As you may recall, a meeting took place at St Martin’s School on 19 November last year to hear the proposals from a working group led by Horace Mitchell to combine the PCCs of the churches in our Benefice into a single PCC. The details are here.
Your PCC met shortly afterwards, on 30 November, and agreed that we should proceed with the group’s recommendations, in accordance with the statement below:
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Martin’s Church, East Woodhay, has agreed to go forward with other churches in North West Hampshire to form One PCC which will support St Martin’s and three other churches (St Thomas’ Woolton Hill, St James’ Ashmansworth, St Michael and All Angels’ Crux Easton), working alongside St Michael & All Angels’ Church, Highclere, in our North West Hampshire Benefice.
We believe this change can help us streamline our administration and management and release energy to engage with our local communities in our common aim of making Christ known in this beautiful and much loved area.
The proposal was also discussed at our Annual Parish Church Meeting on 17 April and referenced, by Canon Christine, in the 2022 Annual Report.
The Diocese of Winchester has now issued the ‘Draft Pastoral Scheme’, as explained in this link, which will enable the amalgamation to go ahead. The draft includes details of how you can comment formally to the Church Commissioners. But if you have any questions the Churchwardens and/or PCC members will be pleased to answer them.
At the end of the consultation period, it is planned that the Pastoral Scheme (the draft is here) will be signed and we can proceed with the formation of the amalgamated PCC .