their next meeting on 1st February. Additionally, the venue may be an ongoing issue. o   The Monday evening group are also having issues with venue. The Ock n Dough pub was suggested as a possible venue but that raises additional issues. o   Some people in the congregation, although allocated to a Connect Group, may not wish to attend but may need help. How is not certain. PCC to think about ways to help them. Suggestions include: §   Testimonies to highlight situations where God has helped others. §   Reassurance in Services that people are here to help.   2.     Under 18s (DA-under 11s/ BHS- youth) ·       School’s work – o   Three assemblies led by the Church have been agreed for Holy Week o   Narnia prayer spaces end of November for one year group. o   DA met with Wilby School at Glenvale School. People can apply to join the school (limited number of places) this year. o   DA to talk to Church Wardens re the possibility of a lease. o   DA to produce a wish list for Ruth Walker-Green from PDET, e.g., having a church office in the school.     ·       Youth – o   Third Sundays – Serving Sundays. It has been difficult to persuade the youngsters to do it. They need encouragement. Apart from helping with refreshments and washing up, they could also be asked to do readings or for their whole family to be on welcome duties. It is recognised that this may be scary for them and that they may be self-conscious, but it is good to get them involved.   ·       Gen2 project – o   Sarah is no longer available for the summer as the deanery youth work project is ending.   ·       Socials – o   The Social Team have now stepped down. The PCC wish to thank them for all the events they have organised for the church in the past. o   The Social events seem to have supported the older population within the church, but not so much the new families. o   There will not be a Social Team from now on. o   Social events may be arranged in Connect Groups or shared lunches after Sunday Services.   3.     Wholeness in Jesus/ Wellbeing (DA); Prayer (JBC).  – ·       Bereavement Group – o   Valerie is restarting the Bereavement Support Group commencing 27th February. It will be every Tuesday at The Hub, within Redwell School.	PCC all                     DA DA
6	Finance – See Appendices 4 and 4a
	Treasurers Report (LW) ·       LW did not attend the meeting so EH will email her with any questions from this meeting. ·       FC to advise LW that PCC members will try to send any questions in future to her ahead of each PCC meeting, enabling her to answer them before the meeting or to attend it if necessary. ·       See Appendix 4b for the questions arising from the meeting sent to LW.   Building Fund ·       £1000 has been earmarked for Audio Visual but any invoice will need authorising by the PCC before payment. ·       PCC will need to consider what to do with the remainder of the Building Fund, possibly once a decision has been made re the church’s involvement in Glenvale School as some of the funds may be needed to set up a church office there. ·       Before changing accounts it is prudent to wait until the name of the church has changed.	EH   FC/ All PCC
7	Parish update – see Appendix 5
	·       The name of the church will be changed, hopefully by summer. This will have an impact on: o   The church’s charity number. o   The name on the church’s bank accounts. o   The website. o   The church logo.
8	Approving new church groups/activities
	None this time.
9	Safeguarding Report – See Appendix 6
	·       Safeguarding and safer recruiting are nearly up to date.. ·       All new helpers have done their training. ·       Still some DBS renewals outstanding. ·       The Domestic Abuse Course is not mandatory but is recommended.
10	Deanery synod Report – See Appendix 7
	Nothing to add.
11	Management Leadership Team (MLT) update – See Appendix 8
	Nothing to add.
12	Employment of Parish Administrator – See Appendix 9
	·       6 hours per week. ·       Minimum wage has been increased to £11.44. Equates to £68.64 per week.   DA proposed to increase Amanda’s hourly rate in line with this. EH seconded. All were in favour.
13	Prayers of Love and Faith – see Appendix 10
	·       It was agreed that, if anything is to take place in Gleneagles Church, it would need further discussion. ·       At present, it is at the discretion of Ministers. ·       DA does not intend to do anything within services. ·       PCC were asked if they needed time to think about it, but the consensus was no. ·       If stand-alone services are introduced in future, the PCC would need to discuss it further. ·       It was agreed that some form of teaching on the subject would be of benefit, but details were not discussed, and people would need to opt in as not everyone would be amenable to it so preaching on it in the service may not be the best approach.
14	Dates of next meetings:
	PCC meetings: ·       Monday 18th March 2024 at 19.00 (earlier time) ·       Monday 29th April 2024 APCM Sunday 26th May 2024
15/	The meeting closed with prayer at 20.53.

 

 

 

Appendix 1 – update on Key priority 1: Discipleship

Connect Groups:

Connect groups are still in the process of reshaping their meetings to be in line with the vision and some are still establishing.

 

• Greg Cracknell continues to recover from significant health concerns and has decided to step down from a number of responsibilities including being Connect Group facilitators’ coordinator and being a Connect Group Facilitator also. I will meet with Greg in the coming weeks and offer to meet with the group also.  There are some challenges with Greg’s group in particular due to age and failing health of a number in the group.
• We now have five groups which are all fortnightly:
  • Monday afternoon (Carol Maycock)
  • Monday evening (Elizabeth Holbrook)
  • Wednesday evening (Rob S)
  • Wednesday evening (Ben & Livvi)
  • Thursday morning (Alan P?????)

 

Tuesday Teaching:

We are taking a break from offering extra teaching on Tuesday evenings to make space for Rob, Maria, Ben and Livvi to run the Alpha course, now on Monday evenings starting 22^nd Jan.  There are 6 participants for the course.

 

No decisions for the PCC to make.

 

Revd. DA

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 2 – Under 18s

Under 11s

The Children’s work continues as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children’s ministry:

 

1. We have had another two people join the Sunday morning Rota to help with the children’s group, Mope and Louise. Sally Q will be stepping down from all her church responsibilities from Easter and so there will be a need for someone in the team to step into that role once a month.
2. Rob S continues to lead Ignite and there have been no changes in the team. The numbers for Ignite had remained very low and unsustainable (around 8-13 children).  It was agreed with the Head of Redwell School to do an assembly to advertise the club more.  Michelle and Livvi took that assembly on the 16^th Jan, consequently the following Ignite session had 31 children come!   We are yet to see if there are sustainably higher numbers.  Rob is due to leave the beginning of June ahead of ordination and if the club is to continue a new leader will need to be found.  Currently, there isn’t anyone in the team who feels they can do this.
3. All groups continue using the Energize resource.
4. Redwell School

Livvi and I ran two wellbeing groups with year 6 at school before Christmas.  Ben and I will start another two groups with year 5 just before the February half term.

Livvi is now doing monthly in person assemblies.  We continue to have a very warm relationship with the Head who has asked us to be present at various other events in the school life including numerous school Christmas events and performances.

 

5. Glenvale Park School

We now know that Wilby C of E School will be relocating to Glenvale Park and opening Sep 2024.  At the time of writing, I am due to meet with Ruth Walker- Green (CEO of PDET) and Louise, Head of Wilby School on the 25^th Jan to walk around the new school together and continue discussions about our working relationship.  At the last PCC meeting I advised that I’d had one discussion with PDET about what ‘co-locating a church’ on site might look like.  I have also requested space in the school which could operate as a church parish office.  An example is Werrington Church which meets in the local Church of England Primary School.  A lease has been agreed in which the church pays a set amount a year to the school and can use the school at weekends and evenings.  They also have a church office in the grounds which the church paid for to be built.

 

Clearly there is a wider discussion for PCC to have around this and it’s difficult to know what to discuss when.  I’m having early discussions with the school Head and PDET to see only what is possible and then we can think it through.

6. Wellitots

Wellitots continues to work really well in the Hub at Redwell School.  We have many more families now engaging with this group on a more regular basis and new people every week still!  Afternoons are not really the best options for little ones but it’s what we can offer at the moment.  Livvi and I have started to think about a new morning toddler group at Glenvale Park….   Which would be an addition to Wellitots.  We have discussed with the team, and are just starting discussion with parents, around trialing something new called ‘Bubble Church’.  We’d like to try it for 4 weeks at Wellitots after half term to see what parents think and how the children respond.  The intention is to use it as part of a new toddler group at Glenvale Park.  Let’s see what happens.

7. Glenvale Park Community Days

Livvi will take responsibility for planning it this year.  The new dates are Thurs-Sat 25-27^th July with an outdoor cafe style service on Sunday 28^th July, as long as the weather is kind!

 

Those currently involved in children’s work are:

Sandi, Gayle, Agnes S (Rob’s Mum), Livvi, Ben, Dawn, Ruth G, Michelle, Rob, Sally, Elizabeth, Carol M, Helen, C, Marion, Ruth W, Suzy F, Rob S, Colin, Mope, Louise.

Colin and Sally Q will be stepping down.

Pray for:

• New team members
• Decisions around Ignite.
• Glenvale Park School and the process of relocating Wilby School, as well as what this might mean for us as a church and the opportunities it may present.

 

Decision needed by PCC.

No decisions needed from PCC at this time.

 

Revd. DA

 

 

 

 

Youth:

 

 

The poster above highlights our three youth groups – Sunday Youth, Connect Youth, and Ignite Youth.

 

Sunday Youth occurs on the second and fourth Sunday mornings of the month during the service. During this time there is in-depth bible teaching and discussion. We currently do not have enough leaders to run Sunday youth on third Sundays in the month and are trialing this as a ‘Serving Sunday’, encouraging the young people to help with various aspects of the morning service (such as assisting with children’s groups, playing in the worship band, serving tea and coffee, and helping with the sound and visuals teams). So far, assisting with the children’s groups has been the most popular, although some young people have helped with serving refreshments too. Currently only one young person is involved in the worship band, but we have a plan to work with some of the young people over the coming months to build their confidence and hopefully increase that number. The number of young people attending on Sunday mornings varies somewhat from week to week.

 

Connect Youth is our discipleship group, which meets fortnightly. Ben, Livvi, Sam Carew, and Dawn lead this group. We begin with a game, then have a time of worship, Bible teaching and prayer, before finishing with a meal together. There are around 14 young people who attend the group, with an average attendance of 8 to 12. Most of the young people are connected with church, with some bringing along friends from non-church backgrounds. We are hoping to build more of a bridge between Ignite Youth and Connect Youth over the coming year, to provide a pathway for those we meet at Ignite Youth to further explore the Christian faith. During the autumn term the leaders all took turns to share their stories of coming to faith in Jesus, with the young people invited to ask questions. Then we spent several sessions looking at prayer and how to pray, including an evening with interactive prayer stations. This term we are beginning by learning more about the Bible – how and why to read it. We are also taking those who want to attend from Connect Youth to the Satellites summer youth festival (one of the events that replaced Soul Survivor) at the Bath & West Showground from 2^nd-6^th August 2024. This is now booked but more young people can continue to book on now the group has a booking. We currently have 5 young people booked to come to this and the adults involved will be Dawn & Chris, Ben & Livvi.

 

Ignite Youth is our Thursday evening outreach group. This year there have been between 15 and 20 young people attending the group each week. The sessions involve games, sports, crafts, and a short time considering the Christian faith. Topics covered in the short talks have included the leaders sharing their stories of coming to faith in Jesus, and looking at different influences in our lives (family, friends, music, TV, etc.). The current team is: the Aireys (Chris every other week), Carol Maycock (who helps with registration and the tuck shop once a month), Bruna, Daniela, Livvi and Ben. There is currently little flexibility if leaders are unavailable on certain weeks, though a couple of members of the congregation have recently offered to help on a monthly/occasional basis which has eased this situation. But any further additional volunteers would still be gratefully welcomed!

 

The Urban Saints Online Energize resource is now being used across all our children’s and youth work activities to provide session plans and other support. Feedback from leaders and helpers has been overwhelmingly positive so far, so this seems to have been a very good investment by the church.

 

The new Glenvale Park estate offers new opportunities for youth work. We have run a couple of youth fire pit evenings by the play park next to the community centre to get to know young people in the area, and these have been well-attended. We are continuing to look out for where God is at work and seek opportunities to connect with young people in the area, and are beginning to look ahead to the summer community days and how we can engage with young people through those.

 

Pray for:

• The many young people we are in contact with to come to faith and grow as followers of Jesus.
• Give thanks for those who have recently offered to help with some of the church youth work activities and pray for the development of more leaders with a heart and calling to serve young people.
• The families of our young people – may they also be reached through our ministry.
• Opportunities and ideas for ways to serve young people living at Glenvale Park.
• More young people from Connect Youth to sign up to attend Satellites next summer.

 

 

Decision needed by PCC.

No decisions needed from PCC at this time.

 

Revd BHS.

 

 

PCC report – Gen2 project

 

 

 

The Gen2 diocesan project to train 8 youth workers across the diocese and then release them into full time youth ministry within particular deaneries has now been updated.  Please read the report prepared for the PCC in September 2023 to refresh yourselves of the background if needed.

 

As of Wed 17^th Jan 2024, we were informed that the project is going to come to an end early – August 2024.  This is for a number of reasons but primarily it hasn’t worked in the way they hoped.  Sarah Howes was going to be our deanery youth worker.  Having been asked to consider giving money towards employing her as a deanery, this is now not going to happen, and we no longer need to contribute.

 

Beyond August 2024 Sarah will continue to be employed on a half time basis by Wollaston Church and it is likely that another church in the deanery will employ her for a significant number of hours also.

 

It is possible there will be a few hours a week when Sarah won’t be employed and could therefore be available to offer to help deanery churches so long as they paid an hourly rate.  This is yet to be determined.

 

Sarah was hugely helpful in getting Ignite Youth up and running, without whom we wouldn’t have been able to do it.  It was also good to have Sarah come and preach on the 28th Jan (which had been organized ahead of a decision being reached about the project).  However, in my view I now think we are in a phase where, rather than pay to have someone come in to set up or run a project, we need someone who can have oversight of the children and young people on a part time basis, and who can hold the vision.  Sarah does not want this role with Gleneagles Church.  So even if we could raise the funds, Sarah wouldn’t be the right person.

 

There is no particular decision for the PCC at this time.

 

Revd. Dawn Airey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 3 – update on Key priority 3: Wholeness in Jesus/ Wellbeing

1. Reading Group
   Rob S continues to run the Reading Group and their current book is ’Eye Can Write’.
2. Social Activities:
   Thank you to Heidi, Sally Q and Helen C who planned the Church Christmas meal on the 19^th Dec 2023. I’m not aware of any future plans but the PCC need to be aware that Sally Q will be stepping down from all of her church responsibilities at Easter and it would be helpful for the team to have someone else join them.

 

3. Outreach to older people:

The midweek Service in the care home continues weekly.  Rob S takes responsibility for this (often with Mel H bringing a creative prayer activity) and Ben, Livvi and I take it in turns to support Rob.

 

4. Bereavement Support Group

The Bereavement Facebook group continues to grow.

 

 

No decisions needed from PCC.

 

Revd. DA

 

5. Prayer Ministry

Nothing to report at this time.

 

FC pp JBC

 

 

Appendix 4 – Finance –    

Gleneagles Anglican Church
Analysis of income and expenditure – Selected period: 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Endowment	Total 2023	Total 2022	Difference 23 to 22
Receipts
Planned giving
0101 – Gift Aid – Bank	£51,335.00				£51,335.00	£46,555.00	£4,780.00
0110 – Gift Aid – Envelopes							£0.00
0201 – Other planned giving							£0.00
Planned giving Totals	£51,335.00				£51,335.00	£46,555.00	£4,780.00
Collections and other giving
0301 – Loose plate collections not eligible for	£141.00				£141.00		£141.00
0302 – Loose Plate eligible for gift aid	£3,515.00				£3,515.00	£3,987.00	-£472.00
0304 – Collection giving posted through letter						£3,645.00	-£3,645.00
0305 – Collection online giving	£5,420.00				£5,420.00	£11,416.00	-£5,996.00
0307 – Intern wages and additional expenses (RS						£2,562.00	-£2,562.00
0308 – Intern wages						£6,500.00	-£6,500.00
0309 – Sum Up giving at church	£729.00				£729.00		£729.00
0311 – Gazebo	£603.00				£603.00		£603.00
0401 – Regular gift days							£0.00
0501 – One-off Gift Aid gifts							£0.00
0555 – Donations Shed							£0.00
0560 – Building Fund money						£1,400.00	-£1,400.00
0653 – Just Giving							£0.00
0920 – Christian Aid Collection							£0.00
930 – Daylight Centre collection							£0.00
Collections and other giving Totals	£10,409.00				£10,409.00	£29,510.00	-£19,101.00
Other voluntary receipts
0350 – Carol singing donation							£0.00
0303 – Refreshments at service	£241.00				£241.00	£13.00	£228.00
0306 – Administrator role			£600.00		£600.00	£794.00	-£194.00
0550 – Donations	£170.00		£76.00		£246.00	£832.00	-£586.00
0570 – Acts Two Fund							£0.00
0701 – Legacies							£0.00
0801 – Recurring grants							£0.00
08A1 – One-off grants						£1,000.00	-£1,000.00
Other voluntary receipts Totals	£411.00		£676.00		£1,087.00	£2,639.00	-£1,552.00
Gift Aid recovered
0601 – Tax recoverable on Gift Aid	£7,411.00				£7,411.00	£13,097.00	-£5,686.00
0602 – HMRC money meant for General fund			£4,063.00		£4,063.00	£2,792.00	£1,271.00
Gift Aid recovered Totals	£7,411.00		£4,063.00		£11,475.00	£15,889.00	-£4,414.00
Other receipts
0580 – Leaving gift for MP
0581 – Leaving Gift AP			£203.00		£203.00		£203.00
0585 – Family in Need							£0.00
1200 – Youth work residentials							£0.00
1310 – Insurance claims							£0.00
Other receipts Totals			£203.00		£203.00		£203.00

 

 

Activities for generating funds
0651 – Giving Machine							£0.00
0652 – Paypal giving fund							£0.00
0910 – Fundraising							£0.00
1250 – Magazine income – advertising							£0.00
Activities for generating funds Totals							£0.00
Investment Income
0700 – Interest	£53.00		£56.00		£109.00	£59.00	£50.00
1020 – Bank and building society interest							£0.00
Investment Income Totals	£53.00		£56.00		£109.00	£59.00	£50.00
Receipts from church activities
0310 – Ignite Income	£1,734.00				£1,734.00	£1,266.00	£468.00
0320 – WOW Income						£148.00	-£148.00
0330 – Wellitots Income	£160.00				£160.00	£195.00	-£35.00
0340 – Ignite Youth work income	£516.00				£516.00		£516.00
1101 – Fees for weddings and funerals	£255.00				£255.00	£460.00	-£205.00
560 – Social events income			£1,792.00		£1,792.00	£1,835.00	-£43.00
570 – Weekend event @Action Centres							£0.00
750 – Refunds	£20.00				£20.00	£490.00	-£470.00
801 – Freedom Book collection							£0.00
Receipts from church activities Totals	£2,685.00		£1,792.00		£4,478.00	£4,396.00	£82.00
Receipts Grand totals	£72,307.00		£6,792.00		£79,100.00	£99,050.00	-£19,950.00
Payments
Cost of generating funds							£0.00
1701 – Fees paid to fund raisers							£0.00
1705 – Just Giving							£0.00
1710 – Costs of applying for grants							£0.00
1720 – Costs of stewardship campaign							£0.00
1730 – Costs of fetes & other events	£681.00				£681.00		£681.00
Cost of generating funds Totals	£681.00				£681.00		£681.00
Missionary and Charitable Giving							£0.00
1801 – Giving to missionary societies	£2,760.00				£2,760.00	£3,040.00	-£280.00
1805 – Christian Aid							£0.00
1806 – daylight centre donation							£0.00
1807 – Acts2Fund							£0.00
1808 – Family in Need							£0.00
2260 – Carol singing expenses							£0.00
Missionary and Charitable Giving Totals	£2,760.00				£2,760.00	£3,040.00	-£280.00
Parish Share
1901 – Parish Share	£58,630.00				£58,630.00	£61,500.00	-£2,870.00
1902 – Parish Share 2021						£5,000.00	-£5,000.00
Parish Share Totals	£58,630.00				£58,630.00	£66,500.00	-£7,870.00

 

 

Clergy and Staffing costs							£0.00
1810 – Discretionary Fund			£326.00		£326.00		£326.00
2001 – Assistant staff costs	£38.00				£38.00		£38.00
2101 – Working expenses of vicar	£174.00				£174.00		£174.00
2150 – Vicar’s telephone	£355.00				£355.00	£461.00	-£106.00
2155 – Mileage of Vicar	£282.00				£282.00	£115.00	£167.00
2160 – Telephone costs of curates							£0.00
2165 – working expenses of Curates							£0.00
2166 – Mileage of Curates							£0.00
2304 – Administrator wages	£2,947.00		£250.00		£3,197.00	£3,356.00	-£159.00
2314 – Admin expenses							£0.00
2324 – Intern Wages			£4,313.00		£4,313.00	£1,917.00	£2,396.00
2334 – Intern expenses			£60.00		£60.00	£71.00	-£11.00
2370 – Visiting speakers / locums							£0.00
Clergy and Staffing costs Totals	£3,798.00		£4,949.00		£8,748.00	£5,922.00	£2,826.00
Church Running Expenses
2170 – Education
2201 – Parish training and mission	£190.00				£190.00		£190.00
2210 – Ignite Expenses	£51.00				£51.00	£6.00	£45.00
2215 – Wellitots expenses						£85.00	-£85.00
2220 – Children’s WOW expenses						£375.00	-£375.00
2230 – Youth Work expenditure						£61.00	-£61.00
2240 – Prayer spaces expenditure							£0.00
2250 – Children’s work						£20.00	-£20.00
2301 – Church running Expenses	£2,645.00				£2,645.00	£2,645.00	£0.00
2302 – Bank Charges	£80.00		£30.00		£110.00	£189.00	-£79.00
2303 – Refreshments at services						£37.00	-£37.00
2305 – Support services	£480.00				£480.00		£480.00
2306 – Tax recoverable from Gift Aid transfer t							£0.00
2340 – Upkeep of services – candles, communium	£99.00				£99.00	£17.00	£82.00
2350 – PA & IT equipment	£341.00				£341.00		£341.00
2351 – Purchase of large items – Gazebo purchase	£602.00				£602.00		£602.00
2355 – Social events	£939.00		£82.00		£1,021.00	£1,428.00	-£407.00
2357 – Weekend@Action Centre							£0.00
2360 – Stationery	£24.00				£24.00	£138.00	-£114.00
2380 – Gifts	£77.00				£77.00		£77.00
2381 – Leaving Gift MP							£0.00
2382 – Leaving Gift AM							£0.00
2405 – Shed expenditure							£0.00
2425 – Fees to Peterborough Finance							£0.00
2450 – Hall hire	£6,833.00				£6,833.00	£6,559.00	£274.00
2510 – Books	£153.00				£153.00	£45.00	£108.00
Church Running Expenses Totals	£12,514.00	£0.00	£112.00	£0.00	£12,626.00	£11,605.00	£1,021.00
New Building work							£0.00
2307 – Transfer from General to Building							£0.00
2910 – Prelim work on Great Harrowden			£528.00		£528.00	£2,953.00	-£2,425.00
2920 – New building Church							£0.00
2921 – Architect for new church							£0.00
2922 – ADI Building and Refurbishment							£0.00
2923 – Professional Services related to VAT rec							£0.00
2924 – Building Control							£0.00
New Building work Totals			£528.00		£528.00	£2,953.00	-£2,425.00
2308 – Transfer from Building Fund to General F – Gift Aid transfer			£4,063.00		£4,063.00	£2,792.00	£1,271.00
Governance Costs							£0.00
2601 – Governance costs examination/audit fee							£0.00
Governance Costs Totals							£0.00
							£0.00
Payments Grand totals	£78,390.00		£9,653.00		£88,044.00	£92,817.00	-£4,773.00

 

 

Appendix 4a – email (30/2/24) re Questions from the PCC meeting

Hello Lis (and Helen)

Thank you so much, (both of you) for all the work you do (and did) as treasurer and for pulling together the figures for the PCC meeting each time. In our meeting last night, we had a few queries and we thought it would be easiest if we asked them in an email. I have included Helen as the figures covered the whole of 2023 and she may need to chip in. Once we have the answers, we can circulate the PCC with them.

 

1. The first page of your report shows the Receipts and Payments for the year. Receipts were shown as £79,100 and payments were £83,442. Since we never have a cash balance at the end of the year, we wondered how the £4,342 shortfall was covered? Perhaps if we could see the Balance Sheet that might explain it?

 

2. The figures show income from the SumUp machine but no expenses. We thought there was a cost to having the equipment?

 

3. Since we have stepped away from All Saints, we would have expected that the architect would have submitted an invoice for his fees, but there is nothing in the figures. Have we received an invoice?

 

I also want to say thank you for the final column showing the difference between 2023 and the previous year. I usually do that by hand, so thank you!

 

Thank you again.

Elizabeth, on behalf of the PCC

 

 

 

Appendix 5 – PCC report – Update on Extending the parish.

 

The new parish boundaries have now been agreed with Gt Harrowden and we are waiting for legal process to take place.  This will include changing our name to North Wellingborough Anglican Church.  I am told it should all happen by the summer – let’s wait and see!  Our parish will be Gleneagles, Redhill Farm and Glenvale Park.  Redhill Grange will stay with Gt Harrowden while they are making future decisions.

 

No decisions for PCC to make.

 

Revd. DA

 

 

 

Appendix 6 – Safeguarding Report:

 

Three people have applied for a DBS and two have been received.   Two people have done the training courses on Basic Awareness and Foundations.  The Parish Safeguarding Officer has signed up for the Leadership course in March.  2 members of the PCC and our curates have done the ‘Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse’ course.  There are 7 people whose DBSs expire in the first 6 months of 2024, so we will be getting these renewed soon.

JG

 

 

Appendix 7 – Deanery Synod Report:

The most recent Deanery Synod was held on Tuesday 9^th January at the church hall of All Hallows, Wellingborough. The main speaker was Jez Gowers-Cromie from Christian Aid, who shared about the work of the charity, how their approach to fundraising has evolved in recent years, and how churches can support their work. He issued an open invitation to a watch party of the charity’s annual supporters’ Changemakers Conference on Saturday 2^nd March at the Abbey Centre in Northampton from 10am-2pm. Should anyone wish to attend, you can sign up to do so via the Christian Aid website. He asked churches to consider whether and how they could support the work of Christian Aid – this is something the PCC may wish to consider.

Regarding Finance, parish share payments were down across the Wellingborough Deanery last year. There will be a Deanery Treasurers Meet Up for mutual support and encouragement at All Saints Church Hall, Earls Barton from 10am to 12pm on Saturday 17^th February 2024. The invitation has been forwarded on to Lis Wells.

The next meeting is on Wednesday 13^th March, venue TBC.

Revd. BHS

 

 

 

 

Appendix 8 – PCC report – Ministry Leadership Team (MLT)

 

Last year we expanded MLT and had what felt like quite a good team.  MLT was initially set up to form a group of leaders who had oversight of significant ministry areas who could reflect and chew things over together, and make day to day decisions, consulting PCC with decisions that affected the whole church.  The idea being that the key priorities of the church were represented within this group.  It was a good forum for doing this and I still think structurally it is.

 

However, since September the team has diminished somewhat for various reasons and so it has stopped being a functioning team in terms of its purposes.  Some stepped back from their roles, others were no longer running ministry areas and others couldn’t get to meetings.  With no prospect of others stepping into those ‘shoes’ I decided in December that it is better to disband MLT, for now at least.

 

No decision for PCC to make.

 

Revd. DA

 

 

Appendix 9 – PCC report – Parish Administrator

 

The new government guidelines for paying employees suggests that the living wage will rise to £11.44 per hour from April.  We currently pay Amanda £11 per hour, which is more than was suggested last April.

 

PCC decision:

We need to decide if we are going to increase Amanda’s hourly rate from April.

 

Revd. DA

 

 

Appendix 10 – An Introduction for the PCC on Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF)

If you would like to read the particular prayers that are the subject of this paper the ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ can be found here https://www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/prayers-of-love-and-faith.php

If you would like to do some reading around the wider debate more information can be found in the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ website https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/living-love-and-faith

 

Prayers for Love and Faith (PLF) are a set of liturgical resources commended for use by the House of Bishops of the Church of England General Synod. They were published, along with pastoral guidance on their use, in December 2023. They are the result of Living in Love and Faith (LLF), a process of discussion and consultation within the Church of England since 2017. The LLF process has explored liturgical provision for those in same-sex relationships, drawing on theology, doctrine, scripture and the lived experience of LGBTQI+ Christians.

The prayers from PLF can now be used in parishes, either privately with just the couple and a minister, or within the context of regularly scheduled Sunday or weekday worship.

At present they cannot be used to form a standalone service for a couple and their guests. The provision of standalone services will need to be authorized by the Church of England General Synod – something which may or may not happen in the future. At this point, we are asked to consider the use of the commended prayers rather than standalone services.

The commended prayers include the following three sections:

• Prayers for a Covenanted Friendship – these are to recognise a friendship which is ‘committed and non-sexual, which is not exclusive, yet deeply meaningful, particular, and seeking to grow in holiness.’
• Prayers, Acclamations and Promises – these have been written to be used to pray for couples in ‘faithful, exclusive, permanent and stable’ same-sex relationships. There is a suite of resources, which ministers can draw from rather than being a full liturgy. Where these prayers are used in regularly scheduled Sunday or weekday worship, they should not form the main focus of the service.
• The Blessing of a Home – prayers to bless the home of a same-sex couple. These may be used alongside other prayers from PLF. Nb liturgical provision for the Blessing of a Home is already available for any home whatever the configuration of the household.

The use of these commended prayers, either privately or within the context of regular services, is at the discretion of the minister. However, they are encouraged to consult the PCC and wider congregation before doing so, especially where they may be used in public worship. PCCs are encouraged to agree a simple policy for the use of PLF for the sake of transparency. No minister will be compelled to use PLF against their conscience, and a PCC cannot stop a minster from using the commended prayers as set out in the pastoral guidance.

The pastoral guidance is clear that PLF does not mark a change of Church of England doctrine, which defines Holy Matrimony as being ‘a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, blessed by God in creation and pointing to the love between Christ and the Church; a way of life which Christ makes holy.’ The guidance also explains that care should be taken to ensure that the use of PLF does not look like a service of Holy Matrimony.

Should standalone services be authorized in the future, the process for using them will be different from that for using the commended prayers. Churches will need to officially opt in to offering standalone services. This will require a resolution from the PCC, to which both the incumbent and the PCC consent. The resolution must include details of how the wider congregation has been consulted. The Diocesan Bishop and Rural Dean should then be informed. The specific form of service to be used should be sent to the Bishop’s Office for approval. As with the commended prayers, no minister will be compelled to offer a standalone service. Additionally, it seems at the moment that the guidance many say that a minister may not lead a standalone service in church whose PCC has not resolved to allow them.

Whilst heterosexual couples have a legal right to be married in a church to which they have a qualifying connection, this is not the case with the commended PLF or any future standalone provision. No couple has an automatic right to have these prayers prayed with them, but there are no necessary qualifications if a decision has been made to offer these prayers in the parish.

Any decision made can be revisited in the future, including when General Synod decides about the provision of authorized standalone services.

It is important to recognise that there will be a variety of views on this on this matter, and that we are unlikely to reach a decision with which everyone agrees 100%. Reaching a consensus is likely to require compromise and generosity.

As we discuss this, at PCC and congregational level, it is important that we remember that this is not just a theological or ecclesiological matter for some, but something which may be deeply personal and potentially painful.

 

My own position

It’s important you know that what I say at one point in time doesn’t mean that I stop thinking and reflecting – this is a work in progress.  I have moved from the position I held a few years ago and it is entirely possible I will move again.

I have both a theological stance and a pastoral one.  Honestly, both leave me in a conundrum.

i)My theological stance would be described as fairly conservative/traditional.  I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and that God’s best, as far as I can tell from scripture, is for intimate relationships to be between one man and one woman.  As an evangelical, my beginning and ending points are with scripture.  While there are many other arguments (tradition, desire, experience for example) they do not persuade me in the same way.  Having said that, as I have studied the parts of scripture that refer to intimate relationships, I do wonder whether there may be some doubt about how that scripture has been interpreted and passed to us.  Secondly, in listening to those conservative ‘voices’ it’s possible it’s been to the exclusion of other voices in scripture?  Voices for example that talk about God’s great welcome of every single person, with no exception.  So, while I continue to hold to the conservative view, it doesn’t sit entirely well with me and there is every possibility that I am wrong.

ii)My pastoral stance, given the above, is a bit different.  Faced with ordinary people who happen to love someone of the same sex, what does it mean for them to live faithfully with Jesus and within the church community?  There are evangelical communities who have decided this means same sex attracted people should not have an intimate romantic relationship.  Ed Shaw (a same sex attracted church leader and has written the ‘Plausibility Problem’) does this admirably.  But if we have read scripture wrongly then we are at risk of oppressing and causing significant pain to a whole group of people.

Because I think it’s possible that I’ve read scripture wrongly, because I think there is so much about human sexuality and God’s intentions that I cannot fully understand and because we make pastoral exceptions all the time, everything within me wants to say yes to using the prayers and possibly yes later down the line when we are asked to consider stand-alone services.  But this does not sit well with me at this point either.  (What I mean by pastoral exceptions is that we marry those who are divorced yet there is no positive biblical precedence for that.  However, we understand we’re broken people, we get it wrong and sometimes can’t resolve things).

What is very clear for me is that whoever you are, you are welcome, you are loved.  If you want to serve in some way in the church, you are welcome and encouraged to use all of the gifts the Lord has put within you.

 

Some comments on the suggested prayers:

-the prayer for covenant friendship simply does not make sense to me as a concept

-there have always been provisions for prayers at someone’s home regardless, this therefore is unchanged

-the prayers for those in a mutual, consenting same sex union are not supposed to be a blessing of the union itself.

This doesn’t make sense to me either, in the sense that it doesn’t seem to fulfil a purpose, but I know a number of same sex attracted church leaders for whom, never the less, this feels like an important step in the life of the church.

 

Conclusion

Where argued biblically, I have complete sympathy for both views – the more ‘conservative’ one and the more ‘liberal’ one.  Most of all my sympathy is with those who find themselves attracted to those of the same sex in the middle of all of this.  I say to you, I am so sorry.  I am sorry for the pain caused to you as the church wrestles with this.  I say to the church, we need to somehow hold in tension these two opposing views and allow one another to work it out without being offended.  That is very easy for me to say and probably rather naïve given this is such an emotive issue.

In the end, who am I to know.  I wish I had a firmer conviction.  It feels like I live somehow with both views within me and I’d far rather err on the side of grace and get it wrong, than err on the side of legalism and get that wrong.  That feels like a more generous, kind, open hearted and loving space to be in.  But in practice I have to come down one way or the other.  And so, with a heavy heart I have concluded at this time that:

-I am not minded to use the commended prayers of love and faith in public services (including those around covenant friendship).

-I am however happy to use prayers during a home visit of someone in a same sex union.

 

 

Decision for PCC

How do we best progress this conversation?  (It is probably worth saying that we may spend time on this and never be asked to use the prayers or indeed do a stand-alone service in the future).

-Does the PCC want to have time to think it through and talk about it more thoroughly?  Or, given at this stage it is the Incumbent’s decision would the PCC prefer not to spend time on this?

-Would it be helpful to do some teaching in the wider church presenting both views from a biblical perspective, Sunday mornings or Sunday evening which people opt in to?

Revd. DA