Alan Palmer (Chair) Gleneagles Church

Minutes of the Members’ meeting of Churches Together in Wellingborough heldon Wednesday 15 March 2017 atthe Salvation Army, Wellingborough,at 7.30 p.m.

Present (14)

Alan Palmer (Chair) Gleneagles Church

Alex Palmer Gleneagles Church

Sarah McSharry Gleneagles Church

Revd Michelle Cotton St Andrew’s Church

Linda Marriott St Andrew’s Church

Major Michelle Woodhouse Salvation Army

Tom Haseldine Salvation Army

Steven Ellson Salvation Army

Valerie Anslow Kingsway Methodist Church

John Rogers Hope Church

Gwen Mtambirwa St Barnabas Church

Pastor Paul Hamilton-Testrote Christ Disciples Faith Ministries

Stella Bell Gt Doddington URC

Christine Thompson All Hallows’ Church

1. Welcome and opening prayers

Alan Palmer welcomed those present and started the meeting with a reading and prayer. He said that in Acts 2, 1-4 the message is that when we are gathered together, God is moving. Being together is a platform for God to work. He asked God to guide and direct us in our work as Churches Together.

2. Apologies(16)

Revd Christine Ostler St Barnabas Church

Stephen Ostler St Barnabas Church

Carol Deamer St Barnabas Church

Revd Melvyn Pereira Gleneagles Church

Pastor Easton Russell Open Door Community Church

Cathy Telford Gt Park St Methodist Church

Andrew Nelson St Mark’s

Martin Taylor St Mark’s

Pastor Ruth Upton Hope Church

Revd Martha McInnes Wellingborough URC

Sue Scott Wellingborough URC

Jan Smart All Hallows’ Church

Revd Catherine Lomas Irchester with Stanton Cross

Doreen Hawes Alma Street Wesleyan Church

Jean Bing Alma Street Wesleyan Church

Pam Byles All Saints’ Church

The meeting was quorate – requirement is at least one representative from one third of Member Churches. Nine Churches of 25 were represented.

3. Minutes from last Members’ meeting (13 October 2016)

Major Michelle Woodhouse asked for an amendment on page 3, item 7 –

she was appointed following the departure of Major Paul Church, not Lieutenant Colonels Dawn and Roland Sewell. They were already retired and were members of the congregation. Following the amendment, the minutes were signed as a true record, proposed by Valerie Anslow, seconded by Gwen Mtambirwa, and all were in agreement.

4. Matters arising

Item 12 – Lent course: St Barnabas Church is hosting another Lent course this year with sessions at 1.30 and 7.30 on Wednesdays, last session on 5 April. It is hoped that another Church can be host next year, or perhaps some Churches together.

Item 10 – Prayer meetings: these have started – 8 pm on Mondays at Nations during Lent, but it is hoped that they will continue. Attendance has been low so far. There is no end time to the meetings, it depends on what is being prayed for.

Item 8 – Bookshop: Janet was given a good send off. She received a plaque with inscription and a verse from Jeremiah 29. CTIW contributed £50, and various Churches and individuals also gave donations. National Garden Centre vouchers for £150 were purchased.

5. Financial Update

Jan was unable to attend and Alan read out notes from the Executive meeting.

‘Rob is currently in India, so the handover will happen on his return. Jan reported a healthy balance of about £1,500 at the beginning of the year. In the meantime she has paid our insurance premium – less than last year, as she had told them that we were looking into changing. Last year we had a small rebate. Clive has been paid for website maintenance. Jan has also reimbursed Alan for paying for Janet’s plaque (£35.98) and vouchers (£150 from National Garden Centres due to versatility) – total of £185.98. We expect to have £195, including £50 from CTIW. We are waiting for contributions from Paul and St Barnabas. There may be a small amount left to pass on to Janet. Discussed best method of payment to CTIW. Jan explained that the account we have with Nationwide does not have the facility of showing who the payment is from, so she only knows if she is made aware by the person paying in. Cheques are the preferred method at present. Jan will pass a disc with details, forms etc. to Rob. Subs were last called for in July 2016, so end of April might be a good time for this year’s. Three members had not paid – Potters House, Jesus Family and NTCG. Contact was attempted with Angela of NTCG, but so far without success. Alan mentioned that we had an enquiry about membership from the Finedon Independent Wesleyan Church – Jason. He has replied to him and is waiting for further contact.’

Sarah McSharry asked what the annual fee to Clive Wagner covered. Christine will check this out with Jan. Action: Christine

6. Review of Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Sarah told members that she enjoyed the different styles of the four prayer meetings she attended – two were interactive and very good, two were sitting and listening. Paul agreed with Sarah’s comments. Linda added that Churches do things in different ways. The booklet should be followed. The service at URC was very good, including Catherine’s address. Alan said that it had all been very encouraging, with attendance higher than the previous year.

7. Good Friday Walk of Witness and Town Centre Service

Alan told members that preparations for the Walk of Witness were under way. The route will be very much the same as last year and the service will be at 11.00 am. The Salvation Army band will be there. There will be drama from the URC group. Alan was still searching for a speaker, as those approached were not available.

8. Homelessness

Valerie provided an update. She told members that the Daylight Centre was out of difficulty. The number of people using the centre is up compared to last year and the foodbank is busy. Client support provided takes a considerable amount of time, eg on housing issues. The service is provided by Kay and volunteers. The centre still owes £3,000 in rent to WBC, but is not being asked for that at present. Support from the Churches is enabling the centre to stay open.

SWEP - this had a very slow start, with nothing happening before Christmas. Since Christmas there have been 18 nights – the Council will pay for up to 20. There is a good group of volunteers – a mix of people, some Christians (Faith in Action), some non-believers, not just from Wellingborough. Valerie’s vision for next winter is to start mid/end-November and run through to the end of March, to be open somewhere every night. There is a groundswell from people in Wellingborough for volunteering and providing shelter. One option is a roving shelter – one church for one week, then move on. The best option is using the Daylight Centre, as it has facilities; perhaps sponsor a night. If SWEP is not available, then WBC would have to provide accommodation etc. SWEP cover by WBC is not very generous. It is possible to get a few sleeping bags. Valerie needs help. It is evident that there are more rough sleepers on Market Street and as there is shelter, it is more attractive and better than sleeping in a hedge. WBC can provide a one off grant of £500. Major Michelle told members that because of SWEP operating from their premises, they had to have an outside agency carrying out fire risk assessments. Legislation has to be followed, when operating SWEP. It took half an hour and is very costly. Major Michelle has experience working with homelessness. It is no longer possible like in the past that doors can just be opened. WBC purchases the service from the Salvation Army who is the provider of premises, heating etc. Sponsoring would have to go through an agency that takes this on. Training would be required on use of fire extinguishers etc.Volunteers require safeguarding training. Valerie is optimistic and acknowledged that a lot is involved. Advice is available from WBC. Sponsoring is seen as a good idea – 120 people needed to sponsor at £50 each. Some money could come from WBC, when SWEP criteria apply. Major Michelle said that a paid co-ordinator was needed, as it involves a lot of work, carrying out assessments etc. We can learn from Rushden. Valerie asked for this to be taken to Churches – asking for support. Action: All

9. Proposal of changes to CTIW meeting formats etc.

Alan provided some background to the proposal: members of the Executive and Events Team considered possible changes, following very low attendance at Members’ meetings and the need to postpone events such as the Healing conference. Some Church leaders had been interviewed and questionnaires completed with questions about what to do to make things better. Alan had outlined aspects of the proposal in his report at the AGM. At the Executive/Events Team meeting held on 6 March, the decision was made that Paul Hamilton-Testrote would bring the proposal to the Members’ meeting. Alan commented that it would be good to have more members present to hear the proposal.

Some of the questions asked included the following:

*Ad 10 – Church leaders’ meal – who would pay? Alan said that CTIW would sponsor this, in part or in full.

*Information/Communication – Alex asked how we can get this to work better, members should not feel disengaged. Valerie commented that communication through the secretary is recognised, the website could be used, but it is acknowledged that members might not use it. Paul added that he found that the website was difficult to handle, when he had responsibility for it for a short time. It was originally set up just for CTIW use, not for information from individual Churches. Tom said that he did not have a computer, so relied on printed material.

Alan told members that from discussions with Church leaders and from the questionnaire it was evident that meetings were considered unnecessary, they were described as long and boring. The proposal is to have the AGM and one further Members’ meeting, the Breakfasts, some get-to-know-you services – perhaps have slots for communication in some of these. Gwen added that at Breakfasts 15 minutes could be used for communication. She also mentioned use of social media – Facebook, Twitter. CTIW has a Facebook page.

Major Michelle commented that we rely on Churches to do printing of information that is sent through. Valerie asked what we want people to know. We should organise things together and not do so much individually. Christian Aid and Homelessness go across the Churches.

*Linda asked about changes needed to the Constitution. What are the voting rights? Proportional representation is required. Does the Executive need to be bigger?

*As regards information sharing, Major Michelle commented that if an event is worship, then it should be kept to worship.

Improving communication is key in this.

Paul was happy to propose the changes outlined, but the decision was made that more discussion was needed. Alan suggested to give the proposal 12 months, then review.

Valerie proposed that a meeting be held in June, perhaps have some discussion at the next Breakfast, but vote in June. People in Churches need to be asked. This proposal was seconded by Gwen and all were in favour.

Action: Secretary to send copy of proposal to all members for their consideration and to arrange a Members’ meeting in June. Date chosen was 8 June. Valerie offered to take minutes, as Christine will be away.Revd Michelle offered St Andrew’s as venue.

10. Dates & Venues

*Prayer meetings – Mondays in Lent at 8 p.m. at Nations

*Breakfasts – 25 March at 8.30 a.m. at Hope Church; 3 June, 7 October. As no replies had been received for 25th, Alan encouraged Members to note on the attendance sheet whether they were planning to go to the Breakfast. A reminder will also be sent out.

*Good Friday Walk of Witness – 10 a.m. from Broad Green, 11 a.m. service

*Members’ meeting – 8 June at 7.30 pm at St Andrew’s – send date out as soon as possible

11. AoB

*Posters – Major Michelle had brought posters for some events. These can go under ‘What’s On’on the CTIW website. Gwen, Paul and Sarah will get together with Clive to discuss the website and how to use social media for better communication.

*Christian Aid – Valerie had brought copies of a letter and notice asking for volunteers to join the house-to-house collection team for the 60th annual collection in Wellingborough.

Minutes 15.3.17Page 1 of 5