Roman Catholic Parish
of Crowthorne and Sandhurst
- Parish Pastoral Council -
Notes taken at a meeting of the PARISH PASTORAL
COUNCIL
held on Tuesday 13th May 2009 at 7.30pm in the Sandhurst Parish Centre
RC PARISH OF CROWTHORNE AND SANDHURST
Draft Minutes of the PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL Meeting
held on Tuesday 13 May 2008 at 7.30pm in the Sandhurst Parish Centre
Present: Father Kevin, Margaret Derlacki, David Fuller, Ann FitzPatrick, Lawrence Gaffney, Rita Paxton (and Sue Niblett).
Opening Prayers led by Lawrence
1. Apologies for absence
Apologies were received from George and Jim.
2. Agree Previous Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting of 8 April 2008 were approved and
signed by the Chairman
subject to the following correction :
4.c Parish Pastoral Update/Youth
- should read
"St. Michael's Church, Sandhurst has appointed a Youth Worker" (delete
Churches Together in Sandhurst).
3. Actions
3.4.f Parish Pastoral Update/Catechesis - RCIA
course still to be organised and Gareth Heard to be approached.
Carried forward. (Action Fr Kevin).
4.a Parish Pastoral Update/Liturgy - Rebecca Brunel-Walker
is interested in assisting with Children's Liturgy.
Carried forward. (Action George).
4.b Parish Pastoral Update/Justice & Peace (incl. CRB)
- An additional meeting will be arranged for those
who missed the first round
of CRB sessions. (Action Shelagh).
4.c Parish Pastoral Update/Youth - Contact St. Michael's
Church for details of their youth worker and youth group
and publicise in Newsletter. (Action
Sue).
7.a Issues for this meeting/Pastoral Area contingency Mass
times -
A contingency plan for dealing with
any future reduction from three to two priests for an extended
period
in our Pastoral Areas. Ongoing. (Action
Fr Kevin). Additional transport requirements for the parish.
Father to supply a list. (Closed)
7.b Issues for this meeting/CRB diocesan form - "job
application" format of the diocesan CRB form
is not considered suited to
parish needs.
Discussions outstanding between Fr.
Kevin, Rita, Shelagh and George. Carried forward. (Action Rita).
8.c Any Other Business/PPC details to be updated - (Done)
8.d Any Other Business/JAC agenda item required - Done)
4. Parish Pastoral Update:
a. Liturgy - More Readers and Eucharistic Ministers
have been recruited.
b. Justice & Peace - There will be a retiring
collection this weekend (17/18 May) for CAFOD,
specifically for the people of Burma, following
the recent cyclone.
c. Youth - See 'Outstanding Actions' above. Margaret is to be the parish contact.
d. Social & Communication - No social events have
been held since the last PPC meeting.
The Parish BBQ will be on
Saturday 5 July, immediately after Vigil Mass;
Tea at Three will be on Sunday
afternoon 14 August; and there will be a trip to Denby's Vineyard in Dorking
on Saturday on 20 September.
PPC is to be informed of and updated concerning those parishioners who are sick and are in hospital or housebound. (Action Fr Kevin).
e. Outreach - Nothing to report.
f. Catechesis - 4 families had attended the last Baptism
Preparation Course on Saturday 3 May.
Twenty-six (26) children will received their
First Holy Communion at Holy Ghost Church on
Saturday 14 June. 72 candidates will be Confirmed
at Wellington College by Bishop Crispian, on Friday 6 June.
This figure comprises 16 candidates from the
parish, 22 from the college and 34 Bracknell parishioners.
g. Mission - Nothing to report.
h. Pastoral Area - Nothing to report.
i. Christian Unity - There was good Catholic attendance
at the Ecumenical Service in the Coffee Spot on Sunday 11 May.
Father led the service, supported by Margaret.
Churches Together in Sandhurst Community
Songs of Praise will be held on the Memorial Field on Sunday 13 July at 3.00pm.
5. Pastoral Initiatives Update:
a. Prayer Group - (Father Kevin) Fr Kevin distributed
Meditation notes that had been prepared by Angela Greenwood.
The Crowthorne Christian Meditation Group
meets for an hour, every Monday morning at 11.30am at Angela's house.
Details to be published in Newsletter
(Action Sue).
This initiative is now closed.
b. House Mass - (Father Kevin, Rita and Margaret) Ongoing.
c. Portsmouth Youth Day 2008 - (George) This event
may have been cancelled.
Check details with Diocese (Action
Sue)
d. Advent Scripture Study 2008 - (Lawrence and George) Ongoing.
e. Easter Vigil (and Pentecost) - (Fr. Kevin) Ongoing.
f. Parish Mission 2009 - (Action Fr Kevin, Rita and Dave) Date to be set, possibly during Lent or sometime between Ascension and Pentecost.
6. New Pastoral Initiatives
a. Catechism Club - Several parishioners have come back to their faith after some time and a discussion took place as to how best to meet their needs. An RCIA course would be a good refresher and Wokingham parish find its CaFE Course very beneficial. As parishioners had also discussed with Rita having a more in-depth exploration of the faith, Rita and Lawrence suggested that a Catechism Club, perhaps meeting on a monthly basis, would be welcomed, the idea being that everybody reads the same chapter of Catechism, then comes to the group to discuss it together.
b. Hospitality after funeral services in Sandhurst - Rita with the Rosary Group have offered to be available in the parish centre to serve refreshments after funerals held in the Immaculate Conception Church. Friends and relatives often need somewhere to wait whilst the immediate family of the deceased go to the Crematorium. No charge would be made for this service.
c. Ascension/Pentecost Celebration - Father would like to do something innovative and special for future Ascension/Pentecost celebrations. All ideas from PPC members welcomed. Suggestions were that the children could make gifts during Children's Liturgy and place them around the churches. Perhaps greeting cards in lots of different languages.
e. Baptismal Celebration - Father asked Lawrence to arrange an annual party for families who have had a child baptised within the parish during the previous year. Sue could provide details of the families involved and the Social Committee could be asked to help.
7. Issues for this meeting
a. Immaculate Conception roof
Discussions about the exact remedial work needed are still ongoing and nothing has been authorised to start. Quotes are awaited for the boxing-in of unsightly girders and pipework.b. "Just Around the Corner" - (JAC) is a registered charity based in Woodley whose mission is "to give hope to young people in the community, enabling them to make positive choices, by demonstrating love and acceptance according to Christian principles". The parish has been approached with a view to becoming involved but, after some discussion, the feeling from the PPC is that it is outside our scope. In addition, there are lots of things going on in the parish at the moment, so it is not a practical proposition at the present time.
8. Any other business
a. Organ Recital - The parish CAFOD representative, David Rhodes, has asked Father for his views on having a short organ recital after all Masses one weekend, with a retiring collection for CAFOD. After some consideration, the PPC decided that this would probably not be the most effective way of raising funds because it is unlikely that enough parishioners would have the time to stay on after Mass to hear the music. Father will thank David for his continuing efforts and reply to him accordingly. (Action Father Kevin).
b. Parish Transportation - Carolyn Ablett has kindly offered to co-ordinate the transport requirements to and from church. For next meeting. (Action Lawrence)
c. Mass on Wednesday 21 May - Father Kevin was asked to note that a lot of regular parishioners would be absent from this Mass because they were all going to the Flower Festival in Arundel Castle.
9. Date and time of next meeting.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 8 July at 7.30pm in Sandhurst.
Closing Prayers led by Father
Meeting closed at 9.20pm
Distribution: Father Kevin Margaret Derlacki George Fanning
Ann FitzPatrick Lawrence Gaffney Jim Nairn
Rita Paxton David Fuller (Shelagh Stirling)