| ATTENDEES: | Scott Bryden, Marilyn Dean (chair), Jimmy Ogunshakin and Andrew Torbet |
| IN ATTENDENCE: | Helen Torbet (secretary) |
| APOLOGIES: | none |
The meeting began at 7.08pm and opened with a prayer.
| Topic | Action | |
| 1. | Approval of Previous Minutes | |
| Minutes from the meeting held on 20th July and from the AGM on the 30th July 2006 were approved and duly signed by the Chair. | ||
| 2. | Matters Arising from Previous Minutes (last 2 meetings and AGM) | |
| There were no matters arising which were not already on the agenda. | ||
| 3. | Shepherds Items | |
| Membership Covenant: About 14 people have signed and returned the tear-off sheet. The Covenant document is now on the church website to help encourage people to sign and return the forms. | AT | |
| There was a brief verbal report of the last Shepherds' Meeting covering issues of pastoral concern, which will also form part of the agenda for the forthcoming Shepherds and Trustees Joint Meeting. | JO | |
| The imminent deadline for the Special contribution to HOPE was discussed and it was decided to extend it to the end of October since the commitment to give had been made to HOPE and had been published on the MCoC website. | JO | |
| The final arrangements are being made for the next Shepherds and Trustees Joint Meeting and Retreat to be held 20th-21st October. | SB | |
| 4. | Finances | |
| The monthly spreadsheet was discussed. July & August had been added. It was agreed to increase the amounts the (proposed) budget column for those areas where there had been income from events: specifically #10 - £1670, #13- £1346. The budget for office materials was increased to £600. | MD | |
| It was reported that the GAD claim for Jan-Jun 2006 was complete. | ||
| Final accounts for 2005 have been sent to external examiners. | AT | |
| Lesrine Edwards has taken over the financial part of the secretary's work and will in time take on the remaining treasurer duties. | ||
| A new signatory for the Birmingham chequebook is required. Two names were suggested and these people will be approached. | AT | |
| 5. | Legal Matters | |
| MCoC invitation cards for Birmingham are now available | ||
| The details of an application for insurance cover for the church were completed at the meeting. | AT | |
| The Data Protection paperwork is complete and the fee paid. | ||
| 6. | Employment of Minister | |
| No news of Andy Fleming as yet. Suggested that news may be heard by 16th October in time for the Joint meeting, which might be a good time to discuss alterative candidates if AF is not available. | JO | |
| 7. | Purchase of Premises or storage | |
| Reports of various possibilities with two options of small units in Selly Oak and Erdington which would both be viewed. | SB | |
| 8. | Annual Report | |
| The Annual Report must be submitted by the end of October. Full co-operation on the part of all is requested. | AT | |
| 9. | AOB | |
| The SEW contact list has been done and submitted by AT. Information is still required for the children's classes from Birmingham & Leicester. | MD AT JO | |
| The Unity Proposal circulated at the beginning of 2006 was discussed and generally approved. It was agreed that leaders from Birmingham should be included in the discussions taking place in London. In the first instance it was suggested that at least two people from the leadership should attend the final workshop at the SEW and try and build some communications. | ||
| The Faiths Capacity Building Grant scheme in Leicester was discussed. Unfortunately we do not have sufficient manpower to see such a bid through at present. |
Helen Torbet
Church Secretary