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Revd Martin Johnson
Rector's Warden: Russell McCaskie
People's Wardens: Laura Wood, vacancy
Councillors: Alistair Davidson (Chair), Leanne Beagley, Alistair Davidison, Melissa Rath (Treasurer), Sarah Boddington (Secretary). Two appointments vacant t.b.a.
November 2022
Parish Day – Parish Council expressed gratitude for the insights and input received from everyone who attended the Parish Day. Council is keen to continue reaching out to Parishioners who were unable to attend or groups that were underrepresented. To facilitate receiving additional views and ideas, a 1-pager that provides background information about what we did and what we found is being prepared.
Switchboard in narthex – A contractor is scheduled to upgrade the switchboard in the narthex this week.
Courtyard tree – The London plane tree in the courtyard is looking splendid after its recent prune to remove dead branches.
Parish AGM – The 2023 Parish AGM will be held on Sunday 26 February.
Parish Directory ¬– If you would like a pdf version of the Parish Directory before it is printed in hardcopy, would you please contact Alison Davidson.
Working bee – Please join us on Saturday 19 November 8:30am – 11:00am for our spring working bee. The to-do list includes weeding, gutter cleaning, tidying up the grounds and consuming a delicious morning tea.
Opportunity to serve – Parish Council is looking for new members to help with the financial and property affairs of St Philip’s. The Council collectively helps to administer the functions of the Parish, which are to plan, organise, and carry out its pastoral, educational, evangelistic and missionary work. There are some specific roles that need filling, including Secretary, Policy Coordinator and Missions Officer. If you are interested in committing to this service, please talk with Martin, Alistair or other members of Parish Council.
Please pray for our Parish, its mission, ministry and renewal
October 2022
Parish Day – Planning is well underway for our gathering on 29 October at the Greenhills Conference Centre, 1437 Cotter Road, Stromlo. We hope everyone can join us. We are looking forward to sharing some fellowship, discussion and lunch together as we celebrate what’s great about our parish community and dream about what could be. There will be an email this week with details about our aims, the program, catering and travel. Keep an eye out for that or talk with anyone from the Parish Council.
Switchboard/distribution board in the narthex – Parish Council agreed to proceed with upgrading the switchboard in the narthex, which will include installing contemporary residual current devices.
Courtyard tree – Pruning of the London plane tree is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday 25 October.
Missions – The Parish has made significant donations to our three key mission partners: Raw Potential in Canberra, Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns and ABM’s Integrated Wash and Literacy Program in Vanuatu. Please continue to support these missions through prayer and donations. Monetary contributions can be by either by an electronic funds transfer to St Philip's account with the description ‘Missions’ or provide cash within an envelope during Church services labelled ‘Missions.’ Further information can be found at St Philip's Mission Projects
September 2022
Wine during Communion – Parish Council agreed to introduce a modified use of the Common Cup on Sunday 25 September. Under this modification, communicants will have the choice to receive an intincted Host from the celebrant.
Parish planning day – Council agreed to hold a whole-of-parish planning day on Saturday 29 October. More details to come.
Leaf removal – A contractor has cleared leaves from the roof on the rectory and kindergarten.
Courtyard tree – Council agreed to accept a quote to prune the London plane tree in the courtyard, including the removal of dead branches.
Electrical safety – A contractor has completed testing and tagging 123 items. Council is receiving quotes to replace the ageing switchboard in the church.
Lamerton Centre waterproofing – A builder has resealed the roof and replaced several moisture-damaged lights.
Mid-year budget review – Council has conducted its mid-year budget review. The deficit currently exceeds $10,000, in large part due to significant and unplanned repairs and maintenance.
July 2022
COVIDsafe Plan. – Council has drafted an update of St Philip’s COVIDsafe Management Plan (long form and summary versions) and continues to monitor the situation.
Safety Audit and Inspection. ¬– Council recently conducted a Work Health & Safety Audit of the church premises and compiled a list of minor tasks.
First-aid kits. – St John’s Ambulance has replenished the first-aid kits.
Weekly giving arrangements. – Council has completed its review of St Philip’s weekly giving arrangements and has decided to continue with cash collections. Many thanks to all who provided feedback.
Rectory path. – A contractor has laid a concrete path from the Rectory to the Lamerton Centre. A small band of Parishioners had dug the footings. Next steps are to install concrete wheel stops and tidy up the surrounds.
Rectory maintenance. – A contractor has finished repairing the Rectory eaves. In addition, Council recently completed its annual inspection of the Rectory.
Church gardens. – A Parishioner took the initiative to conduct a general clean-up of the church gardens and remove old stumps and logs. Other Parishioners have been busy clearing leaves, especially from the courtyard. Council is grateful to all involved.
May 2022
Weekly giving: Parish Council is reviewing our arrangements for weekly giving at St Philip’s. Currently we offer direct debit banking (our preferred method), tap donations through an EFTPOS machine, and cash collections during the service. While each has its pros and cons, handling cash collections requires considerably more effort in terms of the number of volunteers, governance arrangements, trips to the bank and people’s time. In addition, over the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of weekly giving from the offering bag has dropped from 29% in 2018 to 6% in 2021. If you have any views about phasing out cash collections, please have a chat with Alistair Davidson, Mel Rath or Revd. Martin.
Repairs: The security light at the rear of Pandora’s and the disabled toilet cistern have been repaired.
Strategic thinking: Following the AGM, Council has begun thinking strategically about how best to support St Philip’s Parishioners and its mission in our local community over the long term. With many new on Parish Council, Council has taken the time to understand St Philip’s journey over the past 10 years and familiarise itself with past planning initiatives. One of the next steps after Martin returns from overseas in June is to identify ways for Parishioners to be part of this process. In the meantime, please feel free to have a yarn with anyone on Parish Council about what’s on your mind.
Working bee rectory path: There will be a working bee to prepare the site for a path to the rectory. A small gang of Parishioners who can wield crowbars, mattocks and spades would make light work of this. If you’re interested in being part of the action, please contact Russell McCaskie and a date can be set.
March 2022
Roles. – Parish Council agreed to the following roles for 2022: Alistair Davidson, Chair; Sarah Boddington, Secretary; Melissa Rath, Treasurer; Laura Wood, Safety & Risk Officer; Leanne Beagley, Policy Development & Review; Russell McCaskie, Buildings & Maintenance.
COVIDsafe. – Council continues to review our COVIDsafe arrangements. It is planning to reinstate the kneelers in April and is considering how best to re-introduce the common cup and intinction following broad consultation. Please let Martin know if you have concerns or views that Council should take into account.
Working bee. – Council agreed to hold a working bee on Saturday 2 April 9-11am to tidy the grounds before Easter.
Carpark. – Resurfacing of the carpark is scheduled to begin on the weekend beginning 12 March. The contractor will complete several jobs at the same time, including: installing an all-weather path from the rectory to the Lamerton Centre; installing a drain across the path down the western side of the church; affixing a weatherproof edge to the Lamerton Centre deck.