Parish of the Resurrection
Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2018
Home of Maritza Poza-Grise
 
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. by Al Mercatante.
 
Reflection: Jack Sanders offered a couple of reflections.  The first one emphasized that we all are called to be people of God, and that we need to put in the effort and live in the moment.  Additionally, we need to let go of the past, and when we are forgiven, we need to repent and avoid sin.  The second reflection was a poem about changing negativity, and needing to do it right away.  Both of these reflections were written by prison inmates.  Jack also highlighted the need for prison pen pals.
 
Members Present: Susan Sheahan for Gerry Abrams, Joe Budd, Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Anita Delaney, Sharon Gidumal, Father Graney, JoAnn Hedrick, Al Mercatante, Mike Mitchell, Maritza Poza-Grise, Joe Quinn, Mike Reis, Mike Rzucidlo, Jack Sanders, Dick Schwer, Kathy Swain.
Member Absent:  Deacon John Falkowski, Rich Mayes.
Guests: Nancy Maloney, Ruth Sanders.
 
Minutes Approved:  Mike Reis asked if the Building and Grounds report contained within December’s minutes was updated to include suggested changes.  Dick noted that changes in numbers of stewards would require changes to the Bylaws, and that there will be larger changes required to the Bylaws in the future to reflect how the Pastoral Council can better serve the parish, and to work with the parish leader (who may not be a resident priest in the new parish model.)  Susan asked if the minutes could be approved without the updated Building and Grounds report, with updates to occur later.  The minutes were approved, with the understanding that an updated Building and Grounds report would be added later.
 
Old Business:
 
Planning of parish’s 50 ^th anniversary celebration: Jack, Maritza, and Sharon need more time to get this effort started.
 
Stewards contacting parishioners: Joe Budd mentioned that getting contact information from parishioners via census hasn’t been highly effective in the past, and that asking people to provide information as they’re leaving Mass is a better way to do it.  Al noted that the communications committee should consider this method.
 
Al reminded everyone to provide alternates if they have not done so.  Dick added that standing committees need to have their own alternates familiar with the work of those particular committees.  Al and Dick also asked about the status of a youth representative for the Pastoral Council.  Father Graney noted that a graduate from high school that’s still in the parish would be appropriate to fill this position, which is still open.
 
Committee reports were then reviewed.  Below are the reports, with additional discussion in red.
 
Objective: Communicate more effectively to all parishioners about our Jesus-centered faith community
 

Activities/Accomplishments:	Since your last Status Report, what have you accomplished on your Objective & Goals work?
Conducted Community Weekend Did prep work for Flocknote Weekend Launch
Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
Flocknote sends a good amount of info re its service; it’s tempting to try everything at once.  Challenge is to set a date for signup weekend, and stay focused on preparing for that. Likewise, any updates to parish Facebook page will have to wait.  Again, can’t do everything at same time

 

Actions Taken on Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
Narrowed focus on Flocknote to preparing for and implementing parish signup Put Facebook project on hold for now
Resources and Information Required:	What additional resources or information do you require to continue to make progress? If so, from whom would you like assistance and for what actions?
Need council’s input on having Flocknote signup weekend on 1/27-28/2018. Need to run off many copies of Flocknote materials: first, a small flyer asking members of assembly at each Mass to bring cellphones to Mass on weekend of 1/20-21.  These will be placed in bulletin beforehand.  Perhaps an e-mail message to parish with same announcement, as well as one on website. On signup weekend, would like a minimum of three people willing to assist any member(s) of congregation get signed up if having difficulty.
Planned Activities	What are you planning to accomplish prior to your next scheduled Status Report?
Prepare parish for signup weekend Prepare to assist those who may be having issue getting signed up. Prepare a plan for using monitor to communicate important, timely information. Solicit feedback on community weekend; begin preparing for next one with any changes or modifications.

 
Joe Q. discussed the use of Flocknote on a trial basis, to see how effective it is in getting messages out.  He suggested putting a link to the parish’s Flocknote page on the parish’s website, so more parishioners could use it.  Joe Q. has set up a Resurrection Flocknote group, along with a Pastoral Council group- he’s asking everyone to sign up and join these groups.  This will be a good beta test, to see if it works for the Pastoral Council before extending it to the entire parish.

Maritza asked about the cost of Flocknote.  The cost, after the trial period, would be $35/month.
 
JoAnn asked for feedback from people around Welcoming Weekend.  She noted that some people chose not to wear name tags, although most did (and most also included their last name.)  She suggested that Welcoming Weekends could be done on a quarterly basis.  Ruth said it was good to have additional activities associated with the weekend- Nancy had held an Epiphany Party after the 10:30 Mass, which was aimed at the younger parishioners.  Susan noted that as a relatively new parishioner, she liked that people wore the tags and that people called her by name.  Her experience at St. Jerome’s Parish wasn’t as welcoming.
 
Objective: Increase parish membership
 
Father Graney noted that parishioners were complimentary of the handout of the books at Christmas Masses.  St. Mary’s was also successful with this.  Al highly recommended the book, and said that the book would be more effective for people if they worked together in going through it, since there would be the added degree of accountability.  Jack said that faith sharing groups could also use this book as a focus for their gatherings and discussions.
 
Father Graney talked about the goal of identifying speakers of interest by March, and asked what topics would attract the most people.  Maritza wondered if pulling a group of people to pick topics would be necessary.  Father Graney didn’t think a group was necessary, and had mentioned that Nancy’s boss from CHILD, Inc. was willing to speak about parenting.  Jack stated that millennials are interested in the relationship between religion and science.  Joe Q. noted that he had seen a webinar the previous night that said that when the study of philosophy is dropped, that we lose the connection between religion and science.  Al asked if Joe could send a link to the webinar, if there was a recording of it, to Mike M.

Objective: Develop new parish model in absence of a resident parish priest
 

Activities/Accomplishments:	Since your last Status Report, what have you accomplished on your Objective & Goals work?
Interviewed Carol Pacione – St. Pius X – Dec. 8                        Pete Schafer – Youngstown Diocese Dec 14                        Deacon Fred Passauer - St. Bernadette, Severn MD, Dec 18                      Ann McDonald – St. Bernadette (retired), Jan 9 Sent letter to the Bishop requesting a time to meet.  See attachment Met with Resurrection Staff for awareness, input and support
What overlaps do you see with the objectives and goals of other Teams?	In the course of doing your project work, please note any overlaps you see with other Objective Team goals.
Primary intersection is with communication, as this team begins to devise communication, prayer and engagement plan with the extended Resurrection community in January-February
Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
We are working closely with Fr. Bill at each step along the way. Key findings to date: Most critical to successfully operating under a different model is the Bishop’s support, selecting the rightly skilled and matched candidate to be the Parish Life Coordinator, a strong collaborative relationship with the Priest s/he will partner with, and supportive relationship with Staff. Funding for this position will be a challenge, especially during overlap period with Fr. Bill.  We will meet with Finance this month to discuss further.
Resources and Information Required: Do you envision a point where PC approval is needed prior to implementation of goals?	What additional resources or information do you require to continue to make progress? If so, from whom would you like assistance and for what actions?
We are engaging resources ad hoc when needed – e.g. Jane Hanson, Mary Louise Chesley-Cora.  We are working closely with Fr. Bill and will begin meetings with Staff, PC, Finance Council in January. The final proposal for a new model, including budget impact will require Pastoral Council approval. Assistance needed: your daily prayers for discernment in our path in this major transition for Resurrection
Planned Activities (Please use the Timeline on page 2)	What are you planning to accomplish prior to your next scheduled Status Report? (Please use the Timeline on page 2)
Meet with Finance Council Engage Bishop Malooly and other key Diocese stakeholders Meet with Pastoral council to review Summary Findings and Proposal for new Model Meet with St. Catherine of Sienna Pastoral council to review our efforts per Fr. Hynes request.

 
 
 

Gather Data & Benchmark 100% COMPLETE

Refine Preferred Model Engage Key Stakeholders

Finalize Option & Activate Readiness

 

Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apri	May
Conduct “expert interviews”  to understand approaches, “better” practices and what to pay attention to.  Jane Hanson Mary Louise -done Fr. John Hynes – done Carol Pacione – St. Pius X – Dec. 8 Deacon Fred Passauer - St. Bernadette, Severn MD (TBD) Pete Schafer – Youngstown Diocese Dec 14 Others TBD		Engage Bishop Malooley and key Diocese stakeholders Prepare Summary Findings report and Proposal for new Model Engage Staff & PC for input Engage Finance Council to ensure financial implications align with 2018 budget	Review Resurrection by-laws for implications of a New Model Initiate Parish Communication plan Refine role description & search strategy Initiate candidate search		Initiate candidate search Establish candidate search team Begin candidate interviews Down-select to short list of candidates Select final candidate and hire in 3Q 2018 May and beyondà Select final candidate and hire in 3Q 2018 Begin search for sacramental ministers Transition and successful onboarding is the next phase of work.  Activating Parish communication plan, additional change management actions to ensure successful transition, etc. to be chartered separately

 

 

Resurrection Parish
A Catholic Community in Pike Creek Delaware
 
 
December 29, 2017
Dear Bishop Malooly,
In keeping with your 2013 priorities for our Diocese, and as updated in your beautiful Together in the Spirit 2016 letter, we would like to ask your support and advice in our self-study for future planning to ensure that Resurrection “parish life and the overall mission of the Church will continue to thrive, despite the possibility of not having a (resident) priest.”  We all understand that Fr. Graney will retire in the not-so-distant future, leaving yet another open pastoral leadership position.  In preparation, our Pastoral Council has chartered a small task team of long-time parishioners to explore various models for Resurrection “to maximize the ministry of our clergy and to mobilize the gifts of all the baptized.”
Our small team has prayerfully and rigorously approached our task: reviewing existing materials including Canon Law, and meeting with others on this journey.  Fr. Graney has kept us abreast of the Deanery discussions among the priests.  To date, we’ve connected with faith-filled, excited people from Boston, Youngstown, Baltimore and Severn, learning from each interaction and prayerfully inviting the Holy Spirit to be present with us every step of the way.
We seek your advice on how we can remain a vital parish in this time filled with challenge and opportunity for the Catholic Church.  As you know, all parishes have unique personalities, needs and expectations.  Resurrection is no different.  From our origins as a strong post Vatican II church, we have been blessed with pastors who understood and nurtured lay involvement, and parishioners who continue to be very actively engaged in every facet of parish life and in social justice outreach locally and globally. 
From Together in the Spirit, your 2016 letter, “Vibrant communities are actually the ideal situation for this collaborative approach. Parish Life Coordinators represent a new model of ministry which draws on the gifts of many parish leaders, promising unique opportunities for church service and ensuring parish vitality.”  Through our work and prayer, we’ve come to believe that our past and present make Resurrection a good “proof of concept” community for the Parish Life Coordinator model in our diocese.
We are excited to meet with you to discuss our ideas and seek your guidance.  A meeting in January would be ideal for our team’s work.
Yours in Christ,

Rich Mayes Pastoral Council

Al Mercatante Pastoral Council Executive Officer

Maritza Poza-Grise Trustee

Mike Reis Finance Council Executive Officer

Dick Schwer Trustee

CC: Fr. Bill Graney

 
Maritza shared that everyone she’s talked to in the parish has expressed enthusiasm for alternate models.  She also noted that the committee sent a letter (included above) to Bishop Malooly to seek his guidance concerning the new model for the parish in the future.
 
Al mentioned that the committee talked about alternate parish models at the staff meeting on January 10 ^th, and that there was a good dialogue.  JoAnn asked if anyone expressed concerns about working with the new parish administration, and Dick highlighted the need to bring in a sacramental minister that would work well with our parish community.  Nancy said that one of the primary questions for parish director or sacramental minister would be whether their personality was a good fit.
 
Maritza warned people not to describe new parish models as a “priestless parish.”
 
Sharon asked if more details would be shared at the special meeting on January 28 ^th, and the committee said yes.
 
Maritza described a letter that the bishop wrote in 2016 about what the future might hold in the diocese, and will send that letter out to Council members.
 
 
Objective: Improve visibility and presence of Parish Council in Parish community
 

Activities/Accomplishments:	Since your last Status Report, what have you accomplished on your Objective & Goals work?
We had Community Weekend this past weekend with name tags for all.  Many were visible at the 10:30 AM Mass ...not sure about the others. There were some PC members with their lanyards as well – put on after Mass!
Challenges/Discoveries:	In the course of doing your project work, please note any overlaps you see with other Objective Team goals.
It was noted that 2 of the 3 members of this team who were at the 10:30 had forgotten to bring their lanyards.  One put on a name tag and the other didn't (too busy with music)! :(
Actions Taken on Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
I would like to propose that we have something like a "shepherd's hook" perhaps in the library for all the PC name tags to hang.  That way they would always be available when needed.
Resources and Information Required: Do you envision a point where PC approval is needed prior to implementation of goals?	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
We would need permission to put something up and also to find the appropriate "hook" for the tags.
Planned Activities:	What additional resources or information do you require to continue to make progress? If so, from whom would you like assistance and for what actions?
Need to meet with team to determine further progress.

 
Kathy stated that the committee would have a meeting later in the week, and would send out the necessary paragraph soon for the bulletin insert.  Al suggested that the committee could expand its current scope to include suggestions on changes to how the Parish Council currently works, to make it a more effective group.  Dick noted that any such changes would require changes to the Bylaws, and also noted that the Improve Parish Council committee will need to interact with the New Parish Model committee.

 
Objective: Communicate, Increase Participation in Social Concerns
 

Activities/Accomplishments:	Since your last Status Report, what have you accomplished on your Objective & Goals work?
Effort is underway to revise the Social Concerns write up on the Resurrection website.  A draft is under construction.
Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
We’ll need to connect with the various people involved in the ministries and activities to provide more descriptions and contact information.
Actions Taken on Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
There are many people who need to be involved, so we started with the 2 social concerns agencies which are the most familiar to us.
Resources and Information Required: Do you envision a point where PC approval is needed prior to implementation of goals?	What additional resources or information do you require to continue to make progress? If so, from whom would you like assistance and for what actions?
We will need contact information for all of the volunteer activities.
Planned Activities	What are you planning to accomplish prior to your next scheduled Status Report?
Notification to current volunteers that this effort is underway. Input from contacts involved in Social Concerns ministries

 
Sharon noted that the committee is looking to redo the landing page in a way that people could find ministries of interest along with contact information for that ministry.  Dick mentioned that Sandy Landoll might not continue in his role of social concerns coordinator beyond the end of 2018, and asked what our parish would do.
 
Process for committees to implement actions:  Al asked if there was further discussion regarding the criteria for requiring a committee to seek Pastoral Council approval before proceeding.  The five suggested criteria were:
< >Impacts a standing committee Impacts Bylaws Impacts parish staff Requires finances beyond amounts designated in budget Requires diocesan approval 
There was a motion to approve these, made by JoAnn.  Before the motion could be seconded, there was further discussion.  Ruth asked if there was a process in place for objectives committees to interact with standing committees.  Dick also suggested a 6 ^th criterion about something that significantly affects the parish at large.  Mike Reis observed that everything could be said to affect the parish.  Kathy added that in that case, things could move very slowly since everything would have to be brought to the Pastoral Council.
 
Sharon suggested that committees could be mindful of impact, and that the Pastoral Council could be contacted via e-mail for discussion before taking action.  Maritza agreed that committees need to work with mindfulness, and to be aware of how their work affects others in the parish community.  Jack suggested that if people are unsure of whether to proceed, that they could send a note to Al to get his opinion.  Al wasn’t sure he should be the solitary gatekeeper; Al and Sharon suggested that the entire Executive Committee could serve such a function.
Ruth gave the example of the distribution of books at Christmas as an example of when mindfulness is needed.  She noted that volunteers had to be found at short notice to make sure that people were being given books at Mass.
 
Sharon noted that the committee report needs to serve as a vehicle to report impact of actions.
 
JoAnn’s original motion to accept the five criteria was withdrawn, and resolution of this topic was tabled for the next meeting.
 
New Business:
 
The upcoming bulletin insert from the Parish Council was discussed.  Each of the five committees will provide a one-paragraph update by Tuesday, January 16 ^th.
 
There was a reminder that the special meeting to discuss new parish models would be on January 28 ^th in Room 4 at the parish, at 6:30 PM.
 
Parish Buzz:
 
No Parish Buzz at this meeting.
 
 
Dick moved to adjourn, Mary Louise seconded, and it carried.  The meeting was adjourned at 4:22 PM.
 
Respectfully submitted, Mike Mitchell