Meeting details
Meeting conducted on-site in the Clanalpine Meeting room.
Present: Chris Stretton, Mike Lum, Amanda Haywood, David Mayes, Michael Gold, Lee Beeston, Tse-Ruey Low, Chris Chandler, Naomi Reichardt, Darrel Causbrook, Andrew Glover (invited guest), Rev. Bruce Stanley (chair)
Apologies: Yvonne Hall
Next Parish Council meeting: Tuesday, November 14th at 8pm
Bible Reading
Mark 1:1-3, 14-15
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark's gospel begins with a reminder of the purpose of the Church - to preach the good news of the gospel - of repentance and belief.
Vision 2030
Please pray with us as we plan for the next 7 years of growth, as well as develop a strategic investment and financial plan for Eastwood and Ermington.
Staffing 2024:
Stipends for staff for 2024 will be finalised in the December meeting.
Works report
Ermington:
The Development Application submitted to Parramatta Council for a new shade shelter over the new playground has been approved!
A grant application is being made for the Community Building Partnership grants for the possible installation of a disabled-accessible toilet at St Mark's, along with roofing repairs to the toilet area.
A clean-up day was held at the Ermington site on Saturday, November 11th - many thanks to all who attended and cleaned up the site so well - it looks amazing!
Eastwood:
Construction has commenced on the Eastwood site and is on track as planned.
A glass balustrade infill is planned for the new ramp to provide improved safety. We are awaiting supply.
The small access ramp and awning for the new war memorial hall exit has been completed.
A grant application is being made for the Community Building Partnership grants for the possible installation of a retractable shade shelter on the back of the CMC over the deck.
Bells (Eastwood): UPDATE: Documentation has now been finalised and rejected by Ryde council on several levels. We are investigating how we might be able to respond to this.
Building Loan update
Our final loan amount for the current building work has been reduced to $194,350. With your help, it could be reduced even further! An interest-free loan is a commitment to loan the Parish money for this work over the next 5 years without interest. Interest-free loans would allow us to save a significant amount in repayments simply because we are not needing to pay interest on the loan. We have already received an interest-free loan of $50,000 which will save around $20,000 in interest payments.
If you would like to contribute an interest-free loan, or if you would like to make a tax-deductible gift towards the work, or make a general contribution, please contact the wardens directly at wardens@stphils.org.au , speak with your pastor, or email the office office@stphils.org.au
You can also head to our giving page on the website for more details on direct giving...
Giving page
All our giving information for tax-deductible and other giving, including Thanks Giving, can be found on our giving page on our website:
Tax receipts can be issued by the wardens on request. For more information or to request a tax receipt, please email our wardens: wardens@stphils.org.au
Finances
Our 2023 budget includes a 12% increase from last year.
Details for online banking can be found on our website here: Giving page
Budget summary 2023 - October year to date:
- Income required:
Year to date: $758,667
Weekly: $17,196 - Current offertory:
Year to date: $736,354
Weekly: $16,735 - Shortfall: $22,314
The current offertory is 97.1% of the budget (an upward trend of 0.2% from last month)
We are always thankful for the generosity of our members. This regular giving enables the daily ministry to continue at St Phil's and St Mark's. We ask all members to be prayerful in their giving, regularly considering how God has equipped them to financially support his work both here and throughout the world.
Other business
A St Mark's Ermington Church Committee has been formed! This committee will report to Parish Council and will tend to the week-to-week needs of the Ermngton site. The committee is made up of:
Andrew Glover (chair)
Chris Chandler
Chris Badman
Anna Vaughn
Prayer
The meeting ended in prayer at 9:05 pm.