St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Winsford
Parish Council Minutes: 8th April 2025

Present:
Fr Simon, Phil Martin, Shirley Montgomery, Christine Hanson,
Pat McQuillan, Mike Colgan, Tony Montgomery, Luciana Saunders
Hutching, Paul Bell, Thomas Kattakayam, Michael Fallon,
Nina Chwastek
Apologies: Carla Seath and Andrew Seath

Parish Council Roles and Responsibilities

The following Parish Councillors agreed to take on specific roles:
• Co-Chairs: Christine Hanson and Shirley Montgomery
• Health and Safety: Paul Bell and Thomas Kattakayam
• Social Committee: Pat McQuillan
• Finance: It was suggested that Mike Towers could be invited to give a
financial update
Nina will contact Julie Tinsley re. Diocesan support for Health and Safety.

Pastoral

Food Bank

The donations during Lent have been very generous. Fr Simon will thank
parishioners on Palm Sunday. It is hoped that support for the Food Bank will
continue.

First Holy Communion

The celebrations will take place on 26th April and 3rd May. Three children haven’t
completed the programme but will receive a blessing on the day. They will
continue their preparations on the following two `Sundays.
From next year the preparation will take place during Sunday Masses. These
sessions will alternate with Children’s Liturgy. The enrolment form will be changed
slightly to include permission for photos and also allergy information.
Shirley continues to go into school to talk to the children and this is a vital link
between the parish and school.

Baptism

The information in the newsletter has been updated to ensure Fr Simon is the first
point of contact.

Parish Involvement

The parishioners from East Timor will be singing the entrance and recessional hymns
on Easter Sunday. It is hoped that this will be the start of involving the community
more in the life of the parish. It was suggested that there could be readings at
Sunday Masses in different languages. Shirley will sort out a rota for this.

Maintenance, Health and Safety

Heating

Michael gave an update on progress with new boilers.
He met with Michael Rooney and was reassured that there would be new boilers in
place before the winter. It is very disappointing that the replacement will be gas,
not a more environmentally friendly alternative, as hoped.
Michael also spoke to him about the plans to insulate the building but he was
concerned about condensation and asked that he was consulted before any
work was carried out.
The issue of insufficient radiators was discussed but Michael Rooney said that this
would have to be looked at after the new boiler had been installed. The
committee felt that no matter how good the new boilers were, without addressing
the radiators, the church would still be cold. Fr Simon asked Nina to follow this up
with the Diocese.
Due to the number of people now attending the 10am Sunday Mass it is now
necessary to move the partitions so the whole church can be opened up. Phil will
do this before Sunday. It was also noted that we need to know the capacity of
the church to ensure all events are compliant. There was concern that people
attending Mass are blocking the doorways and emergency exits. This needs to be
addressed.
New flooring has been installed in the gents toilet. Thanks are expressed to Ernie
who recommended a contractor to do the work for £240, only 10% of the cost
quoted. Flooring in the ladies toilet will also be replaced.
Two new parishioners, Amanda and John have offered to power wash the paths.
This was appreciated with thanks.
The gardening group – David Quinn, Darius and the Connolly’s help Michael with
this. The group is seeking new members. The Council thanked them for their work.

Finance

The Council expressed thanks to the organisers of the coffee morning as this
funded the work on the toilets.
There was no one present to give a financial update. However, it will be necessary
to appeal for funding was there is currently a shortfall of about £100 in income
each week in comparison to expenditure.
Phil will talk to Derek about doing an appeal whilst Fr Simon is away.
In future donations can be given by scanning a QR code. It is hoped that this will
increase donations from visitors to the parish as well as during events. In addition to
a banner in church the code will be able to be accessed in the newsletter and on
the website.
There is no update on whether the money in the Central Fund can be used for
other purposes.
The WINGS Fund was discussed. This was initially set up by Fr Stephen to help a
school in Kenya. Since then it has supported the Apache. It is felt that it needs to
be used for disaster relief. Once a decision is made this needs to be
communicated to parishioners.

Social Events

Forthcoming events

• Parish BBQ – date to be confirmed
• Irish Night – 21st June
There will be a raffle. It was asked if there is a limit on numbers. It was
thought to be a maximum of 140, but this will be checked. It is hoped that
the school car park can be used and also the United Reformed Church
have allowed use of their car park. Car park attendants will be needed and
other helpers. There will be rehearsals after Sunday Masses leading up to the
event. Shirley has agreed to conduct. Donations will be taken on the night,
there is no set charge. People attending will be asked to sign up in the
porch or send an email to the parish.
• Fish and Chip Night – Friday 25th April from 7.30pm. Food ewill be served
from 8pm. Pat will organise a quiz.
The Social Committee will meet after Mass on Sunday 11th May.

Any Other Business

Newsletter

It was hoped that Mass intentions could be included in the newsletter again. It
was also noted that the sick list needs to be updated.

Data Protection

Nina will consult with the Diocese about putting names (Christian and Surnames) in
the newsletter as this may be in breech of General Data Protection Regulations.
Discussion also took place regarding the Diocese hosting the website as this would
be more secure. At the same time it is hoped that members of the Parish Council
will be able to have parish emails so that personal emails are not used for parish
business.

Volunteers

It was suggested that some opportunities to volunteer should happen at the
weekends so parishioners who work can be involved.

Next Meeting: Tuesday 8th July at 7pm