FRIENDS OF OUNDLEPARISHCHURCH

Minutes of the 29th Annual General Meeting held at 7 pm. in the Old Vestry of Oundle Parish Church on Thursday March 28th 2013

1. Welcome: The chairman welcomed the assembled company and in particular Canon Ormston and Ian Goldsmith.

2. Apologies: Rosemary Gidding;Michael Clack; Helmut Cartwright.

3. Present: M.Amps (President); S. Thomas (Chairman); M.MacIver (Treasurer); J. Flory (Secretary); D.Taylor; N.Underwood; I.Goldsmith.

4. Minutes of the 28th AGM: The chairman presented the minutes. It was agreed that the minutes be received and accepted.

5. Canon Ormston: Since there was a service at 7.30 at which he was officiating, Canon Ormston asked if he might be allowed to speak at this point. He was extremely grateful for the help and contributions of The Friends in general and specifically in the course of this last year for:

(i) The West Gates: These had been hugely helpful in the general running of the church as well as being a very dignified addition to the west porch.

(ii) The South Porch: The aspect on entering the church was very welcoming in addition to the greatly increased convenience and safety of the ramp and steps. The workmen involved deserved to be mentioned since they had been excellent both in terms of their friendliness and quality workmanship.

(iii) The chandelier: This was now glittering in all its original 17th century beauty.

6. Chairman’s Report:

(i) Newsletter: Our Chairman has produced three so far. Regarding the latest one, she handed one out to each member of a 10.30 Sunday Parish Communion along with the Service Sheets. Ian Goldsmith, who was present on this occasion as a member of the congregation, said he thought this was a very good idea because everyone present had the opportunity to read about the work of The Friends and new subscribers are most likely to come from the congregation. The whole situation will be subject to a review by the Communications Group.

(ii) Council Website: Helmut Cartwright has suggested investigating whether the work of the Friends could be advertised on the Town Council website. This idea was warmly welcomed.

(iii) Raising the Annual Subscription and a possible new Membership Form: After some discussion it was decided that any donation was welcome and that a fixed and raised subscription may be setting the bar too high for some people who would like to contribute. Ian Goldsmith offered that we add the word suggested before ‘contribution’ and the meeting thought this was an excellent compromise. The donations over this last year amounted to £1575.

The Chairman observed that the Membership Form along with information on The Friends was neither in the Welcome Pack nor on the website. She said she would look into these areas.

(iv) Friends’ Board – updating and resiting: Discussions were underway with Canon Ormston on this matter and, so far, it had been agreed that the Board would be on a wall near the south porch entrance.

(v) Committee changes: David Wills had retired and his outstanding contribution over many years had been acknowledged with a presentation to him and his wife at the January Jazz Concert, along with a tribute in Newsletter No.3.

Paul King had joined the committee in the course of the year.

The Chairman then proposed that Ian Goldsmith be elected to the committee. This was seconded by J.Flory.

7. Treasurer’s Report: There had been some notable contributions in the course of the year – PV panels had been installed on a section of the roof: iron gates had been installed in the porch to the west door; and the main chandelier in the nave had been reconditioned. Our total assets now stood at £37,563.01.

Further details can be found in The Annual Report along with the Balance Sheet which accompany these minutes.

8. AOB: The possibility of a concert other than the annual Jazz Concert was aired. Involving the local Rusty Players was suggested; Ali Coutts has some ideas as well.

9. Date of the next committee meeting: Tuesday May 14th 6pm at Navarac.

The meeting closed at 7.46pm.

Minutes received and confirmed: Chairman……………………………………………

Date…………………………………………………