8 attendees: DB = Diana Betts, MM = Mary O’Mahony (Chair), OC = Owen Clutton, JA = June Adams, AM = Angela Martin, PL = Peter Lowe, BF = Breda Ford, GT = Geraldine Thompson

Apologies were received from: RW = Wright and Fr David.

Agreed actions shown in bold red type.

1.       Minutes of last meeting

MM: The next Foodbank collection will be on 11-12th July.  I will produce a notice for Briefly.  So far Fr David has been good at communicating J&P announcements.  However there is still no news about churches together.  [Fr David has subsequently been given contact names by Breda so this action is complete.]

2.       Zambuko House plant sale

DB: The final total raised was £468.  We will ask RW to deal with the cheque (OC offered to deputise).

MM: It was very successful – many parishioners have asked if we will do it again!

DB: A lot of the work was also done by Joe Falzon, Anne Said and Mel Deasy, the plant experts who volunteered their help.

MM: Was good to have the experts there.

DB: We would have sold more if we had more plants available after the 11am Mass.

BF: If you put the effort in, people will respond well.

MM: Even parishioners who don’t want anything, will often give a donation.

3.       Climate Change Parliamentary lobby and rally

Peter Lowe, Gaynor Whitley, Owen Clutton, Mary Ingledew and Roger Wright attended the lobby on 17th June.  It was estimated that 9,000 people took part in the lobby and it was known that over 300 MPs met their constituents.

OC: Orpington MP Joe Johnson was unavailable due to a three line whip debate.  He sent Spencer Chilton, one of his aids, instead.  He was very engaging.  He took our names. He also took some of our bunting back to Mr Johnson’s office which was encouraging.  I think the homemade bunting was rather good!  There were about 15 Orpington constituents present, and after the lobby some of us adjourned to Archbishop’s Garden (next to Lambeth Palace).  There we saw the art installation, on which where people had written prayers and political messages, and the bunting was gathered up to be taken to Paris.  I did not attend the rally afterwards, but Peter, Roger, Gaynor and Mary did.

PL: The rally on Millbank was moving, and included a multi-faith delegation and a few minor celebrities introduced by comedian/compère Arthur Smith.  As it was weekday daytime, numbers were probably about half of what you would expect on a Saturday, but the crowd were passionate none the less!

MM: I think this rally does make an important point, but what will the impact be in a few months time?

OC: This is a valid point

GT: Media coverage has been limited, although I did see a small snippet on BBC London News.

[I agree that the media coverage was poor but the objective was to talk to MPs and no lobby in history has managed to engage 300 of them almost simultaneously.  So it was a great success.  RW]

4.       Next Parish project (provisional)

OC: Fr Ivan has sent an impressive paper, about the work they do in NE India, in one of states to the East of Bangladesh.  Here there are 30,000 Catholics out of a population of 3.2 million.  His parish is called ‘Church of the Holy Spirit’.  He has listed the specific work they do (RW has copied me in).  I thanked Fr Ivan for his letter and asked if there is one particular project we can support, e.g. a school.  This could possibly be St Arnold’s Secondary school, (mixed with 500 pupils).  Alternatively we might support a health centre.

If we send money directly overseas, we have to be sure exactly where the money is going.  If not, then HMRC might withhold tax relief from the parish.  I made enquires about the local contact for his order (Society of the Divine Word) in the National Catholic Directory.

BF: They may be based either at Droitwich or in Ireland.

OC: I have also tried the charities commission, but the phone number I was given was ex-directory.  It would have been nice to hear back from them.  Teresa Forde’s brother is a priest in this order.  CAFOD must also carry out audits.  Will also ask them how they check their work.  Vocations have been very forthcoming in India recently.

5.       Traidcraft Stall

A rota for the Traidcraft rota was discussed for the next stall on 17-18th July.

DB reported that the takings for the last Traidcraft stall were £228.39.

6.       Foodbank collection

MM: This has been moved to 11–12th July.  In the next few weeks there will also be a collection for the Bromley women’s refuge (not that this should be a problem, but we have to find out who is organising this).

DB: We have to be mindful not to get confused between the bins.

BF: The CWL is supporting the refuge from October.

DB: The weekly amount in the permanent bins has increased to 6-8 bags.

MM: It is important to promote the Foodbank collection, ahead of school holidays, when children will no longer benefit from free school meals.

7.       Leave the Car at Home Weekend

MM: September would be best for this.  Do we wait until our September meeting or hold it earlier?  I will talk to Fr David.

DB: The Traidcraft dates are 20^th-21st September, so the car free weekend could be on 26-27th September.

MM: On the 2013 event, we gave out stickers to children who didn’t come by car.

8.       Any other business

MM: How can the Pope’s Encyclical Laudato Si' be accessed?

BF: It’s best to view this online.

DB: RW has put a link on the parish website home page.

MM: We will be discussing this at our next meeting.  RW has already heard a sermon on the subject when on holiday.

DB: We need a calendar with all the school dates for the next academic year, so we can plan, Foodbank collections, Manna Centre, CAFOD Fast days and Traidcraft collections.  The plant sale will be held at a similar date next year.

JA: We need a second fundraising event, such as a quiz.

MM: We should think about the type of event.

DB: We would still expect to make a profit from the Traidcraft stall, but less than last year, partly due to fewer sales of Easter Eggs.

MM: When we support a new charity, we need to promote it.  The new launch will be in September.  Fr David will be happy for us to support it.

MM: All the school holiday dates are now on-line.  Click here for Bromley state school 2015-16 term dates.

BF: It is important for different groups within the parish to coordinate collections carefully.  [This problem will be addressed by Fr David’s initiative to form a Parish Pastoral Council in October time.  RW

GT: Yes we now know to avoid holding the Traidcraft stall on Parade Mass Sundays.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9.00pm.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 22 July 2015 at 7.45pm.