Beer Hackett

BEER HACKETT REP: John Parker johnwincanton@gmail.com DISTRIBUTOR: Susan Ferdinand

St. Michael’s Church

Photo: Jean Parker

We look forward to services in our Three Valleys Benefice restarting from Easter Sunday (4 April) onwards. Please see the benefice service schedule in this magazine on p.65 for information on our first service at St. Michael’s.

Palm Sunday is on 28 March. There will be palm crosses in the open church porch and you are welcome to take one. Easter is a time of resurrection, renewal and hope – never more so than this year.

John Bingham

Friends of St. Michael’s Church First AGM

Held on Saturday 21 February via Zoom and was well attended, without any technical hitches.

Our Chair, Simon Clothier, thanked all for attending and restated that the aim of the Friends’ is to raise funds for St Michael’s Church and its upkeep, so our village community can make full use of the building. Before Covid the Friends had planned several events including a music event all of which, unfortunately, had to be cancelled. The ‘Village Lottery’ will resume as soon as possible.

Website

Our Treasurer, John Trench, has kindly set up a website, to use as part of

the village hub for the benefit of Beer Hackett residents; however, if someone wanted to use it from neighbouring villages, we would be happy to include their information subject, of course, to committee approval. https://www. friendsofstmichaelschurchbeerhackett.org

Oil Club

Friends had also joined the Oil Club with the ultimate aim to lower residents’ heating bills.

Treasurer’s Report and Financial Statement

Both were duly accepted. The Treasurer said that at long last, he has received an acknowledgement from the Charities Commission to apply gift aid. ‘Friends’ is now a registered Charity, number 11585135. This is good news as we can now claim back gift aid from those subscribers that pay tax, which should be a real asset for the Church.

Subscription

It was agreed that the yearly subscription would continue at the current rate of £10 per person. At the moment, all incoming monies remain intact and the Trustees bear all out of pocket expenses themselves. In April, the Secretary will be sending out membership renewal reminders and we do hope that later in the year, if restrictions are lifted, we can actually organise some events. We warmly welcome new members.

New Trustee

A vacancy occurred this year after the resignation of a Trustee. We therefore very warmly welcome Mrs Sylvia Whitman who kindly agreed to become a Trustee.

Church PA System grant bid

Very kindly John Parker had applied for a Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest Grant for a PA system for the Church but unfortunately this was unsuccessful. We sincerely thank John for his work in this connection – it is very time consuming and involves such a lot of paperwork. It was agreed that this subject would be placed on the Agenda for further discussion at our next Trustees’ meeting.

Village Defibrillator

Lastly, but importantly, we need more volunteers to step forward and be prepared to fetch the defibrillator from the church porch should the need arise. Please seriously think about offering your services, as we never know when we may need the use of the defibrillator ourselves. Let the Secretary have your details: Olive Davison 07552818389 or firemoon2015@hotmail.com

A tentative refresher course is being considered on the use of the defibrillator, subject to Covid restrictions.

Future meetings

At this time, future Trustee meetings will be held online.

Beer Hackett Village Handbook – revised edition for 2021

Beer Hackett’s unique Village Handbook, packed with information about our hamlet and surroundings, was first published in 2019 as part of the Lottery Community Fund supported ‘Village Hub’ project. After two eventful years it is now due 9

for an update, particularly regarding local organisations, responsibilities, memberships and useful information/ contacts. If you have any suggestions or amendments, please email John Parker johnwincanton@gmail.com by the end of April.

There are still some copies of the first edition available in the Church porch. The new version should be ready in May and each household will receive a copy.

REACH Alternative Education

We are a support service working with young people across Somerset and Dorset, commissioned by schools and the Local Authority to create bespoke packages of support for young people through small group work or 1:1 sessions. We build self-esteem, resilience and engagement in the young people we work with by creating safe connections and environments that promote development.

During the pandemic, our frontline staff have continued to work with and support some of the most at risk and vulnerable young people in the area. We are currently looking for an opportunity to support the local community through tree planting projects and are looking for anyone locally that might need the manpower to enable such a project.

Nick MacBean

SEMH Lead & DDSL

REACH Alternative Education SW Ltd t: 07944751626

Thornhackett Parish Council – vacancy

Parish Clerk/ Responsible Financial Officer: closing date for applications April 30 2021

Thornhackett Parish Council is seeking someone to take on the position of Parish Clerk/ Responsible Financial Officer. The Clerk is the sole employee of the Parish Council and works largely under his or her own initiative.

Responsibilities include the preparation and negotiation of agendas, recording and publishing minutes at parish council meetings held every other month. The Clerk also deals with Council correspondence and transmits local government information to members of the Council. As Financial Officer, the Clerk is responsible for the prompt payment of invoices, providing a framework for budgeting, and supplying members with regular financial updates. The Clerk is responsible for preparing accounts for annual internal and external audit; operating systems for the retrieval of VAT and the payment of PAYE. An additional Annual Parish Meeting is also held every April for the discussion of community affairs; the Clerk sets up this meeting on behalf of the Council.

The successful candidate will be both a competent communicator and computer literate.

The post is for 18 hours per month; pay is negotiable according to local government scales.

Applicants should apply in writing (including a Curriculum Vitae and contact details of two referees, to: Thornhackett Parish Council, 6, Sarum, Thornford, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 6SU.