PASTORAL COUNCIL MINUTES

St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council

October 19, 2008

 

The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. with a prayer led by Father John. 

 

Members present included: Father John, Fred Wirzburger, Guy Roy, Ken Cristofori, Dorothy Zupperoli, Tom Nuttall, Carly Nuttall, John Sullivan, Vivian Hinderscheid, John Harlow, Roselle O’Keefe, Kathy Cartmell-Sirrico, Gene Stenstrom, Jennifer Dunn, and Paul McIntosh.

 

The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.

 

Parish updates:

 

Bruna Bell Memorial

The dedication of the weeping cherry tree and corner garden in memory of Bruna Bell was held on October 19.  Many positive comments were made.  Lee Cook donated the memorial stone to commemorate her donation to the parish. 

 

Golf Tournament

The annual parish golf tournament was recently held after a postponement due to weather.  It was a very good event even though the event lost some people because of the change of date and did not raise as much money as in the past. The tournament will be done again next year, but will be organized differently in the future. Some of the items under consideration include: re-defining the responsibilities for the staff, expanding the group that handles the event, and possibly changing the venue and the date.

 

Vestments

A new set of four liturgical vestments was recently ordered and will be given as a tribute honoring Father Bailey’s 50th anniversary of ordination.

 

Fall Planting Day

About 12 to 14 adults participated in the recent fall cleanup, spruce-up and planting of bulbs and plants on the church grounds.  A landscaper will give Father John additional suggestions for the grounds.

 

Religious Education

All teachers have been assigned and filled for the religious education program for this school year.   There are classes scheduled at different times and days, including Sunday morning.  Father John is recruiting for a new religions education coordinator.  There is someone who is interested and she will soon meet with Father John.

 

Parish Finance Council

Father John shared some of his plans of restructuring of the Finance Council.  Their role will change to include a fund raising arm as well as the other areas of finance.  Father John is looking to them for their input and ideas in developing new resources in getting additional funds.  Part of their role is to explore stewardship, fund raising, and to look at the merits of funding for memorials.  There was some discussion on the future direction of diocesan assessments.  One such program was last year’s assessment when St. Mary Parish was taxed for parochial schools ($12000).

 

Matthew’s Closet

Two ladies from the parish have volunteered to establish a thrift shop in the parish. They will open Matthew’s Closet twice a week for a couple of hours each day.  The funds generated from these sales will be used to help the needy. In addition, any needy person will be given vouchers to pick up items that they need.  The storage area will be downstairs in the parish center.

 

Parish Center

Father John informed the council that the physical needs of the parish center are being appraised.  Guy Roy reported that he is working with John Ackerman, Russ Govoni, and Dick Manfredi.  They are identifying what needs to be done to that building.   Some of these items they will look at are the driveway, the ceiling, the heating air and conditioning system, the physical up-keep, kitchen repairs, general storage, the floor, and emergency and safety conditions.  Ultimately, they will provide the council with an estimate for these projects and a prioritized list.

 

All Souls Mass

This year, the All Souls Mass will be held at the 5 p.m. Mass on Sat. Nov. 1.  The memorial celebration will be followed by a reception in the parish center.

 

Matthew’s Kitchen

Father John shared comments from parishioners about the success and development of the Matthew’s Kitchen program.  Funds for this program continue to be raised successfully.  He also informed the group that St. Vincent de Paul Society has changed their policy of giving out food during a specific time block on Thursdays.  However, Father John said he would also continue to give out food from the pantry at any time the need arises.

 

Open Forum

Father John opened the remainder of the meeting to an open forum for members to raise questions, bring up issues or make comments on the parish.

 

Collaboration with St. Joseph is not going on at the moment.  Even though discussion is not happening at this time, communication is still open.  In addition, general collaboration among the different parishes in the Plymouth cluster is not happening and is weak. Vivian Hinderscheid is currently participating with a Bible Study group at St. Joseph.  It was suggested that this could be the start of a joint collaboration with St. Joseph.

 

The new sound system will be installed in the near future.  It should be done by the end of October.  Filters will be installed to prevent outside frequencies from interfering with the speaker system.

 

Energy conservation was discussed.  Suggestions about installing new thermostats, timers and closing the vestibule doors in the church were made.

 

Harvest Dinner

Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society will hold the annual elderly luncheon on Sunday, October 26th.  This year it will be a spaghetti dinner.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.  The next meeting is scheduled on November 16, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully Submitted:

Guy Roy, Secretary 

St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council Minutes 

 

September 21, 2008

 

The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. with a prayer led by Deacon Gene Stenstrom. 

 

Members present included: Father John, Fred Wirzburger, Guy Roy, Ken Cristofori, Dorothy Zupperoli, Tom Nuttall, Carly Nuttall, John Sullivan, Vivian Hinderscheid, Don Di Domenico, Tricia Koylion, John Harlow, Roselle O’Keefe, Kathy Cartmell-Sirrico, Carol Stenstrom, Gene Stenstrom, Sarah Thomas, and Paul McIntosh.

 

The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.

 

Parish updates:

Religious Education

Father John gave the group an update on the parish religious ed program.  Jeanne Evans has worked at getting the loose ends together.  She met with the teachers and has worked with registrations, materials, schedules, etc.  Over 170 students are currently enrolled in the program.  There is still a need of 7 or 8 teachers.  Response to the Sunday option has been very good.  Father John contacted Father Higgins at St. Joseph Parish in Kingston and spoke to him coordinating our religious ed program with them.   Perhaps that could be something for next year since they have written their curriculum and made some changes.  Both parishes need to reassess their program. Various programs and approaches are currently also being explored throughout the archdiocese.  There was some discussion whether we should hire someone to implement our program this year.  It was suggested that possibly two coordinators be identified for the program: one for the elementary program and one for the secondary program.  In doing so, the two sacraments could be separated and there would be less work for one person. Future discussions with St. Joseph’s may occur for next year.  Joint youth masses are still on the table for discussion.

 

Grand Annual Collection

This year’s Grand Annual collection has netted over $11,000 in a little over a week.  The goal this year is $25,000.  It is an adjustment from last year’s goal and is in light of the current economic conditions.

 

Parish Audit

The Archdiocese recently sent an audit team to review the parish books.  They said it went well and there was nothing to worry about.  The final report has come in and there will be a meeting with the finance council.  In order to trim expenses, there will be some adjustments with the hours of the housekeeper and cook at the rectory.  Other adjustments will be made throughout the parish with a focus on energy consumption, including the heating program, over the next few months.

 

Music Ministry

The music ministry is still evolving and will be going through some transitions.  There will be some adjustments in the music ministry with the goal of developing a children’s choir.

 

Bruna Bell Memorial

The Bruna Bell Memorial, acknowledging her financial contribution to the parish, is progressing.  It is scheduled on Sunday, October 19.  This dedication will follow the 10:30 am Mass with the unveiling of a plaque and dedication of a tree.  Lee Cook is donating the plaque and a weeping cherry tree will be planted in her memory.

 

Parish Picnic

The annual Parish Picnic, held on September 7th, was very successful.  Many people participated and many names were generated for the planning stages next year.  Pictures of the day’s events can be found on the parish web site.

 

Golf Tournament

The annual Golf tournament is scheduled for Saturday, September 27th at Souther’s Marsh.  This is a major parish fundraiser.  Additional golfers are needed.  There will be raffle gifts and prizes for various holes.  The event starts at noon with golfers beginning at 1 p.m.  Dinner will be served at approximately 5:30 p.m.  (NOTE: this event was rained out and is now re-scheduled for October 11.)

 

Bake Sale

The St. Vincent de Paul is holding a bake sale on the weekend of September 27 and 28 after the Masses.

 Parish Planting

A fall clean-up, spruce-up and planting of bulbs and plants on the church ground will take place on Saturday, October 18 at 9 a.m.  All parishioners are welcomed to participate.

 Archdiocesan 200th Anniversary Mass

The Archdiocesan 200th anniversary mass and celebration will be held Sunday, September 28th at Sacred Heart High School.  This will be done rain or shine.  A new parishioner has volunteered to prepare a flag for St. Mary Parish which will be part of the procession along with all the South Shore parishes of the Archdiocese.

 

Parish Center

A discussion was held about the organizational, storage and sharing of the Parish Center.  There is also a need to make kitchen repairs, general repairs, air conditioning, cleaning, etc.  It was noted that there are many more people and groups using this facility.  Vivian Hindersheid and Carol Stenstrom will spearhead a group to assess the organizational and storage needs of the parish.  This will include a general meeting of everyone using the hall in order to clean up, sort and separate everything.  This will include a general overhaul of the cabinets and appropriation of space needs in the kitchen and throughout the center.  A communication log also could be established for the center so that any issues or repairs that need to be addressed can be logged, identified and communicated.  Father John will ask one or two additional parishioners to work with Guy Roy to evaluate, prioritize and itemize the entire physical infra-structure of the building, including such things as: remodeling the kitchen, heating and air conditioning needs, bathroom repairs, storage, etc.  A major fundraiser will be established to cover those costs.  Father John indicated that a recent $5000 donation could be used as “seed” money for that project.

 

Harvest Dinner

The St. Vincent de Paul will hold the annual elderly luncheon on Sunday, October 26th.  This year it will be a spaghetti dinner.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.  The next meeting is scheduled on October 19, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully Submitted:

Guy Roy, Secretary

 

August 17, 2008

 

The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. with a prayer led by Father John. 

 

Members present included: Father John, Fred Wirzburger, Guy Roy, Ken Cristofori, Janet Young, Jennifer Dunn, Dorothy Zupperoli, Tom Nuttall, Carly Nuttall, John Sullivan, Vivian Hinderscheid.  Other attendees included: John Wittey and Paul McIntosh.

 

The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.

 

Parish updates:

Kathy Liolios recently resigned as the Administrator of (the) Religious Education for the Parish.  Father John is meeting with the Religious Education Board to decide on what will happen next.  He informed the Council that an Archdiocesan Religious Education committee is also reviewing the Archdiocesan big picture of religious ed programs to determine the direction that they feel this program should go.  There was also some discussion of opening a dialogue with St. Joseph Parish in Kingston to explore the possibility of coordinating our program with theirs.  With all these unanswered questions, there may be a delay in starting the parish program for this year.

 

Father John shared recent communication that he had with the High Cliff (the elderly housing in back of the church) and Northfield residences.  He recommended that the monthly Mass be rotated with a communion service every other month administered by a deacon.  High Cliff responded that the community there does not want to implement this plan.  This will be reviewed and the dialogue will continue.

 

Father John informed the Council that the parish Grand Annual Collection will begin shortly.

 

Father John informed the group that the Archdiocese wants to do an audit of the parish’s books.  This is often done when parishes change pastor.  The accounting firm hired by the Archdiocese will be coming to review the books.  There is an added cost to this audit and it will be included in the upcoming fiscal budget.

 

Father John will be meeting with various individuals involved with the music ministry to determine where the program will be going in the future.

 

Father John indicated that there is a plan to review the church landscaping.  In conjunction with landscape artists this fall, there will be a plan to upkeep the gardens and spruce up the property.  There probably will be a date established this fall to pull up many plants and replant everything.

 

Father John is saying Mass for the Brazilian community on August 18th and he will celebrate the Mass in Portuguese.  He will also speak to the members of that community, invite them to the Parish Picnic and look for their involvement with the liturgy, games and activities.

Discussion of Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Report

Father John led the group in further discussion of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Report.  He highlighted the need to plan and be prepared for the future by being pro-active.  Father John recently met with Father Higgins of St. Joseph Parish in Kingston.  They both feel that any discussion should be done in a coordinated fashion with both Parish Councils meeting jointly.

Discussion on the strengths and needs of the parish followed.  The process of working more closely with other parishes, the exact direction and the next steps (in) are still undefined.  Options and suggestions for sharing resources and expertise were also discussed and shared.  A suggestion was made to establish a timetable for accomplishing the dialogue for integrating and sharing resources.

In conjunction with this discussion, Father John once again expressed the importance and need for lay leadership at every level of parish functions.  Parish roles and responsibilities need to be defined and laid out in order to make this happen

The Parish Council members agreed that the planning for the future is important.  It was agreed that a meeting with the Parish Council of St. Joseph’s should be arranged soon.  In this planning, there is a need to establish a timeline and to identify what we, as a parish, need to let go and what things are most dear and cannot be let go.

 Other Business:

The Bruna Bell Memorial was discussed.  It was decided that a tree and memorial plaque will (be) become part of the landscaping design.  Ken Cristofori, with support assistance from Dorothy Zupperoli, will spearhead this memorial project.  This ceremony will be scheduled for October 19th after the Family Mass.

 

Father John expressed a concern about consistent attendance at Parish Council meetings.  Meetings will now be scheduled on a regular basis (third Sunday of the month) which should help attendance.  If members cannot attend, they may be asked to resign and/or they will be replaced by members scheduled to join the group in February.

Upcoming events: 

The annual Parish Picnic will be held on September 7th.

 

The Parish Golf tournament will be held on September 27th.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

 

The next meeting is scheduled on September 21.  The time is still not determined but will be at either 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.

 

Respectfully Submitted:

Guy Roy