The first meeting of the Wellington & Wiveliscombe Parish Forum was held on 6th May 1998.  Since then it has met four times a year, wherever possible, to fulfill its agreed mission statement and responsibilities, namely:

Mission Statement

To be a united and coordinated Roman Catholic Community, spreading the word of God through practical mission wheresoever we are.

Responsibilities

  1. Helping the Parish to discern its mission by listening carefully to the needs of all its parishioners and those of the local community, and to work out a common vision and priorities together.

  2. Encouraging the kind of open, trusting and caring relationships which are characteristic of genuine community.

  3. Fostering a climate of acceptance, affirmation and encouragement in which people will be empowered to recognise their, and others', gifts for the good of the community and the glory of God.

  4. Ensuring there are opportunities for people to grow in a faith that links with everyday life.

  5. Working together to provide a communication structure within the Parish through which everyone can be involved in consultation and appropriate decision making.

PARISH FORUM MINUTES

St John Fisher, Wellington & St Richard, Wiveliscombe.

MINUTES OF THE PARISH FORUM             May 12th 2007

 

  1. 9.15 am. The meeting was opened by the new facilitator, Jenny Donnelly. We said a prayer for the success of the forum.

 

Present: Jill Bryce, Jenny Donnelly , Margaret Gunn, David Hamilton, Mary Hutchings , Trish Longley , Anne O’Donoghue, Sean O’Donoghue, Father Bob Rainbow, Mary Ravnkilde.

 

  1. Apologies: Florence Ford , Peter Gaywood , Geoff Gunn, Alma Hamilton, Andrew Marsh , Sue Marsh ,  Monica Spalding, Julia Tucker , Noreen White , William White, Eileen Hewitt .

 

  1. Seeking The Face of Christ. Jenny spoke about this initiative, which comes from the Diocese. There is a book to accompany this and its four chapters have been split between members of the Pastoral Council. Two council members will study each chapter and present their conclusions to the parish.

Father Bob explained the background: a series of pastoral guidelines will be put together for the whole diocese after parishes, schools and individuals studied the book [copies available] and reported to the diocese.

There is a lovely prayer card with an icon of Christ on one side and copies of this may be taken and given to friends or generally distributed.

The four chapters are:

    1. Made in the Image and Likeness of God
    2. God in all Things
    3. The Communion of God’s People
    4. Revealing the Face of Christ

 

  1. Parish Survey: David Hamilton reported on the recent survey. The full report is available as a separate document with these minutes. Father Bob concluded: “The Church is about mission”.

 

  1. The meeting was adjourned for the celebration of Holy Mass at 10 am.

 

  1. Discussion of the Parish Survey:

The reasons that more people did not complete the survey were discussed and it was thought that language difficulty was a reason. Trish reported that those whose first language is not English are attending the classes on Wednesday evenings. At the most recent class there were six students and five teachers present.

 


  1. There being too few people to merit division into groups for discussion, the forum as a whole discussed further action:

We should find out more about other churches in the town. Jenny spoke about Wiveliscombe parish council’s AGM and how all are invited; this proves to be a fruitful experience. Mary H. reported that she had recently been shown round the United Reformed Church and had seen their Communion vessels and how enlightening this experience was.

It was suggested that we should hold an open day and perhaps have a sale of books.

Several people said that their friends like to know that they go to church, even if the friends themselves do not. It seems to be of comfort to non-church attenders.

There is to be an ecumenical Service of Animal Blessing at Mary Ravnkilde’s home on Sunday May 20th – this is a good example of an initiative to bring people together.

 

  1. Report from Pastoral Council: The new members are Anita Abrams and Sean O’Donoghue. The work of the council was discussed, including:

 

·       A loop system is needed at Saint Richard’s

·       The parking area at Saint Richard’s is still in need of re-surfacing

·       Carpet in the aisle at Saint John Fisher? Probably insufficient funds at the moment.

·       New kitchen at Saint John Fisher. We now have the offer of kitchen units.

 

  1. Reports from other groups:

Parish Retreat: The next one will be in October, at Nympsfield, which is an ideal situation for the retreat.

Pastoral visitors: Working successfully.

Liturgical group: At the last meeting the arrangements for the Triduum were discussed. Next meeting will be on May 16th.

 

  1. Any Other Business and Fund-raising:

Mary Ravnkilde pointed out that CaFOD is appealing urgently for both Dafur and Chad . Our parish project is to help Father Pedro in Chad , so we need to be able to divide anything we collect between CAFOD and Father Pedro.

Friday, May 25th: Our church is hosting prayers for the success of Living Flame [to be held in the park on May 28th]

The church garden: Margaret mentioned the trees which are putting roots into the drains and foundations of the building. We need to organise a working party to tidy and plant the garden anew.

 

  1. Future dates:

·       Forum: September 8th, 2007

·       AGM: 1st March, 2008

·       Forum: May 17th, 2008

 

The forum concluded with the praying of the Regina Coeli and the blessing from Father Bob.

Mary Hutchings