Attendees: OC = Owen Clutton (Chair), BF = Breda Ford, DM = David McCabe, AM = Angela Martin, KS = Kathryn Salter, JA = June Adams, JW = John Warren (St Joseph’s, Bromley), MM = Mary O'Mahoney, DB = Diana Betts, PL = Peter Lowe (Secretary), RW = Roger Wright.
Apologies were received from: Jim Callinan.
1. ISSUES FROM LAST MEETING
OC asked if we can we buy goods directly from Fairtrade? RW noted that Fairtrade is a movement rather than a retailer and as such doesn’t sell any goods. It is best to buy from the local Traidcraft rep who has distribution rights for this area. He does this on a semi-professionally basis and is not a volunteer. There was discussion as to whether the stall should be at the back of the church or in the hall (28/29th May). The J&P Fayre will be on 12th June.
2. UTA (You Touch Africa)
OC: The amount required to build the laboratory at the Makomu Hospital in Kenya totals £4,200. About £6,400 has been raised so far by the Parish to UTA. The last collection will be on 17th July, when hopefully Fr Arbo will be able to say Mass.
3. NEW PARISH CHARITY
OC: Perhaps Fr Bryan should ask the parish if they know of a suitable charity.
RW: Perhaps the parish should have a rest, especially with the imminent hall rebuilding. Perhaps another group within the parish should support a charity instead of J&P.
JA: For some of the beneficiaries these collections are life and death. Even if the parish only gives half as much, the collections must continue (PL and DB agreed). It is also important for young people to get used to charitable giving.
DM: A smaller charity may be better.
OC to ask Father Bryan if there are any spare slots for any second collections.
JW: Does the parish have a surplus at the end of the financial year?
OC: Not last year, but normally we do. There is an accumulated surplus currently loaned to the diocese.
JW: Some of the charities supported at St. Joseph's include 'Just B' and Latch (accommodation for Teens).
RW: On second thoughts, I think we are really looking for a third world charity.
4. FAIRTRADE SALES
RW: The Traidcraft stall will be run by Mark Gill on the weekend of 28/29th May. Lynette used to sell foodstuffs only. However, Mark has a wider range of products for sale. {Note that all Traidcraft products are Fairtrade, but there are many more Fairtrade goods sold by other retailers.}
DM: I will get some Traidcraft information with a view to us running a stall regularly ourselves. We can decide on the particulars of what might be sold at the next meeting (such as tea, coffee chocolate, etc.)
RW: We should invite other parish groups to assist in the running of a stall if the parish wants to run it regularly. DM: We may be able to register the parish as a Traidcraft retailer.
5. J&P FAYRE
CT outlined her thoughts on what this should consist of. There could be a table for each area in which J&P had been involved, e.g. Fairtrade, Manna Centre, UTA, Environmental issues and the future J&P charity.
PL: The environment theme might include the solar panels idea. DB: Perhaps also other issues could be included, such as recycling, illegal logging, purchasing of sustainable timber (i.e. looking for the FSC mark). RW could run this with some help. OC to provide UTA pictures.
Organisation of the Fayre will be a major agenda item for the next meeting.
6. J&P FAYRE
6.1 Solar panels
RW: The hall roof is not in the right orientation and therefore we would be more interested in installing solar panels on the church roof. RW would be having them installed next month. The same company have in the past done installations on church roofs and he had asked them for a rough estimate of what might be possible.
There is approximately 17x8m of space on the church roof. Potentially 10 kilowatts of electricity could be generated every hour of decent daylight. This would equate to 9,000 kilowatt hours (“units” of electricity). Last year the parish used just over 21,000 units of electricity.
Electricity supply companies pay householders about 43.3p per kWh. The church would probably get around 38p if an installation was made before April 2012. These rates are guaranteed for 25 years (plus inflation). After 2012 the rate would drop to 35p for the 25 years.
The payments for the electricity generation are arranged through your power supplier.
The lifespan of solar panels is about 25 years, however some parts will need replacing after 8 years. Typically pay back time is 10 years, after which the income is pure profit (except for minor replacements). The payments will increase with inflation. The question is: would we as a parish be doing this for financial or environmental reasons?
OC: Perhaps we should do it for both reasons. The question is however, how to raise the £50K installation cost?
RW: The company I am using say they could fit 48 panels on the church roof, however the large trees may reduce the output. Further investigation is required about this and other technical issues before a detailed quote could be obtained and a proposal put to the parish.
DB: Is planning permission required?
RW: Probably not. I will produce a more detailed report for the next meeting.
6.2 ACTIONAID BIOFUELS CAMPAIGN
RW: ActionAid is running a campaign to lobby the government about its biofuel policy. There is a problem with palm oil plantations taking over farmland in developing countries that could have been used for crops.
The government is thinking of changing the biofuel policy to insist that fuel companies treble the proportion of biofuel in our petrol and diesel. The ActionAid campaign is to discourage the government from doing this as it will result in more land being used to power cars and reduce poor people’s ability to feed themselves. People can use the form (at the meeting) or go the ActionAid website if they wish to support the campaign.
7. SOUTHWARK JPIC SPRING ASSEMBLY
RW: This will be at Aylesford on Saturday 22nd May from 10.30am to 4.00pm. The theme this time is “The Integrity of Creation”. The keynote speaker will be Fr Sean McDonagh. He is a very influential Catholic eco-theologian and is about to receive an environmental award in New York. If anyone is interested in a lift to Aylesford, they should contact RW.
8. TEA TIME FOR CHANGE
This event, which will take place at Westminster Central Hall on Thursday 9th June, has been arranged by various organisations including CAFOD, ActionAid, Tearfund and The Salvation Army. The purpose is to lobby MPs about the importance of International Development. It will consist of a service in the morning, a seminar, and then tea with participants’ constituency MPs for question and answer sessions. At the Q&A session we can ask the MPs questions about their International Development commitments. Orpington MP Jo Johnson has been invited by RW and has promised to attend. Not sure about Bromley MP Bob Neil. If you are in the Bromley constituency, you could always invite him to attend. Start here: www.cafod.org.uk/teatimeforchange
9 YOUTH GROUPS
MM: Jim Callinan had reported that there is a problem at the moment with the parish youth group. They are low on numbers.
JW: There are five age groups at present at St Joseph’s. However, they are fortunate to have a full-time youth leader who is very well suited to the role.
MM: There are many reasons why the parish youth groups are in decline.
OC: Perhaps there are problems with the venue?
RW: Perhaps a re-vamped Social Centre would help? Although in fairness the Uniformed Groups at St James’ are doing well for numbers. I note that the youth groups at Southborough Lane Baptist Church are flourishing.
10 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
OC: No Hands but Ours (NHBOs) should be on the agenda next time.
MM: This should be early on in the agenda. This should be the main topic, perhaps for half an hour.
RW: According to the minutes, the group covered chapter 5 on 2nd March.
OC: We now need to do chapter 7 (Issues). Please study the first two pages for discussion at the next meeting on 25th May.
DM: There is a J&P training day on Sat 10th September at The Amigo Hall. Topics covered will include: How to re-invigorate existing groups, networking between parishes and getting the youth involved.
RW: Other parishes see J&P as an umbrella topic for existing parish groups.
JW: At St Joseph's we have this situation. There is a 12-member parish council which covers issues such as CAFOD.
Advance apologies for absence for the next meeting were received from Breda, Diana and Angela.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at approximately. 9.25pm.