Roman Catholic Parish of Crowthorne and Sandhurst
- Parish Pastoral Council -

Minutes of the PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL Meeting
held on Tuesday 22 September 2009 at 7.30pm in the Sandhurst Parish Centre

Present: Father Kevin, Deacon Philip, Lawrence Gaffney (Chairman, minutes),
              Jim Nairn, Margaret Derlacki, Rita Paxton, George Fanning.

Opening Prayers led by Lawrence.

1. Apologies for absence
    Received from David.

2. Agree Previous Minutes
    The Minutes of the meeting of 23 June were approved and signed by the Chairman as a true and accurate record.

3. Actions

4.c. (9-9-08) Youth - discussion on proposed activities for the youth of the parish was deferred until the next meeting in September, when plans will start for the 2010 Confirmation classes. Father Kevin advised that the parish cannot afford to employ a paid youth worker.

Update 22/9/09. Margaret will approach Peter White to see how the Confirmation Programme could be used to launch some follow-on youth activity; Fr Kevin will discuss the issue with Fr Chris. (Action Margaret, Fr. Kevin).

The summer trip for the altar servers did not materialise and Father Kevin will endeavour to arrange a day with John FitzPatrick. No further action at this time. Closed.

An item will be put in this week's Newsletter asking our recent First Holy Communion children if they would like to become altar servers. This proved to be a success. (Closed).

8.c. (11-11-08) Sandhurst Summer of Fun - Fr Kevin is to lead the Churches Together in Sandhurst Songs of Praise event on Sunday 5 July in the Memorial Park. This went well. (Closed).

8.b. (12/5/09) Immaculate Conception Coffee Rota - the purchase of a dishwasher has not yet been discussed with the Finance Committee because it does not meet until 23 September. Fr. Kevin felt there is no need for this appliance and suggested that volunteers should be organised to wash-up on a rota basis. No further action. (Closed).

5.a. (23/6/09) Parish Mission 2009 - Father will send Fr. Buckley a thank you card on behalf of the parish. Done. (Closed).

7.b. (23/6/09) Mass of Anointing - see item 6.b. (Closed).

8.b. (23/6/09) Bannisters - Fr Kevin would like to fit handrails to the wall of the church leading to the altar, to assist more senior readers to step up to the lectern safely. He is looking in mobility shops for something suitable.
Update 22/9/09. Fr Kevin will discuss this with Paul Bird. (Action Fr Kevin).

4. Parish Pastoral Update

a. Liturgy - music at the Holy Ghost church will be provided by the Filipino community when there is a 5th Sunday in the month, starting with the 1st Sunday in Advent (29th November). They will also do the Feast of the Holy Family on 27th December (which is not a 5th Sunday).

b. Justice & Peace (incl CRB) - no progress with CRB issues will be forthcoming until new guidelines, expected in October, are provided.

c. Youth - the Wokingham Parish Youth Club meets twice-monthly after Vigil Mass There was no interest expressed in this from the parish when it was previously publicised in our newsletter. However, Mike Withers has offered to provide transport so it could be worth revisiting. (Action Fr Kevin).
Wokingham Youth Services Conference will take place on Saturday 7th November. A notice will be put in the newsletter and application forms provided at the back of the churches. (Action Fr Kevin).
The JAC 'Drop In' café opened on 9th Sept for a three-month trial in the Baptist Centre, Crowthorne High St. JAC has also expanded to provide 'parenting' advice.

d. Social & Communication - the Bournemouth trip in July was enjoyable despite the poor weather. Tea at Three in August and the Parish BBQ in September both went well.
A car treasure hunt is planned for October to be followed by the usual Christmas parties for youngsters and for senior parishioners.
(NB from previous minutes: Boys' Voices will be giving a concert in the Holy Ghost Church on 18 December and there will be a Coffee Morning at Sandhurst Day Centre on 25 September, to raise funds for MacMillan Nurses.)

e. Outreach - nothing further to report.

f. Catechesis - three Baptismal Courses held since June, involving six families in total. The next course will be held on 3rd October.
Margaret will contact Laura Tudor to offer help with the First Holy Communion programme. (Action Margaret).
George will contact Peter White to offer help with the Confirmation programme. (Action George).
The Catechism Club will next meet on 23 September.

g. Pastoral Area - Father Kevin will contact Fr Chris about access to St Joseph's car park for our parishioners. (Action Fr Kevin).

h. Christian Unity - Margaret and Lawrence led the ecumenical service at the Sandhurst Coffee Spot on Sunday 13th September. The theme was 'Racial Justice Sunday'. Our parish was well represented.
CTS has joined a national campaign to display posters at bus stops in our area this Christmas..

5. Pastoral Initiatives Update:

a. Baptism Celebration (Lawrence) - the celebration took place on Sunday 28th June at 9.00am Mass on Sunday 28 June with refreshments afterwards in the parish centre. About twenty people attended. It is intended to repeat the celebration next year, possibly on Ascension Sunday. This initiative is now closed.

b. Parish Pilgrimage 2011 (Fr Kevin) - the Holy Land is the projected destination for the pilgrimage. Fr Kevin will approach parishioners for advice and help.

c. Mass of Anointing (Fr Kevin) - the plan is to celebrate Mass for the sick and infirm on the last Friday of the month, starting 27th November. Transport will have to be arranged and details will be published in the newsletter.

d. St. Therese of Lisieux, pilgrimage to Portsmouth on 16 September (Fr Kevin) - about twenty parishioners made the pilgrimage to Portsmouth on Wednesday 16 September by minibus and car. It was a quiet and spiritual experience, at odds with some of the tabloid histrionic reporting. This initiative is now closed.

6. New Pastoral Initiatives
    See item 5.c.

7. Issues for this meeting

a. 'Living Our Faith' - all agreed that the aims of the bishop's fundraising project were laudable and the commitment to report on the ongoing management of the fund was welcomed.
However, some questions and concerns were raised:
* the high-pressure "American" sales approach was considered distasteful
* parishioners are currently stretched financially by the "Credit Crunch"
* it was considered too onerous for the PP to make a fund-raising visit to every household in the parish
* how much will the fund-raising exercise cost in total?
* current low interest rates may not yield the revenue originally planned for
* have savings from assets disposal/cost-cutting been considered as an alternative?
* some of the supporting project statistics appear ambiguous.
Fr Kevin will attend a project meeting with the bishop on 24th September.

b. Catechetical Coordinator - Fr Kevin suggested the appointment of a 'Catechetical Coordinator' to manage the administrative work involved in the various programmes running in the parish, such as the Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation courses. It was agreed to continue discussions at the next PPC meeting. (Action Lawrence.

c. Mass for Baptism - Fr Kevin would like to start the Baptismal Rite during Mass, with the "Welcoming" and "Anointing" parts of the ceremony being performed then. Which Mass has not yet been decided and Fr Kevin will discuss with Fr Chris how the whole process is managed in his parish. (Action Fr Kevin).

8. Any Other Business
    Due to lack of time one item, "Repository", was carried over to the next meeting.

9. Date and time of next meeting.
    The next meeting will be on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 7.30pm in Sandhurst.

Closing Prayers led by Father Kevin

Meeting closed at 9.40pm
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Distribution: Father Kevin Deacon Philip Lawrence Gaffney
Jim Nairn Margaret Derlacki David Fuller
Rita Paxton George Fanning