Our Lady of the Valley Parish
Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2017
Present: Fr. Doug, Karen Droy, Tom Gallivan, Billy Labrie, Joan Marek, Tom Neill, Jay Oelrich, and George Zoltowski.
Absent: Peg Graham.
The meeting was opened at 6:35 pm by Chairman Tom Neill.
Father Doug led us in the opening prayer.
Minutes of the December 14th were accepted with modifications: Peg Graham was present at the December meeting; the Pastor’s Report was titled Finance Report; Item 3 in the Pastor’s Report and Item 2 in the Finance Report were corrected to change the word angles to angels; Item 5 in the Pastor’s Report was amended to read “2017 Christmas ornaments will be on sale starting January 8th.
Pastor’s Report – Fr. Doug
1. All of the Christmas Masses went well.
2. The Epiphany pageant went extremely well.
3. The Schola Nova concert went well.
4. The scaffolding contract was signed 1/25, so the clock starts on the rental period.
5. Vitek Kruta was here 1/25 to get started on the restoration of the icons and window work.
6. The Masses downstairs are going well after some tweaks from the first weekend.
Finance Report - Fr. Doug
1. All of the icons have been sponsored for restoration.
2. We are still operating at a deficit with regard to the operating budget and collections.
Committee Reports:
Communications: - Jay
1. Si Becker from Channel 22 News was here to do a story on the church painting project.
2. Have not, as yet had a response from the Gazette for a story.
3. Set up a new camera angle downstairs for filming Mass.
4. We are adding quite a few new altar servers.
5. Still working on the Stations of the Cross video, hoping to have in time for Lent.
Outreach: - Joan
Mission Committee:
1. A group of twelve Mission Committee members went to Springfield on 1/14 for the Three Kings Day celebration and distribution of the gift bags to the children at Blessed Sacrament/All Souls. Nilda and her teachers prepared a delicious luncheon for the group and extended their thanks to the committee and OLV parishioners for our generosity, as did Msgr. Juan when he stopped by to
2. greet the group.
3. While the committee voted to add Fr. Adolf’s parish in Uganda as an additional sister parish, discussions are still ongoing regarding allocation of funds between the 3 sister parishes. Once a decision is made the committee plans to provide an update to parishioners.
4. The group is having dinner with Fr. Adolf on January 31 at which time they will discuss in more detail the needs for his parish and the process for sending funds to him.
Take & Eat:
1. The group prepared the first meal without the guidance of Manuela Bosivert, our former long-time head cook. Using the expertise that she imparted we were successful. However, we are still looking for that special someone to take over that role for the week 3 team.
2. Team members will be speaking at all Masses on Super Bowl weekend to enlist new volunteers and encourage support with a special second collection.
3. After advertising in the bulletin, the week 1 did get some new volunteers to assist in the food prep work, so they are doing well.
Cot Shelter:
1. The annex is averaging 4 guests per night.
2. Despite some inclement weather on a couple of nights, drivers managed to transport the guests without incident.
3. One night the cooking team did not show up (a scheduling snafu); pizza was ordered.
4. The delayed arrival on Saturday and Sunday nights to accommodate the 5:30 PM Masses has not been an issue.
5. On February 5th, the guests will go the VA to watch the Super Bowl and have pizza. No cooking team will be needed that night.
Clubs & Events:
Women’s Club:
1. Instead of a baby shower for Bethlehem House this year, the club will be collecting diapers and baby wipes throughout the month of January. Collection boxes will be placed in the church.
Knights of Columbus:
1. The coffee shop will be closed until Masses move back upstairs. The Council disbursed $230.00 to both the Women’s Club and Mission Committee for their participation in the coffee shop from September to December.
2. On 1/21, the Council hosted the third annual basketball free-throw competition at WBMS for area youth, which was well attended. Winners will move on to a regional competition.
3. The Council donated several winter coats for children to the Community Center. Members purchased them at seasonal close-out sales last spring.
4. Members will lead the recitation of the Holy Rosary for the parish at 10:30 AM on Sunday, January 29th.
Holy Rosary Sodality:
1. Nothing to report this month,
Religious Education:
1. The January 8th Christmas pageant went very well. Special thanks to Cathy Brooks for her work with the music portion of the play.
2. A meeting for First Communion parents on January 22 went well. Parents have volunteered to cut material for the banners.
3. The Hosting Masses for the elementary and high school students are going smoothly. The students have acclimated well to Masses in the hall.
4. Gratitude to Jay Oelrich for his help with the altar servers, especially at the elementary Youth Masses.
Youth Group: Billy
1. Two vans, 30 people, including adults, went to the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro for the Christmas lights and concert.
2. Will be hosting a pre-Super Bowl party for REY, Venture Crew, an IACT at their meeting facility on Pleasant St. on Sunday, February 5th.
3. The movie nights are averaging 8 -10 kids.
Music: - George
1. Members of the choirs are bringing microphone and amps to the downstairs Masses for sound quality purposes.
2. Lary Grossman reported that the sustain pedal on the keyboard is not fixed. However, it does not affect how he uses the instrument. Note: Cathy Brooks indicated that it is working.
3. The question was raised to whether we need a new keyboard given the age of the current one. No action taken on this.
4. The question was raised regarding scheduling of Gorzkie Zale given that the upstairs will not be ready by Ash Wednesday and should it be moved to Sundays at 10:30 AM, assuming Lary is available.
Technology: - Fr. Doug
1. Nothing new to report.
Liturgy: -
1. There will be no Lenten Stations of the Cross until we move back upstairs.
2. Refer to item 4 in the Music report.
Adult Education
1. The evening study sessions of John currently have about 30 attendees, the daytime attendance averages 6.
2. The evangelization team is currently on a hiatus.
3. Three members attended a 1 day diocesan workshop on the Alpha program.
4. Working on a welcome packet, collecting input from the various ministries. Need to write a descriptive paragraph on each one.
Old Business:
1. No old business.
New Business:
1. No new business.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM after the closing prayer.
Next meeting is Wednesday, February 22nd.