PCC Meetings

Report on meetings since the APCM in April 2023
Nick Walser (PCC Secretary)
Since the APCM on 24 April the PCC has had a busy Agenda, meeting twice in person and once on Zoom.
We continue to move forward with the formal procedures relating to the recruitment of our next Vicar. There was an important meeting on 16 May, when our Area Bishop, Archdeacon, Area Dean and members of the Diocesan Patronage Board joined us to discuss the Parish Profile which will be sent to prospective applicants when the vacancy is advertised. The comments and queries that they raised were then discussed at our regular PCC meeting on 22 May and the document is now being finalised.
We are indebted to Peter Ginnings who has taken the lead in the drafting of the Profile and related consultations with PCC members and the wider congregation.
At our 22 May meeting we also had a report from Jess Mathur, our Children & Young People’s Lead, on the Junior Church’s exciting programme, including inter-generational activities such as the “Ring for the King” event on Coronation day, organised by Paul Daybell, and pilgrimage to Westminster Abbey organised by Rupert Sheldrake.
We also confirmed the renewal of our Safeguarding Policy for another year, and received an update on the plans for repair of the choir vestry roof and other necessary work on the church building.

Report on 6 February 2023 meeting
Nick Walser, PCC Secretary
The PCC meeting on 6 February came soon after the Bishop’s announcement that Jeremy would no longer be our Vicar, and provided the PCC with its first opportunity to discuss the situation. For the first part of the meeting, Bishop Rob Wickham (Bishop of Edmonton) and Mother Carol Barrett Ford (Camden Area Dean) joined us to share their thoughts and to offer their support to the PCC and congregation.
As we move forward, we will continue to work on our new Mission Action Plan which will identify the parish’s priorities and objectives over the next five years. This will be an important component of the information that will be used in the recruitment of a new Vicar.
As part of our regular business agenda, we approved the budget for 2023 and agreed to go ahead with recruitment of a new part-time administrative assistant to provide additional support in the Parish Office. This should allow Courtney to focus on supporting our work with children and young people, as well as the website and communications.
We received an update on the planned repairs and improvements to the roof of the choir vestry, which may be able to proceed later this year subject to receiving planning permission from Camden Council.
We also formally approved the Annual Report and Accounts for 2022, which will be presented at the APCM on 24 April, and voted to co-opt Edward Armstrong as a new member of the PCC.

“Away-Day” on 14 January 2023
Nick Walser
About once a year the PCC Members meet up on a Saturday for an informal “Away-Day”, giving us an opportunity to step back from our formal Agenda and reflect more broadly on our parish’s mission and longer term priorities.
This year’s meeting on Saturday 14 January was more of a home fixture, as we met in the church, and spent the first part of the day talking about – and looking at – the church building itself. We were joined by the church Architect, Andy Burrell, who is advising us on the project for refurbishment of the choir vestry and lobby area. He presented some plans showing various options for making better use of the space to provide improved facilities, not just for the choir but also for meetings and young people’s activities. In addition, we are very conscious of the lack of any proper disabled access to the vestry / chancel level, and Andy shared with us some very interesting ideas for a new external entrance providing access to both the vestry area and the crypt rooms. All of these ideas will be discussed in more detail as the project moves forward.
In the second part of the day we turned our attention to our new Mission Action Plan for the next five years, and as a starting point Peter Ginnings gave us a fascinating summary of the themes emerging from the Parish Survey carried out last autumn. We broke into small groups to talk about some of the priorities identified by the survey, and to suggest practical ways in which we might implement these. Over the coming months these points will be shared with other members of the congregation to provide input into the development of our new MAP.

Meeting on 14 November 2022.

Jeremy shared with the PCC a preview of our new Website, which is almost ready to go “live”, with our enormous thanks for many months of detailed work by Margaret Willmer and Courtney Terwilliger, in particular, alongside our professional web designers. The new site should be more informative and easier to navigate than the old one, and has been designed for ease of use on tablets and mobile phones, as well as for use by people with visual impairments.

Leading on from this, Jeremy invited us to reflect on what our church’s message is (and what it ought to be) about welcome and inclusion. We may feel that we are open and welcoming to all, but some people new to our church may still feel like outsiders. We discussed some practical ways of responding to this challenge.

Jessica Mathur updated us on recent developments in the Junior Church, where the numbers of children attending regularly are now almost back to pre-pandemic levels, and there is a great team of enthusiastic volunteer helpers. We also heard that Jan and Graham have re-established the youth group, meeting on a weekday evening. Although the pattern of volunteer-led activities is working well, there is a need for extra administrative support, and we agreed on a proposal that instead of a full-time Youth Worker we should recruit a part-time co-ordinator/administrator to fulfil that role.

Sheena Ginnings reported on a recent meeting of the Social Justice Group, including plans to increase donations to the Food Bank and to form a group to undertake a disability audit of the church building. Sheena also reminded us that each of the external charities supported by the church should have a “Champion” – a member of the congregation acting as a point of contact with the charity and providing us with information via the parish magazine and in other ways. We need more people to volunteer for that role, and anyone interested should speak to Sheena.

The PCC will be holding its annual informal “Away-day” in January, when we plan to review the results of the recent Parish Survey and begin work on our Mission Action Plan for the next five years. The next formal PCC meeting will be on 6 February 2023.