St Peter’s Parish Pastoral Council Meeting (10) Community Centre Tuesday 23rd July 2024
AGENDA
Opening Prayer
Minutes of the Meeting
The meeting started with the Anima Christi Prayer
Present: Julian Kuzminski (Chair), John Lally (Secretary), Helen Marsh (Vice-Chair), Fr Thomas Chacko, Cecilia Hubble, Paul Hebblethwaite, Liz Lally, Pat Comer, Natasha Esparon, Terry Monahan, Yvonne Rendell, Steve Blakemore, Gemma Billig (13)
Apologies for absence: Teresa Kehoe, Tim Ryan, Adam Billig, Margaret Dance, John Newbold, Rosina Rutter.
Agenda
1. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. 2. Matters Arising: a. Parish Directory: draft needs updating before it can be published.
b. Training for new Ministers of the Word and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist: training took place for Ministers of the Word on 27th June, but only nine Ministers attended with no new faces present. Training for Ministers of the Eucharist has not yet been planned.
c. The proposed meeting on the Synodality Report of October 2023 was overtaken by our need to pursue the survey of parishioners’ views about the Deanery proposals for changes to Mass times. No meeting has taken place, but a summary of the report was produced and distributed to parishioners.
d. The Pilgrimage to Walsingham did not happen as parishioners from the organising parish of Our Lady and All Saints filled the bus and were unable to offer places to St Peter’s parishioners.
e. No action yet taken in consulting the fire service about a lighted fire sign above the sacristy door.
f. The Rosary Group has now decided to say the Rosary after the 8.30am Mass on Sundays.
3. Parish Survey on Deanery Proposals Report and Results (HM)
a. HM briefly identified the key elements of the report (relating to the Deanery Plan) including the wide differences in attitudes between parishioners currently attending the 8.30 and 10.30am Masses about the proposed 11.00am Mass as the only Mass on Sundays. Helen stressed that the good response to the survey ensured that its outcomes are statistically significant. She also picked out a significant discrepancy, if that is what it can be called, in the answers to questions 2 and 3 on the survey: nearly 60% of respondents who attend the 6.00pm Mass on Saturday said that they could attend a Mass at 11.00am on Sunday (Q.2), but only 21% said that they were likely to attend that Mass (Q.3)
b. Comments by parishioners were very informative and helpful, often referring to their particular circumstances, but the decision was taken not to publish these in detail, but to preserve the privacy of parishioners and to use them as part of the basis for the report without identifying individuals unintentionally.
c. It was recommended that we should enter discussions with Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Redditch, and that we should retain the position that we presented in our first formal response to the Deanery proposals about Mass times that we understand the position of the Deanery and the Diocese and accept the need for changes to occur, while stating how we would wish to see those changes in St Peter’s Parish.
Action: JK to approach Our Lady of Mount Carmel about a joint meeting to discuss the way forward. Further communication with the Diocese to follow any meeting(s) with Redditch. JL to print copies of the Survey Report for all parishioners.
4. Cultural Mass for different ethnicities:
a. The Cultural Mass for different ethnicities, which will now be referred to as One Church, Many Cultures, will take place on Sunday 8th September 2024 at 10.30a.m. It will, weather permitting, take place in the tarmacked area outside the Community Centre and will be the only Mass on that day. The 6.00p.m Mass on Saturday 7th will not be affected, but all parishioners are invited to attend the Sunday Mass.
b. Gemma Billig has joined the planning team alongside Natacha Esparon and Rosina Rutter and Teresa Kehoe has also indicated her wish to contribute to the planning and execution of the Mass. 5. New Hymn Books (JK)
a. JK has met with Margaret Dance and members of the choir to determine which new hymn book should be bought for the parish and what the costs would be.
b. The decision was that we should purchase the Celebrations Hymnal for Everyone with appropriate additional copies for the organ loft and choir. The costs would be a total of £1229.35. Already a significant anonymous donation has been received and other sums have been raised including £81 by Juliette and Josephine Griggs with a sale of bracelets. It is possible that there will yet be further donations but, as things stand, the cost to the parish will be only £479.45. PH, on behalf of the Finance Committee, said to go ahead with the purchase.
c. The existing hymn books, where in reasonable condition, should be offered to parishes which cannot afford replacements.
Action: JK to make the purchase. JL to put an item in the newsletter and inviting further donations.
6. Any Other Business:
a. PH reported on the failure of the plan to complete Community Centre repairs and developments over the summer holiday period. The contractor walked away from the job at the last minute, saying it could not be done over the specified time when the school was closed. This meant that the clearance of asbestos from the cellar of the Centre also had to be delayed. It will mean a delay of a year. The meeting close with a prayer.
