Vestry minutes 2021 – 2022

Minutes of meetings since the December 2021 AGM.
Minutes are added only after they have been approved (and, if necessary, amended) at the following meeting.

Shortcuts:
21 December 2021 | 18 January 2022 | 15 February 2022 | 15 March 2022 | 3 May 2022 | 21 June 2022 | 19 July 2022 | 20 September 2022 | 18 October 2022 | 15 November 2022

Previous year:
2020 – 2021 minutes


Minutes of Vestry Zoom meeting, Tuesday 15 November 2022 at 7.00 pm

A.        Opening Prayer
Paul Beck

B.        Apologies
Rev. Canon Bob King, Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald

C.        Participants         
Gerard Henry, Christine McLachlan, Ruth Johnson, Edward Martin, Adam Bolam-Peel, John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Paul Beck (Secretary)

D.        Minutes of meeting 18 October 2022
Accepted as a true record.

1          Safeguarding

1.1      PVG
Nothing to report to Vestry

1.2      Health and Safety
Nothing to report to Vestry

1.3      Data Protection
Nothing to report to Vestry

2         Worship and faith formation

2.1      Covid precautions and adaptations.
Vestry approves the distribution of Communion at the altar rail with appropriate safeguards in respect of distancing and handling.

2.2      Services
a.   Susan is preparing a new rota for 11 December – 12 March.

b.        St. John’s service on Remembrance Sunday was brought forward to 9.30am. In the event, only 14 people attended. This may have been because of the change of time or because people took the opportunity to attend the 11.00 civic wreath-laying ceremony and Parish Church service instead. Since those civic events are now back to normal after Covid interruptions, the next Vestry may consider cancelling St. John’s morning service on that day.

c.        The joint Christmas Eve service at Kenmore Hall is confirmed, and will take place at 6.00pm.

3         Outreach and ministry

3.1      Pastoral care
The Church telephone number has recently received enquiries about the food bank from social services and other professional agencies, and (as the current custodian of the answerphone) Paul has given them the referral number. Adam confirms the arrangements for referrals – the food bank does not take enquiries from individuals.

3.2      Mission fundraising
Labelled envelopes are ready for our Advent Appeal. William Horton will count the donations and keep a separate running total. Vestry agrees to split the donations equally between the two chosen charities.

4         Leadership and governance

4.1      Thinking ahead to the AGM

a.        John has supplied a Buildings report. Paul is preparing a Secretary’s report – in the absence of a Treasurer, he will include factual information about the inflationary pressures on our finances as an encouragement to individuals to increase their giving if they can. Bob will write an Interim Pastor’s report.
Action: Paul to ask Susan if she can report on aspects of safeguarding and pastoral care.

b.        Vestry membership has a usual term of three years, on which basis at least one current member would be entitled to retire. However, we accept that here is a compelling argument for continuity over the next year, when we expect the appointment of a Priest-in-Charge jointly with St. Cuthbert’s Hawick.  In the lead-up to the AGM, we will try to convince members of the congregation to consider Vestry membership.
Action: To approach younger members of the congregation non-threateningly.

4.2      Planning for the future

a.        Recruitment
The Diocesan Secretary has responded to our revised financial projection (last agenda, 5.1.b) but has not yet offered a detailed proposal. But there will be central SEC subsidy to help with the 11.1% stipend increase from January 2023, and conversations at clergy conference suggest the A7 partnership will be generously supported.

We look forward to the joint meeting with Dean Frances on 26th November. There will be questions about the mechanics of the recruitment of a shared priest and how the Vestries are involved; about the sharing of accommodation and other costs; about any administrative simplifications we can achieve even whilst retaining separate Vestries.

We also need to make social connections with Hawick Vestry.

b.        Church accessibility work
There have been no comments or questions on the plans displayed at the back of the Church for the last month, except that Adam doubts we need to extend a new path all the way round the building. John will proceed with a Canon 35 “in principle” application to make sure we will get approval when we have an incumbent.

The SBC planning consent lasts for 3 years, during which some part of the work it covers must be started.

c.        Constitution
Paul has lodged our revised Constitution with OSCR and it has been accepted despite the fact it was lodged slightly out of time.

5         Stewardship

5.1      Financials

a.        Reports
The bank balance at the end of October was £87118 (including bequests), continuing the monthly increases of the last financial year.

We agree to leave detailed consideration until we know more about the financial implications of the partnership with Hawick.

b.        2022 Accounts
The draft accounts will be ready for approval at a special meeting on 22nd November.

5.2      Buildings

a.         Church
Two of the interior lights need to be replaced. John will take the opportunity to ask Scott & Foggon about LED alternatives.

We agree not to use the under-pew heaters until there is serious congregational unrest: three hours before the Sunday morning service would add about £50 to our energy costs.

Harkins are due to repoint the front wall.

b         Rectory
Nothing to report to Vestry except that (in all our buildings) the fire extinguishers will be checked on 16 November.

c.        Old School
An underground water leak near the front door has been traced and repaired. Cheviot Youth is dealing with an insect problem in the front upstairs room.

d.        Flat
Nothing to report to Vestry.

6         Declarations of interest
None

7         Other business

7.1      We will not erect a Christmas tree now that we use the space at the west end for post-service refreshments.
Action: Ruth to contact the Hon. Moira Campbell to forestall the usual donation and express our thanks.

7.2      The Diocese has offered CMD training for Vestry members. Individuals can sign up.

7.3      Assuming Ralph Nagel again declines any payment or gift for maintaining our churchyard, we will add £100 on his behalf to the total raised by our Advent Appeal.

8         Date of next meeting and date of AGM
Tuesday 22nd November 7.00pm by Zoom to approve the annual accounts in time to give the proper notice for the AGM.
Saturday 26th November 10.30am – joint meeting at Hawick (location tbc).
AGM: Sunday 11th December, after the morning service.

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Minutes of Vestry Zoom meeting, Tuesday 18 October 2022 at 7.00 pm

A.  Opening Prayer

B.  Apologies
Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald, Edward Martin, Christine McLachlan, Rev. Grace Redpath

C.  Participants         
Rev. Canon Bob King, Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Adam Bolam-Peel, Gerard Henry, Ruth Johnson.

D.  Minutes of meeting 20 September 2022
Accepted as a true record – proposed John, seconded Gerard.

1   Safeguarding

1.1 PVG

1.2   Health and Safety

1.3   Data Protection
We noted the loss of two members, bringing the list of members to 64.

2    Worship and faith formation

2.1   Covid precautions and adaptation
Many of us attended Claire Nicholson’s ordination at Holy Trinity, Melrose, and found the communion was distributed at the altar rail, including the common cup for those who wanted it.At Kelso, communion is still distributed in one kind, but they have ordered large two-compartment chalices so that the Priest can instinct the wafer. This sounds less cumbersome than our existing method, and we think it should remove misgivings about the common cup while Covid is still a risk.

2.2   Services
Susan and Paul met Rev. Stewart McPherson to discuss joint Christmas activities. We plan to offer an online Advent course over three Tuesday evenings (29th November and 6th & 13th December) and a joint Christmas Eve service for all ages in Kenmore Hall in the early evening of 24th December (time to be confirmed).

Isobel Portch will be helping the Parish Church out by playing the organ for their service on 23rd October.

As in 2021, we will bring our 13th November service forward to allow participation at the War Memorial and afterwards at the Parish Church service.
Action: Paul to confirm with Rev. John Evans.

3   Outreach and ministry

3.1   Pastoral care
Susan, Isobel and Liz Kiteley are doing their best to maintain pastoral contact with housebound, bereaved, and ill members of the congregation. Only Susan and Liz are taking home communions since Patrick left. Four people receive this ministry.

The third alternate monthly short communion service followed by afternoon tea will take place on Thursday 20th October. An average of 6-8 people attend each time, and the service takes place in the home of a member of the congregation. We are asked to let Susan know of anyone who might appreciate coming to such an event. Transport is offered.

3.2   Mission fundraising
Paul will print labels so that spare Gift Aid envelope sets can be used for the Advent appeal.

4   Leadership and governance

4.1   Thinking ahead to the AGM

a.   Bob is taking the service on 11th December and has agreed to chair the AGM.

b.   Reports will be requested in the usual way. The financial report will invite increased giving to help us deal with inflation. 10% is a nice round figure.

4.2   Planning for the future

a.  Recruitment
Following the joint Vestry meeting with Bishop John, Godfrey Robson, Diocesan Secretary, and Dean Frances 22nd September, Paul gave verbal and written feedback to St. John’s congregation on the proposed partnership with the A7 churches (see Annexe). There has been little comment so far from members of the congregation beyond a general acceptance that it may be inevitable, but a few would prefer us to make our own part-time appointment.

We subsequently provided copies of our Profile, Financial projection (revised – see item 5.1.b) and end of year balance to Godfrey as requested, and to the other Vestries. We await more details of the proposed financial support package, and of the Diocese’s thinking on stipends, accommodation, and the sharing of expenses.

Our response to Godfrey emphasised that we would be in no position to meet his expectation that Vestries could contribute towards a stipend at least what they were paying the last time a priest was in post.

b.  Church accessibility work
Plans are now displayed at the back of the Church for comments and questions from the congregation.

5   Stewardship

5.1 Financials

a.   Reports
Balance: end of September £83777 (including bequests).

b.   Financial projection
In view of two recent changes (the January 2023 increase in the standard Stipend by 11.1% and the steep increase in electricity charges from the start of our new energy contract from 1st November) Sue Bennett has revised the financial projection for us, and the annual deficit on a 50% stipend now looks very much higher and might be unsustainable if we were now considering a stand-alone recruitment for St. John’s.

c.   Gift aid envelopes
The envelope sets have been given out. Before the beginning of the next financial year, we need to consider a different method (September minutes refer). We could offer the one-off Gift Aid envelopes on which donors write their names and the date each week. We could also suggest people consider giving by direct debit instead.

d.   2022 Accounts
All the paperwork is now with the independent examiner, and the accounts will be ready to approve in time for the AGM.

5.2   Buildings

a. Church
Thanks to Gerard’s investigations, we now have a register of those who hold keys to the church door. Paul will record this by adding a column to the members’ spreadsheet.

Scottish Power has replaced the electricity meter but has not yet explained how to read the higher and lower rates of our ‘Business Evening and Weekend’ tariff on the new one. We have signed a further one-year fixed contract with Scottish Power on the same tariff, through Church Energy Purchasing Group. Thanks to Ann Beck for monitoring consumption and pursuing the new deal.

We are experimenting with the wall heaters and the under-pew heaters in October while we are still on a relatively affordable tariff (numbers in Annexe 2).

A small number of blankets or fleeces should be made available for visitors who might be taken by surprise by the cold, but regulars should just prepare to dress warmly.

b. Rectory
Our new tenants are now in occupation. A cast iron downpipe has had to be repaired.

c. Old School
Runcimans have identified the source of the water leak as being underground in the vicinity of the concrete ramp, and some excavation will be needed.

d.   Flat
Nothing to report to Vestry except successful routine PAT testing.

6    Declarations of interest
None

7    Other business
None

8   Date of next meeting and date of AGM
Next meeting: 15th November. If necessary, we agree to an additional short Zoom meeting on Tuesday 22nd November to approve the annual accounts in time to give the proper notice for the AGM.

AGM: Sunday 11th December, after the morning service.

___________________________

Annexe: Feedback given after the morning service on 25th September, and subsequently by email and post

Vestry went to a meeting last Thursday evening, 22nd September, with Bishop John, Godfrey Robson, Diocesan Secretary and Frances Burberry, Dean of Edinburgh and the Vestries of St. Peter’s Galashiels, St. Cuthbert’s Hawick and St. John’s Selkirk (the A7 churches). All of us are without a Rector or Priest-in-Charge, and the Diocese proposes a collaborative partnership.

We had our own Vestry meeting two days beforehand. We discussed a recent paper sent round after Bishop John had met all four Vestries one by one. We felt it was not specific enough to send round for consultation as it stood, but you have seen a summary from me which asked in principle what you thought. That gave us a good starting point for our approach to the joint meeting; thank you to everyone who has responded.

We decided that on Thursday evening we would try to tie things down further; find out about the challenges all the churches face; ask about numbers, finances, Rectories, human resources; and on that basis work out together what shape any partnership should be.

But that was not the way the meeting went. It felt like arriving at a bus stop to find the other passengers are already on board, the driver has the engine running and is holding the door open for you, and everyone gets a little impatient when you want to ask where the bus is going.

To be fair, we should have realised that the other three Vestries and congregations, having been part of something that did not work (the A7 Centre of Mission), have been thinking and talking about this for quite a while.

St. John’s appeared on this scene very recently – too late to have the influence on the discussion that we hoped to have. I don’t want to suggest that things had already been decided, but strong preferences – and apparently unanimous preferences – were already in place. The A7 churches are impatient to get going. Fair enough.

Once that was out of the way, the meeting made some progress. Clearly, the “one-big-team-of-4” option is off the table. The proposal is two pairs of 2 churches, each pair under the care of one full-time priest with the skill and experience to respect their different practices and traditions. Vestries would not merge but remain independent. In each pair, one Rectory would be lived in, and one rented out. The Diocese will provide some financial support, initially for three years.

This is not seen as a permanent arrangement but as a way of providing stability during a difficult period for small, rural churches, and providing an opportunity for growth.

The devil is in the detail, of course, and that comes next: exploration and information gathering. We are a step ahead there, because we recently produced a Profile and a financial projection to get ready for what we thought would be our own recruitment exercise. We will share that and wait to see the equivalent information from the other churches. As soon as possible after the end of this financial year, which is next week, everyone will send in their balance sheets.

We still have questions, and I expect you have questions too. Find a Vestry member after the service and tell them what is on your mind.

Finally, it’s worth reflecting on the challenges I mentioned. At St. John’s, our numbers are slowly reducing. Our finances may have grown over fourteen months with no stipend to pay and a Rectory to rent, but we have worked out that paying 50% of a stipend and losing that rent would reduce our reserves by about £7000* every year (and that’s before we know the future cost of energy). As to our human resources, Vestry has no Treasurer or Chair. It is not clear what will happen when long-serving members finally stand down, or when the current Secretary or the current Buildings Convenor decide they want to return to civilian life. This lovely building is inflexible except for its primary purpose of sacramental worship, and we can’t take steps to make it more flexible and accessible while we don’t have an incumbent. Historically and aesthetically, it’s wonderful, but even a museum needs a toilet and some catering facilities. We don’t have a church hall; if we did, we don’t really have the human resources to manage it. 

I wouldn’t mind betting that most of those challenges will be repeated in the other three Churches. The question is whether by collaborating we all stand a better chance of overcoming them.

It’s early days. We haven’t said Yes. But can we afford to say No?

*This figure is now out of date – see 5.1.b above

Annexe 2: Observations from Ann Beck on the heating experiment

To: [Vestry]
Sent: 16 October 2022 18:24
Subject: FW: St Johns electricity

Some observations from Ann on the heating experiments. I’m not convinced by the annual extrapolation of costs, as we don’t have the heating on at all for half the year. Discuss on Tuesday …

Paul  

Subject: St Johns electricity

For Vestry – Information re electricity consumption; please allow for error because (1) Scottish Power may have installed the wrong meter and (2) no instructions have been given as to how to read it for the different rates.

COSTS including lighting for the Sunday morning service. These are at the post-1st November rates and do not include the daily standing charge of 72.97p per day (£5.50 a week, £24 a month, £280 a year, incl. VAT).

  • 1.5hrs wall heaters = 33 kWh @ 80.63p = £28 a week, £122 a month, £1453 a year, incl. VAT
  • 3hrs under pew heaters = 56 kWh @ 80.63p = £47.50 a week, £183 a month, £2180 a year, incl. VAT

FEEDBACK 

Wall heaters:

  • worse because they restrict seating (to gain benefit from radiant heat) when seating is already restricted by Covid precautions and communion distribution. Didn’t ‘feel’ as comfortable/warm or cosy as the under-pew heaters.
  • better as they cost less, heat the ‘comfy seats’ at the rear of church, and allow the door curtain heater to be used on arrival, which makes the building seem warm and welcoming upon entry.

Under-pew heaters:

  • worse in that they didn’t heat the rear of the building, they cost more, and the door curtain heater doesn’t operate on the same circuit. The choir felt colder.
  • better in that the building ‘seemed’ cosier and more comfortable, less seating restriction needed. 

The people I questioned seemed to realise the real need for economies and told me they were well wrapped up and were prepared for cold. There didn’t appear to be very strong feelings either way.

The Wednesday service and the Friday choir practice used the wall heaters (just the front zone). These are at the higher rate of 100.8p per kWh and this last week consumed 15 kWh = £16 including VAT. Alternative venues for these during the coldest weather would therefore make considerable savings.

If both wall and under pew heaters were used for Sundays and wall heaters only for weekdays, total cost is £100 a week, £395 a month, £4732 a year. If some sort of compromise was felt necessary costs could be worked out from these figures.

NB         i.            The weather is not very cold at the minute. More heating might/will be needed.

              ii.           The above does not account for future special services at festivals/baptisms/weddings/ funerals.

              iii           Irregular attenders might find the heating inadequate. 

Suggest that a small stock of extra warm fleecy ‘wraps’ (new, not used and donated, but purchased especially for individuals to use) are available upon entry together with hymn books and service sheets for folk to use. (£8.00 each at Argos, blue or green)

Hope this helps

Ann

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Minutes of Vestry Zoom meeting, Tuesday 20 September 2022 at 7.00 pm

A. Opening Prayer
Paul

B.  Apologies
Rev. Canon Bob King (Interim Pastor), Gerard Henry

C.  Participants
Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald (Zoom host), Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Adam Bolam-Peel, Christine McLachlan, Edward Martin and Ruth Johnson.      

D.  Minutes of meeting 19 July 2022 accepted as a true record.

1  Former members
Vestry paid tribute to two former members: Graham Watt, Vestry Chair until his retirement on the grounds of ill-health in August, and Patrick Copsey, who moved to Lenzie in August.

2  Safeguarding

2.1  PVG
Nothing to report to Vestry.

2.2  Health and Safety
Nothing to report to Vestry.

2.3  Data Protection
Nothing to report to Vestry.

3  Worship and faith formation

3.1  Covid precautions and adaptation
In the absence of specific new guidance, we expressed an ambition to go back to traditional distribution of Communion at the altar-rail, communicants having the option to go back to their seats after receiving the wafer if they are not confident about the common cup.
Action: Paul to canvass Bob King’s opinion and ask about the current practice at Kelso and elsewhere.

3.2  Services
We look forward to joint activities and services with the Parish Church over the Advent and Christmas period, with fewer constraints than in 2021.
Action: Susan and Paul to discuss with Rev. Stewart McPherson.

Outreach and ministry

4.1  Pastoral care
Home communion continues for individuals. Susan also reports the success of two-monthly afternoon communions with housebound members brought together in someone’s house; these have social benefits as well.

4.2  Boycott restrictions
The Diocesan Office knows of no central SEC initiative on the restrictions in the planned Westminster legislation. Paul has posted about the issue on SEC social media, but to little effect. Replies interpret the planned legislation as applying only to public bodies (and therefore not to charities like churches) and do not address the broader issue of government interference to which other religious groups have objected. It seems this is not seen as an issue by SEC, though that may change if and when the legislation is brought forward at Westminster.

4.3  Mission fundraising
This year we will hold an Advent Appeal rather than making grants directly from the church’s funds, to benefit (1) the work of Simon and Grace Stretton-Downes with SIM in Liberia and (2) the Aberlour Options respite care centre at St. Boswells. We note this will be the Stretton-Downes’ final year in Liberia.

4.4  Website costs
The Diocesan Office said in August it could no longer absorb centrally all the costs of the group web hosting scheme and would propose to charge us. They estimated a cost of about £85 a year for the domain name and hosting, which is about average for a single WordPress site like St. John’s, but the 24-hour phone and email support package if we wanted to take it up would be about £39 a month and that seemed disproportionately high. Paul replied to say said we would prefer to look for commercial hosting elsewhere. Others must have said the same, as it appears the Finance & Management Committee has had second thoughts and will consider financing the support element centrally.

5  Leadership and governance

5.1  Jobs

a.  Treasurer
Still vacant, but we are not alone.

b.  Chair
Vacant.

c.  Banking
Patrick successfully passed the job of banking cash collections and donations to William Horton.

5.2  Planning for the future

a.  Recruitment
Vestry’s meeting with Bishop John and Godfrey Robson on 6 September was the last of four individual meetings with the three A7 Vestries and ourselves to define the possible outlines of a collaborative partnership. It was followed by a paper from the Diocese on 15 September, which we felt was too general to circulate to our congregation.

Paul prepared a summary in order to ask St. John’s members some simple questions about the principle of such a partnership, which so far shows a majority in favour with a general preference for two pairs of churches, though a few members are anxious not to discard the option of recruiting a half-time priest for St. John’s alone. Results from 20 replies:

+John has invited all four Vestries to meet him on Thursday 22 September. We will pass on the results of our questionnaire and ask about the challenges facing each of the churches as a basis for deciding on the best structure. It would be better if the four Vestries could present a proposal to the Diocese.  

b.  Church accessibility work
The Rectors’ Board extension is now installed, and Ian Lees has added Rev Andrew J Cooper.

Scottish Borders Council has granted listed Building Planning permission for the external accessibility work. We cannot make the Canon 35 application while we are in vacancy, but we can anticipate one of the necessary steps of that application process by consulting the congregation, and then begin to investigate grant funding.
Action: Paul to print the plans for display.

6  Stewardship

6.1  Financials

a.  Reports
Balance: end of August £81888 (including bequests).

b.  Gift aid envelopes
We buy printed and numbered sets each year, and the boxes for 2022-23 have now been delivered. The minimum order is 25, but only nine members of congregation now use this method. Could we convert those users to paying by direct debit?

c.  Accounts
Lesley Thomson agrees to act as our independent examiner again this year, but will need everything from Sue Bennett by 17th October. Sue therefore needs to be notified as soon as possible of any cheque payments going out and cash giving coming in, as we are approaching the end of the financial year. (See also item 9 about the date of the AGM.)

d.  Unit Trust Pool
Paul has spoken to Andrew Hunter, Treasurer at Kelso. He confirms UTP is a good and ethical investment, currently offering 2½% dividend, paid in August and February, as well as growth in unit value (though with a slight dip recently). We should not invest until we are able to take a long-term view – at least 3 years. He suggests no more than a third of capital. We could start with £20,000 once our future is clearer. UTP information is available on the SEC website: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/vestry-resources/general-information/unit-trust-pool/

6.2  Buildings

a.  Church
Ann Beck reports that three attempts to get Scottish Power to replace the electricity meter have so far failed. Another appointment has been arranged for Friday 23 September. Our contract with them ends at the end of October; once the level of Government support for charities is known, she will get prices and report to Vestry.

Our worst fears (a 5-fold increase) now look unfounded, but the cost will certainly rise, and we will need to work out how to economise on heating. Vestry agrees (1) to experimenting with overhead heaters alone when it gets cold enough and (2) relocating choir practice and the midweek service if possible during the winter quarter.   

John has again asked Harkins about the pointing of the front wall of the churchyard.

b.  Rectory
Galbraiths have found prospective new tenants. The agent’s condition report matches the impression of Vestry members who had the opportunity to look round just before end of the previous tenancy. We note that potentially expensive refurbishment (floor covering, glazing, heating system etc) would almost certainly be needed if it came back into use as a Rectory.

c.  Old School
John is in correspondence with Cheviot Youth about an intermittent water leak beside the front door, and the water in the cellar, noted in previous minutes. He will ask Edwin Thompson to find a contractor to investigate.

Canon 35 permission has been given for the Defibrillator installation.

We had useful conversations at Scottish Borders Council’s Grammar School consultation event, both about the redevelopment and the playground issue. Subsequently, SBC have said they are minded to ‘reinstate’ the playground boundaries to reflect Roxburgh County Council’s 1974 purchase from St. John’s when it developed the Grammar School – in other words, to remove our fencing and shut off the part with the soft play equipment, sheds, etc.

However, Councillor Scott Hamilton subsequently visited Cheviot Youth and accepted that keeping the land in question as part of the Old School will be very useful to their work. Now SBC promises a definitive view when the consultation responses are analysed by mid-September. That is awaited.

Paul asked the Diocesan Registrar if we have acquired a right of occupation that we can protect by registration against the Council’s title. Briefly, she says no, and suggests we should instead get ready to ask for a formal lease or a transfer back from SBC. Alternatively, we have since put to Cheviot Youth the suggestion that they could request a short-term lease from SBC of the extended playground.

d.  Flat
Nothing to report to Vestry.

7  Declarations of interest
None

8  Other business

a.  Ruth reported that the coach trip with St. Andrew’s, Kelso to the Burrell collection on 16 August was very enjoyable. 47 attended altogether.

b.  The pew cushions on offer from St. Andrew’s would have been the wrong size for us, so were declined, as was the offer of Ancient & Modern (New Standard).

c.  At midday on Friday 9th September 2022 churches throughout the United Kingdom were invited to toll their bells in acknowledgment of the death of Queen Elizabeth ll. Members of the Vestry were consulted and it was agreed that St John’s should join these many other churches in this simple salute to the passing of the nation’s longest serving monarch. Accordingly, a small team of bell ringers assembled and at the appointed time, St John’s bell was rung 96 times. Once for every year of the late Queen’s life. The oldest bell ringer was 83 years old and the youngest, holding on to the pigtail of the bell rope, was 3 years old.

9  Date of next meeting and date of AGM
Next meeting: We will return to monthly meetings in view of the eventful nature of vestry life at the moment. Next meeting: Tuesday 18th October.

AGM: 18th December is too close to Christmas, so the intended date is Sunday 11th December, after the morning service. Working backwards, our accounts need to be approved by Vestry w/c 21st November to give adequate notice of the meeting. Our normal November meeting would be on Tuesday 15th, but we agree to hold a special meeting on 22nd November for that purpose, if necessary.

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Minutes of Vestry Zoom meeting on Tuesday 19 July 2022 at 7.00 pm

A.        Opening Prayer
Canon Bob King

B.           Apologies
Canon Susan Macdonald, Graham Watt, Edward Martin, Adam Bolam-Peel

C.        Participants
Bob King (Interim Pastor),Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Christine McLachlan, Patrick Copsey, Gerard Henry, Ruth Johnson.

D.        Minutes
The minutes of the Vestry meeting on 21 June were accepted as a true record (proposed John, seconded Patrick).

The minutes of the two EGMs relating to the revised Constitution (30 March and 19 June) were accepted subject to approval at the next AGM.

1            Safeguarding

1.1      PVG
No issues to report to Vestry. Bob advised us to read the safeguarding material on the SEC website, with which all Vestry members should be familiar, even though St. John’s has a PVG Co-ordinator in the congregation (Cathy Lees):

General Page https://www.scotland.anglican.org/who-we-are/organisation/safeguarding/

SEC Safeguarding Policy https://www.scotland.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/Safeguarding-Policy-Principles-and-Commitments-plus-Definitions-2020.pdf

1.2      Health and Safety
No issues to report to Vestry.

1.3      Data Protection
Diana Canby has completed a consent form and is now on the list of members.

Bob asked for a copy of the consent form and letter used in our GDPR exercise, to be adapted for St. Andrew’s, Kelso.

2         Worship and faith formation

2.1      Covid precautions and adaptation
There is no new guidance from the Provincial Advisory Group, as confirmed in an email from Simon Filsell, Diocesan Administrator, on 12 July. If Scottish Government advice for places of worship changes, we will receive new guidance directly from the Advisory Group. 

2.2      Services
Nothing to report to Vestry.

3         Outreach and ministry

3.1      Pastoral care
Nothing to report to Vestry.

3.2      Boycott restrictions
Enquiries were made following our discussion at the last meeting, but the Diocesan Office is not aware of any common SEC position on the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Bill proposed in the Queens Speech.
Action: Paul to try and find out where such issues might have been discussed at Provincial level.

4         Leadership and governance

4.1      Jobs

a.        Treasurer
Regarding the Secretary’s increased workload in the absence of a Treasurer, Bob has asked Andrew Hunter (Treasurer at St. Andrew’s, Kelso) to contact us.

b.        Banking
Patrick has not heard from anyone offering to take over the banking of cash collections and donations, but he has someone in mind to approach.

4.2      Planning for the future

a.        Recruitment
There has been no response from Dean Frances to our Profile and Budget. Bob knows of discussions about the future of the three churches in the A7 partnership, but it is for Bishop John to say how any reorganisation in the Borders might affect St. John’s, and Vestry will meet him after he returns from Lambeth Conference.

b.        Church accessibility work
The extra Rectors’ Board is to be installed on Wednesday 20 July.

A planning application for accessibility work outside the church was made by the architect on our behalf on 27 June, and the outcome should be known by the end of August. If permission is granted by SBC, we should ask the Diocesan Buildings Committee to agree in principal and investigate funding and grants.  

5            Stewardship

5.1      Financials

a.        Reports
The end of June balance was £78781 (including bequests) – up by £2135 from the end of May.

b.        Unit Trust Pool
St. Andrew’s has found UTP a very good investment. On the face of it, the recent dip in unit values makes this a good time to invest, but we will need to discuss what proportion of our reserves should be held in this way.
Action: Paul to seek Andrew Hunter’s advice (see 4.1.a).

5.2      Buildings

a.                 Church
The installation of a new electricity meter has been rearranged for 4 August.
A stone fell out of the front wall of the churchyard. Harkins have repaired it, but report that extensive repointing would be advisable.
Action: John to inspect.

b         Rectory
The tenants now plan to buy their own house in the area and have given notice. We agreed that Galbraiths should reassess both its potential rental and sale value. Vestry members will be given the opportunity to look around the house before it is remarketed.

c.        Old School
Cheviot Youth wish to improve access at the front door of the Old School and will apply for planning permission. Subject to seeing the plans, we agree this would be a good idea.

Cheviot Youth’s administrator reported a water leak near the front door. John can see no obvious source, though the cellar beneath the stairs is partially flooded, probably by runoff from the Sharplaw Road embankment.
Action: John to ask Harkins to investigate.

We welcomed a new Scottish Borders Council consultation on the future of the adjoining Grammar School site, running until 21 August, and encourage Vestry and congregation members to respond and to attend the evening drop-in session at Jedburgh Town Hall on 9 August to inspect the plans illustrating the development options.
Action: Paul to publicise by email and in the pew sheet.

d.        Flat
Nothing to report to Vestry.

6         Declarations of interest
None

7            Other business

a.        CCLI offers an additional licence (at £47 a year) covering photocopying of books and periodicals, in partnership with the Copyright Licensing Agency. We agreed that we do not need this.

b.        St. Andrew’s is organising a coach trip from Kelso to the Burrell Collection on 16 August and offers to include members of St. John’s.
Action: Paul to publicise by email and in the pew sheet.

c.        St. Andrew’s is replacing its red pew cushions and its Ancient & Modern (New Standard) hymnbooks and offers us first refusal.
Action: Paul to measure our pews and the cushions, and consult organists and choir on the books.  

8         Date of next meeting
We discussed whether we could meet every two months and agreed to do so, since Zoom meetings can be organised at short notice for anything urgent that turns up in between them. Our next regular meeting will therefore be on 20 September.

top ^

Minutes of Vestry meeting on Tuesday 21 June 2022, 7.00 pm in Kenmore Hall

A. Opening Prayer
Paul Beck.

B. Apologies
Canon Susan Macdonald, Adam Bolam-Peel, Graham Watt.

C. Participants
Canon Bob King, Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Christine McLachlan, Gerard Henry, Patrick Copsey, Ruth Johnson, Edward Martin.

D. Minutes of 15 April meeting
Accepted as a true record.

1 Safeguarding
1.1 PVG
Nothing to report to Vestry.

1.2 Health and Safety
Nothing to report to Vestry.

1.3 Data Protection
Nothing to report to Vestry.

2 Worship and faith formation
2.1 Covid precautions and adaptation
Concerns have been expressed since the last meeting about the rise in Covid cases, with no response from Government or from the Diocesan Advisory Group that could guide or support a Vestry if it wanted to strengthen its precautions. The take-up of the Chalice seemed to be reducing, and the invitation to remain seated for Communion has not been very widely observed. A discussion of these issues reached no firm conclusions except (1) to try giving a reminder of the advice already printed on the pew sheets and (2) for the Choir not to sing the first hymn in procession.
Action: Paul to enquire about the prospects of new SEC guidance.

2.2 Services
Midweek attendance being very low lately, we will occasionally remind everyone of the Wednesday service in the notices and on the sheet.

3 Outreach and ministry
3.1 Pastoral care
Susan held a short home communion service, followed by afternoon tea, in Liz Kiteley’s house for two members unable to attend services at church. It was a success and Vestry endorsed the proposal to continue these events on alternate months.

3.2 Jubilee Equestrian event – Friday 3 June, 2.00 – 4.00 pm
Up to 300 people attended, and the event was a great success. The Jubilee grant funding was received on 10 June and the invoiced expenses from Bordaloo and Les Amis have been reimbursed.

3.3 St. Cuthbert’s Way Group
William has sent a verbal report on an SCW group meeting, where they discussed plans to develop the walk with better information for walkers and links to the official tourist organisation. The group admired the short ‘Walk Round’ pamphlets prepared for visitors at St. John’s, and other churches will consider producing something similar.

3.4 Church opening
The Diocesan Season of Pilgrimage brought us no visitors, but it felt good to have the building open. On the question of a return to daily opening and closing as in pre-Covid times, the building’s current isolation makes it too insecure unless there are regular volunteer church sitters.

3.5 Boycott restrictions
Patrick referred to planned legislation to be known as the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Bill announced in the recent Queen’s Speech to “prevent public bodies engaging in boycotts that undermine community cohesion”. A number of civil society organisations including Quakers, Methodists and URC have joined in a statement opposing it on the grounds that it would appear to inhibit campaigns or purchasing policies that target oppressive regimes. Vestry agrees it is an unjustifiable restriction on conscientious action.
Action: Paul to find out whether there is to be an SEC response.

4 Leadership and governance
4.1 Revised Constitution
Following the EGM on 19 June, Bob signed the final version of the revised Constitution, witnessed by Christine and Paul. It will now go to the Diocesan Office to be signed by the Bishop. We will receive our own copy and submit a further copy to OSCR.

4.2 Jobs
There was further discussion about administrative support, which Paul felt should particularly address the absence of a Treasurer, giving several examples of recent finance-related enquiries and actions which instead have fallen to him as the only office holder in the Chair’s absence. Also, administrative support of that nature would help us setting up electronic banking with RBS’s Community Account or a similar account with another bank.
Action: Bob to consult Andrew Hunter, Treasurer at St. Andrew’s, Kelso.

4.3 Planning for the future
a. Recruitment
The Profile and Budgets have been sent to the Dean in the first instance for comment, with no response as yet. We talked generally about the options the Diocese might suggest to us.

b. Church accessibility work
Whilst we now have approval for the extra Rectors’ Board, the Diocese has made clear that this is exceptional during an interregnum, and that our accessibility plans won’t be approved under canon law before a new Rector or Priest-in-Charge is appointed. We intend, however, to advance them as far as possible through the design and local authority planning stages. Vestry discussed samples of the paving and other surface options and decided on a composite for the area outside the porch and York stone slabs inside it.
Action: John to find out how much we have so far incurred in fees.

5 Stewardship
5.1 Financials
a. Reports
The Diocesan Finance Committee monitors the health of each charge’s finances. Its Chair, Kenneth Ramage, asked for an update on the rather negative picture painted by our 2020-21 accounts. Paul responded by sending the budget forecast recently prepared to go with the Profile.

b. Unit Trust Pool
We discussed whether to invest any of our reserves in the UTP – which after a very strong performance has recently reduced in unit value – but agreed that we need guidance from a church with experience of this investment.
Action: Bob to consult Andrew Hunter, Treasurer at St. Andrew’s, Kelso.

c. Gift Aid envelopes
Paul has sent in the minimum order for 25 numbered sets after consulting Sue Bennett.

5.2 Buildings
a. Church
Scottish Power is to provide a new meter after accepting that the existing one is not correctly reflecting our consumption under the respective tariffs – one for daytime and the other for evenings and weekends. It should be installed on 11 July. As things stand, we are in credit by more than £1000. We will consider switching to a new provider when our current fixed tariff ends on 31 October 2022.
A stone is missing from the front of the churchyard wall. John will contact Harkins to have it replaced.
In wet weather, a slow drip is sometimes observed from the roof above the rear pews on the north side of the aisle, but is inconsistent and hard to pin down.

b Rectory
Nothing to report to Vestry.

c. Old School
We have no news from Scottish Borders Council about its proposals to dispose of the adjoining land. Paul has asked Pam Brown, one of the newly elected councillors for the Jedburgh ward, to find out.

d. Flat
Nothing to report to Vestry.

5.3 Diocesan Carbon Neutral Group
There have been no volunteers for this opportunity.

6 Declarations of interest
None reported.

7 Other business
7.1 Vestry thanked Bob and Grace for all the work they are doing for us during the interregnum.

7.2 Patrick will move house on 19 August, and we will need a new volunteer to make the weekly cash payments into the Bank.
Action: Paul to publicise in the weekly sheet.

8 Date of next meeting
19 July 2022

^top

Minutes of Vestry meeting on Tuesday 3 May 2022, 7.00 pm in the Church

A.           Opening Prayer
Canon Bob King              

B.           Apologies
Canon Susan Macdonald, Rev. Grace Redpath, Adam Bolam-Peel, Christine McLachlan, Graham Watt

C.        Zoom participants
Bob King, Paul Beck (Secretary), Gerard Henry, Patrick Copsey, Ruth Johnson, Edward Martin and John Ogilvie. John agreed to chair the meeting.

D.       Minutes of 15 March meeting
Accepted as a true record with one amendment: in item 4.5.b, John had met Will Martin, not the architect.

1            Safeguarding

1.1      PVG
Nothing to report to Vestry

1.2      Health and Safety
Nothing to report to Vestry

1.3      Data Protection
Paul gave out the full membership list. This is for Vestry members, clergyand pastoral visitors. A simplified contact list (excluding those who did not opt in) will be available to the wider congregation.

2         Worship and faith formation

2.1      Covid precautions and adaptation
The changes that took effect from 4 April 2022 mean face-coverings and other precautions are no longer legally required, but in our notices we continue to encourage caution and respect for each other’s personal space. (Appendix)

The decision to reintroduce the chalice is endorsed, but the recommended posture needs to be reviewed as there is more handling when people receive the chalice standing up.
Action: Paul to discuss with Susan Macdonald and Margaret Taylor.

2.2      Services
Joint services with the Parish Church in Holy Week were well received, as was the joint online Lent course. The visit by Simon and Grace Stretton-Downes on 24 April went well.

3         Outreach and ministry

3.1      Pastoral care
Nothing to report to Vestry.

3.2      Jubilee Equestrian event – Friday 3 June, 2.00 – 4.00 pm
Patrick has received a Grant Offer Letter for £1,992, with strict terms and conditions.
Action: Paul to sign and return to SBC and inform Les Amis.

3.3      Jubilee service Sunday 5 June
This has been cancelled.

3.4     St. Cuthbert’s Way Group
William Horton is now representing St. John’s at group meetings. Our initial stack of leaflets has been distributed to places in Jedburgh where tourists go: the Abbey, Tourist Information and Mary Queen of Scots’ House.
Action: Paul to request some more.

4         Leadership and governance

4.1      Revised Constitution
Subject to a small amendment suggested by the Diocesan Registrar to allow for ‘hybrid’ Vestry meetings, the revised Constitution is approved. We will need another brief EGM to nod it through, then send it to Bishop John to endorse.

4.2      Jobs

a.        Graham has asked to take a break from Vestry chairmanship while he deals with health issues. Vestry agrees and wishes him well.

b.   Margaret Taylor has taken on Verger duties for weddings and funerals.

c.        At Bob’s suggestion, Paul will analyse his current duties to identify work that could be hived off to a paid administrator.

4.3      Planning for the future

a.        Recruitment
Paul reported slow progress on the profile and asks particularly for contributions towards section 8.c ‘Finding a new place in the Community’.

An initial meeting about financial viability suggested (not unexpectedly) that the interregnum will be profitable because of rental income, but that a 50% appointment is all we can contemplate without seriously eating into our reserves. Bob has asked Bishop John to meet Vestry again.   

Both the profile and the financial viability projections will be ready soon.
Action: Paul to circulate the profile again for comment and engage Sue Bennett’s help with the projection.

b.        Church accessibility work
John reported on a recent visit by himself, Ann Beck and Gerard to St. John’s, Selkirk to look at the extensive work on its interior – including toilets, a servery, chairs instead of pews and LED lighting – and to hear about the costs, the timescales and Canon 35 issues. A subsequent buildings subcommittee meeting considered such ambitious changes would not be feasible (and probably not permitted) at St. John’s.

Vestry accepted the recommendation that our accessibility work should go in phases, the most urgent of which would be access from the street. For now, we can continue using the toilets in the Old School, and the tenant of the Flat has agreed in principle to the use of the toilet inside the back door at pre-arranged times.
Action: John to set up a Vestry meeting with the architect to discuss options and indicative costs.

5         Stewardship

5.1      Financials

a.        Reports
The end of March bank balance is £72361 (including £20000 in bequests and a one-off grant).

b.        RBS account
Nothing to report to Vestry.

5.2      Buildings

a.        Church
Ann Beck has taken over monitoring our electricity account with Scottish Power. The tariff is fixed until the end of October.

b         Rectory
Nothing to report to Vestry.

c.        Old School
Jane, the Cheviot Youth administrator, has reported a small ground level external water leak near the front door, apparently coming from inside. Inspection of the stairwell and the adjacent basement shows no obvious source.

d.        Flat                                                   
(See 4.b)

5.3      Diocesan Carbon Neutral Group
The Group is looking for a contact name in each Church. Publicity in the weekly mailout has not so far elicited a response at St. John’s.

6         Declarations of interest
None

7         Other business

a.        Aberlour has written to thank us for our £200 donation, which will help towards wheelchair-friendly landscaping at the St. Boswells respite care centre.

b.        The Diocesan Mission advisor has asked churches to open for prayer at times from 26 May to 5 June, and we will ask for volunteer church-sitters for one or two days in the next pew sheet.

c.        Lesley Thomson is willing to act again as Independent Examiner for our 2021-22 accounts but warns that she will be on holiday in November and the timing will be tight before our AGM in December. Vestry agreed to engage her services again.

d.        Vestry agreed it will be good to re-open St. John’s during daylight hours, and Jeremy Portch has offered to lock and unlock, but the sacristans need to be consulted about security, brassware, etc.   

8         Date of next meeting
21 June 2022

Appendix

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Minutes of Vestry meeting on Tuesday 15 March 2022, 7.00 pm in the Church

A.           Opening Prayer
             
Christine McLachlan      

B.           Apologies
              Rev. Canon Bob King, Rev. Grace Redpath, Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald, Graham Watt.

C.        Zoom participants
Christine McLachlan (in the chair), Ruth Johnson, Paul Beck (Secretary), Adam Bolam-Peel, Patrick Copsey, Gerard Henry, John Ogilvie and Edward Martin.

D.       Minutes of 15 February meeting
Accepted as a true record – proposed by Patrick, seconded by John.

1            Safeguarding

1.1      PVG
Cathy Lees, PVG coordinator, has enquired about Isobel Portch’s safeguarding statement. It is being re-issued.  

1.2      Health and Safety
Nothing to report.

1.3      Data Protection
One new member, William Horton, has been added to the membership list.  

2         Worship and faith formation

2.1      Covid precautions and adaptations
Guidance from the SEC has not changed since 28 January, but new guidance is expected soon in reaction to the easing of restrictions by the Scottish Government.

2.2      Services
(a) At a further meeting between Susan, Paul and Rev. Stewart McPherson (Parish Church), it was decided to cancel the planned joint “sunrise” service at the band stand on Easter Day. Holy Week and Easter services will now be advertised in the Jed Eye and in our respective service sheets.

(b) For the 1.30 pm Good Friday meditation, we will need to borrow or hire a projector. Or we may be able to use some of the Covid Recovery grant to buy one if its conditions allow that.

(c)  CCLI copyright licences are due to be renewed on 31 March at a cost of £191.02. Although we did not take all four licences out at the same time, they are now synchronised and will all expire at the end of March 2023. Vestry agreed to renew them.
Action: Paul to renew.

(d) The new service rota started 13 March.

3         Outreach and ministry

3.1      Pastoral care
Those involved – Susan, Paul, Patrick, Liz Kiteley and Isobel Portch – met on 9 March to review the role description for pastoral visitors and look at good practice advice. They went through the new list of church members to identify who might need a call soon.

3.2      Jubilee Equestrian eventFriday 3 June
The funding application to the Platinum Jubilee Fund has been made and is being processed by Scottish Borders Council. Edward reports that the event will be possible in reduced form even without funding support, as the performers are not charging anything. Ruth reports that Lanton Village Hall has also offered to help.

3.3      Jubilee service Sunday 5 June
Rev. Stewart McPherson has responded to the Community Council about the planned event. St. John’s will take part, but it is not yet clear in what capacity.

4         Leadership and governance

4.1      Revised Constitution
Paul and Graham have distributed copies of the revised Constitution. The first EGM to adopt the new draft will be after the service on 20 March. After vetting by the Diocesan Registrar it will come back to a confirmatory EGM and then go to Bishop John for signing.

4.3      Annual reports
The annual OSCR return is complete, with a lot of help this year from Liz Kiteley.

4.4      Jobs (see appendix) Patrick reports that Margaret Taylor has agreed to be the Verger for weddings and funerals. She may also have suggestions about how to organise opening and closing the church every day, which we aim to re-start if possible.
Action: Patrick to enquire.

4.5      Planning for the future

a.        Recruitment
Paul’s draft of the 2022 Profile is out for comment, and the first half of the financial viability assessment is complete. Bob King will host a meeting at Kelso Rectory on 24 March at 4.00 pm to tackle the second half – that is, the forward projection.

b.        Church accessibility work
John reports that he is to meet Will Martin on Friday 18 March to investigate the options for routing a water supply. SBC Planning Department remains closed to informal enquiries until the end of March. John and Gerard have arranged to visit St. John’s, Selkirk on 23 March at 10.30 to look at the recent work on their church interior.

5            Stewardship

5.1      Financials

a.        Reports
The end of February balance is £70692 (£50692 excluding bequests and one-off Covid recovery grant). The monthly rent for the Old School back to the start of the lease in October 2021 all arrived at once in February. We will need to have correct net figures for all three rental income sources for the financial viability assessment.

b.        RBS account
No further progress to report on the Community Account enquiries.

5.2      Buildings

a.        Church
One further key to the front door has been handed in.

c.        Rectory
We need a new Gas safety certificate. John will ask the agents to arrange this.

d.       Old School
John and Paul met the administrator from Cheviot Youth to discuss items that they need to clear from the Old School, and are due to meet again on 21 March to help relocate the St. John’s records we have agreed to keep there. There is a spare Yamaha Clavinova piano (quite elderly, but in working order) that needs a home.

e.        Flat
Our tenant’s plans beyond May are unknown.  

6         Declarations of interest
None

7         Other business

7.1      Simon and Grace Stretton-Downes
Simon and Grace have accepted our invitation to speak about their work at the service on 24 April. We can possibly offer slightly enhanced after-service refreshments, but we no longer have anywhere to offer them a lunch as a group. Individual Vestry members might consider doing so personally.
Action: Paul to circulate the correspondence with them.

7.2      St. Cuthbert’s Way
In between the February and March meetings, Vestry members agreed by email to pay a proportion of the cost of printing the pilgrimage leaflets. They are now available and Paul will collect our share of them – some to go to the Tourist Information Centre, and (depending on what St. John’s can arrange for opening the church) some to keep for our casual visitors.

7.3      Website
The Diocese has brought in the Edinburgh-based digital consultancy cooperative ‘Form and Function’ to sort out the group web hosting arrangement of which St. John’s is a member, and our site is now secure (https).

7.4      Fundraising
We discussed a number of possibilities for fundraising instead of the annual sale at the Legion, which Covid has prevented.
Action: Vestry members to keep alert for news of local car boot sales.  

8         Date of next meeting
19 April 2022

APPENDIX: Duties undertaken by Church members 2022

Liz Kiteley
Church Cleaning
Home Communion
Milk Bottle Top Collection

Judith Coulson 
Church Cleaning

Paul Beck               
Vestry Secretary
Intercessions
Facebook
YouTube
Website Maintenance
Music Copyright licensing and reporting
Choir

Ann Beck                         
Church Cleaning                                  
Welcome desk

Joan Bennett         
Sacristan Duties
Verger (Wednesdays)

Cathy Lees                      
Choir
PVG co-ordinator
Welcome Desk

Kathleen Turnbull 
Welcome Desk
Church Cleaning

Christine McLachlan
Vestry member
Lesson Readings
Choir
Flower Arranging
Write Church Cheques

John Ogilvie                    
Buildings and Maintenance
Insurances and Utilities
Property Management
Lesson readings
Vestry member

Gerard Henry        
Vestry member
Lesson readings

Sally Henry                      
Flower Arranging
Church Cleaning

Graham Watt        
Vestry Chair
Storage of Minutes
Financial Reports
AGM arrangements and Reports Choir
Welcome Desk

Carol Watt                      
Church Cleaning
Sacristan Duties
Flower Arranging
Provide Coffee after Church

Margaret Taylor    
Programming Church heating
Chalice Bearer
Sacristan Duties
Verger (Wednesdays)
Verger (Weddings and Funerals)
Updating In Memoriam Book

Isobel Portch         
Organist
Selecting Hymns
Pastoral Care
Intercessions

Jeremy Portch       
Reading Lessons
Providing Coffee after Church

Susan MacDonald 
Taking Church Services
Rotas
Intercessions
Home visiting co-ordinator

(vacant)                            Daily opening and closing of the Church

Adam Bolam-Peel 
Vestry member
Intercessions
Health & Safety                                     
Assists with Property

Patrick Copsey      
Vestry member
Home Communion
Cash deposits to Bank

Ruth Johnson        
Vestry member

Edward Martin      
Vestry member

^top


Zoom Vestry meeting Tuesday 15 February 2022, 7.00 pm

A.           Opening Prayer
             
Rev. Canon Bob King

B.           Apologies
              Rev. Grace Redpath, Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald

C.        Zoom participants
Graham Watt (Chair), Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Christine McLachlan, Patrick Copsey, Adam Bolam-Peel, Ruth Johnson, Gerard Henry, Edward Martin, Bob King.

D.       Minutes of 18 January meeting
Accepted as an accurate account – proposed by John, seconded by Christine.

1            Safeguarding

1.1      PVG
Cathy Lees (PVG Co-ordinator) has been on a safeguarding training course (on Zoom). Isobel’s statement from Disclosure Scotland is still awaited, and will need to be followed up.
Action: Paul to ask Cathy to investigate progress.

1.2      Health and Safety
Nothing to report at this stage.

1.3      Data Protection
The new list drawn from the recent GDPR exercise by Susan and Liz has one or two unexpected absentees still to follow up. Then we will create (1) a full list for administrative and pastoral use and (2) an edited contact list that anyone can ask for, which excludes those who said they didn’t want their details made public.

2         Worship and faith formation

2.1      Covid precautions and adaptations
No change since 28 January, though restrictions are expected to gradually wind down. For the present, we will keep giving cautionary reminders and noting who attends each service.

2.2      Services
Susan and Paul are planning ahead for Lent, Holy Week and Easter in cooperation with Rev. Stewart McPherson at the Parish Church:

– Joint Lent Course via Zoom on five Tuesday evenings at 7.00 pm from 8 March;
– Maundy Thursday 7.00 pm liturgy with Communion at St. John’s;
– Walk of Witness 10.30 am on Good Friday, ending at the Parish Church (or Abbey Bridge café);
– ‘Shadow of the Cross’ meditation 1.30 on Good Friday in St. John’s, followed by GF liturgy;
– Reflections service 7.00 pm on Good Friday in the Parish Church;
– Sunrise Service at the Bandstand on Easter Sunday (time tbc);

NB: Each church will run its own usual services on Palm Sunday and Easter Day.

2.3      Streaming/Recording
The audio quality of livestreamed services has been improved by taking the sound output from the church PA system to a smartphone via a 20-meter cable and an attenuating adaptor, bypassing the phone’s own microphones. The cost of this was about £25.

3         Outreach and ministry

3.1      Pastoral care
Susan has organised a meeting of everyone involved in pastoral care on Wednesday 9 March at 11.30 am in Ancrum.

4         Leadership and governance

4.1      Vestry training
Graham, Paul and John attended a Zoom training course for Vestry members, including a detailed presentation on the role of the Vestry under charity law. Vestries are encouraged to think about succession planning and mission planning, and to develop a policy on how much money to have in reserve.

4.2      Revised Constitution
Paul has drafted an updated version of St. John’s Constitution, incorporating elements of the SEC Model Constitution that were absent from our 2010 version, reflecting legislative changes and making explicit reference to charitable aims and the trustee status of Vestry members. In discussion, it was pointed out that we now also need to include a provision to allow virtual meetings. Subject to that addition, Vestry unanimously approved the new version. It must now be approved by a brief special meeting of the Congregation, with copies circulated in advance, then sent to the Bishop for approval. Finally, copies must be lodged with OSCR and with the Diocesan Registrar.
Action: Paul to finish drafting; Graham to plan distribution; Bob to chair a special meeting after his next Sunday morning service with us.

4.3      Annual reports
The Annual forms and Financial schedule are now complete and submitted to the Diocesan Office. The annual OSCR return needs to be made before June. Liz Kiteley has offered to advise us on the latter.

4.4      Jobs
Vestry thanked Patrick for his work on the list of tasks. Two remain unfilled, but a name has been suggested for Verger duties at weddings and funerals. The final list will be publicised to the congregation.
Action: Patrick to pursue the suggested candidate.

4.5      Planning for the future

(a) Paul: The Recruitment subcommittee has begun to consider two of Vestry’s publications from the last interregnum to see whether the format can be re-used, namely, the 2016 Profile and the 2016 financial viability assessment.

(b) John: The Buildings subcommittee has received the architect’s thoughts on the interior changes and the provision of a toilet, and has been advised by Historic Scotland to approach Planning at SBC before getting detailed costs.

5            Stewardship

5.1      Financials

a.        Reports
The balance at the end of January was £66722 (£46722 when ‘ringfenced’ money from bequests is excluded). Bob suggested we need to be aware of the danger of self-imposed restriction on spending money left to us.

b.        RBS account
Christine has found there is a lack of personal advice available about the Community Account. It is free of banking charges for organisations with less that £100,000 turnover. One of the named office-bearers would have to be an existing RBS customer.
Action: Graham and John to investigate online application and access to more information.

5.2      Buildings

a.        Charitable exemption
John has applied for exemption from water and drainage charges for the Church. Cheviot Youth has been advised it must make its own application in respect of the Old School.

b.        Church
Gerard now has a list of key-holder names that looks suspiciously short. He will look at the new contact list (see item 1.3) and approach others who he thinks may have retained a key with no current need for one. We agreed that the key register should be kept as short as is practicable.

c.        Rectory
The gas boiler needs its annual service.

d.        Old School
Edwin Thompson only recently set up the payment mechanism for rent and pro-rata insurance. Consequently, there is a backlog of about £3,800 – this should appear in the February balance. Cheviot Youth is anxious to dispose of contents not relevant to their operation, notably crockery sets and other catering equipment. John will consult St. John’s members who were involved in the Old School lunches, etc, before agreeing. We could possibly store a certain amount of this in the Crypt in readiness for the redevelopment of the open area at the back of the Church.

6         Declarations of interest
None

7         Other business

7.1      Jubilee Equestrian eventFriday 3 June
      Sophie from Les Amis will apply to the Platinum Jubilee Fund to cover the expenses that she will incur in running the event. The Fund application asks for a nominated person from the partner organisation (Patrick volunteered to be that person) and for documents in respect of St. John’s constitution.
Action: Paul to supply the necessary information.

7.2      Jubilee service – Sunday 5 June
The Community Council has booked Jedburgh Abbey for an outdoor civic service at 11.30 on 5 June and invites participation by all local churches. We agree it would be good to supply a dog-collar, but that day will already be busy for all the clergy we know.
Action: Paul and Susan to discuss with Stewart McPherson (on the assumption that the Parish Church is likely to take the lead).

7.3      Simon and Grace Stretton-Downes – Sunday 24 April
The Stretton-Downes will be back in the UK after Easter and have asked if they could visit St. John’s to update us on their work with SIM in Liberia on Sunday 24 April. We agreed, and Bob said he is happy to give them time during the service, which he will be leading. Other arrangements, e.g. for lunch, to be made later.
Action: Paul to convey our invitation.

8         Date of next meeting
15 March 2022

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Zoom Vestry meeting Tuesday 18 January 2022, 7.00 pm

A. Opening Prayer
Rev. Grace Redpath

B.   Apologies
None

C.   Zoom participants
Graham Watt (Chair), Paul Beck (Secretary), John Ogilvie (Buildings Convenor), Christine McLachlan, Patrick Copsey, Adam Bolam-Peel, Ruth Johnson, Gerard Henry, Edward Martin, Rev. Canon Susan Macdonald, Rev. Grace Redpath, Rev. Canon Bob King.

D.   Minutes of 21 December meeting
Subject to correcting the balance figure in item 5.1.a to read £53,564, the minutes were accepted as an accurate account of the meeting – proposed by John, seconded by Christine.

1 Safeguarding

1.1  PVG
Only one of the new Disclosure Scotland statements is still outstanding.

1.2  Health and Safety
Nothing to report at this stage.

1.3  Data Protection
48 households
(68 individual names) are now listed in response to the 63 GDPR consent forms that were sent out. Two forms were submitted by people not on the mailing list. Vestry expressed its thanks to Liz Kiteley for sending the forms and collating the responses.

2 Worship and faith formation

2.1 Covid precautions and adaptations
In view of changes to guidance expected from Monday 24 January, we passed over this question.

2.2  Services

a.  The Christmas services went well in the constrained circumstances of Covid precautions and bookings, with 12 attending on Christmas Eve, 36 on Christmas Day and 11 on Boxing Day (John, Apostle and Evangelist).

b.  Services for Holy Week and Easter will be on the next Agenda.

c.  A Lent Course over 3 or 4 weeks is in the early planning stages by Susan and Paul.

2.3 Streaming/Recording
We agreed that it is good to offer services online as part of our commitment to accessibility. In practice, streaming sometimes works well and sometimes doesn’t. We could justify spending some of the £2000 Recovery Fund grant on improved equipment if that would help. Paul will research the possibilities.

3  Outreach and ministry

3.1  Pastoral care
We agreed to restart home visiting and communion, with appropriate precautions, as soon as possible. When the final Disclosure statement is received, the group will meet to discuss how to use the St. John’s role description and the SEC Good practice card.
Action: Susan to convene a meeting.

4  Leadership and governance

4.1  Annual reports
Two of the reports have now been submitted. The Diocesan Schedule is still in progress.
Action: Graham and John to pursue building valuations and a nominated architect. Graham to submit the Diocesan Schedule.

4.2  Jobs
Patrick reported that the jobs displayed and advertised seem to have been successfully allocated.
Action: Patrick to circulate a list to Vestry members.

4.3  Planning for the future
We agreed to form subcommittees for detailed discussion of the two main aspects of our future planning:

a.  Paul, Christine and Ruth (with input from Susan) will discuss the information that needs to be included in the Profiles before we can start considering recruitment.

b.  John, Adam, Patrick and Gerard (with input from Bob) will discuss the work planned for the interior of the Church.
Action: Paul and John to organise the respective subcommittees.

5  Stewardship

5.1  Financials

a.  Reports
The gross balance stood at £63,241 at the end of December. Graham will discuss with Sue Bennet how the ringfenced funding (now totalling £19,000 in bequests) will be shown in each monthly column to produce a clear net figure.

We noted that the amount shown for property income is misleading, as it only shows the rent for 46 Castlegate – see 5.2.c below.

b.  RBS account
Christine reports that local RBS branches are not apparently able to give advice over the counter on alternatives to our current account. Following discussion with the treasurer at St. Andrews, she believes our best option may be a “Community Account”, which is designed for non-profit organisations.
Action: Christine to get more information online and talk to Sue Bennet about the best option.

c.  Aberlour
£100 was raised from the Advent appeal. At his suggestion, we agreed to add a further £100 on Ralph Nagel’s behalf as an alternative to the hamper we have traditionally given him as a “thank you” for his churchyard maintenance.
Action: Cheque for £200 to be sent to Aberlour Options (Borders).

d.  Subscription
Paul has renewed the Office 365 subscription (‘Individual’ rather than ‘Family’) for another year.

5.2 Buildings

a. Church
John has submitted a Canon 35 application in respect of the additional Rector’s Board. As regards the provision of toilet facilities, we agreed that a Portaloo is the best option as a temporary measure.

Meanwhile, the kitchen and toilet extension works carried out some years ago at St. Andrew’s, Kelso have been inspected and admired – and probably ruled out for St. John’s on the grounds of cost. However, John will invite the architect, David Willis, back to extend his remit to look at more ambitious options.

b.  Rectory
Nothing to report at present.

c.  Old School
John reported that Simon Sanderson from Edwin Thompson has not yet set up the monthly rent payments from Cheviot Youth, but will do so as soon as possible. John estimates that as much as £3000 – made up of deposit, rent, and insurance contribution – is not yet reflected in our income figures.

d.  Flat
Sally Eathorne has indicated that she would like to extend her tenancy, initially for three months, and offers to pay the rent in advance. We agreed to accept this proposal.

6  Declarations of interest
None

7  Other business
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Edward proposed an afternoon of equine entertainment by Les Amis D’Onnos at the Lanton Hill arena on Friday 3rd June, under the umbrella of St. John’s Church. Vestry enthusiastically agreed.
Action: Edward to estimate catering and other expenses and apply to the Platinum Jubilee Fund.

8 Date of next meeting: 15 February 2022

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Zoom Vestry meeting Tuesday 21 December 2021, 7.00 pm

A. Opening Prayer
Bob King

B. Apologies
Patrick Copsey, Adam Bolam-Peel, Grace Redpath, Susan Macdonald.

C. Zoom participants
Bob King (Host), Graham Watt (Chair), Paul Beck (Secretary), Christine McLachlan, John Ogilvie, Ruth Johnson, Gerard Henry, Edward Martin.

D. Minutes of 16 November meeting
Accepted as  true record: proposed by Christine, seconded by John.

1 Safeguarding

1.1  PVG
Paul’s new statement has arrived from Disclosure Scotland; Liz Kiteley’s and Isobel Portch’s are awaited.

1.2  Health and Safety
[Carried forward to the next agenda in view of Adam’s absence].

1.3  Data Protection
The deadline for inclusion in the new database has been extended as a number of the forms have not been correctly completed.

2  Worship and faith formation

2.1  Covid restrictions and adaptations
We were notified recently that, because of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the recommended precautions for public worship are to become stricter. However, apart from the increase to 2-metre distancing for leaders and singers while they are unmasked, we already comply. We agreed that we do not have the space or facilities to offer after-service refreshments safely under the current recommendations, and will suspend them until further notice.

2.2  Services
In expectation of some extra attendance at Christmas, clearer signs and reminders are in preparation. We had hoped not to introduce booking, but Paul and Susan have concluded that for the 24th and 25th it will be safer to put a booking system in place and then find it was actually unnecessary than the other way round. Invitations have gone out by letter and email, and names and numbers can be given by email or by leaving a voicemail message. 

2.3  Advent course
Susan led two of the Advent sessions “Who is Jesus?” and they were much appreciated. The third was cancelled when we heard of the death of Fiona Bolam-Peel, who had been participating.

3  Outreach and ministry

3.1  Pastoral care
We agreed, in Susan’s absence, with her proposal to suspend routine home communion for the time being because of the increase in Covid-19 cases. Acknowledging that this might leave some housebound members of the congregation more isolated, Bob reminded us that the SEC provides online worship that we should direct people to given that we are not always able to livestream our own services.
Action: Paul to include links in emails and on the website.

4  Leadership and governance

4.1 Vestry – offices, roles, new members

a.  On behalf of Vestry, Graham welcomed our three new members. Charity trustee declaration forms will be sent to them.

b.  John offered to become the Property Convenor (the role he has, in effect, been fulfilling) – to include oversight of utilities and other bills that are currently Graham’s responsibility.

c.  With Graham as Chair, Paul as Secretary, John as Property Convenor and Cathy Lees (not on Vestry) as PVG officer, we remain without a Treasurer and without representation at Area Council and Synod.

4.2 Annual reports
Paul has submitted the Congregational statistics to the Diocesan Office, and expressed his thanks to Susan for gathering them. We still need to submit PVG information and Vestry offices, with an official deadline of the end of the year.

4.3  Carried over from 2020-21

a.  Rota organisation for clergy cover and for worship duties
Susan has offered to take over this task from Paul when the current rotas expire.

b.  Verger for weddings and funerals
Heather McLeish is interested in helping, subject to an explanation of what is needed. Bob asks that he or Susan be involved in any discussions.

c.  Charitable exemption from water and drainage charges
We need to re-apply annually in March, and Liz Kiteley has carried this out for us in the past. This would seem naturally fall to the Property Convenor in the absence of a Treasurer. Graham has the information relating to the application we will need to make for 2022-23.
Action: John to seek guidance from Liz.

d.  Planning for the future
The AGM gave us permission to proceed with the future plans that arose in outline from the congregational meeting in September. The immediate need is to construct a detailed financial case for recruitment. Once we are confident of that, we need to consider how to present St. John’s in an updated profile and how to describe what we want from any appointee. Bob suggested we look at current examples of profiles and advertisements on the SEC website, some of which include a video as well as a written profile.

5  Stewardship

5.1 Financials

a.  Reports
We received the end of November month-on-month report from Sue Bennett. The net balance was £53564. Bob noted that St. John’s now holds £19000 in bequests, which Vestry rightly does not regard as suitable for routine running costs: he advised that we should be careful to describe this as “ringfenced” rather than as “restricted” – as the latter has a specific legal significance.

b.  RBS account
Christine will contact the Kelso treasurer, Andrew Hunter, to assess the advantages and the costs of a Business Account with RBS.

c.  Aberlour fundraising during Advent
Action: Paul to confirm correct local recipient; Patrick to pay in to St. John’s account.

5.2 Buildings

a.  Accessibility
John and Bob reported back on a site meeting with David Willis, one of two architects who have been recommended to us. He has prepared for Vestry discussion illustrative drawings of (i) a stepless slope formed of stone paving or resin-bonded gravel from the public footpath to the inner step of the porch, and (ii) an extended open area with kitchen facilities at the back of the church. The question of toilets with disabled access is being considered separately, but the routing of water and electricity to them may be a factor to consider in the planning of the area at the back of the church.

Vestry agreed unanimously to proceed with the accessibility work and the reorganisation of the back of the church, subject to satisfactory designs and funding, on a motion proposed by John and seconded by Graham.
Action: David Willis’s drawings to be circulated to Vestry.
     

b.  Rector’s Board
John has received a quotation for a new rectangular board below the existing board and matching its style and finish. It is from Peter Tucker, a woodworker recommended by the Diocesan Office. John will discuss with the Diocesan Administrator, Simon Filsell, what the Canon 35 approval process for this work would entail. Bob reminded us that approval will be conditional on the congregation having been informed and consulted. 
Action: Paul to ensure that suitable mention is given in notices and/or on the pew sheet.

c.  Storage
Now we do not have unrestrained access to the Old School (except for a stationery cupboard and filing cabinet), storage of records, equipment, occasional furniture, etc is an issue. The Crypt is not suitable for things likely to be damaged by excess humidity, and is not safely accessible for putting things in and out of storage. We agreed to plan for storage within the reorganisation of the west end of the Church.

d.  Church door key register
Gerard offered to start work on the key register.

e.  Vestry cupboards
Material used by the flower arrangers, which was in a very high cupboard in the Vestry and not safely accessible, has now been moved.

f.  Scottish Borders Council
Paul has not yet received a reply to his request to the Council for its proposal to deal with the disputed boundary between the Old School playground and the former Grammar School site that is earmarked for disposal.
Action: Paul to circulate background information to our new members.  

g.  Rectory, Old School, Flat
There was nothing specific to report, except that Sally Eathorne might seek to extend her tenancy beyond six months. Cheviot Youth continues to reorganise the interior of the Old School. Ruth asked if there are tables in the Old School that we could “reclaim” for use at the back of the Church when the West end is opened up, but we concluded that the Old School contents are at Cheviot Youth’s disposal during its tenancy and we cannot reasonably reserve items unless we have somewhere else to store them. (item 5.2.c above refers).

6  Declarations of interest
None

7  Other business

7.1  Christmas tree and Grass cutting
Gerard will write to the Hon. Moira Campbell to thank her for the gift of the tree, and to Ralph Nagel to thank him for maintaining the churchyard grass. We agreed again to offer him a hamper in appreciation, with the option of making a charitable donation on his behalf instead.

7.2 Microsoft subscription
St. John’s annual subscription for Office 365 and remote OneDrive storage expires in January. Vestry agreed that Paul should renew it and reclaim the cost. The ‘Family’ subscription is unnecessary in our present circumstances and it will be downgraded to ‘Personal’ to save money.

8 Date of next meeting:
18 January 2022

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