Minutes of a meeting held via Zoom on Thursday 21st May 2020
Present: The Rev Geoff Boucher, Mike Batchelor, Roger Churchill, John Daines, Sarah Holden,
Debbie Hollis, Liz Lee, Guy Morton, Simon Summers, Andrew Taylor, Jenny Thompson.
1. Apologies for absence:
Trish Hawitt Palmer, Joy Bell
2. Minutes of the previous meeting on 26th March 2020 were not yet available and would be circulated later.
3. Services during coronavirus lockdown restrictions::
The pattern of services now established, with a Sunday morning service from either Hartford or Houghton
available on the website, supplemented by a mid-week Zoom office of either Evening Prayer or Compline and
a weekly Zoom coffee meeting at 11 a.m. on Sunday, was considered to be working well and it was agreed that
it should be continued until further notice. It was agreed that services should be publicized as much as possible
and that the possibility of advertising them in the Village Magazine and in the newssheet being circulated by
Alan Williams should be investigated. Looking to the future and the possibility that restrictions might be
relaxed so as to allow services to be streamed from the church, it was agreed that the Rector would consult a
photographer to establish whether this was technically feasible with the equipment that we have, and if not,
what changes would be required to make it so.
4. Committee Reports:
the Social and Pastoral and Worship Committees had not met since the last
PCC meeting. The Fabric Committee had met via Zoom immediately before this meeting.
•
Painting
work
in
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
had
now
been
completed,
with
results
that
were
agreed
to
be
very
satisfactory.
•
Discussions
were
in
progress
with
the
tree
surgeon,
John
Talbot,
regarding
the
removal
of
a
tree
in
Wyton
churchyard
and
of
overhanging
vegetation
on
the
boundary
of
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
and
Houghton
School.
[Post-meeting
note:
the
Rector
later
met
Mr
Talbot
and
arranged
for
these
works
to
be
carried
out
on
22nd
June and, subject to consultation with the school, 31st July respectively.]
•
It
was
reported
that
repeated
repairs
to
the
mower
had
been
necessary
and
concern
was
expressed
that
this
might
be
partly
attributable
to
roughness
on
the
part
of
operators.
It
was
agreed
that
a
note
be
attached
to
the
operating instructions.
•
Reference
was
made
to
the
discussion
that
had
taken
place,
following
receipt
of
the
architect’s
Quinquennial
Report,
about
the
possibility
of
installing
toilet
and
kitchen
facilities
in
the
church.
It
was
agreed
that
this
was
desirable,
if
feasible,
and
that
contact
should
be
made
with
the
architect,
Mr
Nigel
Walter,
to
explore
the
possibility in more detail.
•
Mowing
in
Wyton
churchyard
was
discussed,
and
it
was
agreed
that
we
should
explore
whether
the
contractors
who
mow
the
centre
of
the
churchyard
on
behalf
of
the
Commonwealth
War
Graves
Commission
could be persuaded to mow the whole enclosure, as they used to do until recently.
•
It
was
noted
that
the
Community
Shop
and
the
Time
Bank
were,
with
our
approval,
using
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
to
assemble
food
parcels
to
be
distributed,
with
finance
provided
by
the
Houghton
&
Wyton
Community
Fund,
to
families
in
need
in
the
village.
It
was
agreed
that
this
was
an
appropriate
contribution
from the church towards the needs arising from the coronavirus epidemic and should continue.
5. Treasurer’s Report:
•
The
current
cash
balance
on
the
PCC’s
current
account
stood
at
approximately
£6,000,
which
was
satisfactory,
and
reflected
the
large
amount
that
we
had
spent
on
planned
projects
over
the
past
year.
This
included
approximately
£10,000
on
the
fabric
of
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre,
but
this
represented
the
first
major
work for about 10 years and was in line with what had to be expected for a building of its age and size.
•
Income
had
fallen
slightly
as
a
result
of
the
lockdown
restrictions
and
the
absence
of
cash
collections.
However,
the
rate
of
take-up
of
the
Parish
Giving
Scheme
was
encouraging.
Ray
King-Underwood,
who
administers
the
envelope
scheme,
had
reported
that
it
would
shortly
be
necessary
to
order
a
new
supply
of
envelopes.
It
was
agreed
that
this
should
be
done,
while
at
the
same
time
we
should
continue
to
encourage
participants to switch to the Parish Giving Scheme.
•
The
Treasurer
referred
to
possible
financial
difficulties
in
other
parishes
in
the
diocese,
and
it
was
agreed
that
we should authorize the Treasurer and the Rector to investigate whether help would need to be provided.
•
The new contactless reader for donations (“Good Boy”) was now ready and would be trialled.
•
The
Treasurer
reported
that,
because
Lloyds
Bank
had
suspended
processing
of
new
accounts
during
the
coronavirus
lockdown,
Houghton
&
Wyton
Community
Fund
did
not
have
access
to
a
bank
account
of
its
own.
Agreement
had
been
reached
with
the
Trustees
of
the
Fund
(who
included
Mr
Summers
and
Mr
Morton,
both
of
whom
declared
an
interest
in
that
capacity)
that
while
this
situation
continued
separately
identified
contributions
to
the
Community
Fund
could
be
paid
into
the
PCC
account
and
applied
towards
Community
Fund
expenditure.
The
PCC
agreed
that
in
the
exceptional
circumstances
of
the
lockdown
it
was
appropriate
that
the
church
should
help
community
support
work
in
this
way,
and
the
arrangement
was
approved.
6. Charitable giving:
The
normal
house
to
house
collection
for
Christian
Aid
Week
had
not
been
possible
because
of
the
coronavirus restrictions. It was agreed that a donation of £1,000 should be made by the PCC.
It was also agreed that we should make a donation of £500 to Houghton & Wyton Community Fund.
7. Diocesan and Deanery Synod reports: neither Synod had been able to meet because of coronavirus
restrictions.
8.
Any other business:
Mr
Morton
reported
that
he
had
been
helping
the
Committee
of
the
Memorial
Hall
with
a
project
to
review
and
update
their
constitution,
using
powers
of
amendment
under
the
Charities
Act
2011.
This
included
a
review
of
the
village
organizations
which,
under
the
Hall’s
constitution,
had
the
right
to
appoint
a
member
of
the
Committee.
The
original
list
of
such
organizations,
which
was
set
out
in
the
1946
Conveyance
which
set
out
the
trusts
of
the
Memorial
Hall,
included
both
Houghton
PCC
and
Wyton
PCC
(the
two
being
still
separate
parishes
at
that
time).
It
was
agreed
that
we
should
not
have
the
right
to
appoint
two
members,
and
that
the
Memorial
Hall
Committee
should
therefore
be
informed
that
in
our
opinion
it
would
be
appropriate
to
treat
Wyton
PCC
as
having
ceased
to
exist
as
a
separate
entity,
and
therefore
to
treat
its
right
of
appointment
as
having
lapsed.
It
was
noted that Mrs Hollis currently sits on the Committee as the appointee of the PCC.
9.
Next
meeting:
The
next
meeting
would
take
place
on
23rd
July
2020
in
the
at
7
p.m.,
in
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre if that were by then permissible under coronavirus restrictions, and otherwise via Zoom
10.
There being no further business, the meeting closed with the Grace at 7.55 p.m.
Notes of Meeting of FABRIC COMMITTEE held on
Thursday 21st May 2020 at 6.30 by Zoom
Attended by:
Rev. G Boucher (GB)
Mike Batchelor (MB)
Guy Morton (GM)
Roger Churchill (RC)
Simon Summers (SS)
Apologies
Joy Bell (JB)
1.
Matters arising
•
Items covered within minutes below
2.
Church Building and Churchyard Matters.
•
Bell Tower – Drain to be reviewed during next Churchyard Clean-up.
•
Lead Roof Alarm –Smart Water to be painted on the lead roof. MB to action.
•
Quinquennial Inspection carried out in presence of GB, GM and MB, very enlightening. Architects Report
received and circulated. Discussion on work to be categorised, see page 15 items 16 and 17. RC to list for
further discussion.
•
Costs to be sought for 5 Year Electrical Tests MB to action.
3.
St Mary’s Centre Building Matters
•
Overhanging vegetation Scheduled for July by John Talbot (Tree Specialist)
•
Fire alarm System –wireless system installed but a letter received re new door release mechanism, MB to
investigate and also to arrange training.
•
Cost for Electrical Tests to be sought MB to action.
4. Wyton Churchyard matters
•
JTree Removal – Faculty sought and tree removal to be carried out by John Talbot..
•
Discussion took place on the possibility of closing of the Graveyard, GM to investigate.
•
War Graves Commission plaque discussed, GB to review.
5. Administration
•
Health & safety Documentation - MB to discuss changes with PCC Secretary and have policies represented
for approval.
•
Website/Pew Sheets – now active and webmasters are Pat & Haleema Hawkins from Hartford.
6. Any Other Business
•
Toilet/Kitchenette raised by RC, MB to contact Architect to seek Fee Cost.
•
RC to contact Anglian Water and Contractor to seek indicative cost.
7. Date for Next Meetings
•
Next Meeting set for Thursday 23rd July 2020 at 6 pm, Venue/Zoom to be decided later.
Minutes of a meeting held via Zoom on
Thursday 21st May 2020
Present: The Rev Geoff Boucher, Mike
Batchelor, Roger Churchill, John Daines, Sarah
Holden, Debbie Hollis, Liz Lee, Guy Morton,
Simon Summers, Andrew Taylor, Jenny
Thompson.
1.
Apologies
for
absence:
Trish
Hawitt
Palmer, Joy Bell
2. Minutes of the previous meeting on
26th March 2020 were not yet available and
would be circulated later.
3. Services during coronavirus lockdown
restrictions::
The
pattern
of
services
now
established,
with
a
Sunday
morning
service
from
either
Hartford
or
Houghton
available
on
the
website,
supplemented
by
a
mid-week
Zoom
office
of
either
Evening
Prayer
or
Compline
and
a
weekly
Zoom
coffee
meeting
at
11
a.m.
on
Sunday,
was
considered
to
be
working
well
and
it
was
agreed
that
it
should
be
continued
until
further
notice.
It
was
agreed
that
services
should
be
publicized
as
much
as
possible
and
that
the
possibility
of
advertising
them
in
the
Village
Magazine
and
in
the
newssheet
being
circulated
by
Alan
Williams
should
be
investigated.
Looking
to
the
future
and
the
possibility
that
restrictions
might
be
relaxed
so
as
to
allow
services
to
be
streamed
from
the
church,
it
was
agreed
that
the
Rector
would
consult
a
photographer
to
establish
whether
this
was
technically
feasible
with
the
equipment
that
we
have,
and
if
not,
what
changes
would
be
required
to make it so.
4.
Committee
Reports:
the
Social
and
Pastoral
and
Worship
Committees
had
not
met
since
the
last
PCC
meeting.
The
Fabric
Committee
had
met
via
Zoom
immediately
before this meeting.
•
Painting
work
in
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
had
now
been
completed,
with
results
that were agreed to be very satisfactory.
•
Discussions
were
in
progress
with
the
tree
surgeon,
John
Talbot,
regarding
the
removal
of
a
tree
in
Wyton
churchyard
and
of
overhanging
vegetation
on
the
boundary
of
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
and
Houghton
School.
[Post-meeting
note:
the
Rector
later
met
Mr
Talbot
and
arranged
for
these
works
to
be
carried
out
on
22nd
June
and,
subject
to
consultation
with
the
school,
31st
July
respectively.]
•
It
was
reported
that
repeated
repairs
to
the
mower
had
been
necessary
and
concern
was
expressed
that
this
might
be
partly
attributable
to
roughness
on
the
part
of
operators.
It
was
agreed
that
a
note
be
attached
to
the
operating
instructions.
•
Reference
was
made
to
the
discussion
that
had
taken
place,
following
receipt
of
the
architect’s
Quinquennial
Report,
about
the
possibility
of
installing
toilet
and
kitchen
facilities
in
the
church.
It
was
agreed
that
this
was
desirable,
if
feasible,
and
that
contact
should
be
made
with
the
architect,
Mr
Nigel
Walter,
to
explore
the
possibility
in
more detail.
•
Mowing
in
Wyton
churchyard
was
discussed,
and
it
was
agreed
that
we
should
explore
whether
the
contractors
who
mow
the
centre
of
the
churchyard
on
behalf
of
the
Commonwealth
War
Graves
Commission
could
be
persuaded
to
mow
the
whole
enclosure,
as
they
used to do until recently.
•
It
was
noted
that
the
Community
Shop
and
the
Time
Bank
were,
with
our
approval,
using
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
to
assemble
food
parcels
to
be
distributed,
with
finance
provided
by
the
Houghton
&
Wyton
Community
Fund,
to
families
in
need
in
the
village.
It
was
agreed
that
this
was
an
appropriate
contribution
from
the
church
towards
the
needs
arising
from
the
coronavirus
epidemic
and should continue.
5. Treasurer’s Report:
•
The
current
cash
balance
on
the
PCC’s
current
account
stood
at
approximately
£6,000,
which
was
satisfactory,
and
reflected
the
large
amount
that
we
had
spent
on
planned
projects
over
the
past
year.
This
included
approximately
£10,000
on
the
fabric
of
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre,
but
this
represented
the
first
major
work
for
about
10
years
and
was
in
line
with
what
had
to
be
expected
for
a building of its age and size.
•
Income
had
fallen
slightly
as
a
result
of
the
lockdown
restrictions
and
the
absence
of
cash
collections.
However,
the
rate
of
take-up
of
the
Parish
Giving
Scheme
was
encouraging.
Ray
King-
Underwood,
who
administers
the
envelope
scheme,
had
reported
that
it
would
shortly
be
necessary
to
order
a
new
supply
of
envelopes.
It
was
agreed
that
this
should
be
done,
while
at
the
same
time
we
should
continue
to
encourage
participants
to
switch
to
the
Parish Giving Scheme.
•
The
Treasurer
referred
to
possible
financial
difficulties
in
other
parishes
in
the
diocese,
and
it
was
agreed
that
we
should
authorize
the
Treasurer
and
the
Rector
to
investigate
whether
help
would need to be provided.
•
The
new
contactless
reader
for
donations
(“Good
Boy”)
was
now
ready
and would be trialled.
•
The
Treasurer
reported
that,
because
Lloyds
Bank
had
suspended
processing
of
new
accounts
during
the
coronavirus
lockdown,
Houghton
&
Wyton
Community
Fund
did
not
have
access
to
a
bank
account
of
its
own.
Agreement
had
been
reached
with
the
Trustees
of
the
Fund
(who
included
Mr
Summers
and
Mr
Morton,
both
of
whom
declared
an
interest
in
that
capacity)
that
while
this
situation
continued
separately
identified
contributions
to
the
Community
Fund
could
be
paid
into
the
PCC
account
and
applied
towards
Community
Fund
expenditure.
The
PCC
agreed
that
in
the
exceptional
circumstances
of
the
lockdown
it
was
appropriate
that
the
church
should
help
community
support
work
in
this
way,
and the arrangement was approved.
6. Charitable giving:
The
normal
house
to
house
collection
for
Christian
Aid
Week
had
not
been
possible
because
of
the
coronavirus
restrictions.
It
was
agreed
that
a
donation
of
£1,000
should
be
made
by
the PCC.
It
was
also
agreed
that
we
should
make
a
donation
of
£500
to
Houghton
&
Wyton Community Fund.
7. Diocesan and Deanery Synod reports:
neither Synod had been able to meet because
of coronavirus restrictions.
8.
Any other business:
Mr
Morton
reported
that
he
had
been
helping
the
Committee
of
the
Memorial
Hall
with
a
project
to
review
and
update
their
constitution,
using
powers
of
amendment
under
the
Charities
Act
2011.
This
included
a
review
of
the
village
organizations
which,
under
the
Hall’s
constitution,
had
the
right
to
appoint
a
member
of
the
Committee.
The
original
list
of
such
organizations,
which
was
set
out
in
the
1946
Conveyance
which
set
out
the
trusts
of
the
Memorial
Hall,
included
both
Houghton
PCC
and
Wyton
PCC
(the
two
being
still
separate
parishes
at
that
time).
It
was
agreed
that
we
should
not
have
the
right
to
appoint
two
members,
and
that
the
Memorial
Hall
Committee
should
therefore
be
informed
that
in
our
opinion
it
would
be
appropriate
to
treat
Wyton
PCC
as
having
ceased
to
exist
as
a
separate
entity,
and
therefore
to
treat
its
right
of
appointment
as
having
lapsed.
It
was
noted
that
Mrs
Hollis
currently
sits
on
the
Committee as the appointee of the PCC.
9.
Next
meeting:
The
next
meeting
would
take
place
on
23rd
July
2020
in
the
at
7
p.m.,
in
the
St.
Mary’s
Centre
if
that
were
by
then
permissible
under
coronavirus
restrictions, and otherwise via Zoom
10.
There
being
no
further
business,
the
meeting
closed
with
the
Grace
at
7.55
p.m.
Notes of Meeting of FABRIC
COMMITTEE held on
Thursday 21st May 2020 at 6.30 by
Zoom
Attended by:
Rev. G Boucher (GB)
Mike Batchelor (MB)
Guy Morton (GM)
Roger Churchill (RC)
Simon Summers (SS)
Apologies: Joy Bell (JB)
1.
Matters arising
•
Items covered within minutes below
2.
Church Building and Churchyard
Matters.
•
Bell Tower – Drain to be reviewed during
next Churchyard Clean-up.
•
Lead Roof Alarm –Smart Water to be
painted on the lead roof. MB to action.
•
Quinquennial Inspection carried out in
presence of GB, GM and MB, very
enlightening. Architects Report received
and circulated. Discussion on work to be
categorised, see page 15 items 16 and
17. RC to list for further discussion.
•
Costs to be sought for 5 Year Electrical
Tests MB to action.
3.
St Mary’s Centre Building Matters
•
Overhanging vegetation Scheduled for
July by John Talbot (Tree Specialist)
•
Fire alarm System –wireless system
installed but a letter received re new
door release mechanism, MB to
investigate and also to arrange training.
•
Cost for Electrical Tests to be sought MB
to action.
4. Wyton Churchyard matters
•
JTree Removal – Faculty sought and
tree removal to be carried out by John
Talbot..
•
Discussion took place on the possibility
of closing of the Graveyard, GM to
investigate.
•
War Graves Commission plaque
discussed, GB to review.
5. Administration
•
Health & safety Documentation - MB to
discuss changes with PCC Secretary
and have policies represented for
approval.
•
Website/Pew Sheets – now active and
webmasters are Pat & Haleema Hawkins
from Hartford.
6. Any Other Business
•
Toilet/Kitchenette raised by RC, MB to
contact Architect to seek Fee Cost.
•
RC to contact Anglian Water and
Contractor to seek indicative cost.
7. Date for Next Meetings
•
Next Meeting set for Thursday 23rd
July 2020 at 6 pm, Venue/Zoom to be
decided later.
