St Margarets’s of Scotland Church, Huttons Ambo.
Annual Parish Church Meeting.
Held 10th April 2021.
Record of the decisions taken.
Present: Maurice and Alison Dobie; Steven Dunning; Pamela Hewitt; Susan Milward; Murray and Rosa Naylor; Michael Sessions and Lesley Seeger.
Before the meeting began the PCC stood in remembrance of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Item 1. Murray Naylor was re-elected as Chairman.
Item 2. Apologies. The Focal Minister, Alison Hutchinson.
Item 3/4. Minutes of the APCM held 4th August 2020. Passed. There were no matters arising which were not covered in the subsequent discussions.
Item 5. Election of Secretary. Murray Naylor was re-elected.
Item 6. The accounts were presented by Pam Taylor. Copies of the accounts were explained having been examined by Tony Botting. The church’s financial position was generally sound, thanks principally to generous giving and the recovery of tax on donations but there was little or no room for complacency. Over the last eighteen months much work had been done on the fabric and heating and there was a continuing programme of re-decoration. The heating pipes continue to be a potential problem and their replacement would be very expensive.
Headline figures were: Cash held at the bank or in investments - £28,655; Restricted funds (Churchyard) - £25,539.
Pamela Taylor, appointed Treasurer last summer, was thanked for her work and her willingness to assume the Treasurer’s role.
Item 7. Determination of the Freewill Offering to the Diocese. It was agreed to raise this to £5,500 for 2020/21.
Item 8. The following elections were agreed:
Independent Examiner. Tony Botting.
Treasurer. Pamela Taylor.
Churchwardens. Rosa Naylor and Steven Dunning.
Music. Michael Sessions.
Flowers. Pamela Hewitt.
Fabric. Steven Dunning.
Churchyard. Rosa Naylor.
Cleaning. To be incorporated with the flower roster.
PCC. Remains unchanged as listed by the attendance at the top of these minutes, plus Alison Hutchinson. Later Gabby Parsons (Whitwell) was co-opted as a new member.
Sidesmen. The two wardens plus Messrs Jeremy Bleasdale, Simon Jackson, Susan Milward, Alison Dobie, Lesley Seeger and Murray Naylor.
Deanery Representative. Alison Hutchison.
Item 9. Electoral Roll. Circulated before the meeting and approved. There are 23 names on the list which will be posted on the Church noticeboard.
Item 10. Fabric report, already largely covered when discussing finance. Steven summarised the work recently completed and what was in train. He said that hopefully the re-decoration would soon be finished. All agreed that our church was generally in good order although constant attention to the roof to obviate leaks would always be necessary. The boiler is now working more effectively and is circulating the heat more efficiently. However, the pipes are probably very corroded or ‘furred up’ which constricts the flow. Problems may loom! Steven was thanked.
Item 11. Churchyard. Rosa Naylor gave a report. Past efforts were now paying off and both churchyards were looking very good: more wild flowers at the back and lots of primroses at the front. Charles Taylor will continue to cut the grass and in due course it is planned to renew the gravel path edging probably using metal strips. Rosa was thanked.
Item 12. Benefice report. Rosa gave this and said she would continue to circulate the Benefice Council meeting minutes since members appreciated reading them. Each parish in the Benefice was to receive £500, this being a pro rata division from the last Benefice party in 2019. The Bishop of Selby is to preach at Welburn on 27th June.
Item 13. Focal Minister’s report. Alison Hutchinson was unable to attend in person due to ordination training. Her written report was circulated beforehand. All agreed that her debut as the Benefice Focal Minister had been less than satisfactory, not least from her standpoint. A combination of Covid and lockdowns, the requirement for her to continue working full time by DEFRA and the demands of her training had all combined to make getting to know the Benefice difficult. Her report highlighted all these points and others.
In discussion views were expressed about our having had no incumbent for three years; the uncertainty spawned by the outcome of the forthcoming York Diocese review of structure and mission; thirdly where Alison might be placed for her post ordination curacy and whether that would be in the Howardian benefice or not. Time alone can resolve these issues.
Item 14. AOB. See below.
Item 15. Next meeting. To be decided in due course.
PCC Meeting following the APCM on 10th April 2010.
Record of decisions.
Present/Apologies. As for the APCM.
Item 2. Minutes of the meeting held on 4th August 2020. Accepted as a true record. No matters were raised.
Item 3. Future Service pattern. Services in the benefice were planned on the basis that each of the five parishes would have a service of communion once a month; this would at times cause difficulty because of the number of parishes. There was no ideal solution to this issue but in principal St Margaret’s would have two services a month – one a eucharist and one lay led.
Item 4. The Archbishop’s Review. This had already been touched upon. As soon as more was known as to the requirements to be considered by parishes, more information would be circulated and a PCC meeting convened. The Chairman said we should seek to involve others in the village who might wish to contribute to the debate.
Item 5. The Chairman’s paper on the future of our Church under the heading “Can we sustain our village church and if so, how?” [February 2021]. The PCC was reminded of the existence of this paper and, when considering the requirements set out in the Archbishop’s Review, were asked to also give thought as to how and - more importantly - who might come forward to guide our Church’s affairs in the future.
Item 6. AOB.
The Bishop of Selby will preach at Welburn on Sunday 27th June.
Plant sale. Minster Hill on 1st May in support of the Church and the Village Hall. Tea and coffees as well. All very welcome.
26th September. Canon Bob Rogers will celebrate fifty years of ordination by leading our Eucharistic service. It is hoped as many as possible will join him that Sunday.
Next meeting. To be decided.
The meeting ended with the Grace.
Murray Naylor.
Chmn/Secy. 14th April 2021.
Finally please note that the minutes of PCC meetings are to be published on the village website in future, courtesy of Philip Stone.
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