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Minutes of the St Marc's english speaking Church Annual General Meeting. March 20th 2011 at 13h00
- 1. Apologies.
- Richard, Mark and Carine, Marie, Jean-Philippe, Howard, Dona and Lilan all sent apologies
- 2. Electoral roll report
- Alan stressed the need to sign up on the electoral roll before the meeting. This year we have 45 names, which is 2 less than last year.
- 3. Minutes of last year's meeting
- 4. Report on Church Council
- 5. Election of new President of the Association
- Alison had been president of the Association (Association de l'église anglicane à Grenoble) since it's creation. Suzanne Bréant has accepted to be the new one. She is a « long term » member of St Marc's and a french citizen. All were in favour.
- 6. Churchwardens' report & election
- David presented the Churchwarden's report. He also gave explanations on what a warden is :
- Ancient anglican institution
- Care for church property
- Represent the Bishop
- Regular meetings with Stephen (4 last year).
- Generally see to the good running of the church.
- Same ground covered as the church council.
- Elizabeth and David were re elected churchwardens.
- 7. Synod reps' report & election
- Stephen gave a short report from last year's synod. He also explained that we are talking about the archdeaconery synod, which covers France. This annual meeting is chaired by an archdeacon and a Bishop generally is present. It gets to elect representatives to the diocesan (whole of europe, and wider) synod, and also the general synod.
- Val and Marian were elected synod representatives (for the coming 3 years).
- 8. Financial report & accounts
- In Richard's absence, Stephen presented the finaincial report. Sheets showing the balance of French and UK accounts were given out. We had a deficit last year of €3000 and £6000. We still have reserves but we can't eat them all. Questions were asked :
- Jeanne-Marie and Joseph asked sbout transfers to the UK. It was explained that we need to pay things in the UK such as pension fund, diocese charges, etc.
- It was asked how much the church magazine cost : The new edition proposed by Suzanne should cost about 250E/year. People can pay for a copy if they wish.
- John said he thought that the drop in income was not about dissatisfaction of church members, but change in membership. We have less « mature » people with good salaries and more young (or retired) ones with not much money.
- Jeanne-Marie suggested a poster be made about the church and placed in strategic places where english speakers are to be found : for instance the ZIRST Meylan.
- A discussion insued stressing the fact that, although we do want more people to come to church it is not to « fill our account », but for them to know God.
- Maureen stressed the necessity to share our faith better, not to be afraid of advertising for the church !
- David thought the evangelism commiitee needed rescussitation, also we need to look into the necessity of approaching French people differently to English speakers. We had excellent feedback from Alison's funeral for instance, but do we know how to « capitalise » on that ?
- Jeanne-Marie suggested organising more bilingual events, she gave the example of some evangelical churches she'd been to in Paris, where everything was translated.
- Fanny mentioned the informal English conversation classes run by St Michael's Church, Paris, as a way of connecting with French speakers.
- Nell said we shoudl be more careful in trying to re-contact people who come occasionally.
- The accounts were approved, and the auditor signed in for another year. Joseph suggested a present for the auditor, which Stephen confirled was in hand.
- 9. Other reports
- Elizabeth and Lilia gave a summary of the Sunday school and crèche reports, ending with a request for prayer for our teachers and children.
- Linda gave a short report on the youth group. She said that she felt the Lord had put her there to take care of it. She doesn't use any specific curriculum, but prays for guidance and finds an appropriate theme. The youngsters now form a good group, they pray holding hands, and enjoy playing games .
- 10. Child Protection Officer
- Maureen Agu had accepted to be the child protection officer. Praise God we have had no need to call on Alison in that rôle, but we need to have someone looking out for any problems.
- 11. Church Council election
- Fanny and Shona will be leaving Grenoble in a while and are not standing for re election. The following were elected : Neil, Bill, Lilia, Lilan, Richard, Tom and Joseph, the number of candidtaes equalling the number of vacancies.
- 12. Chaplain's report
- Stephen gave his report. This year has been a difficult one, with bereavement, and the loss of Alison. It has been difficult for many church members too, facing unemployment and housing problems. He is grateful for the support we give each other.
- 13. Any amendments to procedures
- Craig said he had appreciated in the past that candidates for election briefly present themselves and why they were standing, could this be reinstated next year ?
- 14.Miscellaneous
- Dates for church lunch and French service : Everyone agrees it is a pity to hold them on the same day, but everyone also wants to have a day people can remember, ie the first sunday ! It was suggested that the service in French be moved to the second sunday, and that on the first it be well announced. However Stephen underlined that those we are targetting do not come to our morning services, and need ot have a memorable date. This needs looking at again.
- Segun asked why change the magazine ? It was thought that the magazine in Alison's image, contained things that a lot of people already get by email, and needs a more modern format. There will be room for a range of material in the new one, but it will be more centered on what is going on in the church.
- Penny suggested we consider having more than 4 editions a year.
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