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Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Little Malvern Priory held in the Church at 7.00 p.m. on Tuesday, 19th May 2009
The Meeting started with a reading and a prayer. Present Revd Canon Knowles, Chairman, Sir Nigel Nicholls, Hon Treasurer, Dr Burge, Hon Archivist, Col Mathew, Hon Secretary, Mr Archer, Mrs Berington, Miss Bevan, Lt Col & Mrs Booth, Mr & Mrs Bradford, Mr & Mrs Bryden, Dr Bryer, Dr Burge, Mr Chatten, Mr Gallimore, Mr & Mrs Hagger, Mrs Henderson, Mrs Hodges, Mrs Holland, Mr & Mrs Hope, Mr & Mrs Johnson, Mrs Knowles, Mr & Mrs Lewis-Bowen, Mrs Patten, Mr & Mrs Pierce, Mrs Smalley, Mrs Sole, Lt Col Steel, Mrs Tretheway, Mr DB Webb, Mr Williams, Rev Williamson, Mr & Mrs Wyre, Miss Young, Dr Ziesler. Apologies Miss Bailey, Mrs Bristow, Mrs Bryer, Mr & Mrs Cleggett, Mrs Cox, Mrs Cutler, Mrs Firkins, Mrs Harding, Mr Hodges, Mrs Howell, Mr Janas, Miss Jewell, Miss Maby, Ms Mathew, Miss Martin, Mrs Sharland, Mrs Snape, Mrs Steel, Mr Tosello, Mr Wakelam, Mrs C Webb, Mrs Underwood. Minutes
of the last Meeting These were approved with one amendment. Matters
Arising Lt Col Steel reported. Christmas cards. The profit from the sale of Christmas cards this winter was: Within LMP £125.00 Card Shop £253.80 Total £378.80 We still had enough stock, already paid for, to last next Christmas as well. Defibrillator We now had the defibrillator, fully paid for from our own contributions and a grant from the Heart Foundation. We had fourteen members of the congregation trained in its use. Post Cards We were replenishing our stock of post cards and taking the opportunity to add three new ones: a snow scene view of Little Malvern Priory as used on our Christmas cards, the picture of the sisters of Edward IV from the east window and a card taken from a water colour of Little Malvern Priory by David Hope, to whom many thanks.
Chairman’s Report Last year we sadly lost Michael Moore, the son of the incumbent who was here when our society was founded. Michael was able to join us for our Jubilee celebrations. Another key member of our Church who died last year was our organist, Barry Henderson. Very sadly this year another of our key members, Jeremy Webb, died on 6th May. Jeremy had been a member of the committee and he had also chaired the committee which organised the running of the Open Day. This was instrumental in raising a large amount of money and provided the church with the opportunity to meet many visitors. Jeremy also produced a booklet about the church which was a very successful and interesting guide for visitors. We continued as a small church to have a very active congregation. It had a distinct ministry that was especially valued by its visitors. We glimpsed this through the comments in the visitors’ book. One recent entry was worth noting: “Thank you for being open. Peace in a storm.” We could only guess what the visitor meant. The church’s age was both an asset and a responsibility. A lot of care over the church maintenance had been exercised over recent years. As a result of the restoration work carried out five years ago, we did not foresee any significant repairs being required. We continued to be well blessed in the support given by the members of the Friends including those who had attended the church and then, for a variety of reasons, moved away. They had found it a very useful way of keeping in touch and maintaining their interest. Last year the preacher at our choral evensong on 15th June was the Revd Canon David Stanton, residentiary Canon of Worcester Cathedral, and the music was provided by Malvern College Consort. This year Choral Evensong was to take place on 21st June when the preacher would be the Diocesan Bishop, the Rt Revd John Inge and the music would be provide by Malvern St James School. It was also to be attended by members of the Friends of Worcester Cathedral. There were records in the Cathedral Library relating to Little Malvern Priory. There were, for instance, Nash Volume 2 and Dugdale. The librarian would be very happy to help anyone wishing to take a look at these records. It would be advisable to allow at least a couple of hours for the visit. Nash Volume 2 featured in Ron Bryer’s book “Not the least”, but there was no reference there to Dugdale. Hon Treasurer’s Report. Presenting the 2008 accounts, which had been audited, the Treasurer said that income and expenditure had been broadly similar to the previous year’s. Income had exceeded expenditure by £6,500. The number of Friends had dropped slightly to 116. Income had been boosted by a generous donation from the Hawthorne Trust towards the insurance premium and the payment of Parish Share. Although the income from investments in the early part of the year had been encouraging, it had dropped substantially later thanks to the banking crisis. Expenditure included the annual contribution towards church running expenses and payment to a steeplejack for work on the exterior. The success of the late Jeremy Webb’s church leaflets had led to the purchase of a further batch. At the end of the year, our total assets stood at £132,854. This was a large sum, but it was important to build up a healthy reserve against the possibility of future large-scale expenditure, for instance the need to pay a stipendiary priest. The Treasurer urged those present to encourage members of the congregation who were not Friends to join. The accounts had been approved by the Committee as Trustees and it was now for the Annual Meeting to endorse them. This was proposed by Lt Col Booth, seconded by Lt Col Steel and agreed unanimously. The Treasurer expressed his gratitude to Mr Peter Bradford for once again auditing the accounts. Hon
Archivist Dr Burge said that there had been two recent visits to the church and one written enquiry. She had found many interesting photographs and records of Little Malvern Priory and wondered how these could best be displayed for public view. Suggestions from the floor included displays at the Open Gardens, at Christmas and at Choral Evensong. Little
Malvern Court Open Gardens Mrs Berington said that the day had been surprisingly successful despite the weather. The Chairman commented that this was largely due to the efficient way in which Jeremy Webb had organised a very complex programme. Secretary’s Note. With some bills still outstanding, figures were: £ Plants 456 Books 157 Teas 441 Share
of Gate 324 1,378 Less remaining bills 82 Estimated Profit 1,296
MemorialWindow Lt Col Steel said that the 'Piers Ploughman' stained glass in memory of Mme Tosello had now been inserted in the north window. It had been paid for by the family but the project was managed by Jocelyn Bailey and had been completed within budget. The work was done by Keith Brettle who very kindly repaired the leak in the North Window at the same time, free of charge. We had recently had a period of strong winds and heavy rain but there had been no leakage from the window. The Chairman added that the dedication was to be delayed until the summer of 2010 to enable the Tosello family and the Bishop of Worcester to attend. Expenditure The reprint
of post cards had cost £670. No
major expenses were anticipated during the coming year. Fund
Raising The Chairman
said that the success of the Open Gardens Day made it unnecessary to hold
any further fund raising events this year, but he emphasised the importance of
the Friends’ support. The church could not manage without it. Social Secretary’s Report Last year on July 28th we visited Tewkesbury Abbey for Solemn Evensong which was one of the items in its Musica Deo Sacra programme. We also visited Worcester Cathedral on 22nd September. There was a conducted of the Cathedral and a visit to the Library hosted by the Librarian. This was followed by light refreshments and Choral Evensong. We were planning to attend Solemn Evensong in Tewkesbury Abbey again this year with an evening meal afterwards at the Blue Bell Inn at Ryall, if that suited everyone. There is the possibility of an evening visit to the Cathedral this autumn. This would begin with light refreshments followed by Choral Evensong and a private candlelit pilgrimage of the Cathedral. The Chairman spoke of the importance of people paying for a visit even if they had to cancel at the last minute. Dr Ziesler expressed his concern that our funds should ever be used to subsidise the shortfall on visits and Mrs Holland suggested that payment should be required in advance. The Chairman explained that it was not possible to settle costs until numbers were known since these determined the size of transport and at times the entry prices. However, it might be possible to ask for a deposit in advance. Election of Hon Auditor The Chairman understood that Mr Bradford was willing to continue as our Auditor and spoke of the Friends’ gratitude for the speedy and efficient service he had provided free of charge for many years. Lt Col Steel proposed that Mr Bradford should be re-elected as Auditor and this was seconded by Mr Williams and approved. Mr Bradford said that his duties were light because of the clarity of the Treasurer’s accounts. Election of the Committee The re-election of the following was approved: Proposed by Seconded by Chairman Revd Canon Knowles Col Mathew Dr Bryer Hon Treasurer Sir Nigel Nicholls Dr Ziesler Lt Col Booth Hon Secretary Col Mathew Lt Col Steel Mrs Bradford The Chairman suggested that the following should be re-elected en bloc: Hon Archivist Dr Burge Committee Mr Appleby, Mrs Berington, Mr Johnson Ex Officio. PCC Treasurer Mr Pierce Church Wardens Lt Col Steel, and Mr Chatten newly elected by the PCC This was proposed by Rev Williamson, seconded by Miss Bevan and approved. The Chairman asked if there were any further nominations and Sir Nigel Nicholls proposed that Mrs Wendy Booth should be asked to join the Committee. This was seconded by Mrs Holland and approved. Col Mathew proposed that Mrs Clover Webb should be asked to join the Committee. This was seconded by Mr Pierce and approved. Date of the next Meeting Tuesday, 18th May 2010 at 7.00 pm in the church. There being no further business the Meeting closed at 8.50 pm with a prayer. Notices 1 It would save on the cost of postage if members with computers were to accept the circulation of Agendas and Minutes by e-mail. Would those who agree to this please notify the Secretary at the e-mail address given below. (Names of those who volunteered at the AGM have been recorded). 2 Current news of our activities and events is available on our web site at: www.littlemalvern priory.co.uk A.W.Mathew Hon Secretary 1 Crispin Drive Malvern WR14 1FB Tel: 01886 832173 e-mail: tonymathew@talktalk.net |
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