The Annual Parochial Church Meeting of St Faith’s Church, having been convened, was this day, the Twenty-Seventh Day of April 2008, held in St Faith’s Church at 11.00am.   There were 51 people present.

 1              Minutes

The minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 22 April 2007, having been previously circulated, were signed by the Chairman, Father David Gibbons, as a correct record after amending the final sentence of the report on “Communications”.

 2              Election to the Parochial Church Council and Deanery Synod

We were entitled to 12 elected members to the PCC.  Six members remained on the PCC under the Three Year Rule.  This left 6 vacancies.  Four members were seeking re-election and their nominations had been proposed and seconded.  These were Colin Carter, Shirley Caunter, Fiona Hedley and Anne Plater.  In addition Lisa Roonan was prepared to serve on the PCC and her nomination was proposed and seconded during the meeting.  There being no further nominations, these five were duly elected, giving us 11 elected representatives.  The intention was to fill the remaining vacancy by co-opting on to the PCC Bill Skilleter who was Chairman of the Buildings Management Committee.  We are permitted two members on the Deanery Synod and nominations for Michael Fluck and Sandra Haggan had been proposed and seconded.  There being no further nominations, these two were duly elected.

 3              Appointment of Sidesmen

Jan Stuart thanked our sidesmen for their work in 2007.  The meeting agreed the appointment of the following for the ensuing year:

Mrs A Bartholomew            Mr K Bracher                        Mrs S Creech                        Mrs E Gilbert

Mr A Hakim                          Mr B Hudson                        Mr A Joyce                           Mrs F Joyce         

Mr M Little                            Mr M Poliszczuk                  Mrs D Powell                        Mrs V Rose          

Mrs D Rowden                     Mrs J Sagrott                        Mrs V Searle                         Miss P Sparks

Lt Col P Thomas

 4              Electoral Roll

Roger Bryant referred to the written report circulated before the meeting by the Electoral Roll Officer, Audrey Currie, who was not well enough to attend the meeting.  The new Roll had increased from 145 to147.  Audrey had decided to relinquish her post because of failing health and the Chairman expressed his appreciation for her excellent work.  Hilary Deadman would be recommended to the PCC for appointment as the new Electoral Roll Officer.

 5              PCC Report

The PCC Secretary (Roger Bryant) referred to the written report.  The Chairman had reminded the meeting of the range of difficult and sensitive issues dealt with by the committee and praised the Secretary and members for their work during the year.  There were no questions.

 6              Treasurer’s Report

Dr David Atchison (Treasurer) explained that our income in 2007 had reduced from £137,561 the previous year to £117,247 primarily because of the loss of rent for Christ Church Centre.  However, this had been compensated by a reduction in expenditure from £126,499 the previous year to £109,366.  He reminded the meeting that Alan Hakim, who was responsible for Gift Aid and Stewardship, had asked parishioners to tell him as soon as possible if they were not able to meet their commitments to the schemes.  David thanked Geoff Porter and Roger Simmons for their work as part of the “Treasurer’s Team” and also the members of the Standing Committee for their support.  There were no questions.  The Chairman told the meeting that David had resigned as Treasurer because of the demands of his General Practice and that we were now seeking another Treasurer.  He thanked David for his valued work.  The meeting approved Messrs Morris Crocker remaining as our auditors/examiners.

 7              Written Reports

The meeting then considered the following reports and parishioners were given the opportunity to ask questions:

(a) Buildings Management Committee, (b) Restoration and Redevelopment Appeal Committee, (c) Property Development Group, (d) Communications, (e) Choir, (f) Health and Safety, (g) Deanery Synod, (h) Child Protection, (i) St Nicholas Chapel, (j) Young Believers Youth Club, (k) Sunday Club and (l) Youth Church.

 There were few questions from parishioners but Sylvia Willey, Music Director, made a strong presentation for the replacement of our two pianos which were now in a poor and very unsatisfactory state.  The work of the Parish Shop, led by Sheila Warlow, continues to be an excellent opportunity for outreach and funding for the church.  The Chairman thanked everyone for their superb work in all these committees, clubs and activities, together with parishioners who had given support to these various endeavours.

 8              Property Development Group Presentation

Jan Stuart gave a presentation to bring parishioners up to date with the work of the PDG and referred to plans displayed in church.  The original concept was for an extension built on the south-west corner of the church, with an external porch, a new floor, the removal of the Lady Chapel and the addition of two rooms into the west end of the north and south aisles.  There were objections from English Heritage and Havant Borough Council (HBC) planners about the number of changes inside the church, the inadequate size of the proposed extension, the building of an external porch, the removal of trees and the fact that it was visible from West Street.  As a result, it was decided to build the extension on the south side of the church, with an entrance adjacent to the Lady Chapel which would be retained; floor tiles would also be retained and the wood flooring repaired.  Meetings had been held with English Heritage, HBC planners and the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC).  There followed a discussion during which Hilary Deadman expressed her concern about the sale of Christ Church Centre leaving us without a community or church presence in Denvilles.  Ken Bracher pointed out that he lived closest to the Centre and that most people did not want a community centre, with all the security problems it entailed to prevent vandalism. 

 9              Kairos

The Chairman reported that the diocese launched the building phase of the Kairos project on Friday 25th April.  All the churches faced problems with maintaining old buildings as well as rising maintenance costs and quota payments.  The way forward was for buildings to be used for the community.  We needed to plough all the church's activities into the church buildings away from church halls, so other buildings could be leased or, if necessary, sold.  Upgrade facilities at the churches so they could work well.  Make the buildings pay for themselves - i.e. income generated to cover all on-costs and preventative maintenance.  The congregational giving covered the quota and mission work.  At St Faith's the PDG worked very well under Jan's leadership - they had clear direction and motivation.  The point of today's presentation by Jan was to keep the church informed of our working, to invite opinion and to solicit support, either by joining the PDG or offering to perform one-off tasks

 Personal Announcement by the Rector

I have accepted an invitation to become the Rector of St Mark's, Barrington Hills, Illinois, USA.  The church, an hour from Chicago, is part of the Episcopal Church of the United States, part of the Anglican Communion, and is very much like St Faith's in its size and worship style.   I gave the Bishop my notice on Friday and the churchwardens that same evening.    Graham Frost, elected Churchwarden today, was aware that I was looking at this move, prior to making his decision to stand.     It has been a very hard decision for Susan and I to make - all four of us are very sorry to leave wonderful friends and the church at this time in its work, especially the PDG's project.  However I am confident that the church is in the hands of good leaders, that there are very many dedicated people within the church who will continue the work that has been going on for the last seven years.    Once we leave - probably the end of July - the Bishop will instruct the Archdeacon to initiate the process of finding a new rector for St Faith's.  I am confident he will want to see the continuing growth of Havant, as he values St Faith's very highly.    It is very likely that there will be some excellent candidates interested in becoming your next Rector. In the mean time I shall work with you to put as much in place for the interregnum as possible.   I would like to thank you all for all your kindness and enthusiastic service for the church over the last seven years.  It has been a wonderful experience being with you, seeing the church grow, and making so many good friends.  I will keep a very interested eye on progress here and keep you in my prayers for the coming years.                                                                             The Reverend David A Gibbons

 There being no further business, the Annual Parochial Church Meeting concluded with an appreciation by the retiring Churchwarden, Sandra Haggan, on behalf of the parishioners for the outstanding work and achievements of the Rector over the last year.

Pursuant to a notice given and posted near the church door, the Vestry and Annual Parochial Church Meeting, sitting together as required by the Churchwardens (Appointments and Regulation) Measure 1964, was held in St Faith's Church on Sunday, the Twenty-Seventh day of April 2008 for the election of Churchwardens.

 The Rector, the Reverend David Gibbons presided.

 1              Apologies

                Apologies for absence were received from Mrs M Bracher, Mrs A Currie, Mr C Carter, Mr & Mrs M Laird, Mrs C Stuart & Mrs A Plater.

 2              Minutes

                The minutes of the Vestry Meeting held on 22 April 2007 were read by the Secretary and signed by the Chairman as a complete record.

 3              Election of Churchwardens

                The Chairman reported that he had received two nominations for election to Churchwarden.   These were for Dr Graham Frost and Prof Jan Stuart.   No further nominations had been received and he therefore declared Graham and Jan as Churchwardens for the ensuing year.   He then paid tribute to the hard and effective work of Jan over the last year, particularly in respect of his chairmanship of the Property Development Group.  The Chairman explained that Sandra Haggan was not seeking re-election to Churchwarden because of the demands of her training programme to become a Lay Reader.  She had exercised an effective pastoral role and the parish owed her a debt of gratitude.   He asked parishioners to support Graham and Jan in their responsibilities for the fabric of the church. 

                 There being no further business, the Vestry Meeting ended.