Finchale Partnership PDG: Minutes of the meeting 13/09/17

Transcription

1 Finchale Partnership PDG: Minutes of the meeting 13/09/17 Present: Fr. Andrew Downie, Graham Donachie, Kristen Peacock, Margaret Doyle, Fr. Robert Riedling, Pauline Burnside, Simon Campbell, Jill Cox, Bill Donnelly, Halina Holman, Angela McKenna, Justine Smith Apologies: Fr. David Coxon, Fr. Colm Hayden, Fr. Shaun Swales 1. Welcome and introductions: Fr. Andrew 2. Review of action points from meeting of 23 May 2017 Action point Update 1. Representation from schools Simon Campbell and Justine Smith (MD) (representing the secondary schools) and Pauline Burnside (representing the secondary schools) have now joined the PDG 2. Practical arrangements for The first partnership event was an event (GD) afternoon at Ushaw which took place on 23 rd July and was well attended. Feedback was very positive 3. Communications questionnaire See agenda item 3 (MD) 4. Partnership level website (MD) See agenda item 3 5. Review observations for each See agenda item 5 parish (MD) 6. 2 good things each parish could lead on, any gaps where we need support (All) See agenda item 6 3. Communications Following the last meeting, Margaret sent out a questionnaire to each parish to identify the best way of communicating. The main findings were:- If we want to include partnership news in parish newsletters, the text has to be received by Wednesday evening to allow all parishes to publish on the same weekend. Many newsletters are already very full, and the meeting agreed that a Partnership Newsletter would be welcome (perhaps 6 times a year). 1

2 Websites: o Trimdon, Coxhoe and Sedgefield, and Langley Moor have websites under development. o The West Durham parishes have a website at It is a new website, still being developed. There is also a new Facebook page. o Durham Martyrs have a website at It is well established but the parish are discussing how to refresh it. o St. Cuthbert s have a website at and a Facebook page. There is also a Chaplaincy website at and a Facebook page. We have all identified a skills gap in maintaining the websites. There is a Diocesan review of communications over the next 6 months which may result in advice / support which will help us in the future. For the immediate future, the advice from the Diocese is that we should consider hosting partnership websites on a parish website, with links from other parishes. Some pages have therefore been set up at The meeting agreed that Margaret and Bill will lead on communications for the PDG. AP1: Margaret and Bill to develop a Partnership Newsletter. 4. Guidelines for the PDG The Diocese have recommended Guidelines (Terms of Reference) for PDGs. The meeting agreed that we should publish Guidelines specifically for the Finchale Partnership PDG, based on the Diocesan draft, but amended to meet our own needs where necessary. AP2: Everyone to consider the Diocesan draft and suggest any amendments / additions by . Margaret to collate and provide a draft for agreement at the next meeting. 5. Activity in parishes Margaret reviewed the observations from the Diocese on the Parish Questionnaires, but the review raised concerns about the quality of the observations, with obvious differences in approach, and concerns from the parishes that some did not give a fair assessment of their questionnaire. Although the review did highlight some issues in individual parishes which the partnership may need to be aware of, the meeting agreed that these will become clear as individual parishes update the PDG about their current priorities, and that there will be no further review of Parish Questionnaires at the PDG. The Parish Questionnaires are still key documents, and activity in parishes will continue to address the issues they identified. Most of this activity is appropriate to the parish level, although some aspects (e.g. buildings) will be relevant to the partnership level. 2

3 Current issues in the parishes: Durham Martyrs The parish has advertised for a Youth Co-ordinator, offering a 3 year contract. There may be partnership benefits. Durham Martyrs is aiming to become a dementia-friendly community, and the Dementia Group is extending to address the needs of people with other disabilities The Parish Council has recently discussed streaming services over the internet. This is something that could be explored at partnership level. A steering group has been set up to address concerns about St. Godric s church, a listed building facing considerable expenditure. Trimdon Sedgefield Coxhoe It is hoped that the amalgamation of the parishes will be formalised in the next few months The parishes are considering employing someone to co-ordinate administration across the parishes. Newhouse There is concern about the plastering in the church (a listed building) with on-going problems following recent rewiring. Esh / Langley Park The 5-year survey has revealed concerns about the building known as the Barn, which will be reviewed by a structural engineer. The buildings are cared for by a small group of very committed parishioners. Langley Moor The parish is building up levels of involvement, with regular, clear links with the school and increasingly well supported social events every few weeks after Mass. St. Cuthbert s There is an extensive Parish Pastoral Plan following the FTiH questionnaire. Current priorities are: o increasing access to talks and events o improving communications with the parish s young people o building on the links between parish and chaplaincy Ushaw Moor The afternoon clubs for the local community, which meet twice a week, are doing well The parish has identified the need to work closely with St. Leonard s 3

4 6. Good practice from each parish / any gaps or areas for improvement Parish Durham Martyrs Trimdon Sedgefield Coxhoe Newhouse Esh / Langley Park Ushaw Moor Langley Moor St. Cuthbert s Strengths where we can support the other parishes Lay leadership of sacramental preparation SVP Outreach J&P, asylum seekers and prisons Sacramental programme for First Communion and Confirmation Working together across the parishes while respecting individual communities Sacramental programme for First Communion and Confirmation Celebrating the Triduum around the cluster Churches Together PPC Choir growing 2 active prayer groups Outreach, particularly the Food Bank Liturgy and Music Involving young adults (building on the Chaplaincy activity) Areas where we would welcome support Engaging with young people Communications Engaging with teenagers Succession planning Engaging with young people J&P need to rebuild the group Prayer group and Lectio Divina need to rebuild the groups Engaging with teenagers Training and preparation for the future Links with the schools SVP 7. Scale of activity for PDG setting priorities Fr. Andrew updated the meeting about the scale of activity which we are facing. There has already been detailed guidance about how to run a partnership level Finance Committee, but there is no clear information about the governance arrangements, i.e. the relationship between the Finance Committee and the PDG, or the relationship between the partnership level Finance Committee and the parish Finance Committees. There will also be a partnership level Property Review Team, which will be required to carry out a review using a Property toolkit provided by the Diocese. We should expect that there will be difficult decisions ahead. The planned menu of ideas for formation in leadership is still under development. 4

5 The Diocese has been made aware of concern at the scale of activity and the pressure on the people involved if we are to progress the many activities which are recommended. It is recognised that there is work to do at Diocesan level to clarify how all the initiatives fit together, and there will be a further meeting of the partnership deans on 21 September. In addition, Kristen is one of the lay representatives on the Diocesan Implementation Group, which is monitoring progress. We have started to get to know the issues across the partnership, and some priorities are emerging, but we need a more detailed discussion on plans and priorities. This does not necessarily have to be a plan in the format suggested by the Diocese. AP3: Fr. Andrew to investigate the availability of a facilitator and propose a date and venue for a half day discussion session before Christmas. 8. Partnership Events planning We agreed that our next event should be during Advent. AP4: Kristen to develop a proposal for a roving liturgy, focussing on different aspects of the nativity, for the Sundays in Advent. 9. Involving the schools Fr. Andrew observed that all the parishes have identified their concern about engaging with young people. We should not expect the same type of involvement that the church saw in the 1960s, and the important factor is individuals experience. Simon, Pauline and Justine summarised some ideas about how the schools and the parishes can increasingly work together: We have all identified practical activities in the parishes which are opportunities for young people to get involved (e.g. social media, the dementia group, SVP). There are already things in place we can build on, e.g. mini-vinnies in the primary schools, an active CAFOD group at St. Leonard s. The schools can be a focal point for communications. St. Leonard s have a weekly to parents and can include partnership news. The facilities at St. Leonard s are available to the partnership. There is strong liturgy in the schools. 10. Communications from this meeting There will be a short summary of the meeting for communication in each parish, and in St. Leonard s , the weekend of 23/24 September. The minutes will be available at the same time for noticeboards and on the partnership webpages. Feedback to the other primary schools will be at the regular meetings of headteachers, at St. Leonard s. Next meeting: 7.00pm, Wednesday 13 December at St. Joseph s, Gilesgate 5