Minutes of Meeting – 3rd February 2026

Our Lady, Mother of the Church – Parish Pastoral Council

Minutes of Meeting held 3^rd February 2026 in the Church Hall

Present – Fr Francis, Fr Malachy, Norma Mitchell, Audrey Parfinowska, Blanca Nieto, George Kerr (Administrative Officer), Kevin Higgins (Chair in the absence of Val), Gerry Higgins, Andy Cooper

Apologies – Val Lawrie, Angela Allan

Matters Arising from previous PPC meetings

100 Club – £100 still outstanding. Gerry McCue to be asked to check again where this this item is held.

Action – Audrey

Recording of cash and Standing Order collections in the Parish Newsletter – Because of the two different systems used to record cash and Standing Order donations, the latter are not currently included in the newsletter. Therefore the information is an incomplete record of total parishioner contributions.

Action – George and Audrey to research this issue and report back to the next PPC meeting.

No other outstanding issues arising and the previous minutes accepted and seconded by Kevin and Gerry Higgins.

PPC 3rd February 2026

Finance

Parish Accounts

1. Audrey is preparing the 2025 year end Parish Accounts, and anticipates these will be ready to be signed off by Fr Francis by end of February 26.
2. The parish appears to have received two General Assessment Fees for 2025 –  in Feb and Sept – whereas only one such fee received in October 2024. Action – George to contact the Director of Finance at the Gillis Centre to request clarification.
3. The parish account at the Bank of Scotland account to be closed and transferred to a new account by the start of the tax year.
4. Kevin has provided Audrey with details of annual and regular services and costs (relating to Fabric & Maintenance, and Health & Safety) for her records.
5. Annual Budget for 2025 anticipated to be £15,000. Audrey to update with recommendations after finalising year end accounts.

Gift Aid – George will create a summary of regular Gift Aided donations, and prepare a script to encourage parishioners to Gift Aid their donations. Action –  Audrey and George to get together with Anthony (Finance Committee) who oversees Gift Aid.

Fabric and Maintenance

Kevin reported the following actions since the previous PPC meeting;

1. Under the terms of the Preventative Maintenance Contract with Apex Roofing Ltd, the roof and gutters were checked and cleared in November 2025. No sources of water ingress were identified.
2. Signage for use at funerals at the church has been purchased and stored in the church garage. The signage is designed to ensure the car park and area opposite the gate on Curriehill Road, remain unobstructed when funerals are in process.
3. The old church organ, formerly stored in the church garage, has been removed and disposed of in an environmentally appropriate way.

Health and Safety

Legionella Survey –

A Legionella survey has been conducted at the church, and subsequently, an engineer attended to make some adjustments. This included the removal of the water heater on the wall in the tea prep area.

Health and Safety Booklet (adding new volunteers) – George has received a number of names of volunteers which have been added to the list as having read the booklet, as required by the Archdiocese.  Going forward all new parish volunteers must read and sign the Booklet and inform George who will record on a central database.

Safeguarding

1. The new PVG Form is available on the Diocesan Website to be completed by all volunteers in a regulated position. Blank hard copy PVG Forms can also be found in the Sacristy, and must be completed prior to parish volunteers taking up new roles.

1. Similarly it is essential to obtain formal permission from parent/guardians before photos or videos of children can be posted on the parish website. The approval form is available on the parish website, and copies are also kept in the Sacristy. In addition, an e-form version of the parental approval form has been created, to allow parents to signal their approval via email rather than by signing a form in hard copy.

Note received from Val Lawrie after the meeting – Anybody completing the PVG form must meet with Val as the Safeguarding lead, to complete the accompanying ID form. Also, all volunteers must complete the general application form before starting their ministry.

Church Modifications to the Lady Chapel and the Hall

Kevin reported that significant progress had been made on the project to modify the church Hall and Lady Chapel so that they became effectively one large room, to allow for better use of the interior of the church. Also, that the proposed design would include the installation of a new Accessible Toilet adjacent to the existing Toilet. Both the existing Toilet and the Tea Preparation area would be refurbished, with the latter area moving location to the opposite side of the Hall. Additionally, a new Storage area in the entrance foyer, a new external door to the Lady Chapel, and various steps and handrails would be installed in the new Hall area. All of this would be completed within the existing footprint of the church, and would not involve any extension of the church building.

Adams Napier Partnership Ltd, have been working with the parish to help develop the project plans, and in January 2026 they provided the PPC with revised drawings and estimated budget costs.

Following detailed discussions, the PPC agreed in principle to progress the project to the next stage.

It was emphasised that this project was still at the ‘feasibility stage’, and no final commitment would be made until a number of important factors were addressed in the near term.

• Clarification on how the project would be funded (which would entail approaching the Archdiocesan Trustees in the first instance)
• Communicating with parishioners, and seeking views and feedback on the project proposed.

Fr Francis requested that the full communication to parishioners should be arranged shortly after our 60^th anniversary celebrations on 15 March 2026.

Action – Kevin to seek preliminary Archdiocesan Trustee approval for funding support for this project – Feb/March 2026

• Fr Francis and Kevin to prepare a communication process to inform parishioners of the status of the project and the proposed next steps – March/April 2026

Parish 60^th Anniversary – 2026

The Archbishop will say Mass at Our Lady’s church on the morning of Sunday 15^th March 2026, and will be attending the celebration at Gibson Craig Hall after Mass

Norma and Blanca provided the following updates;

1. Gibson Craig Hall has been booked, for a celebratory finger buffet after the Mass, for approximately 75-100 people at a cost of £15 per head.
2. Blanca will organise a cake, and has been asked for 2-3 samples of its decoration.
3. Fr Francis to check which priests have served at Our Lady’s over the years, in order to invite them.
4. The Music Group will play during the Mass, and will also play at Gibson Craig Hall.
5. Gerry will organise the flowers for the Church.
6. Deanna to organise flowers/table decorations for Gibson Craig Hall.
7. George to prepare the Welcome Address.
8. Blanca to organise a piper, to play at the church and/or at Gibson Craig Hall.
9. Photographer – Action – Blanca to speak to two parishioners to ask them to take photographs on the day of the anniversary celebration.
10. There will be no Children’s Liturgy on the day.
11. Newsletter Notice – Action – Norma to provide George with wording to include in the parish Newsletter, to encourage long-serving parishioners to put their names forward so that they can receive some acknowledgement during the Archbishop’s visit to our parish.
12. 60^th Anniversary Tree – suggestion to plant a tree in the Parish grounds in honour of the 60^th Anniversary of our Parish. Action – Blanca

AOB

Lourdes Pilgrimage – the closing date for applications is 15^th March. To date Fr Francis has not received any applications.

Purchase of Christmas Candle Holder

It was agreed not to purchase this item at this time, as the current one will suffice for a while longer.

Sunday Mass Times – Gerry told the PPC that she had been approached by a number of parishioners with suggestions for earlier Sunday mass times now that we have two priests.  Fr Francis said he would reflect on this issue, and report back to the next PPC. Action – Fr Francis

Replacement of missing Balloon Guards and two downpipes on lower level of the roof – Kevin had received a quotation from Apex Roofing Ltd following their review of the roof and gutters late last year. After discussion at the PPC it was decided this was not currently a priority area for expenditure, when there were other issues of greater priority. When gutter cleaning is done later this year, replacements may be fitted at that time.

Car Parking –  it has been noted that the car park is being used by non-parishioners during days in the week when Masses are being held, sometimes leaving a lack of spaces for parishioners. Val had been asked to enquire whether a barrier could be installed at the car park entrance. During discussions it was noted that we have already installed several ‘private car park’ notices in the car park, and a barrier might prove costly and difficult to maintain. An alternative approach discussed might be to put polite paper notices behind the windscreen wipers of vehicles using the car park during church service times, to remind people that ours is a private car park.

Note –  Following the meeting Val proposed that advice was sought from Scott Mackenzie at the Gillis Centre regarding the Archdiocesan view on putting paper notices on vehicles using our church car park. Val has done some research on barriers for the car park, including electronic barriers. For discussion at the next PPC meeting.

Date for the next meeting Tuesday 5^th May 2026

Closing prayer – Fr Malachy

END