Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Mike Rzucidlo.
Members Present: Father Graney, Mike Rzucidlo, Sharon Gidumal, Tina Prior, Heather Little, Deb Buckels, Ruthann Maisonet, Maritza Poza-Grise, Chip Schussler, John Falkowski, Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Mike Reis, Anita Delaney, Ellen Turano, JoAnn Hedrick.
Members Absent: Sue Dagenais (resigned), Rich Mayes.
Guests: Al Mercatante, Nancy Maloney, Dick Schwer, Ruth Sanders.
Reflection: Mike Reis shared a reflection about sheep and shepherds and the fact that God is our Shepherd upon whom we rely.
Approval of minutes: The minutes of the February meeting were approved with one change in the bullet points. Upon review, the Council secretary added Rich Mayes to the list of members who were absent from the February meeting.
Parish Buzz:
Erin Sheehan, a 26-year-old, is a new youth volunteer. The Youth Group met her last week.
A lady who is a fallen away Catholic is interested in returning to Resurrection. Father and Angie Malmgrem will each meet with her.
Twenty members of the Resurrection community met with 25 visitors from the local Sikh community. The Sikh teens made a presentation about their culture, their mode of dress, and their beliefs, many of which – nonviolence, outreach to the poor, peace-filled people - are surprisingly similar to our Catholic faith.
A home school group meets at Resurrection on Mondays.
Parishioners fed 160 people during the monthly turn at Emmanuel Dining Room.
Fridays in Lent – All services are open to everyone. The focus of the first Friday was families with 35 people in attendance. The church will be open on March 17 with no special service planned. Teen stations will be offered on March 24.
Unfinished Business: There is some confusion about what needs to be done by the goal setting committees and subgroups that were formed. Time constraints are a consideration. One group was intended to focus on making our wonderful liturgies more vibrant and attractive. A second group was to focus on attracting young families, and a third was intended to focus on communicating with the community at large all the wonderful things that are being done by parishioners. Sharon Gidumal volunteered to meet with Sandy Landoll in an effort to begin the process. Anita suggested that one person from a ministry should speak at Masses, explaining that ministry and inviting parishioners to join.
The Council is too large to accomplish something meaningful in the short meeting time that is available to us. Smaller groups of 4-5 people need to be formed to accomplish our goals. These groups do not need to be made up of only Council members.
Father Bill shared a book by William Simon: “Great Catholic Parishes”. There is a website: parishcatalyst.org. Another resource is the following website: amazingparish.org.
It was suggested that the various committees revisit the goals that were established in 2012. Perhaps a lot of progress has been made. Are we doing what’s relevant to people? What issues are meaningful to our community?
There is a passion to preserve and protect Resurrection as a stand-alone parish in the future, remembering that our mission is to create disciples. It was suggested that we must grow or die slowly.
Committee Reports: Friendship House is celebrating its 30
th anniversary. Several events are being planned and all are invited to attend. As reported earlier, Bill Perkins is retiring this year.
Friendship House is expanding into the suburbs, specifically the Pike Creek/Mill Creek area. There is a food closet once a week, open for an hour, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.
Family Promise just concluded a hosting week in conjunction with Ebenezer United Methodist Church. The people of Resurrection continue to be generous with time and treasure. Deb Buckels expressed her gratitude.
The Elections Committee reported that Pastoral Council members will have a table in the gathering space to accept nominations after Masses during the first two weekends in April. Four steward positions as well as two trustees need to be filled.
New Business: Father distributed a handout that suggests ways to engage people in conversation with the ultimate goal of inviting them to worship with us. He also informed us of a workshop on ministry with Gen Z and their families planned for June 3 at St. Joseph’s in Middletown. A few Resurrection staff members will attend.
Al suggested that a Spring clean-up at the rectory is necessary. Perhaps the Youth Group will do it again.
It was suggested that the Youth Group create a social media strategy for attracting people to Resurrection.
Pastor’s Comments: Technology can engage people.
The meeting was adjourned followed by a closing prayer.