Arrochar Parish Church Congregational Board Report
		The Congregational Board met in the Church Hall on Wednesday 3rd. September at 7.30 p.m. Almost everyone was present: Karen, Neil, Retta, Nancy, Marion, Eric, Stella, Gill, Margaret (West), May, Hettie, Bill, Mary (Stone), Tom, Anna, Jimmy and Dane. Apologies were made by Margaret (Kelly), Mary (Haggarty), Beth, Eileen and Jamie. After worship and the reading of the minutes, Karen introduced her financial report. Our offerings (due to a large amount of Gift Aid tax relief received from the Inland Revenue) are up on budget by £209; our expenditure is within budget, and our long running dispute with our suppliers of electricity is on the point of resolution. With the continued generosity of our members there is no doubt that we shall reach the end of the year with all bills paid and money in our bank account! It was also agreed to ensure that the Communion silver (recently valued by Christie's at £9,000) was included in our policy at an appropriate level. Under property, Jimmy reported that the new stained-glass window would be installed later this month and that next month the new windows for the Church hall would be fitted. He asked that we ensure that the insurance levels for the Church are kept up-to-date and Karen undertook to speak to the insurers to ensure that this was the case. We were delighted to learn that the environmental task force had completed the work in the graveyard. What a very good job they have done. Jimmy and his team will see what needs to be done about seeds that are taking root and growing into small trees all over the graveyard. Retta reported on the annual church spring-clean, on the completion of the storage area by the front door, on the purchase of a hand vacuum cleaner for the new pew cushions and on the plan to buy an umbrella stand for the winter. Gill told us that the Fund-raising committee would reach its target for the year with a Fiddlers' Rally planned for 24th. October, a Christmas Fayre in December and the Memory Stars at Christmas time. There will also be a cruise on Loch Lomond sometime soon. Other Business became a time of general discussion. We talked through the new Sunday School programme, discussed a children's party and a Sunday School teachers' meeting, planned a calendar with a picture of the flood-lit Church and thought about a Christmas Card of the new window. We discussed the final commemorative internal window and the photograph album record of the restoration project and agreed that these would be part of our programme for 2004. Finally we agreed not to have a congregational lunch this September but instead to plan a different kind of celebration to mark the completion of the final part of the restoration project later in the year. The meeting came to an end at 8.45 p.m.