PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
January 14, 2016
The January 2016 Pastoral Council meeting convened on Thursday, January 14, at 7:00 PM in the Breen Room.
ATTENDANCE
Fr. Mike Mellone Chris Folks Regina Okafor
Dave Muzzy Ribix Ruano Ed Wassel
Mary Pastore Beverly Simmons Sr. Karen Lester
Jo Saunders Steve Edmonds Deacon Bob Gignilliat
*** Guest - Stephen Wallace, Executive Director, Gabriel Network
OPENING PRAYER – Steve
REVIEW OF NOVEMBER 2015 MEETING MINUTES – Upon correction of three typos, Minutes stand approved.
OLD BUSINESS
* Survey initiative - Under discussion within Pastoral Council Subcommittee. On back burner until later.
* Liturgy and Music - Resume discussion at February meeting.
* Home School and St. Mary's School Communities Update – Fr. Mike planning to facilitate. No update at this time.
* Community Sunday (CS) -
** Reviewed Subcommittee's "Proposal for a pilot of weekly Community Sunday." Weekly CS is dependent on someone serving as Coordinator; Jeanette Wassell has volunteered. Men's Group and other groups have offered to continue to host once per month. (Jeanette can get list of groups currently hosting from Carmen.) Weekly pilot would run for remainder of winter and spring. Fr. Mike in favor of Proposal, but has specific questions to discuss with parish staff Tuesday, 1/19, then will notify Pastoral Council.
** Pastoral Council hosted CS on 12/13. Announcement was made after both Masses. CS after first Mass was well-attended but after second Mass was not. Where are "Community Sunday today" signs for easels? Dave saw them up on 12/13, but no one at meeting seemed to know where they are now, or where they're being kept. Follow up on finding the signs is needed.
** During pilot, track should be kept of details (weekly cost, attendance after each Mass, amount donated per Mass). Analysis of data will help Council make informed recommendation to Fr. Mike about continuation of weekly CS. "Donations accepted" sign should be prominent, next to donations basket.
** Years ago, CS used to be very community-oriented. In recent years emphasis hasn't been on fellowship. Needs to be re-framed. Ad could be put in bulletin on what CS is really meant to be. ACTION - Jo to prepare draft blurb for bulletin. Introducing ourselves to others at CS is important. Pastoral Council recommends Fr. Mike/presiding priest make announcement at end of Mass stating we have CS today, indicating purpose of CS (i.e. why we're doing it), asking visitors and those new to parish to stand up (parish welcomes with applause), and inviting all to attend CS downstairs after Mass.
Another suggestion to make people feel more welcome - Will all those with birthdays this month, please stand? Fr. could offer a quick prayer/blessing for them.
* Communications-related
** Death/funeral notice - Paul Devine examining an app that could be used for this purpose.
** Meeting Minutes - Posting on parish website of Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes begins with January Meeting Minutes. Mary will forward to Paul Devine upon approval. ACTION - Mary to confirm whether posting should begin with November 2015 or January 2016 Meeting Minutes.
* Hispanic Community (HC) Issues - Ribix shared perceptions/thoughts/views within St. Mary's HC.
** HC still complaining about how to get in touch with someone who can respond to their questions in Spanish. Fr. Bill is very busy with answering questions; stopping him after Mass isn't the best way. (Deacon Brandon Justice and Carmen Fichter also both speak Spanish.) Some information they're seeking is already available in bulletin in Spanish. We could assemble a handout with 50 most common questions and answers. Keep copies in office to be handed out. Could Fr. Bill stay after Mass for 15 minutes, once a month, to answer general questions, and hand out and explain the 50 questions/answers?
** We should give a nice welcome to new people after Mass, then keep an eye open and be friendly and welcoming when they return. If people don't feel welcome, they'll go to another parish. HC visits families to help them feel welcome, and to try to find out why they would/wouldn't continue here. It's not only the HC. We have this problem of keeping to ourselves. People could introduce themselves to each other at start of Mass (we could do this at all Masses, not just Spanish Mass).
** Working on trying to get HC more involved in parish, beyond just baptism. (Concerned that parents only get kids baptized and don't come back after that.) Suggestion - Offer a "Community Sunday"-like event with Fr. Bill just for HC, once a month or maybe once/twice a year. Other Spanish speakers could attend and socialize. We could try it once and see if it's beneficial to HC. Sometimes HC has a meeting and it's just the same people sharing among themselves. ~151-178 people attend Spanish Mass weekly. Of those, ~60% are there every week, ~25% are there every other week, and ~15% are new.
** Conclusion - Good discussion! Pastoral Council needs to work with Ribix, on behalf of HC, to come up with concrete recommendations, in conjunction with discussion with Fr. Bill and Fr. Mike.
* Welcoming / Hospitality - Subcommittee discussion ongoing.
NEW BUSINESS
* Pro-Life Issues / Gabriel Network - PC welcomes StephenWallace, Executive Director of Gabriel Network (GN). Here as continuation of discussion with Fr. Mike on restarting volunteer GN group here at St. Mary's. What is GN/Gabriel Project? ~20 years in MD and DC. Grassroots Christian friendship ministry to women in crisis pregnancy, who don't have a support network. (Women usually in some kind of crisis situation already / before pregnancy.) GN includes church volunteers ("Angel Friend" teams) and maternity housing and provision of other items for baby. (GN runs 3 maternity homes for pregnant homeless women.) Big relationship aspect; presents itself through ministry of listening. "Angel Friend" teams consist of ~15 really active people, ~15 less active, and ~ 25 who provide financial support.
Becoming a GN "Shepherding Church" requires commitment by a parish as a whole, not just individuals. Could do an announcement at Mass to ensure parish awareness and buy-in. This is an opportunity to share about Christ! Shepherding church has pastor buy-in/blessing, has an engaged Angel Friend team, provides financial assistance, displays a GN sign, and commits to developing relationship with local pregnancy center, like Laurel Pregnancy Center (LPC). LPC does things GN doesn't do, like medical tests. GN helps with all the practical stuff that happens next on continuum of care. Good relationship with LPC already exists; LPC is excited to work with St. Mary's. Confidentiality is kept. LPC would call GN for help, not St. Mary's directly.
Next steps - Recruit an Angel Friend team at St. Mary's. To do this, make pulpit announcement that gives intro to GN and asks for volunteers; set date for an "information night;" conduct brief in-pew survey asking parishioners if/how they would be willing to help. Keep good records of all feedback, and who could do what. Types of help could include any number of things, like helping set up WIC account, taking people shopping at thrift store, assistance with legal paperwork, etc. (This type of info could be useful to Marsha, regardless.) Catholic Charities gives staff time and up to $8K to start a GN group. (GN program is called a "Parish Partner" program. Like the ESOL program and another on immigration where lawyers help people fill out paperwork.)
How many people on an Angel Friend team? At least 6 committed folks willing and able to meet with moms. Surrounding circle could include social workers that maybe can't take on more cases, but could direct those working with moms to helpful resources.
How does GN get moms? People call help line 1-800-ANGEL, then GN calls GN Coordinator local to where mom is, Bob G. in our case (Bob was one of the first GN Coordinators!) Two go meet mom at neutral location, church, etc.) and talk about what's possible. Shepherding Church (Coordinator, Angel Friend team, etc.) interact directly with mom from then on. We get a lot of calls from Laurel. For people to volunteer they'd want to know the potential time commitment. Could be a couple of hours per week up to 10-15 hours per week (per person?). Group could be as busy as it wants to be. Activity goes in spurts. We could cluster St. Mary's with St. Lawrence (Jessup), which is one of strongest groups in network.
Is there training for Angel Friends? Are there boundaries? Yes, we go over proper boundaries in the training. "Here's the language and emotional signs to watch for that could mean you may be going over the bounds." This is part of church team and Coordinator's job, to learn those boundaries. We're friends, not parents. Would be accessible as to a good friend, but don't have to be accessible at all hours. GN checks in regularly with Coordinators.
How much commitment after baby's birth? GN recommends 6-month chunks of time with mom, then reevaluate. Often immediately after birth some support appears, but then tapers off after 2-3 months. Each church decides how long it wants to focus its support.
Pastoral Council members are asked to reflect; consider advice we would give to Fr. Mike. Do we want to commit to this, as a parish? Do we think the parish can support it? Bob - It was workable before/in the past. We had done an in-pew survey and had a list of ~150 people willing to help in some way. Each person came to us with different needs. With 1/2 dozen committed people and other volunteers, we could do it. System is self-regulating. We don't have to take on any more cases at one time than we can handle. Bob and Stephen Wallace will be in touch with Fr. Mike.
* Pastoral Council New Member selection - Fr. Mike outlines three options, per ADW guidelines, for selection of new Pastoral Council members. St. Mary's has been using option 3 (election). Fr. Mike would like to change to option 1, which considers first what the needs of the parish are and on what the parish needs to focus, then looks for people with corresponding skill sets/talents/expertise for the Pastoral Council. Nominations could come from current Pastoral Council members, parishioners, self-nomination, etc. Fr. Mike would select from among nominees to fulfill parish's needs; no election. ACTION - Pastoral Council member consider what are the parish's needs? Discuss at February meeting. St. Mary's Pastoral Council By-Laws will need to be amended to document this change. Fr. Mike will send to Pastoral Council full text of proposed amendment by end of January.(Mary will resend current By-Laws to all, for reference.) Pastoral Council will vote on amended By-Laws two months later (i.e. in March). From mid-April, solicit nominations. Fr. Mike will interview, then announce appointments in May. (Suggestion -Should we consider explaining why we're changing to this method?)
* Volunteer Secretary for February 11 Pastoral Council Meeting - Mary requests volunteer to take Meeting Minutes at February 11 Pastoral Council meeting (she is on Cursillo). Chris or Bob may do it?
PASTOR’S REMARKS
* Rally for Life - January 21 at Pallotti, 6:30-? ((canceled))
* March for Life - 8th grade to Verizon Center 22 January. Prayer service at St. Mary's School. St. Mary's group may go to DC for the March after 0900 Mass.
* Lobby Night - Maryland Catholic Advocacy Network monitors and acts in support of issues important for Catholics. Assisted suicide legislation is coming up for vote. Lobby Night this year is February 9, not Presidents' Day as usual. It will be run differently this year. All to gather in large meeting room; meet with Representatives there instead of in their offices. Rick Wilson is St. Mary's lead for Lobby Night. Will take Pallotti bus; sign up in church vestibule.
* Cardinal's Appeal - Letters to parishioners have been mailed. There will be announcements about the Appeal at Masses on January 23/24, January 30/31, and February 6/7.
* St. Mary's School Principal - Principal Search Committee to reconvene January 27 to discuss names that ADW currently has. Goal is to have new Principal by June. Katrina Fernandez, Interim Principal, is due in late March. There will be a substitute for her from baby's arrival until her return 6-8 weeks later.
* Discovering Christ - St. Mary's next iteration of Discovering Christ to be filmed! For this reason, will be run all on one weekend, March 11-13, in Keesler Center.
VOLUNTEER FOR OPENING PRAYER FOR FEBRUARY MEETING - Ed
CLOSING PRAYER
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, February 11, 2016, 7 PM, Breen Room (or possibly Rectory?)
Page 3 of 4