Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Sharon Gidumal.
Reflection: JoAnn provided a reading from a presidential devotional. The reading was from the Book of Jeremiah. When it comes to decisions that affect country and people, if we call to Him, He will answer. We should not be anxious about anything, and we should always request God’s help. JoAnn also led the council in a Marian litany.
Father Corrigan, in writing, asked us to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was just recently canonized. Father Graney talked about St. Oscar’s conversion, and his speaking out against injustice.
Members Present: Ruth Sanders for Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Mary Beth Coté, Anita Delaney, Deacon John Falkowski, Sharon Gidumal, Father Bill Graney, JoAnn Hedrick, Donald Drane for Al Mercatante, Mike Mitchell, Maritza Poza-Grise, Joe Quinn, Jack Sanders, Joe Budd for Dick Schwer, Susan Sheahan.
Guests: Linda Malm, Nancy Maloney.
Members Absent: Rich Mayes, Kathy Swain.
Minutes Approved: Maritza moved to approve the September minutes. JoAnn seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Update on Father Graney: Father Graney provided the update himself. He noted that the bishop named Father Corrigan as the temporary administrator/pastor. Father Graney added that he is waiting for a response from the bishop to allow for his return as pastor. He noted that recovery was an interesting process. His hands are pretty much back to normal. He found it humbling to receive so many cards, so many visitors, and so much support from the community and world.
Special Reminder: Everyone is asked to read the Bylaws and suggest needed changes. Also, everyone is asked to identify a parishioner that would be a good candidate for the vacant steward position on Pastoral Council.
Old Business:
Annual PC Retreat: Sharon reported that the original plan was for October, but that the current plan was to hold it in November. Everyone was alright with this. Mary Beth asked which day this would be held. Sharon said it would be on Saturday, November 10
th. Retreat would likely start at 3 PM, with Mass at 5:30 PM, followed by potluck dinner and a shortened meeting. A signup will be started for the potluck.
Kitchen Update: There was no update on this from the Property and Grounds committee. Ruth noted that there were a lot of boxes, but that she wasn’t sure of the timeline.
Update on Financial Audit: Maritza reported that there was a meeting with Ed Collins and Leo McDermott to get them going on the audit. The books are in good semblance of order; they are looking more at the extent to which the parish is managing its accounting and keeping it in line with diocesan guidelines/practices. The process should be done relatively soon, possibly within a month or so- Maritza needed to consult notes to be more certain of the timing. Sharon asked when the last audit occurred, and Father Graney answered that it was 7-8 years ago. Father Graney also noted that the Bylaws contain guidelines about the auditing procedure, and how often.
Donald asked if the audit is an internal one, and Maritza said yes. Sharon asked when the next Finance Council meeting would be, and Maritza said that it would be on October 18
th.
Update on Parish 50
th Anniversary Celebration: Ruth reported that she would have more at the next meeting. People are working on Parish History and contact info (including Susan Sheahan and Linda Malm.) Right now there aren’t answers for events that are being sponsored by standing committees. Ruth noted that the original $2500 budgeted for the celebration would not be nearly enough; $5000 was the cost for the 40
th anniversary picnic.
Ruth noted that Maritza had an idea about possibly having a 5K run/walk as a fundraiser. Jack added that Andre Dagenais may be interested in such an event. Ruth stated that we need to talk about the cost of the Renewals, and JoAnn asked what the cost was for bringing Father Gallagher in. Father Graney commented that collections/offerings each night of the Renewal would be a large component of the payment for his visit. Ruth noted that there are funds earmarked for formation and asked if these could go toward the Renewal events- Father Graney replied in the affirmative.
Ruth added that a lot of good things are happening with the planning of the 50
th anniversary, and Sharon thanked Ruth for all her work.
The objective/goal committees were then asked to give updates.
Pastoral Administrator Search Team: Maritza said that the committee took a step back to see where they were at. She noted that it is appropriate to phase out the “New Parish Model” and “Search” Teams, and that the next phase would be to extend an offer when Father Graney returns as pastor and onboard the person who accepts the offer for Parish Administrator.
Maritza commented that the committee needs to talk with Father Graney about hiring and onboarding process, to bring clarity to the role of Parish Administrator (PA), to make sure that meetings are held with key individuals, and that the new hire understands how the organization works. Maritza added that engaging staff is key to the process. Sharon asked if there is any reason to think that the direction the parish is taking will be changing. Father Graney clarified that the role will be that of a PA, and not of a Pastoral Life Coordinator. Maritza again emphasized that clearly defining the PA role will be key, and added that the Bylaws would need to be adjusted to accommodate the presence of a PA.
Attracting New Parishioners: Nancy noted that “Inviting/Welcoming” is the new name for the committee. Nancy will be taking the lead on this committee. Committee members include Linda Malm, Susan, Father Graney, Maritza, Rich (starting after November), and Jean Bernhardt. The first planned action is hosting a table at the Red Clay School Family Resource Fair on November 3
rd. Ruth is helping with this. This fair is typically attended by not-for-profit services organizations. Nancy reported that April Anderson has been contacted, and that promotionals will need April’s approval. Nancy noted that hosting a table would involve talking to families that show up at the fair, and possibly giving stickers to kids. Susan asked if we could do face painting. Mary Beth handed around an example brochure from another church, for reference.
Improve Parish Council: Ruth said that work was still being done on formatting for non-photo pages and making sure that contact information in the directory is correct.
Improve Parish Communications: Joe Q. reported that he, JoAnn, and Mary Beth are on the committee, and wasn’t sure if Jody would still be willing to serve. He noted that they had not met recently. Maritza suggested that Jean Bernhardt might be a good person to recruit for the committee, since she has a background in marketing.
Grow Social Concerns: Sharon reported that the committee had not recently met. The committee needs to continue to promote what the parish is working on, and possibly add some such as advocacy for right-to-life.
New Business:
Amending Bylaws: Sharon commented that since we’ll be needing to amend the Bylaws, that we need to take a closer look at the entire document and think about things that need to be updated or changed. Everyone on Pastoral Council should take a look at the document and send suggested changes to the Executive Committee and the Improve Pastoral Council committee. Someone asked if the Bylaws were available- Mike will send out a copy of the Bylaws to council members.
Filling Pastoral Council Vacancies: It was announced that Jody Maliga resigned as Steward and George Brown resigned as Appointee to Pastoral Council. Father Graney commented that it would be good to reach out to new faces at church, to see if parishioners would be interested in serving. Everyone is asked to come up with the name of at least one person who would make a good candidate for Pastoral Council, for November’s meeting.
Flocknote: Joe Q. reported that the free trial of Flocknote ends June 30, 2019, so that we have more time to decide whether to use it. The fee may be ~$35 per month, Joe will confirm this. Sharon added we need to have a final decision by April or May. Maritza noted that one nice characteristic of Flocknote is that parishioners can update their personal information themselves, making it a more interactive system. Joe added that Flocknote is good for forming groups of people to contact.
Sharon noted that a comparison discussion (Flocknote vs. Mailchimp, other communication tools) would be helpful. Deacon John asked if Flocknote would just be for Pastoral Council, or whether it would be used by the entire parish. He added that Debbie is not using it yet, and that the rest of the staff isn’t really using it, either. Deacon John questioned whether Flocknote is the communication answer for the entire parish. Ruth answered that she did some testing of Flocknote with Joe and added that parishioners would have to opt in to Flocknote. She also added that converting to Flocknote would take a lot of work.
Council Meeting Time Change: Sharon noted that the meeting time for Sunday meetings, starting in December, would be 6:30 PM.
Pastor’s Comments and Advice: Father Graney noted that we should acknowledge significant things happening within the larger Church. He commented that he saw new parishioners and a lot of vitality at a recent 10:30 AM Mass.
He noted that the abuse scandals undermine the Church and that Cardinal DiNardo of Houston had said that the Church is having challenging times right now. Additionally, Father Graney commented that in China, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and other places, it is challenging to be a practicing Catholic. However, we need to remember that communion is one of our strengths as the Church, and we should never lose sight of the fact that we should be spreading the gospel.
JoAnn suggested that a possible retreat theme could be “Why I Stay Catholic.” Jack also commented on a program to promote membership in the Church.
Mary Beth moved to close the meeting, with Susan seconding. The motion passed unanimously at 8:33 p.m.