This is a summary of the PCC meeting which took place on 21st January.
The budget for 2021 was reviewed. There is a possible deficit of just over £17,000 if everything comes in on budget.
Now the Courts have ruled that insurance companies should pay out for lost income we may be able to claim something for loss of income last year and this is being investigated. There is a fund held by Havant Borough Council specifically to support Halls that have made losses over the last year and an application has been submitted.
December 2020 ended with most of our income and expenditure cost centres coming in on or just slightly over budget. There was a great response to fundraising from our congregation which included the Christmas Raffle, sale of poetry books and diaries. Thank you to all those involved in organising these events. There was also an impressive amount of money donated in various ways and again thank you to those who contributed to this.
Our Parish Share total for 2021 has been confirmed at £64,949 which is down by £1,897 from 2020.
The Parochial Fees have been reviewed for 2021, the increases are as follows:
Marriage - Organist - £150 to £155
Choir - £55 to £58
Recorded music - £20 to £22
Flower arrangers - £45 to £48
Provision of Flowers - £175 to £185
Heating - £100 to £105
Funeral - Organist - £100 to £105
Recorded Music - £20 to £22
Heating - £100 to £105
For Weddings booked and paid for in 2020, which had to be postponed, the fees applicable at the time of booking will be honoured.
The 2020 Charities list is being used for 2021. A copy of the list is on view in the Church.
The Tower roof in the Sacristy lobby is leaking and is an ongoing issue but seems OK at the moment. We have asked for the Faculty for the Paschal candle stand, water stoop and blinds to be extended for another year. The next Quinquennial is due in 2023.
The Hall is now out of use again. We sadly lost Slimming World to the Catholic Church because of the parking. The Daisy Foundation would be able to return now but we cannot have just one let because it would have to be cleaned afterwards and cleaners are furloughed at present. The ceiling in the kitchen is leaking. Not long since this was done so the contractors are coming back to investigate.
Holy Week and Easter – the Church of England have written some directives as to how we should conduct services for Lent, Holy Week and Easter. It is clear from what they are saying that they expect us to be still operating under fairly strict lockdown measures even up to Easter. There can be no Palm Sunday procession or donkey and no Walk of Witness on Good Friday (processions, whether inside or out are not permitted). It is suggested that with sanitised hands palm crosses should be placed into sealed plastic bags to be distributed on Palm Sunday. There can be no feet washing on Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday we can venerate the cross but not touch or kiss it. There are further instructions for the Easter Vigil and Easter Day.
The Deanery Plan has not gone before the Deanery Synod yet. From all the discussions out of the two options it looks like the one they will go for is putting parishes together in clusters. We will still have our tradition. Clergy will have camaraderie with other clergy. Our cluster will most likely be from the south – Purbrook, Portchester etc. No final decisions are yet taken.
We are investigating the possibility of secondary school children undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme coming to do some cleaning as part of their voluntary commitment but because of lockdown this has not been possible to arrange as yet.
The Social and Fundraising Committee has met and discussed possible fund raising initiatives. It is hoped to organise a Gift Day some time around Easter. An Auction of Promises is to take place later in the year, and offers of promises for auction are being sought at the moment. Any such offers should go to Tony Rice-Oxley.
It is hoped to run the Church Shop for a fortnight sometime in the autumn. If anyone has garage space please let Tony know, as we have a need to store stock.
The Pastoral Committee is active and phone calls are being made to people on their own; if anyone knows of anyone who needs to be on the list please let Anne Morgan know.
During the ‘Lockdown’ St George’s has been the only church in Havant Deanery to be still open for public worship. There is a lot of effort that goes into risk assessment, sanitising, and also in maintaining a live stream of Sunday and Wednesday services for those who prefer to attend services ‘virtually’ at home during the Pandemic.
Patricia Byrne said we have a Baptism tree which is being used as a prayer tree at the moment but will eventually go back over to the other side of church. She thinks it would be nice to have a tree for prayer cards and would be very happy to gift one. The prayer tree is now in situ (see HERE).
