Finance and General Purposes Committee

STRUCTURE
This Committee has nine members including, ex officio, the Minister, and it meets approximately every two months. It reports to the Church Meeting and works closely with the Elders to ensure that matters within its areas of responsibility fit in with the leadership of the Minister and Elders and in accordance with the wishes of the Church Meeting.

PURPOSE 
As the name suggests, the F&GPC, as it is known, is responsible for the finances of the Church with detailed input from the Treasurer, who looks after the accounts and is a member of the committee. It also is responsible for the buildings of the church, i.e., the main Church and Longhurst Room, Unity Hall, and other property owned or managed by the Church. Together with our sister Church Ewell URC it is also responsible for the Minister's Manse. The work in connection with these properties is concerned with repairs, redecoration, heating and lighting, cleaning, letting and insurance. Also such important  matters as Fire Risk and Health and Safety  come within the remit of the Committee.

UNITY HALL

Unity Hall has become a popular venue for many different organisations and functions and is used practically every day of the week. During term-time the principle hirer is St Martin's pre-school group which uses the hall on weekdays, and twice a week we have a Kumon mathematics teaching class. On Tuesdays our own Parents and Toddlers group meet and also once a week we have the Church Brownies and a Guide Company. Througout  the year Badminton is played in the hall and we also have a Salsa Dancing class and a Yoga class. Very importantly, the National Blood Service hold regular blood donor sessions in the hall, usually during school holidays. At weekends many private parties for children and  families are held as are a number of other functions and events both from within the church and outside. In winter we even hold our Sunday Morning services in the hall as it is easier to keep it warm when the Church is too cold. All these activities mean that we are able to reach out into the community to a much greater extent than is possible by Church Services alone. Whatever happens to our premises in the future (more of this later) we intend that this will continue and we will remain very much part of the local community with our facilities being used in a variety of ways and by many different people.

THE LONGHURST ROOM

As with Unity Hall we welcome outside hirers to use the Longhurst Room and currently we have an art class, The Friday Painters, meeting once a week on Fridays!  In addition, most of our own Church meetings and other functions take place in this room including the Evening Service on alternate Sundays. Once a month the Christian Pilgrims Church hold a Friday all night vigil.

THE CHURCH

Most Morning Services take place in the main Church (apart from in January and February) and on Sunday afternoons The Christian Pilgrims Church use the premises for their Services. Occasionally other events such as musical concerts are held in the Church and in recent times both the Epsom Male Voice Choir  and the Epsom Choral Society have put on sucessful performances.

THE ROLE OF THE F & GP COMMITTEE

Part of the responsibility of the Committee is to manage all these outside lettings and to organise and arrange the use of our premises by organisations from both outside and within the Church. The premises  must be kept clean and tidy and the Committee ensures that all the necessary maintenance and repairs etc are properly carried out. It is also responsible for compliance with Fire regulations and Health and Safety.

THE FUTURE

At the time of writing we are facing an uncertain but very exciting period. Recognising the changing needs of the Church, and in an effort to have more manageable premises and a more user friendly building, we are looking to redevelop the premises and to build a new Church. The timescale and eventual outcome are uncertain and there are many hurdles to overcome but if all goes well we will have a new and more flexible Church Building and our outreach into the community will be enhanced. The F & GP Committee will work with the Minister, Elders and Chuch Meeting to progress this very exciting project. The website and Newsletter will contain regular updates as matters progress.