Dorchester Deanery Children's Group - Meeting Minutes

Minutes of meeting held on Monday, 21st February, 2005 at ‘Lydia’s’, 14, James Road, Dorchester

Present: Rosemary Bassett, Gill McCourtie, Phyllis Brown, Chris Brown, Lydia Hampshire,
Rich Cox, Lauretta Kerridge

Welcome: The group welcomed Winterbourne Valley Team Rector, Revd. Rosemary Bassett, to the meeting.

Apologies: Lydia passed on apologies from Allen Knott who was unable to attend due to ill health. Apologies had also been received from Beth Buchan, Revd. Philip Lambert & Karen Weir.

Matters Arising:
• ‘O taste and see’ - Church Taster Day, Martinstown, Saturday, 14th May, 2005:
Lydia opened the meeting by showing the poster she had designed advertising ‘O taste and see’. The group wholeheartedly approved of this and it was decided that, if Allen was also in agreement, copies be sent to all parishes.

* Workshops:
- Bell ringing: Trevor Bassett had agreed to help lead this workshop. Barry Hampshire and Alan were two other names which were suggested as possible ‘volunteers’. Chris White’s telephone number would be passed to Trevor as someone who could offer assistance.

- Prayer: Diocesan Children’s Adviser, Janet Delaney, had confirmed that she would be happy to lead the prayer workshop. Following the ‘site visit’ to Martinstown, it was felt that the church would be the ideal venue. Other than Bell ringing, no other workshops would be held in the church.

- Stained Glass Windows: This would now take place in Martinstown Village Hall.

- Flower Arranging: This workshop could take place on the stage at the Village Hall. Rosemary confirmed it would be led by Wendy Durrant and her sister.

- Handbell ringing: This would be led by Lydia and could take place in the Village Hall.

- Music: Allen had a contact who he felt would be able to lead an exciting music workshop. There would be a fee for his services, but given the money raised from sales of ‘And Another Thing!’ this was not thought to present a problem. It was therefore agreed that Allen make the necessary arrangements for this workshop to take place. This workshop could be held in the Village Hall Committee Room.

- Tapestry: Gill offered to lead a Tapestry workshop. It was felt that this would be an excellent idea. This workshop could also take place in the hall.

- Drama: Sue Wylie was unavailable and it was therefore decided not to run a Drama workshop.

- Liturgical Dance: Following up the lead given by Rosemary, Lauretta had been given the name of a local contact with an interest in Liturgical Dance. After some discussion it was agreed that there may not be sufficient space in which to hold this workshop.

- Craft: Archdeacon Paul Taylor had written to confirm he would help with the craft workshop. Gill noted that of the Breakfast Club helpers, Geraldine would be unavailable and Dick would prefer to help with another workshop. There was a possibility that Paul’s wife may be able to lead the workshop. Lauretta would find out prior to the next meeting.

* Service:
This would take place in the afternoon and would last approximately one hour. It would be led by Bishop Tim, and, it was hoped, would bring together elements of all the morning’s activities. The service could begin with Bell ringing, following which floral displays could be carried in. During the act of worship, the stained glass, craft and tapestry could be presented. Children could accompany the singing with their music and lead the prayers.

* Provisional Running Order:
10.00 - 10.30 a.m. Welcome/Registration (An explanation of the day, ground rules, etc.; name in the Village Hall labels would be used as there may not be sufficient time for badge making)
10.30 – 11.30 a.m. Workshop 1
11.30 – 12 noon Break (for Refreshments)
12.00 –1.00 p.m. Workshop 2
1.15 – 1.45 p.m. Lunch
1.45 – 2.15 p.m. Activities (eg. Games, Parachute, Quizzes, Football, etc.)
2.15 – 2.30 p.m. Prepare for Church Service
2.30 – 3.30 p.m. Service (to be held in Martinstown Church)
3.30 p.m. Finish.

* Child Protection:
Lydia explained that participants were insured under Salisbury Diocese if they had been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The group would see to it that there was at least one CRB checked person in each workshop. Letters to parish reps would stress the importance of individuals working with children to complete a check referring them for further information to contact their Parish Child Protection Officer.

* Refreshments:
Phyllis would provide squash, tea and coffee in the middle of the morning and at lunchtime. Allen had contacted the Fish & Chip shop ‘Case & Brewer’ which would provide a maximum of sixty portions of chips. It was recommended that if numbers exceeded sixty, another chip shop could also be used. Other options included purchasing Cornish pasties for the adults or approaching ‘Snappy Tomato Pizza’. Adult helpers would be provided with lunch as would St. John Ambulance First Aiders.

* Advertising:
It was agreed that advertising be limited to the Church page of the Echo and Church related publications. The ‘Pub’ Officer was asked to see that the event featured in Sarum Link.

Posters would be sent to all Deanery Group reps accompanied by explanatory letters for themselves and the children’s families. Lauretta had listed some points which may need to be included in both letters. With regard to the letter to families, it was felt that ‘suitable clothes’ could be omitted. The consensus of opinion was that children should also be asked to indicate three workshop choices in order to avoid being disappointed.

Music grade may not be needed on the letter but medical conditions, allergies and a reminder to bring necessary medications were essential as was a signed agreement for children to be photographed. A minimum age of 12 for the bell ringing workshop would also need to be mentioned.

It was agreed that Lauretta would draft these explanatory letters, email a copy to all those attending this meeting for their approval and then forward on to Lydia for printing in time for the next meeting. Reps could be sent several copies of the letter to families to make distribution to children easier. A note would accompany this asking them to get in touch or photocopy if more were required. A proposed date for sending these to reps was the middle of March. Return date could then be mid-April which would allow time to finalise workshop arrangements.

• Newsletter:
Allen had written a second newsletter to be sent to all PCCs in the Deanery raising awareness of the group and in particular promoting the forthcoming Taster Day. Lydia read this to the meeting, a few minor amendments were made and it was unanimously agreed that the group were happy for this to be sent to PCC secretaries.

• Correspondence:
- A letter had been received from Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education. This was to alert the group to the fact that, following the expiry of the group’s insurance policy in July, the Diocese would no longer be acting as agent and instead details would be passed to Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG). EIG would write to the group in due course, explaining the situation and the various options for the future.
- Louise Batt had contacted the group agreeing to act as the representative for Godmanstone. Louise had also offered her assistance at the Taster Day. Lauretta would contact her and see which workshop she would most like to be involved with.

Date of next meeting: Subject to agreement by Allen, it was proposed that the next meeting be Tuesday, 15th March, 2005, 7.30 for 7.45 p.m. at Allen’s, 8, Augustan Close, Dorchester.*

*ADDENDUM: The next meeting has since been confirmed as being MONDAY, 14th MARCH, 2005, 7.30 for 7.45 p.m. at ALLEN’S, 8, AUGUSTAN CLOSE, DORCHESTER.

The group thanks Allen for the bottle of wine he sent to aid the smooth running of the meeting.

Grateful thanks are also conveyed to the Hampshire family for their kind hospitality and to Lydia for the SOUPer cake.