MINUTES of the EIGHTY NINTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the SCOTTISH GUILD OF SERVERS, held at All Saints’ Church, St Andrews
9th September 2017
| The meeting commenced with prayer.The Warden Rev Canon Jeremy Paisey presided.
Members signed the attendance sheet. |
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| APOLOGIES | Apologies were intimated from Peter Keat, David Page, Holy Trinity Church, Matthew Pemble, Mary Clare McMillan, Rachael Penman, Fred Jack, Bill Rodger, Susie Hill and Dunoon Fraternity. |
| MINUTES | The Minutes of the 2016 Annual General Meeting, having been posted on the SGS website, were taken as read with the added comment from Father Martin Robson relating to the inclusion of the action plan as part of the minutes. The minutes were approved and signed as a true record. |
| MATTERS ARISING | Manual- it was noted that further discussion regarding the Manual was required. There was some feeling that the manual was in need of updating. This will be brought to the next Council meeting. |
| ACCOUNTS | The financial statement was shared with attendees.Due to ill health Bro Alan Hall has had to resign from his position as Almoner. Bro Barry Nisbetwas able to reclaim the accounts and with help for Lorraine Paisey the accounts were brought up to date for today’s AGM.
ORDINARY FUND: The financial position continued to improve thanks to the continuing generous response to the Annual Levy. EDUCATION FUND: Members were encouraged to seek applicants for support from the fund so that it could fulfil its purpose of facilitating suitable religious education and training. The Accounts were approved unanimously; copies are appended. Thanks and Prayer were offered to Bro Alan Hall for his services as Almoner. |
| SECRETARY
-GENERAL’S REMARKS
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The Secretary-General welcomed all who had attended and thanked everyone at All Saints, St Andrews for hosting the festival and AGM. The service was wonderful and the lunch provided was fantastic. Thank you to Sis Sheena Liddellfor her work at MC of the Mass.Bro Barry Nisbet thanked members of Council for all their assistance and support throughout the year and to special thanks to the Warden for his spiritual support.
Many members had again been generous in their response to the Annual Levy. The Guild welcomed 16 new members over the last year and all members were thanked for their support of Guild activities. The Guild’s on-line presence has been developed over the last year with the Facebook page becoming more popular and with the updated website- Thanks to Bro Matthew Pemble for his work on this. The old website is still proving difficult to override but work will continue with this. Bro Barry Nisbet finished his remarks by reminding members that the Guild is a small organisation that must be valued by all members if it is to be sustained. He encouraged members to support our on-line endeavours by offering photographs and updates to be posted. |
| Action Plan | Following on from the Matters Arising it was agreed that the Manual will be looked at as part of the Action Plan. It was noted that Manual was developed some years ago and reflected the thoughts of the Warden at that time. Members were encouraged to send remarks to the Secretary General and these can be brought to Council for comment.Sis Sheena Liddell shared the current plan which has been devised following the recent survey of Guild Members. Points for further discussion were as follows:
Away Day/ Retreat: There was a good response for AGM attendees that this is something that would be of interest to members. There was general feeling that a social event such as a weekend retreat might enable members from further afield to attend. Fraternity Guardians: Council will look at how Fraternities are supported as there is a lack of members taking on the responsibility of Guardian. These points will be added to the current action plan and discussed further at the next Council meeting. |
| ELECTION OF OFFICE- BEARERS | Chaplain General– Father John Penman (3 Years)Secretary General– Sis Vicki Paterson (3 Years)
Almoner– Sis Alison Ballantyne (1 Year) Proposed – Bro Barry Nesbit Seconded- Fr John Penman Council Members Sis Trudi Hill Sis Maureen Langford There is currently a vacancy in Council Membership- this will be brought to the next Council Meeting |
| AOCB | Medal and Manuals: Bro Richard Smith proposed that the Council consider a small rise in the charge for medals and manuals- this is mainly due to the cost of postage.Action: Added to Agenda at next Council meeting
Canon 31: Fr Martin asked that consideration be taken with regards to Canon 31 and perhaps within the manual or as part of the website correspondence the Guild needs to be overt in its response to its position and guidance to be given to servers in relation to participation in services. Action: To be discussed at future Council meeting Women Clergy: Fr Martin encouraged the Council to ensure that the Guild’s position regarding women clergy was clear. As there is a feeling that many are under the impression that the Guild is outdated with its views regarding women clergy. Action: To be brought to the Council for further discussion. |
| Vote of Thanks | The Warden thanked everyone for the success of the day’s proceedings, including Father AlasdairColes and the Clergy of All Saints, St Andrews. His thanks were extended to the organist, choir and those who had organised the tea and refreshments.The Secretary-General thanked the Warden for his services to the Guild and for chairing the AGM. |
