Hagley Parochial Church Council
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 22 May 2025 at 7.30pm at St Saviour’s.
Present: John Gowar, Margaret Rankin, Michael Norris, Jenny Moulder, Sharon Bryant, Sarah Piper, Fiona Taylor, Margret Tindall, Sue Priest, Tom Owen, Wendy Jones, Bob Jones, Mark Taylor, Kim Topham.
Opening Prayers: Tom opened the meeting with prayers.
- a) Apologies: David Trewin, Becky Hindmarsh, Alan Smith, Barbara Albert, Diane Mottershead, Graham Perkins. We have received a resignation from Becky Hindmarsh, Tom has thanked her for her time on the PCC.
b) Minutes of meeting held on 3 April 2025: The Minutes were approved and signed by Tom. Proposed by Mark Taylor, seconded by Sarah Piper.
- Matters arising from the Minutes: None
- Finance: The Treasurers report up, to the end of April, was distributed prior to the meeting. Oil for heating will be topped up in the summer months when the price is lower. Mark has updated the Charity Commission Trustee information. Mark is reviewing investments and will report back to the next PCC meeting. It also makes sense to link in the review of investments with the Clent Treasurer, Nick Maybee. The Diocese consider the Church Hall (CH) not to be a Church Hall, but an extension of the Church. This means that the PCC can set policies for the C.H. for example in respect of lettings. Investments labelled CH Charity will be moved to a separate investment for the CH with the income coming into the PCC account. When the CH bank account is transferred into the PCC bank account it will be a designated fund for the CH as we need to make arrangements for the potential liability of for example roof repairs.
- Evangelism: Sharon shared two accounts of how children were engaging with church and through them parents who had lost touch with the church in their adulthood had rekindled interest in returning to services and the church with their own children. It was mentioned how good it was to see the group of young men at the Easter service at St John’s.
- Proposal for the appointment of a Children’s, Youth and Family Worker: Tom ran through the document explaining the proposal, which had been distributed prior to the meeting. As there is not a church school in Hagley it will take us longer to develop and our relationship with the local schools is in its’ infancy. There is a new Head at the Primary School, and we are looking to get more involved in the next academic year. The year 5 Christmas concert held at St Saviour’s had a positive impact on some of those who attended. Tom has just received an email from the head of R.E. at Haybridge, inviting him to go into the school. The time and the opportunity feels right now to invest in these emerging shoots of growth. There is much to do to build on this interest and a Children’s, Youth and Family Worker (CYFW) as a specialist, would be able to amplify what Tom and Kim are doing in this area. Tom has a large mandate to serve the needs of the whole community, across all generations, and would be unable to devote all his time to this area. Our biggest gap evangelistically and demographically is Children and Youth and creating a multi-generational church in Hagley and Clent was a major feature of our Parish Profile. Tom was asked if this was too early to commit to the cost of a CYF worker and should we wait for more evidence that it is needed? Tom responded that we have families who have shown interest in the church, but we don’t have the provisions for them and few volunteers coming forward to help out. Our offering for younger people needs to be enhanced and developed, using different ways of engaging with them e.g. Youth groups, Youth Alpha courses, Christian Mentoring. Although this would be viewed as a 5 year project, the contract would be a rolling yearly contract reviewed at the end of each year, with a 3 month notice period. The Worker would be an employee of the PCC and costs shared with Clent PCC. The point was raised that we ensure that expenses are controlled. A Viability Meeting between Hagley and Clent will design a package to offer to potential applicants subject to PCC approval. Clent PCC have voted in favour of the proposal – all voted in favour with one abstention .
‘’The PCC of Hagley see a necessity of investing financially in the development of Children’s, Youth and Family work in the community. As part of the investment we seek to appoint a Children’s, Youth and Family Worker for the Benefice of Hagley and Clent, subject to the PCC approving the Financial Viability Study. Also to agree the amount of the Church Cottage Fund to be designated for this purpose’’. Proposed by Tom Owen and seconded by Jenny Moulder – passed unanimously.
- Committee and Co Options: The list was circulated prior to the meeting; several amendments were made. Sue will distribute the list to all those named and bring it to the next PCC meeting for approval prior to printing the updated Parish Directory.
- Festivals and events:
a) Thy Kingdom Comet: An international ecumenical prayer movement for churches to join together in prayer from Ascension to Pentecost. There will be a prayer meeting at the Rectory on 5 June 7.30 pm. Free resources are available at all 3 churches.
- Christian Aid Week: The Quiz at Hagley Free Church was well attended. Final figures for the envelopes giving, the Quiz and the 70 k cycling will be available at the next meeting.
- Ex Cathedra: Fiona has offered to lead the team this year. Fiona proposed the PCC accept the contract received from Ex Cathedra, seconded by Sarah and passed unanimously. Fiona will sign on behalf of the PCC.
- Fabric: Nothing further to report.
- Brief Reports:
- Eco Church: Hagley has achieved the Bronze award. We are now working towards Silver award.
- Social Events Group: The group are working on plans for a Benefice Summer BBQ to be held at Clent Parish Hall.
- Outreach: Funds have been sent to: The Way, Hearing Dogs for Deaf, Wycliffe Bible translation and acknowledgements received. We have been asked to purchase books for bereaved families by Midwife Bereavement and Rainbow Service The Dudley Group NHS foundation.
- Churchwardens: Fiona read the short report covering the second defibrillator course held and Ex cathedra (see earlier note). A meeting of the Standing Committee was held on 11 May (Tom, Michael, Alan, Fiona, Mark) to approve additional funding (approx. £3350+vat) for the stonework at St John’s not covered by the contingency amount. This work was approved. There is no inventory at either St John’s or St Saviour’s and is a requirement. Work on this is in hand. Tom acknowledged the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes by the Churchwardens and thanked them on behalf of the PCC.
- Hagley Hub: Continues to be a successful multi-generational community event.
- Church Hall: Policies for hirers are to be rewritten. Tom will contact hirers who may not be inline with the general Christian ordinance.
- Electoral Roll: Stands at 82. 68 within the Parish, 14 living outside the Parish.
- Safeguarding: Jenny (Hagley PSO) and Natalie (Clent PSO) are looking to hold an in-person safeguarding training for those who find it difficult to go online. Jenny will check that all those on the PCC have been DBS checked.
- Any Other Business:
- Donation Pod: At St John’s the Donation Pod loses connection with the internet and turns off. A solution would be to buy a Sim card for the machine from a provider with a good signal.
The next meeting is an Extra Ordinary meeting joint with Clent on Thursday 10 July at 7.30 pm at St Saviour’s.
The next Hagley PCC meeting is on Thursday 31 July 7.30 pm at St Saviour’s.
The meeting closed with Grace.
Chairman............................................................................. Date: 31 July 2025