Parish Pastoral Committee AGM held on Thursday 10th September 2026
The meeting began with a prayer
Report from Chair– Fran Ludden
I’ll begin with saying thank you, to Becky for her years as sacristan and to Antonia for hers as secretary at North Walsham – we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for all the hours and hard work you’ve put in to support our parish. We also thank Christine, Wendy and Sue who have taken on those roles.
Thank you to Art and Geraldine for your work with the parish hall. We know that it is, at times, a thankless job and you’ve done it with patience and perseverance. Again, thank you to Christine for taking on this role. If there are others I need to thank, who are involved in the daily life of the church at North Walsham and at St Helen’s – then thank you! But I would like to thank Andrew and Val Clark at St. John’s for temporarily taking on the mantle of sacristan while Roma has been unable to do it.
Thank you, all the members, of the PPC and all groups and committees for giving of your time so willingly.
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The last AGM took place in July 2025, since when we said farewell to Fr Peter Raj in February of this year and welcomed Father Alan Hodgson. Father’s Induction Mass took place on July 2nd. We have had two PPC meetings since Fr Alan’s arrival and have offered him our support in his decisions regarding the pastoral life of the parish.
Father has already led a pilgrimage to Rome. (Thank you to Peter Brander for organising the visit)
Mass is said regularly in all three churches, with occasional change of day and time as required by Father’s busy calendar. We know that Father Alan has a number of roles and commitments within the diocese which means that he is not always able to celebrate Sunday or weekday Masses with us, and we would like to thank Fr James and Fr Dennis for joining us on those occasions.
The long-awaited re-introduction of the chalice at Sunday Mass has been most welcome. Father is now looking to arrange training for and recommissioning of eucharistic ministers and readers. Father has recently introduced Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and Confessions at Aylsham on a Wednesday evening. Opportunities are also available at Sacred Heart and at St Helen’s.
During the past year we have celebrated the sacraments in our churches – baptisms and reception into the church, First Holy Communion and Reconciliation, confirmations, and marriages. We have said goodbye to a number of good friends who have died this year and remembered loved ones when anniversaries have arisen.
As always, there are a range of items on the PPC agenda. Forums at the three churches continue to feed into discussions at PPC meetings and reports from those meetings are given at each forum. Health and Safety is always one of them. This year has seen training for fire marshals as well as defibrillator training for more parishioners. The search for first aid training is ongoing.
Twinning – After much discussion at all three churches, it was decided that the twinning with Cambodia has come to its natural end. Father and the PPC were asked to continue to support the work of Support Cambodia in terms of advertising and facilities. This was agreed. Father has approached contacts in the Holy Land and has received information regarding a parish on the West Bank, which may offer us an opportunity to forge a new and different kind of supportive relationship with other Christians.
The Parish Social Committee continues to meet to plan social and fundraising events. We would especially like to thank Bob Gale for the initiative he has taken to organise Beetle Drives and the Quiz. There is talk of introducing a 200 club in the coming year in order to raise much needed funds. The Social Committee appreciates all the help it gets to make the events successful and welcomes feedback and suggestions for future events, as well as new members.
Following talks at Masses at our three churches, the St Vincent de Paul conference originally set up in Aylsham, now includes members from the wider parish. Now well established, its main activity has been befriending individual members of the parish and beyond and offering assistance where necessary and appropriate. It is supporting the work of other local SVP conferences and last year, again, organised and delivered Christmas boxes to a number of families in local temporary accommodation in Cromer and Sheringham. Safeguarding has become a permanent agenda item. All DBS checks, including Father’s are up to date. Thank you to Sue who has been trained as the safeguarding rep for North Walsham.
Moving ahead, the PPC will be taking on board new guidelines issued by Bishop Peter. These guidelines will be made available to members of the PPC at the next meeting. Policy documents are currently being revised. Of immediate interest is the clause which states that the agenda ‘should normally focus on key pastoral issues than reports from parish groups, committees and the organisations!’
I leave it to Fr Alan to thank you for all you do in so many ways and hand over to Francis who will update us on all matters financial.
Financial Report by Francis Harmer
This account is a summary of main points. If required, the full report and summary of receipts and payments may be available on request. The meeting was given a full explanation of the financial statement, which showed that the offertory income had fallen again and the income from legacies was lower than expected. It has been necessary to meet Diocesan expectations when it comes to investments and these have shown a poor return, which have meant that the Parish’s available funds have fallen over the year. The main area of concern overall is the cost of maintenance and repairs of all the buildings and grounds, and provision has been made for these.
A realistic budget was set for the current year for offertory income. The hall income has improved considerably since reopening. Rents and facilities hire are doing well. Aylsham has also been used by music groups. Social events and fund-raising have helped, and the sound system has practically been covered by donations. We have not, however, had a substantial legacy for about 5 years. There is a clear need to maximise income and control expenditure with the aim of building future reserves.
In the short term we will encourage volunteering in the parish, for which we must approach and encourage individuals to participate. We must undertake further drives to increase offertory income; explore marketing opportunities to maximise rental income; Consider financial appeals for specific projects and external funding opportunities; hold more fund-raising events; and look for ways to save.
In the long term we must develop the capacity for fund-raising and further encourage legacy giving.
Thanks to all those who support the parish in so many ways.
The Parish Hall report by Christine Barraclough
I would like to give an idea of what goes on here through the year and how widely we represent our community. Local Groups meet here regularly, and they cover a wide range of activities. The U3A has several smaller sections who come here, such as U3A sings, brain games as well as the main monthly meeting when a speaker is arranged. Several exercise groups ranging from Tai Chi and yoga to our own parishioners’ exercise group where we meet for half an hour of exercise followed up with about an hour of coffee and biscuits and a good chat! More singing groups feature and the NHS take over for child health clinics once a week all day. We have recently added a puppy training group to the list. They not only use the hall for a small number of dogs at a time but love the fact that there is a garden that Father Alan is very happy for them to use too. So, we reach out into the community around and provide an excellent base for all kinds of activities. We have been used twice this year for local elections as well as a centre for North Walsham Good Neighbours scheme to enable people unfamiliar with computers for their own use to come in and practice under the watchful eye of experts.
As well as evenings like this when the social committee organises refreshments and drinks, we hosted two large social events following services in church. Father Alan’s Induction Mass and Chris White’s funeral both required a major food plan and introduced us to the benefits of Waitrose entertaining range! We were pleased to welcome Chris’s friends and family, as she had been so instrumental in planning and managing the hall through both the pandemic and the refurbishments that were necessitated by the damage to the roof and floor a few years ago. The meeting room is used regularly by all Parish Groups and is a useful separate facility which can be used when regular groups are using the main hall.
Faithful Flames, the children’s liturgy group, use the hall before Mass on most Sundays in the year. It is lovely to see their themed artwork brought proudly forward to be displayed at the front of the church. After Mass many people enjoy a chat over tea or coffee in here too. As well as our regular groups, we welcome people who hold their own private parties. We have had everything from bouncy castles to karaoke, and some very excited small children, as well as engagement parties and Christening celebrations. It is also particularly pleasing that representatives of all communities in our parish and town, the Polish, Indian and Filipino Communities can hold their own celebrations to welcome their friends and families in their own special ways.
The hall is managed by a close-knit team, who all have their own roles separately and together. Peter tells us what we can buy, John keeps us and our hirers safe and secure, Maureen and Geraldine handle catering supplies, liaise with the social committee and organise the coffee after Mass while Tom keeps an eye on the hall almost all the time, making sure everything is well for the guests and hirers. Together we try to make sure under the watchful eye of Father Alan, that everything runs smoothly, and this special hall can continue to bring us together and be of use to us all.
Parish Priest’s Report– Father Alan Hogson
When Father Alan arrived in the Parish, he was very careful to ensure that any appeal, which is always a risk, would be only for projects and charities that he truly believes in, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre for example, to which money would go to directly. He mentioned the sound system, for which money has successfully been raised and how the windows at the Cathedral, which he raised money to restore were, like many places of historical interest, something he was passionate about.
He had known of the parish before moving here. He talked of the beautiful grounds, more manageable at Aylsham and Hoveton, but always an expense to maintain and keep tidy. Property is our most valuable asset, and work needs to be done at the Presbytery even if it is only one room each year.
He spoke about how important it is to bring the parish and its three churches together, so they can show support for each other. The Jubilee celebration will be a wonderful opportunity for that.
He thanked everyone for the welcome and the joy of being here. ‘Thank you to all you do to make me feel at home’.
There were questions from the floor, referring to the request for silence before Mass which has been managed in various ways in other churches, also suggesting there might be silence at the end too; using the parish census to identify possible volunteers: and the problems of parking at the church.
Father talked about training for all volunteers in various capacities.
To conclude the meeting Fran thanked all who had attended and helped in any way.
All present joined Father Alan in a prayer
