Snippets from the PCC Meeting – 7th December 2021
The PCC’s meeting on 7th December was held in church. Among the items discussed were:
Mission Giving
The PCC’s practice is to make charitable donations equal to 10 per cent of its voluntary income. As it is not yet known what the total income will be for the year will be, it was decided to make donations which add up to 10 per cent of the voluntary income to the end of November.
The December element will be set aside in a fund for any additional donations or appeals.
The following donations were agreed:
- Compton Care Group Ltd £450
- Acorns Children’s Hospice £350
- OMF International £290
- USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) £290
- World Vision £290
- Christian Aid £290
- Embrace the Middle East £290
- The Haven £230
- St Chad’s School £230
- Good Shepherd Ministry £220
- The Well £220
- Ashmore Park Pantry £220
- Cancer Research UK £175
- Save the Children £175
- Salvation Army £175
- Staffs Historic Churches £115
- Air Ambulance £115
- Alzheimer’s Society £115
- Compton Café Neuro £115
- Bible Society £115
- Dementia UK £90
- RNLI £60
- The Churches Conservation Trust £60
- TOTAL £4,680
Services
For at least the first three months of 2022, the pattern of services adopted during the interregnum will continue.
At the end of January, however, there will be a small change: the Family Service will be held on the fourth Sunday (the 23rd) and the service on the fifth Sunday (the 30th) will be a Family Communion, which will be led by the Archdeacon of Walsall, the Ven Julian Francis.
The Archdeacon and the Bishop of Wolverhampton, who led a service in October, will be involved in the process of appointing our new vicar so it will be good that they will both have led our worship, met some of our church family and seen something of what we do.
On the Sundays when there is a youth service followed by Communion we are going to try having the coffee and refreshments between the two parts of the service (see note by Ken Scott here).
Lady Chapel Chandelier
You may have noticed that the chandelier which has hung in the Lady Chapel for many years has been missing for the last few months. It had been taken down because when an inspection was carried out as part of the regular inspection of items in the church it was found that the rope which supports it (and allows it to be loworod and raised when necessary) was not as safe as it should have been.
The PCC has been considering whether it should be hung in some other way but has decided that it should be reinstated in the Lady Chapel. It should be back in place soon.
Covid precautions
The PCC regularly reviews the restrictions and precautions which are being taken to keep us all safe in these difficult times. It has reviewed whether the doors should be open or closed during services and has decided that they will remain closed during services to help to keep the church warm.
The PCC has considered the official guidance on the need for ventilation and is content that there is sufficient ventilation with the doors closed. It will, of course, continue to monitor the guidance.
Since the PCC meeting the government, announced the move to Plan B. This has not affected the decision to keep the doors closed but there is now a legal requirement to wear face coverings in church except by those who are under 11 or those who are exempt for
medical or other reasons.
This requirement applies at all times, not just for services. Face coverings may be removed while singing and may also be removed when necessary by those leading the service, reading lessons or leading intercessions.
The PCC’s Vision
We have been drawing up the Parish Profile, which is the document which will be used as part of the recruitment process for our new vicar. It includes information about the church and the parish, including our hopes and plans for the future, as well as something about the qualities we are looking for in the person appointed and what we might expect of them. As part of that process we have reviewed our Vision and have now formally adopted a Vision to supplement the Mission Statement which was adopted earlier in the year.
The Mission Statement and Vision are:
Mission Statement
Following Christ in the footsteps of St Chad, by living out our faith;
taking the church to the community and growing the church.
Vision
In order to fulfil this ambition our vision is:
- to be an inclusive Church that reaches out to the whole community of Pattingham and Patshull and beyond – a Church that is welcoming to all who wish to share the ‘good news’ that the gospels bring, both as regular members as well as those who only attend occasionally or not at all;
- to encourage children, young people, and young families to become involved in Church life and its activities so that they can experience the joy and spiritual fulfilment of Christianity;
- to emphasise the benefits of coming to Church for those searching for friendship, spiritual guidance, and comfort;
- to ensure that the Church, through its members, is at the heart of the community;
- to maintain an interest in the wider work of the Church in the Deanery and Diocese and beyond, while still being concerned with our own parish.