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Home > Who are we> Parish Council > Parish Council Minutes > PC Minutes 22 june 2004 |
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MINUTES OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL HELD ON 22 JUNE 2004 |
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Barry O’Halpin, Judith Carr, Paddy McEneaney, Yvonne Nielsen, Horst Dengler, Brian O’Neill, Lindy Martin, Johny Van Der Bracht and Yvonne Stausbøll. Susanne Lehne and Brigid Alty. The meeting opened at 19.50 and Yvonne Stausbøll said the opening prayer. Matters Arising from 8th June Meeting: Barry will be away for all of August so will not be able to put the advert in the Bulletin. However, he will draw up a draught to give to the secretaries so that it can be phoned in for the relevant weeks. He will also do the text re the Meet ‘n’ Greet for the next Newsletter. ACTION: Barry. It was also suggested that the Catechetics Registration form could be put in the Newsletter, along with an article about our Catechetics programme and the costs for next year (€65 for the Sacrament classes and €25 for the rest). The Minutes were then approved. Fr. Vincent and Fr. John attended a full day session in Dublin for all Franciscans (over 90 attended). There had been much opposition to the proposed plans so many have now been reversed. At the very end of the meeting, our priests were called to one side and quickly informed that the presence of the Franciscans in Brussels will be maintained. So Fr. John will be with us until he is 75 and Fr. Vincent has another 6/7 years. The Franciscans will then make every effort to continue their presence here and if a priest is available, they will try and provide us with one. It was decided that, in September, we should look closely at the administrative side of the Parish so that we can begin to take the load from Fr. Vincent. To enable us to do this, it would be helpful if Fr. Vincent could provide the Council with a list of admin duties that other people could help him with. ACTION: Fr. Vincent. It was also suggested that on 12 September, we ought to celebrate the fact that the priests are staying on. The income from the Fayre was c. €31000. With expenses of around €8800 and some money still to come in, there should be a profit of c. €23000. Points raised re the Fayre: a) There were not as many volunteers as in previous years and some didn’t show at all. However, the clothes stall, which was very well organised by Eleanora Teixeira, saw an increase in profit. b) The bar money was slightly down but this probably reflected the weather. c) The tombola did not raise as much as last year (€11000). There was a disappointing result from the envelopes that were posted out. It was suggested that envelopes should be given to the Catechetics children but a note would have to go in WORDS to tell the parents about this (many never look in their children’s folders). Parishioners must be made aware that, if the weather is bad on Fayre day, we rely on the money from the Tombola to meet our mortgage payment. They also need to be reminded that they are not expected to buy all the tickets themselves but to try and sell them and that all this should be done in advance of the Fayre. d) Next year, there will be a special draw for those people who sell all their tickets and can claim their bonus ones (rather than them being in the general draw). e) It was suggested that there be a separate stall with non-alcoholic drinks so that children don’t have to go to the bar! f) Fiona and Barry O’Halpin will undertake to organise a vegetarian stall next year. They will ask for donations of food in the weeks leading up to the Fayre. g) It was suggested that the cash office is moved next year as both the front and back of the Church were open and people were wandering in near where the money was being counted. Fr. Vincent’s office is a possibility. There will also be a visit to the bank mid afternoon next year. The Council thanked Peter Willis again for all his hard work in organising the Fayre and said what a fantastic job he did. Johny also had some things to report about the Fayre: a) This week, a lot of clearing up has been done, especially so that Fr. Vincent could have his garage back. b) 40 bags of clothes have been sent to a charity in Zaventem. The children’s clothes have gone via Mothers with a Heart, who have adopted a village in Romania. c) The sheds have been cleared and another charity, Mothers for Romania, took toys etc for their orphanage there. Another group, from Geraardsbergen, also took toys and games etc. d) It was noted that the police in Kraainem were very active on Fayre day and many people have received tickets for parking on the cycle paths (fine is €150!). Johny will have a word with the Commune especially as he had warned the police about the event and had asked them to contact him if there were any problems. It was also suggested that Johny went to see the Burgemeester as he was actually at the Fayre! The sheds were emptied on Monday and it was discovered that they were not built on proper foundations. The pillar that was moving was taken down and the back wall will have to be reinforced. We will need a Builders Certificate to give us proof that the structure is sound and that our insurance will still be valid. Johny believes that that we will be issued with a warranty which will guarantee the building work for 10 years. Jeff Thomson needs to look at our insurance re the new building. ACTION: Jeff. New lights will be put in and the wiring and heating pipes will be between the concrete and the stone floor. Johny will also look into having a day/night counter for the electricity. The rooms should be ready by September. The “sand pit” between ourselves and next door is being filled in this week. The dead poplar tree has been taken down and the tree by the sheds will be removed in September. It was suggested that a crossing should be marked out so that the children can move safely between the new rooms and the rest of the Parish centre. A microphone and lead has gone missing since the Fayre. It is not known whether someone has borrowed it or whether it has been taken. Lock on the Sacristy door: the feeling of the meeting was that the Sacristy lock needs to be changed and the “tongue plate” realigned so the door can be locked; this is because of the things that are now kept in there but we will check with Fr. Vincent and see how he feels about this. The date has been set and Lindy will check with the Knights about the arrangements. ACTION: Lindy. There will be appeals for food in WORDS from existing parishioners on the 3 Sundays before (August 22 & 29 and Sept 5). ACTION: Angela. Barry will also see if he can have an article in the Bulletin about the Parish before Registration and Meet ‘n’ Greet so that the new member states can be welcomed and invited to come along. ACTION: Barry. Lindy would like the names and addresses of all new parishioners in the past year so that they can receive a special invitation from Fr. Vincent. The September charity is for the Little Sisters of the Poor but the date is yet to be set. There have been positive comments about the new format for the Prayers of the Faithful. The council thanked Susanne for purchasing the new book. Paddy will put a note in this week’s WORDS requesting musicians for the 10.00 Mass. There followed a discussion about the possibility of revamping the hymn/mass books and putting the 10.00 and 11.30 hymns together. Judith suggested putting a note in WORDS asking that if the parents of next year’s First Communion children are visiting the parish where their child was baptised, could they please request a copy of the child’s baptismal certificate now! ACTION: Judith and Angela. The next meeting will be on September 7 so that it is before Registration and Meet ‘n’ Greet. Brian said the closing prayer and the meeting ended at 21.40 |
