The Committee of Management is elected by the congregation of St. Columba Church to manage the secular affairs of the church. Our constitution tells us that this includes the care of church property, including of course repairs and alterations, financial matters, insurance, heating, lighting, and payment of salaries to church employees. The church is registered as a charity by The Office of the Scottish Charities Regulater(OSCR), and along with the Kirk Session, the managers are held by OSCR to be Trustees and therefore jointly responsible for the financial affairs of the church.
The constitution requires the congregation to each year elect a Preses a Vice-Preses, Treasurer, and Clerk at the AGM from amongst the managers, of whom there should be a maximum of 18.
The Committee of Management for 2009-2010 has a total membership of 15, with the four elected office-bearers being Douglas Sammon Preses, Jim Weldon Vice-Preses, Crawford Howat Treasurer, and Bill Yule Clerk. The remaining members are Joanne Fagan, Judy Ferguson,Philip Jones, Antonio Lopez, John MacLeod, Jean Miller, June O ‘Neil,Hugh Orr, John Penny,Chris Street, and Sue Vidits.
DISABLED ACCESS, TOILETS AND KITCHEN REFURBISHMENT PROJECT
The provision of disabled access to the Sanctuary and Kings St. Hall, plus refurbishment of toilets and the complete refurbishment of the kitchen is a major project successfully completed over the summer under the aegis of the Committee of Management, and led by the Vice-Convenor, Jim Weldon.
During the same period, major improvementsto the electrical system and the drains were carried out.
THE BAZAAR NOVEMBER 2009
Following a successful Christmas Market in November 2008 which raised sufficient funds to pay for a Sound and Projection system for the King St. Hall, the managers are also sponsoring a major project in the form of a Church Bazaar on the 14th. November 2009 to be held in the Victoria Halls to raise funds for a Sound and Projection system for the Church Sanctuary. The organising committee includes representatives of all of the church organisations, under the leadership of Tony Kent, and over the past 10 months has been meeting regularly to make the necessary arrangements for a successful outcome.
BULDINGS UPKEEP
Given the age of our buildings, it is perhaps no surprise that they require regular maintenance which not only involves significant expenditure but also constant vigilance and time input from our Works Convenor, Chris Street. For example , over the past two meetings of the committee, Chris has reported on the completion of an external water leak, the replacement of downpipes on the church walls, the quarterly routine testing of emergency lighting and smoke alarms, the replacement of tiles in the KSH ceiling, a Health and Safety inspection of our facilities by the local authority, the completion of roughcasting on the walls of the Manse, the replacement of a main drain leading from the manse kitchen, the organ humidifier and blower machinery serviced, the need to renew the paint on all gutters ,down pipes and air vents bounding access to the Lesser Hall from Sinclair St.,and the completion of the wooden fencing at the manse.
FINANCE
The up-keep of a church such as ours obviously requires considerable funds. The safekeeping and management of these funds is, under our constitution, primarily the responsibility of the Committee of Management, and in particular of the Treasurer, Crawford Howat. The Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st.December 2008 show that the funds from all sources carried forward to 2009, amounted to £256,723, which illustrates the considerable size of the task which he carries out on behalf of the congregation.
THE ROLE OF THE PRESES.
The title of Preses, who is currently Douglas Sammon, comes from the latin, praeses, meaning president, chief or guardian, and as such he or she is in effect the leader of all the secular activities of the church identified by the constitution, and responsible to the congregation for them. This is obviously an extremely time consuming task ,involving not only chairing the two- monthly meetings of the Committee of Management, but also being involved in one way or another with virtually all of the other activites the Committee carries out.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information contact the Clerk at 01436 672064, or william.yule1@tesco.net.
