The members and committee of the Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard met at on 27th November 2022 at St Nicholas Church.
Thanks to everyone who came. It was great to be able to gather and think about what we want to be able to achieve in 2023.
There were two main bits of business that were handled. The first was the reorganisation of the officeholders.
We have a new chair of the committee, Trisha Squires with Jeff Richards moving to act as secretary. Chris Cann was coopted onto the committee and was elected as Treasurer.
The next bit of business we discussed was the draft programme for 2023. These are preliminary ideas and will need to be developed further.
Thanks to everyone who came. It was great to be able to gather and think about what we want to be able to achieve in 2023.
There were two main bits of business that were handled. The first was the reorganisation of the officeholders.
We have a new chair of the committee, Trisha Squires with Jeff Richards moving to act as secretary. Chris Cann was coopted onto the committee and was elected as Treasurer.
The next bit of business we discussed was the draft programme for 2023. These are preliminary ideas and will need to be developed further.
- During Lent (22nd Feb - 6th April) "Taking up rather than giving up" - Litter picking in the Churchyard on Sundays at noon.
- March - Re-institute the Marie Curie "Field of Hope".
- March - Participate in the 3rd National Day of Reflection on 23rd March. Look to involve local schools (Robin Hood, Sutton High)
- April - Arrange an Easter egg hunt with the MU. Details to be confirmed.
- May - August - Work with Sutton Historians (Sutton Heritage Service) to create lecture series at St Nicholas. E.g. 1st & 3rd Thursdays of each month.
- May - August - Create a Sunday History Ramble series E.g. 2nd & 4th Sundays of each month.
- July - Arrange fundraising sale and event in Churchyard with MU. Details to be confirmed.
- August - Work with St Nicholas Church to promote the Gibson Tomb annual inspection and outdoor service.
- September - Participate in Heritage Open Days (Theme: Creativity Unwrapped) This can reuse previous 'pre-covid' research and material to create an exhibition. Involve St Nicholas children/uniformed organisations, Sutton College etc.
- October - Black History Month -
- Art Project - "Where is my name" - This is to explore memorialisation by using monuments in church as 'rubbing' stones to allow children to spell their names using safe non-damaging pastel chalks.
- Work with Sutton Heritage, Local Black Led Organisations (Sacco, Acha) to publish educational material exploring Church links to slavery and colonial development.
- Create a music festival to celebrate the cultural contribution of United Kingdom Minority Ethnic (UKME) communities to British society.
- November - Organise bulb planting in Churchyard and environs.
- December - Work with St Nicholas Church and arrange St Nicholastide pub blessing.
You can download the full minutes here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nb8vpu7n7itxh12/2022%20FSNCY%20Meeting%20Minutes%20Sunday%2027th%20November.pdf?dl=0
