Parish Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, October 14 2014,
Attendees: Fr. Ed, Dom D’Angelo, Susan Hackett, Bill Wuest, Liesl Wuest, Julia White, Debbie Traini, Mary Chollet Lordan, Mary Anne Boylan, Bill Boylan
Not in Attendance: Jean Mulcahy, Mark Vacha, Chuck Zech
Opening Prayer: Julia led us in a reflection called “Life”. It began with the Mantra: “I came that they may have life”. Scripture from John 10:1-10 was read. The Mantra was intoned after stanza of a piece called the “Inward Journey” We ended with 5 minutes of sharing with the person next to us.
General Comments/Announcements
· Approval of Sept. minutes—Minutes were unanimously approved.
· Welcome to new members: Mary Chollet Lordan and Debbie Traini. They each shared a little of their story.
· Terry article update – Terry confirmed that the article on the Process that the PPC has been going through will be ready within a week. It will include where we are now and where we intend to further support the Parish.
Logistics
· Term limits for each member—Terry offered to draft a policies and guidelines document for council to review at the next meeting
· Assign responsibilities for 2014/2015
oAgenda creator(s) (was Liesl and Jean with Fr. Ed and Chuck).—Mary Anne has offered to take Liesl’s spot.
oRecorder(s) (most recently has been Mary Anne and Susan, others have rotated in as well). Susan will remain in the rotation. Mary Chollet Lordan will also be in the rotation. Ideally more members should also volunteer!
oMeeting prep (was Susan)—Mary Anne and Bill will jointly take this on with Mary Anne getting the agenda’s out and Bill doing room set up.
oSpiritual committee (was Mary Anne, Bill B., Julia and Terri S.)—Julia will stay on and Debbie will join her. The new team will begin in Feb. 2015
· Communication – Mary Anne volunteered to get all past meeting minutes to Rosemary to post on the website. Moving forward, following the approval of minutes at a council meeting, the minute taker for that month will be responsible for sending the minutes to Rosemary.
Fr. Ed and the Parish Staff need to be made aware of all events taking place at St John’s ahead of time.
· Mary Anne invited the new members, Mary and Debbie, to the Morning of Reflection to be held at the Stevenson Center on Saturday, Nov. 22nd, 8:45 to 11 AM. Continental Breakfast.
Fiscal Update –Rosemary Endres shared the financial status of St John’s in a new format that will soon be mailed to the parish.The PPC liked the new format that included a lovely letter from Father Ed that focused on how families are supported and welcomed and how this can be accomplished by a financially healthy parish. Rosemary shared that the budget is pretty flat--- with both revenue and expenses almost the same as last year. She also talked about some ways that might increase revenue such as starting a campaign to increase participation in “e contributions”, the Healey Foundation, and hiring an Advancement person for the Regional School. In the near future, St John’s will be needing to renew the Convent and transform it into a type of Parish Life Center.
Ministry meeting follow up / Stewardship Weekend– Group discussed that we will have a follow-up meeting with the ministry leaders. It will be held on Nov 9th following the 11:30 Mass. The purpose of the meeting is :
(1) Update them on what we have accomplished to date as a result of the assemblies;
(2) Present the 5 areas that have emerged for our parish to focus on namely:
§ Hands on work with Chester
§ Creating a welcoming experience
§ Maximizing impact of Social Media
§ Revamping Stewardship
§ Revitalizing Ministries
(3) Discuss how ministries can work to support the 5 focus areas
(4) Get ministry leaders on board and prepared for Nov 22-23rd Stewardship weekend.
Subcommittee members for the Nov 9th ministry meeting: Bill W, Terry, Susan and Mary
Subcommittee members for Stewardship weekend: Mary, Liesl, Julia and Dom
Conference comments—Father Ed, Mary and Rosemary went to the International Catholic Stewardship Conference. There were many sessions on Time, Treasure and Talent They are being digested by the attendees as to how they can apply them to St John’s. Fr. Ed did share about how he wants to embed the idea of having parishioners understand and value equally giving of time (time for God); talent (ministry and volunteer activities) and treasure (financial) Specifically, Fr. Ed talked about having the Parishioners state in writing the commitment in Time, Treasure and Talent that they will build up to do all three simultaneously in the coming year. Four weeks before the next Commitment Sunday, their written commitment will be returned to them with the question, “How did you do with living what you said?”
Action Items:
· Terry to complete the article and share with the group
· Subcommittees to meet and plan for Nov 9th ministry meeting and Nov 22 and 23 Stewardship Weekend
· Mark calendars for the Morning of Reflection – Nov 22, 0845 to 11 AM In SC
· Terry to draft policies/guidelines for parish council term limits
Closing Prayer: Julia led us in the Lord’s Prayer
Respectfully submitted: Bill B, Susan and Mary Anne