Parochial Church Council
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) meets regularly to oversee the governance and running of St Mary's.
Here is the November newsletter, reporting on our most recent PCC meeting:
General Topics
Rev’d Patricia Brenton - the PCC agreed to extend her term of office until the end of her curacy or the 31st July 2025 - whichever is later. They also offered to pay for her to attend the annual clergy conference if she wished to go.
Electoral Roll update - currently there are 126 people on the electoral roll.
Ringmer Food Bank - The Ringmer Baptist Church will no longer be running the food bank due to reduced uptake by clients and fewer helpers.
Website - this is a work in progress and the website should soon go live. There will be links to iKnowChurch.
The organ - The organ tuner has resolved the problem of certain pipes making random noises. He recommends providing a more equal temperature during the winter by installing small heaters under the front of the organ.
Church heating:- In response to correspondence concerning the inadequacy of the heating in cold weather, we heard that our electrical supply is at its maximum capacity making it impossible to add further heating units. The issue of our heating remains a concern for us all, and as technology improves, it is hoped that a more satisfactory solution may be found. Until then, we will need to dress as warmly as possible and make use of the hot water bottles and blankets provided in the church.
Finance and Budgeting
Expenditure for the year has remained within the projected budget with the major sources of income being the Parish Giving Scheme; recovery of tax via Gift Aid; recovering VAT on major repairs and fees from weddings and funerals. Major expenditure includes the Parish contribution; church repairs and maintenance and electricity.
The Friends of St Mary’s - We are hoping to re-establish this fund-raising group, encouraging involvement of both members and non-members of St Mary’s who value Ringmer’s only Grade 1 listed building. Gus Christie has agreed to be patron. A re-launch, hopefully, is planned in early 2025.
Loan of £10,000 to East Sussex Credit Union (now Wave Community Bank) will not be re-invested with them after October 30th 2024. It is to be decided whether this sum is invested locally or in a developing country.
Treasurer - Sadly our Treasurer, Richard Vincent, is resigning immediately due to ill health. Jonathan Franklin has kindly offered to hold the fort until a new Treasurer can be found but he is not assuming the role himself. We should like to thank Richard for all his hard work.
Reports from Working Groups
Children, Families and Youth - We are trying to secure funding to start the process of recruiting a youth leader. A Christmas appeal shoe-box-making afternoon is planned for November 3rd. The Christingle service will be on December 1st.
Pastoral Care:- The monthly Sunday teas are being replaced with the Winter Warmer lunches on the second Friday of the month. The Bereavement Journey course at Trinity Churches has finished and pastoral follow-ups are being arranged where appropriate.
Worship - Services have been planned in details until the end of the year and added on to iKnowChurch. There are plans to run an Advent course entitled “Follow the Star: Calm and Bright;” a series on the Lord’s Prayer in January 2025 and a Lent course in March.
Welcome & Events:- The Christmas Fair is being held in the Village Hall on Saturday 7th December from 10am to 12.30pm. The Summer Event will be on 12th July 2025.
Fabric & Facilities:- A tender for stonework repairs to the Springett Chapel have been accepted and work should begin in 3-4 weeks time and take a week. Outstanding work to be done include repairs to the church clock and a curtain hung over the main door of the church. Completed work includes the church room being redecorated and renovation to the Church Notice Boards.
Eco Church:- Much work has been done in the churchyards and discussions taken place with the Parish Council over the management of the overgrown areas which make the path to the Green very slippery. Two out of three Eco talks have been successfully held in the village hall and plans for a Repair Cafe are progressing.
Parish Magazine:- Extra income has been raised by adding four more pages for advertisements. However, further finance is required. The PCC praised the quality of the magazine and its cover photographs.
These notes were compiled by Margaret Sweatman
The archive of our monthly newsletters can be found here.