Minutes of Pastoral Council Meeting held May 13, 2014

The meeting was held in the ParishCenter. The meeting commenced at 7:04 PM.

Attendance: Father Gabin, Pastor; Sr. M. Carmella; Deacon Bob Frankenberger; Kate Fitzpatrick;Kelly Meliti; Bill Judge; Margaret M. McNicholas; Bernadette Ryan;Phyllis Heppard;Rita Sindoni; Anthony Creato, Jim Devenney and Maria Woodruff.

Bill led our meetingwith ouropening prayer to Our Lady Of Fatima.

Father handed out the previous meeting minutes for all to review; he also handed out the agenda for the meeting,a copy of our Mission Statement and a copy of the Parish Summary on the "In-depth Evaluation of Parish Life", which, after the Council's assessment at great length, listed our parish prioritiesand considered necessary action steps.

Father opened the meeting byexpressing condolences for the passing of Bill Judge's mother. We were happy to hear that Deacon Bob's wife is healing well. We were pleased to hear that Rita's husband was recovering from a knee operation. Father also announced that this was the last Council meeting for our wonderful Principal, Kate Fitzpatrick who is leaving HolyCrossSchool after the school season. All of us wish Kate all the best in her newenterprise. Our meetings will always be open to an occasional visit. We do have a new principal, Dawn Perry, who will take her position on July 1st.

Father also announced that we now have a new Music Director, Tim Reilly. His official starting date will be June 15th.

School Update by Kate:

Registration count for February as of last night was 168 (PreK to 8th), however, today the count was 174. We are still waiting for the response of 26 fax forms for voided checks. If we hear from everyone, the count will be 194 and possibly over 200 if we hear from the Red List. We are getting ready for the May Procession on the 19th at 7:00PM. The School Show will be on Thursday, May 22nd at 7:00PM (one evening performance). This Friday is the Walk-a-Thon and we are all very optimistic that the rain will hold out till after the race. May 29th there will be Mass for Ascension Thursday. June 8th is Graduation. June 13th is the last day of school.

PREP Update by Kelly:

Both Confirmation and Communion Retreats were very successful. On April 5th there were 62 Candidates (including the Korean Catholic Community) who received the Sacrament of Confirmation by Bishop Martino. On May 3rd there were 47 Communicants who received the sacrament of First Holy Communion. On May 5th all students took their final exams. Reports Cards go home on May 19th. On May 19th at 7:00PM in the Church will be PREP May Procession and closing ceremonies. Registration has begun. Tuition rates and Guidelines for the 2014-2015 PREP year are as follows: For Supporting Parishioners*: $125 for one student's Early-Registration - paid before May 31, 2014; $175 for one student's Registration - paid June 1, 2014 to August 15, 2014; $200 for one student's Late-Registration - paid after August 15, 2014; $275 for two or more children - Family Fee (this applies to regular registration only).

*A supporting parishioner, in financial terms, is one who contributes at least $8 weekly to the support of the parish. If the financial obligation is not met to the church, there will be an additional non-supporting parishioner cost of $100 due by December 31st of every year. These guidelines are necessary to be fair to the majority of parents who are contributing members of Holy Cross Parish.

Father asked us to jump to the last item on the agenda..."In-Depth Evaluation of Parish Life".

Again, the Council members discussed the prognosis of Holy Cross' Youth Group, and the possible contingencies to place on CYO participants. Further discussions will be conducted.

Our upcoming meetings are scheduled: For the balance of 2014, September 16th, November 18th; For 2015, January 13th, March 17th and May 12th. Please mark your calendars.

I hope that everyone will have a wonderful and safe summer. See you in September!

Warm regards,

-Maria