Val James finished as churchwarden after 6 years of service. One nomination was received to elect Val McKenzie to be our next warden. John has also been nominated for his final 6th year in office. Val McKenzie and John were duly elected and Val James was thanked for her many years of conscientious service.
In terms of Elections to the PCC, Susan Collins, Becky Berry and Elaine Marsden were happy to stand again. As there was a space from last year, Paul Rimmington had been nominated and elected.
Janet asked why our mission giving had not happened in 2021 and John Spencer assured her that it had been noted and that it would be discussed and acted on at our next PCCmeeting.
Alastair thanked Martin for his service as treasurer at the Parish Centre and noted grateful thanks for all who have written legacies into their wills. The majority of the redecoration work in Church, almost £150,000, has been gifted to us through the legacy of Ann and Ted Clough.
Alastair thanked Sally, John, Duncan and Pam for their work on producing the annual reports. He also thanked Sara and Nerys for their work as children and families workers during 2021. Also to Judith Hird for her work coordinating the donations to the Children’s Society and for doing the PAYE for the last 10 years.
Alastair shared how difficult 2021 had been and that we were in a time of regrouping and returning to our core values as part of the people of God in Burley. He noted that our work as a community is to draw people to Jesus. This is especially the case, although not exclusively, for young people and children.
Concerns were raised about the piano, the garden, the drop in attendance, the decline in volunteering, especially among the young. Dot asked for help with Safeguarding and Catriona volunteered. Margaret suggested that we needed to revitalise our parish carelists – different people having pastoral care for a street or area in the village.
On the question of the renovations of the Open Door room in the Parish Centre, Alastair said that he had hoped to have a consultation process before Easter, but for a number of reasons they had run out of time. He assured the congregation that some exciting plans were being drawn up and they would be able to be seen very shortly. Time was of the essence as we have a significant grant which is time-limited.
Charles read from Ephesians and encouraged us to sing “Jesus Christ is risen today.”
We were all encouraged to show more gratitude and encouragement to all those who work hard to keep the Church active in our community.
We finished with a small bring and share lunch.
Alastair