MINUTES OF PCC MEETINGS

St George’s Parish Church

Parochial Church Council

Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 12th November 2025

 

Vice Chair: Paul Raven

 

Present: Mary Lee, Cathy Mansell, Kate Raven, Helen Ravencross, Ashley Smith, Alan Talbot, Mags Walsh

 

Apologies: There were no apologies.

 

 

P Raven opened the meeting with prayer.

 

Urgent Business

 

1. M Walsh raised the subject of purchasing flowers, accessories and cleaning supplies. P Raven said that these were legitimate church costs and could/should be claimed back with receipts. All agreed. It was also suggested that an item be included on the newsletter inviting volunteers to help with cleaning, etc on Friday mornings.

 

The minutes of the PCC meetings held on Tuesday 9th September 2025 had been previously circulated and were signed by P Raven as a true record of the proceedings. It was also agreed to make those minutes available on the noticeboard.

 

Matters Arising from the minutes

 

1. New Services Banner – further discussion had taken place since the last meeting and it was agreed to wait until the new year for a new services banner as the service times between now and Christmas were invariably different. Mr A Smith said that the Christmas services banner will be displayed from early December.

 

1. Service Leaflets – these had been printed and distributed to homes around the parish.

 

Vacancy Update

 

Mr A Talbot said there was nothing new to report.

 

Dementia-Friendly Church

 

Following a presentation at Deanery Synod and further discussion, it was agreed to invite Sarah Thorpe to a lay-led service in the new year to talk about what a dementia friendly church means. It was noted that St George’s had been awarded a Dementia-friendly church certificate alongside other churches in the benefice. The certificate refers to three actions to be completed in the next twelve months.

 

Building Care

 

1. Roof Project – A Talbot said that there had been a further inspection of the roof repairs with a view to the architect providing the breakdown of costs. A Talbot said he had not heard anything more since the visit.

 

1. General Repairs – A Talbot said that the extractor fan in the toilet had been repaired. The outdoor socket had been removed which involved replacing both lights on the steps. A Smith said that Shropshire Gas had been booked to replace the hot water boiler and cold tap. These would be at no cost to the church due to a donation from Mike Ward.

 

Mission Action Plan

 

1. St Georges School - A Talbot informed PCC that the school were in church again for Christmas services in December.

 

1. Community Engagement – It was agreed to put something on the St George’s Facebook page/social media about the Christmas services and possibly an updated flyer.

 

1. Reflecting Diversity – Nothing to report at this stage.

 

Safeguarding

 

C Mansell said that she had completed the online training courses and was awaiting details of further courses. A current potential safeguarding issue was noted.

 

Finance Report

 

1. 2025 Accounts to date

 

Paul Raven handed out the current financial position. The current account stands at £4813. P Raven reported that the Parish Share payments were up to date although this month’s balance of £661 was due. A new gas contract had been entered into on 21st September 2025 which resulted in a refund from British Gas Business of £1088. £300 donation had been sent to the RAFA (Wrekin Branch).

 

1. 2026 Budget Proposal – P Raven handed out the first draft proposal showing a likely budget of £30,000. All were in favour.

 

1. 2026 Local Fees – P Raven proposed modest increases to the bell-ringer’s fee (from £30 to £40), the choir fee (from £20 to £40) and the heating fee (from £70 to £75). All were in favour.

 

Fundraising /Events Schedule and Progress against budgets

 

A list of the year’s fundraising events was handed out showing amounts received so far. The total raised so far was £2,500 with a budget of £3,500 for the year.

 

The next fundraising events were:

 

Christmas Fair- Saturday 29th November 10am to 1pm

Memory Tree through Advent

Coffee Morning – Friday 12th December

 

Electoral Roll Applications

 

None had been received

 

Forthcoming Services

 

24th December – Crib service – 4pm

24th December – Carol Service – 6.30pm

25th December 9.30am Communion service with Revd Tom

28th December – Benefice Communion at St Matthew’s, Donnington

1st January – New Years Day service – 12 noon

 

Date of Next Meeting

 

14th January 2026 at 7.30 p.m. at the home of Ashley Smith

 

The meeting closed at 9pm with the Grace

 

 

P.G Raven 14 January 2026

Signed Dated

(Chair)

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