THE PARISH CHURCH OF ILKLEY ST MARGARET
Minutes of the meeting of the Parochial Church Council of St Margaret's, Ilkley held on Thursday 23rd June 2022 in the Parish Hall.
Fr Alex Crawford in the chair. Meeting started at 7.30pm
Present:
C Beaumont, R Beeson, Fr A Crawford, C Gibson, G Hartley, H Pilling, J Smith, M Still, A Stretton, T Warnes, S Williams, T Williams, A Wilson
1. Apologies: C Cheater, B Harrison, P Tooke, B Whittaker
2. Minutes of the last meeting: Proposed by G Hartley, Seconded by H Pilling and unanimously approved.
3. Matters Arising: Richard Smeaton was stepping down from the PCC owing to heavy work commitments. The meeting recorded its thanks for all he had contributed.
4. Safeguarding: Catherine Beaumont said that no safeguarding incidents had been reported. She circulated a list of groups and numbers of people whose safeguarding training or DBS check was outstanding. She requested permission to place relevant help-line phone numbers at child-height and in the toilets.
5. Wardens’ Items: Alison Stretton reminded us about the changes to normal Sunday service times on 10th July (owing to road closures because of the Ilkley Half Marathon) – there would be just two masses, at 8am and 4pm; and on 17th July (St Margaret’s Day) when there would be a parish mass at 11am, followed by a lunch in the Hall. She added that Bethan and Horace (from JJ Community Transformation in Uganda) would be attending the service and lunch. Sarah Williams agreed to mount a small display about their work.
6. Fr Alex’s Items: Plans for the Christmas Tree Festival were well in hand. This would begin with a sensory evening on Thursday 1st December, and be followed by the Christingle on the afternoon of Saturday 3rd December. He also mentioned the Cant & Dec/SMS Summer Concert at 6.15pm on Friday 8th July, to which all were invited.
7. Finance: Philip Tooke was away, but had sent a report and excellent spreadsheet, showing clearly the different sources of income and areas of expenditure. The PCC recorded its thanks to Philip and the bookkeeper for this helpful resource. We have now paid £35,000 of this year’s Diocesan Share (equating to half the total amount we paid in 2021). The trial of the Parish Giving Scheme was working well, and Alison Stretton invited others to try it and give feedback. There will be Stewardship Renewal later in the year. Fr Alex noted that over £1,000 had now been received through the Card Reader: income that we might otherwise not have been given.
8. Church Fabric and Hall: Donald MacRae had sent a report. All items in the Quinquennial Review had been dealt with except some roof repairs, to be carried out in July. Competitive tenders are being sought for the maintenance of the church and hall timber floors. Quotations are sought for the completion of the lighting scheme in the Lady Chapel. The replacement of remaining non-LED light-fittings in church is under consideration. Consideration is also being given to improving the landscaping of the memorial garden.
Vickie Kemp had sent a report on Hall bookings. Hire costs were increasing by 5% this academic year, and would increase by a further 5% next year. 95% of our previous hirers are back and we have gained several new ones, so there is not much capacity for any additional regular bookings for the Hall. The Film Club (fortnightly on Friday afternoons) has ended owing to the tutor’s health, so there is space for another Friday afternoon fortnightly hirer. The Ilkley Literature Festival booking used to generate £2,500 for us each year, but no longer operates in the same way. New summer schools have replaced that income (but not added to it).
Questions were asked about the excessively long double yellow lines outside the church. Fr Alex thought that Bradford’s “City of Culture” status might give us a lever in persuading the Council to allow better access to cultural events held at St Margaret’s.
9. Church Communications: Fr Alex reported that the group had been looking at the parish website in detail, and had been updating it.
10. Outward Giving Group: Alison Stretton reported that our contribution to Christian Aid Week had raised £868.52. Collections at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Service had raised £886.35, which was split between Christians Against Poverty, Malala Fund UK and Bradford Night Stop. Thanks were made to Fr Alex for all the work he had put into the service, to those who had provided refreshments, to Vickie Kemp and those who produced the brochure, and to the choir. Alison proposed that we should make a donation of £500 to Horace and Bethan for JJ Transformation on their visit on July 17th. It was proposed that this year’s Harvest Appeal should be for Tariro (the Community of the Resurrection’s project in Zimbabwe). Both these were approved.
Any Other Business: Fr Alex proposed that our September meeting should be a longer one, and should take place off-site (e.g. The Briery), to enable us to think strategically and with vision. It was suggested this should include a mass. This was approved.
The meeting closed with the Grace at 8.45pm.