Saint Bede Catholic Church April 22nd, 2015

Pastoral Council Meeting

Conference Room

Present: Kristy Plourde, Monsignor Keeney, Earl Anderson, Evan Brankin, Bill Westerman, Bill Minich, Henry Chico, Heather Clemens, Brittney Kinstetter

Absent: Todd Ellis, Pat Toney, Jeff Lancour

Opening Prayer: Prayer of New Vision led by Kristy Plourde

Minutes: Evan motioned that the amended minutes be approved and Bill Minich seconded the motion. The amended minutes were unanimously approved.

Presentations: National Leadership Round Table Next Steps- Thematic goal

  1. Kristy Plourde reported on the NLRT Next Steps meeting that was held on Tuesday, April 21st. The meeting included members from the Pastoral Council, Staff, and Finance Council and the primary focus was to establish the thematic goal. The first thematic goal will be “Intentionally Prepare for the Year of Mercy”.
  2. Council members were asked to rally around the thematic goal through prayer, listening to the parish, and praying for the needs of the parish (See attached for additional information regarding the role of the Pastoral Council).
  3. Monsignor stated that an executive staff meeting will be held to further define the goal.

Old Business:

  1. Constitution and By-Laws-
  2. Bill Minich referred to the suggested changes to the by-laws as presented in an email.
  3. Monsignor suggested to begin with changing the schedule of Council elections to the fall.
  4. Bill Minich proposed a committee be formed to work on by-laws, and it was decided that the next Council meeting be dedicated to working out how the Council operates by using the white board to list ideas, needed changes, Council schedule, etc.
  5. Monsignor Keeney will send out an email address for the National Leadership Roundtable to all Council members. Included on that website are the “Best Practices for Pastoral Councils”.
  6. A vote was held to amend the date of Pastoral Council elections to the following schedule:
  7. Change discernment process to September
  8. Seat new members of the Council to October meeting
  9. Add an “orientation” period before the October meeting.
  10. Bill Minich motioned that the changes to the by-laws be made and seconded by Henry Chico. The changes were unanimously approved.
  1. Pax Care- Monsignor stated that Pax Care was presented to the Evangelization Committee. At this time there is a discussion concerning the cost of the program and whether or not Saint Bede will receive a grant to help defray the cost. A contract has not yet been signed.

New Business:

  1. New Hires- Monsignor stated that the Business Manager and Facilities Maintenance positions have been reworked. The Business Manager position has been expanded to Director of Business Administration and Carl Sabol has been hired for that position. He will begin June 10th. The Director of Facilities position has been downgraded to Facilities Supervisor and Bob Locke has been hired for that position. He will officially begin on May 18th.
  2. Additional Youth Minister Position-The Finance Committee has approved an entry level Youth Ministry position for the next fiscal year.
  3. Seminarian- In June, Saint Bede will beassigned a Seminarian who will be with us through the following summer.
  4. CCM Catacombs- Due to flooding issues, a sump pump has been installed in the catacombs.
  5. Parish Center/CCM Chapel Renovations- Monsignor stated that the Finance Council and Cabinet for the Building Campaign discussed the Parish Center and CCM Chapel renovations. Money reserves for the renovations have been deleted, and the discussion now is how to generate monetary support for needed funds to complete the projects. A suggestion has been made to approach parishioners who attend the CCM Chapel services this summer about supporting the renovations. The Pastoral Council supports this idea.
  6. Social Ministry- Shannon Woloszynowski is currently working on forming 501-3C non-profit called “House of Mercy” which would be a full-service cooperative that would include a number of faith based ministries in the Williamsburg/James City County area.

Open Discussion:

  1. Earl Anderson asked about the results of the Lenten survey. Monsignor stated that the results, so far, have been positive. Families indicated that they loved the Children’s papers.
  2. Heather Clemens wanted to compliment Nicole and Shannon on the Mobile Food Pantry event that occurs on the First Friday of every month at the Parish Center.
  3. Monsignor Keeney stated that the images of the Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Guadalupe should be going up within the month.
  4. Monsignor Keeney indicated that there has been significant growth of the Hispanic Ministry. There has been a steady increase in Mass attendance, Baptisms, and Adult Confirmations. Monsignor’s goal is that when Mass attendance increases to an average of 300 persons,the Mass be moved over to the main church.
  5. Bill Minich asked if there was a way to get the word out to parishioners when there is a funeral. Monsignor stated that he thought that would be a good idea. He stated that he would talk to Nicole about how to get the word out.

Closing Prayer

Next Meeting: May 28th, 2015 in the Conference Room

Submitted by: Celeste Prezioso, April 30th, 2015