Parish of The Sacred Heart
Parish Pastoral Council Minutes of the meeting held on 9th December 2025 At Sacred Heart, North Walsham
Present: Fr. Peter Raj, Fran Ludden (Chair), Christine Barraclough (Secretary). Peter McKenna, Antonia
Martinez (Parish Secretary), Georgiana Rylands, Francis Harmer (Finance), Bob Gale, Bruce McKenna, Clare
Glenn, Margaret Burrows, Ijeoma Duru
Apologies for Absence were received from: Nick Elphinstone
Opening Prayer
- It was agreed to end the meeting by 9pm.
Parish Reps. Ijeoma Duru was welcomed as the new rep for North Walsham. The list of Reps and
terms of office as presented was checked for accuracy. Christine will confirm the dates by checking
through the Parish records. Clare Glenn agreed to do a second term. The election of the Chair will
be confirmed at the next meeting once terms of office have been checked. - The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 9th September were agreed as amended. (Ref to Katie
not leading a liturgy at Hoveton, should say Aylsham).
Matters arising: John Holden will report on the meeting for the Jubilee Year working committee.
Peter will contact the First Aider training company to enquire re basic training. - Health and Safety: The recommendations from the inspections held earlier in the year have been
circulated. Most action points are not likely to be of high cost. It was stressed that the Parish Priest
is responsible for all aspects of health and safety, and it was pointed out that the Office was not
covered by the inspection, although the hall was. - Financial Report: The financial year ends on the 31st of December, Expenditure was as expected, but
there was £6000 less for income. Legacies are particularly low; £800 as opposed to £15000. In total
£44000 payments over receipts. There was an extra £3700 extra spent on repairs, decoration at the
Presbytery and repairs on the bungalow. There are reserves, but in 2026 will be down to £94000.
So, we need to maximise income.
Ideas for moving forward: Communicate to and involve all communities. Support is needed from all,
with emphasis on the Church’s mission. There are volunteering opportunities and people should be
actively approached. There should be further drives for offertory income and legacies, although it
should be noted that the diocese takes a percentage. The hall is well used and produces a useful
income. More social events are needed as they have been successful. The 200 Club could be
reinstated. A Christmas raffle is another possibility. We should consider where savings can be
made. Bob wondered if reserves held by individual parishes could be given to the general accounts,
but this was not felt advisable. Father suggested more appeals to the parish could be made. This is
planned for March-April. Donation boxes could be used. It was also pointed out that Father Alan
may bring experience of fund-raising activities at the Cathedral. Francis was thanked for his clear
summary of the financial situation. - Parish Social Committee Report: The Beetle Drive was fun for all ages and raised £170-190. The
Christmas Fair was also a success and raised in the region of £800. Bob was thanked for being
Father Christmas on the day. The exact amount will be given to the committee by the Parish
Treasurer when the counters have counted and banked the fund. - Parish Priest’s Report to PPC: Father Peter expressed his thanks to the committee members for their help, support and commitment. There will be an Advent Retreat on 13 th December. The Carol Services will be held on 14 th Dec at Hoveton, 18th December at Aylsham and 21st December at North Walsham. The patronal feast for St John of the Cross will be on 14th December. Father thanked Arthur, who has resigned for health reasons, for his work as Hall Manager. Christine will take over and also help Antonia in the office. This was Father Peter’s last PPC meeting and he expressed his enjoyment of working with the group and said he will be sad to leave. He will be away from January 6th to February 10th . His last weekend in the parish will be Feb 15th -16th. Father Alan will be arriving on Feb 16th and there will be a big Mass on 15th .
- Parish Pastoral Councillors’ Reports: Hoveton: The forum on Saturday 6th Dec was well attended.
The financial report for the parish was given but no real problems arose. Aylsham: The last forum’s
concern was that Health and Safety is too big a responsibility for one person to hold. In a discussion
about CCTV cameras, it was suggested that a policy is needed, and that the publication of images is
one of the problems. North Walsham: A few people attended the recently held forum, but it was
felt that this should be more publicised to encourage greater attendance. A suggestions box might
be needed. The new Missals are used by some, but it was suggested that the welcomers should
make people more aware of them as they arrive. New methods of payment, for collections or
donations, such as a card machine or QR code was discussed, with no immediate plans for
implementation. It was also suggested that the books at the back should be displayed in an
organised way, and that children’s books could be included. It is hoped that the Bidding Prayers
would include prayers for Father Peter for his move, and Father Alan as he prepares to take over
the Parish. This met with general approval by the meeting. Antonia offered to prepare these. - Council of Laity: Fran apologised for not going to council meetings as she had not been made aware
of dates. She has the minutes of the last meeting, which included plans for the possible
restructuring of the PPC’s. Bishop Peter is considering this. - Friends of the Holy Land: Antonia has no further news on this. It will be left until Fr Alan is installed.
- Parish/Diocesan twinning: This will be discussed later – as above.
- SVP: The collection raised over £900. It is felt that the SVP should in future provide a report for the
committee. Father suggested that the SVP rep should be invited to attend the meetings. Fran will
investigate this. - AOB: Georgiana suggested that separate leaflets for each church in the parish could be inserted in
newsletters. Father felt this is a decision which should be taken by the new Priest. Bob pointed out
that some parishes have advertising in their newsletters which brings in revenue. - The next meeting will be held on Tuesday March 3rd at North Walsham at 7.15 for 7.30.
- The meeting closed with a prayer.
