7 attendees: DB = Diana Betts, MM = Mary O’Mahony (Chair), OC = Owen Clutton, PL = Peter Lowe, AM = Angela Martin, GT = Geraldine Thompson, RW = Roger Wright (Secretary)
Agreed actions shown in bold red type.
1. The meeting opened with a prayer inspired by Laudato Si' “Praised Be”.
Apologies for absence had been received from Breda Ford and Fr David.
2. Minutes of last meeting
All actions had been completed or would be discussed during the meeting.
3. Refugees
OC reported on a conversation he had this week with Louise Zanre of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Louise had told him about possible volunteering at their head office and Gatwick Airport. OC explained that the latter role would be complex and need a great deal of understanding on various levels. Working as a volunteer at head office would be easier but also required a firm commitment to agreed times. Louise had also suggested that we should pray for refugees and recommended a prayer service suitable for Advent, Christmas and Lent. MM asked all J&P members to read the material which OC had forwarded and follow web links in order to take a more reasoned view at the January meeting. She also suggested that any possibilities should be shared with the whole parish, and indeed with Petts Wood Churches Together. OC agreed to write a short reply to Louise summarising the discussions.
The relevant links to JRS are as follows:
Head office http://www.jrsuk.net/volunteer/
Gatwick http://www.gdwg.org.uk/
Prayer service
http://www.jrsuk.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-Star-Still-Shines-JRS-UK-2015.pdf
RW read out an email received from Breda Ford which explained her involvement with JRS. This was through the national CWL Relief and Refugee committee and not by giving local support.
4. CAFOD issues
The Harvest Fast Day total after taking account of online donations of £150 was in excess of £1,700.
RW described his attendance outside 10 Downing Street on Monday 23 November. CAFOD had asked a small number of volunteers to present their climate change petition. 40,000 names had been collected and a token presentation was made with the excellent CAFOD photographer making the most of the publicity opportunity. It was all very well organised but naturally the PM wasn’t at home, so the token petition box and letter were handed to the security man opening the famous door.
Arrangements were agreed for meeting up to attend the Pope Paul VI memorial lecture on Friday 04 December. Members attending would meet on the platform of Petts Wood station to catch the 17:24 train to Charing Cross. From there they will travel to Marylebone on the Bakerloo Line and there will be a 5 minute walk to St Mary's Church, York Street, W1H 1PQ. The doors open at 6.30pm and talks start at 7.00pm. There will be an optional drinks reception afterwards.
RW agreed to circulate notes of the Laudato Si' study day he had attended at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday 07 November.
MM would follow up the repeated suggestion from CAFOD for them to send a speaker to talk to Confirmation groups, promising to mention it at the next planning meeting.
5. Parish overseas project
OC had written and circulated an excellent talk about the work of Fr Alex in the St Helen’s parish, Arequipa, Peru. RW would circulate a formatted version of this ready for talks to be given the following weekend. The speaking rota was agreed as follows:
6pm RW
9.15am MM
11.00am DB
The talk would be given after Holy Communion, except for 9.15am when it would probably be during the homily. Fr David to confirm with Fr Barry.
MM had prepared a display board to publicise the project and this will be staged in the entrance area for 2-3 weeks. Then a summary would be placed on the notice board with updates for the duration of the project.
Outline arrangements for the Quiz Night, scheduled for Saturday 05 March, were discussed. MM had confirmed the date with quizmaster Terry Wills and had been in contact with the PW Village F&C shop. She would agree the final deal before going on holiday in January then OC would be responsible for fish and chip delivery. The plan was to offer 84 places (14 tables of 6 contestants each) using almost the same layout as before. Doors would not open until 7.15pm with the hope that Mass would last until then. RW agreed to take responsibility for setting up the hall and matters such as ticketing. Members present agreed to donate a bottle of wine each for the winning table and if more than 6 bottles were donated these would be used as raffle prizes. The CWL had agreed to lend their sound system for the evening although Fr David had suggested it might be possible to use the one bought for the youth.
6. Traidcraft
Everyone agreed that the sales totalling £520 at last weekend’s stall was a remarkable achievement and thanked DB and GT for their special contributions to its success. The St James’ Christmas Market will not be held after hall because of the hall refurbishment delays. Fr David had agreed that the Traidcraft stall should go ahead. There would be one table and the rota was agreed as follows:
6pm MM and RW
9.15am GT and PL
11.00am OC and AM
7. Foodbank
The Christmas collection would be made on the same weekend as the Traidcraft stall but those present agreed that the two did not conflict with one another. RW agreed to circulate a message to all known parish email addresses and this had been approved by Fr David. It would include information about items specially needed. There would be an announcement in Briefly the previous week and one placed on the altar for Fr David to make.
8. Manna Centre collection
The only collection currently scheduled was for the weekend 16-17 January 2016 and this would be for clothes. It was hoped to have other collections later in the year.
9. Any other business
MM will be away for the January and February meetings. OC would chair the meeting in January and RW in February (likely to be mainly concerned with quiz night arrangements).
PL gave a short report on the Bright Blue Energy & Climate Change forum, a meeting of which he had recently attended. Bright Blue is an independent think tank and pressure group for liberal conservatism. It argues that while the government shouldn't be picking winners in the market, it can play a dynamic role in setting out the conditions for the clean energy economy. PL listed some of the points mentioned at the meeting including the lowering of renewable energy costs and the switch from coal to gas-fired power stations.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9.30pm.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 27 January 2016 at 7.45pm.