St. Helen & Our Lady of the Caves Catholic Churches

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St. Helen & Our Lady of the Caves Catholic Churches

103 West Brown Street

Glasgow, KY 42141

(270) 651-5263

Minutes for Parish Council Meeting, Monday July 11th, 2016 from 7-8pm

Members present: Fr. Kenneth Soroko, CPM ,Dr. Richard Clouse, Dr. Robert Whitlow, Blaise Tylicki,Bryan Baysinger, David Rust,and Gary Murphy

1. The meeting started with a prayer led by Fr. Kenneth.

2. After the prayer. Fr. Kenneth thanked the council for their service to the parish.

3. Minutes from last meeting

The minutes were sent to each member online. Parish council members were asked for any corrections. There were no corrections to be made, thus the council acceptedthe minutes from the last meeting as they were sent online.

Old Business

4. Update on Feasibility Study

Fr. Kenneth explained the steps taken after the parish council and the steering committee selected Ashley/Rountree and Associates to do the feasibility study: a letter was sent to the Archdiocese, asking for approval, which was granted. Thus, an agreement was signed and the study will begin next Thursday, July 14th. All adult members of the parish community will be represented thru the surveys. It is expected to last about 3 months, thus, around October, we should have the results.

5. Communication

Members of the council commended Fr. Kenneth on the update letter placed inside the bulletin, and suggested that more letters updating parishioners about the progress of the building project be consistently delivered. It is the council’sopinion that the posting of the approved minutes on the parish website and the insertion of the approved minutes inside the bulletin can be helpful in our efforts to raise funds for the new building. Fr. Kenneth will talk with the website administrator to have the minutes and parish council member contact info published online.

6. Cleaning of Our Lady of the Caves Church

This weekend at OLC’s Fr. Kenneth will ask for youngvolunteers to help clean the church. Also, it was suggested that the youth that are studying for confirmation could help clean the church, as part of their service to the church.

New Business

7. Monument to honor former priests who have served at St. Helen/Our Lady of the Caves

Currently there is in process a monument to honor former priests who have served in our churches. It was discussed that the original idea might have been, to have Fr. Daniel Sheehan, CPM on one side and Fr. John J. Molloy, CPM on the other side. Apparently the problem was the lack of a quality picture of Fr. Molloy, thus the monument could not be completed. A parishioner suggested that a picture of the pastor in charge of St. Helen at the time of the completion of the building of the new church be put on the stone. The council’sunanimous opinion was that all the priests that have served as pastors in the parish should be honored. Since at this point there is not enough information about how to honor our previous pastors, the council will revisit this topic after doing some research regarding how the stone looks at the present time and how other churches have proceeded in honoring their pastors.

8.St. Bernadette Hall

It was brought to the parish council’s attention that the church’s liabilityinsurance does not cover a parishioner who is hosting a non-parish event (birthday party, wedding reception, etc.) at St. Bernadette Hall. The Archdiocese recommends that the parishioner hosting the event purchase special event coverage for each event. The cost of the coverage through Catholic Mutual Group is $95.00 per an event which provides coverage up to $1,000,000. As this was discussed a concern arose that some parishioners may not have the money to pay for the special event liability insurance. The parish council decided that when a parishioner would like to reserve the hall for a personal event, the parishioner will be expected to purchase the liability insurance. If the parishioner is unable to pay for the insurance, the parishioner should contact the pastor to see if the cost could be subsidized by the parish. To help such parishioners a fund will be created. A letter to parishioners explaining this changewill soon be published. The parish council also decidedto continue the practice of notrentingSt. Bernadette Hall to non-parishioners.

9. Parish Cookout/social event at Our Lady of the Caves

Parishioners from OLC would like to have a social event at their church, for example an annual cookout. It was discussed that in the past OLC’s would host a number of social events each year includinga softball game, blessings of the animals and monthly cookouts. After discussing several ideas, the council voted unanimously to have a “blessings of the animals” event at Our Lady of the Caves on Sunday October 2nd, 2016. A committee will need to be assembled to plan this event and future ones like it.

10. Daily Mass & Adoration Chapel

Fr. Kenneth explained theneed for an Adoration/Daily Mass chapel at St. Helen Parish Center where the Blessed Sacrament could be reserved. Following is an excerpt from the Pastor’s letter of request sent to the Archbishop for his approval of an Adoration/Daily Mass chapel at St. Helen Parish Center:

“I am writing to request your permission to establish a small chapel at St. Helen Parish Center where the Blessed Sacrament would be reserved and Holy Mass offered several times a month. I would like to convert one of the small classrooms in the parish center into a small chapel where weekday Masses could be offered for the physically handicapped and where devotions such as Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament could take place throughout the week.

I ask you to please consider this request for the following reasons:

Due to the construction of St. Helen’s church with its steep set of stairs leading into the church, some of our elderly parishioners and those with physical disabilities are finding it increasingly difficult to attend Mass and the weekly devotions offered, like Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. There are some older parishioners that have expressed how they would love to attend daily Mass as they once did, but are now hindered from doing so because of the fear of navigating the stairs. There are also some parishioners on our Communion call list who have expressed how much they miss coming to Mass and would love to do so if only they didn’t have to navigate up and down the stairs. To respond to this pastoral need and provide an opportunity for these parishioners to attend Holy Mass and spend time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament I would like to establish a chapel at the parish center, which is 100% completely handicapped accessible, where a weekday Mass could be offered twice a month and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament could be provided at scheduled times throughout the week.

This chapel would also provide a convenient opportunity for parents to pray before the Blessed Sacrament while they wait for their children who are being instructed in their catechism classes held on Wednesday evening at the parish center. This is not a practical option at the present moment because the church is located at another site apart from the parish center. Having the small chapel on site, with the Blessed Sacrament reserved in it, would encourage the parents to use this time to pray for their children.

It would also provide an opportunity for parish staff to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament during their lunch or break times throughout the work day in the parish office which is located at the parish center.

Creating the chapel would strongly promote Eucharistic Adoration among the faithful, encouraging them to spend time in prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Lastly, it would serve as one more step forward in the overall plan of building a new church and rectory on the site where the parish center is already located. It would be a sign of hope, for the future of St. Helen Parish Community.

I would make sure that the chapel is secure and that it is furnished appropriately, in order to foster devotion and reverence for the Holy Eucharist. I would also ensure that the Blessed Sacrament is renewed regularly and visited often by our staff and parishioners.”

This request for permission was approved by the Archbishop. Fr. Kenneth asked the council about potential resources to complete the project (money, furnishing, volunteers, etc.). The council felt that there was not enough information yet to determine the amount of money and resources necessary to accomplish this project. Dr. Clouse motioned to start a preliminary study to learn more about the resources necessary to accomplish this project. Bryan Baysinger seconded. Council approved unanimously.

Some members of the council mentioned the need for decorating the parish center (especially the main hall) with Catholic art and Catholicteachings to serve as an outreach to the community and maybe clarify misunderstandings that people may have about the Catholic Faith. A planning committee will be formed to research this idea and begin the process of enhancing the parish center, so that it may serve as a more visible witness to the Catholic Faith.

11. Next regularly scheduled meeting

The next regular meeting will be on Monday, September 12th, 7pm – 8pm (2nd Monday of the Month)

12. Prayer & Blessing

The meeting ended with a prayer and blessing led by Fr. Kenneth,