Report Sep07

Report on St Mary’s Parish Council Meeting 10^th September 2007

The meeting, under the Chairmanship of Jim Hill, opened with a prayer from Fr McCusker.

Worship and Pastoral Group

There has been no meeting of the Worship and Pastoral Group over the summer period.

Fr Gerry’s recent illness has focussed attention on the need for Eucharistic Services to be available in special circumstances. Deacon Gerry will try to make arrangements for appropriate Eucharistic Services to be held until Fr Gerry is fully “back in harness”.

 There will be a “Harvest Mass” (a Childrens’ Mass) on Sunday September 30^th at 10:30.

Building Group

Various items of regular servicing have been completed recently, including the central heating boiler system, the clock and the security and alarm system. Various enhancements to the security systems are being evaluated and will be installed as soon as practicable.

We have been in contact with the Archdiocese regarding the water leakage into the gable-wall end of the church – and we are now waiting for the Archdiocesan Architect to advise us on the best way forward: it doesn’t look as though it will be straightforward to repair the roof and we need to ensure that any repair conforms to the requirements of “listed-building” status. When this repair is completed the internal gable wall will be re-decorated. 

The renovations to the memorial stonework in the Cemetery are close to completion. When this phase of the work is completed over 120 memorials will have received attention, including the removal of 34 sets of kerbstones. To facilitate maintenance, kerbstones are now not permitted in the graveyard – it is apparent that someone has replaced kerbstones on two graves from which the kerbstones had been removed: these will be removed again and graveyard users are asked to comply with the “Cemetery Rules”, copies of which are available on the Parish Website or from the Parish Office.

Whilst the Cemetery will be left in a tidy condition following the memorial stonework renovation, given the time of year and weather conditions, it may not be possible to complete the full re-instatement of the cemetery grounds until next Spring. We also intend to renovate and extend the pathways in the Cemetery next year.

Concrete strip foundations are to be laid in the “Cemetery extension” area to provide the underlying foundation for headstones in this area, which we will need to move into in the not too distant future as there are only 5 unallocated plots available in the existing Cemetery area.

Other items

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place in the Social Centre following the 10:30 Mass on Sunday October 7^th – more details are provided overleaf.

It was agreed that Michael Thompson would become the Parish Council chairman following the Annual meeting, with Jim Hill taking on the role of vice-chairman. It was agreed that Tom Parker would take on the role of secretary to the Parish Council following Frances Brown’s retirement from the Council.

The Parish Council now has 3 vacant places for elected members and parishioners are encouraged to consider nominating themselves for one of these positions – more details are provided overleaf and there is a form at the back of the Church for nominations.

It was noted that the “Parish Social” took place on August 11^th, but was not well attended. The Council agreed that the “Senior Citizen’s Christmas Party” will be held this year in December – more details to follow.

The meeting closed with a prayer from Fr McCusker.