After a longer-than-usual gap the PPC is now back in action with a meeting held on 2 June.
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Liturgy Group
The main item on the agenda was the possibility of forming a parish liturgy group. Judith Smeaton has been doing some preparatory work on this, and Fr Dominique invited her to come along to the meeting to update us on progress. The advantages of having such a group in the parish would be numerous: it would get more people involved in planning liturgies; make greater use of the many gifts within our parish community; be a great opportunity for catechesis (because doing is the best way of learning and understanding), and bring new ideas into play.
Some of the ways in which a liturgy group could contribute to parish worship might be: planning non-eucharistic services for ecumenical occasions; helping with liturgies on big occasions; providing an avenue of approach for people wanting to offer expertise or suggestions; developing creative forms of worship such as liturgical dance, symbolic actions etc. The suggested first step is to invite a speaker with experience of parish liturgy groups to address a meeting for anyone interested in getting involved. The hope is that this would take place soon after the summer break, with a view to planning a service for the start of the Church’s year in Advent.
Adult Formation
There are now some new courses on offer, covering ‘godly play’, the mysteries of our faith, death and bereavement, pastoral care of prisoners, and the history of the diocese. If you are interested in any of these topics, you can get further information from Fr Dominique or from Judith Smeaton. A new Diocesan Foundation Catechists’ Course starts in September, here at English Martyrs’, and will run until June 2011. Fr Dominique has a DVD about forming social contacts and groups in widespread parishes, and we are looking at ways of using this in our parish.
Finance
The new heating system in the main hall has now been extended into the small hall. We now have two efficient boilers instead of three inefficient ones, and insulation has also been greatly improved. The church tower has been made safe but it will cost £10,000 to do a full repair. We could apply for a £5,000 grant from Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust in return for fundraising for them for three years. Another £10,000 is needed for the guttering on the upper level of the church roof.
Other matters
The Social and Events Group is now responsible for social events (there’s a surprise!) in the parish. The next one up is the barbecue on 20 June. There will be a ceilidh in November, and a parish treasure hunt has been suggested. Next January we are hosting an event for the week of prayer for Christian unity. This would be an ideal opportunity for a liturgy group to help prepare a non-eucharistic service.