A report on the Annual General Meeting held at Gladstone's Library, Hawarden, on 13th June 2015, followed by a visit to St. Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre.
On Saturday 13th June 2015 41 Members and Associate Members of the Association met at Gladstone's Library, Hawarden, for the Annual General Meeting. Arrangements for the meeting and a subsequent visit to St. Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre had been made by Carole O'Toole and fellow members of the Wrexham Circle.
The formal business of the day included reports from the President, Acting Secretary and Treasurer, and the election of new Officers of the Association and of Council members.
Gerald Williams, President
Gerald Williams, the President, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Carole and her helpers for organising the day. In his report, he stressed that the Association can be rightly proud of its achievements in fulfilling its mission to educate the laity. The Newman Association is a good brand! The various Circles had put on a total of 145 talks in the previous year, and had additionally organised or helped to organise a variety of other activities. Notable among the latter were the London Newman Lecture given by Dr James Le Fanu on Neuroscience and the Soul and the inaugural Manchester Newman Lecture given by Dr Anna Rowlands on the subject of Catholic Social Teaching and Electoral Politics.
The Association, in conjunction with the National Board of Catholic Women, had sponsored a Study Day Catholic Perspectives on Poverty at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University (reviewed in the May issue of The Newman), and through the Hertfordshire Circle had also jointly organised a successful Modern Visual Art Conference in October 2014. Coventry Circle, again jointly with the National Board of Catholic Women, will run a Conference on Receptive Ecumenism on 14th November 2015.
The President recognised, however, that ongoing success is not guaranteed, and drew Members' attention to the forthcoming residential Circle Officers' Conference in October 2015, which has the provocative title of The Newman Association – Is It Worth Saving? The aims and objectives of the Conference and a series of preparatory questions for Circles to discuss and address at the Conference have been given in a briefing document published in the May issue of The Newman.
The President concluded by thanking once again Carole O'Toole and the Wrexham Circle for organising the AGM, Council members for their support and willingness to travel sometimes long distances to attend Council Meetings, and all those present for attending the AGM.
Chris Quirke, Acting Secretary
Acting Secretary Chris Quirke reported that he had kept the statutory records up to date at Companies' House and The Charity Commission. He had prepared agendas, dealt with correspondence and emails, and made arrangements for the AGM. Chris explained that he is Acting Secretary only, having served in the role for more than the period allowed by the Constitution, and should now be replaced. He thanked John Potts for assisting him in the role of Minutes Secretary, and he went on to say that with most communications now being electronic, the role was not as onerous as one might think. Most emails can be deleted immediately, and few require replies.
One of the issues to be addressed at the Circle Officers' Conference is the willingness of Members to take on roles within the organisation nationally and locally, and Chris reiterated that in accordance with the Constitution he should now retire from the Secretary's role and hand over to a successor.
Anthony Baker has been Acting Treasurer since Peter Havard had to retire from the role through ill-health. He thanked Peter for the clarity of the system that he had set up. (Sadly, we must report that Peter has since died). In his report Anthony noted that the Balance Sheet was showing a gradual slight decline, but this was not an issue at this stage, while on the Income & Expenditure side subscription income remains relatively stable. Anthony explained the reasons for the movements in other areas of the accounts and the background to some of the extraordinary items of expenditure. He noted that it was very gratifying that the Modern Art Conference organised by Herts Circle had earned a profit (some of which had been returned to the Circle). The accounts were adopted unanimously.
After adoption of the reports and accounts, business proceeded to the election of Officers and Council. Gerald Williams was re-elected as President. For want of a candidate, Chris Quirke agreed to continue as Acting Secretary, with assistance from John Potts as Minutes Secretary. Anthony Baker stood down from the role of Acting Treasurer, and was replaced by Kevin Ryan as Treasurer. Otherwise the meeting confirmed the election of Officers and Council in accordance with the ballot papers sent out in preparation for the meeting.
The President closed the Meeting by thanking once again Carole O'Toole and her team for organising the day.
After lunch at Gladstone's Library members transferred to St. Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre for a talk by Rev Michael Burgess on Gerard Manley Hopkins, who had lived at St. Beuno's from 1874 to 1877, and had composed some of his most famous works there: e.g. The Wreck of the Deutschland.
The day concluded with the celebration of Mass by our chaplain, Fr. Fabian Radcliffe. A Memorial Book of deceased members prepared by Gloucestershire Circle was placed on the altar for the Mass.
Members' cars parked outside St. Beuno's
John Potts