St. Sebastian Parish Pastoral Council Regular Meeting
Regular Meeting – 4 April 2016
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IN ATTENDANCE: Father John Valencheck, Pastor Todd Dekatch, Chair
Candace Bates, Vice-Chair Cyndy Cook, Secretary
Patricia Clark-Varga, Member Jim Dietrich, Member
Chris Montana, Member Kathy Dietrich, Member
Kay Leckrone, Member Bob Rybka, Member Chris Peters, Member
EXCUSED: Brandon Foster, Member Rob Sveda, Member
Call to Order at 7:00 p.m. by Council Chair, Todd Dekatch
Opening Prayer: Father Valencheck
Pastor’s Report by Father Valencheck:
· Father informed Council of the appointment of Father Norman Douglas as the new pastor for St. Vincent Church and requested that Council send a letter welcoming him to his new post.
· Father solicited ideas for how he might most easily obtain good quality photographs of the rose window in Zwisler Hall. It is possible that miniature versions of the window could be reproduced and sold for a Parish fundraiser.
· Father discussed ways in which to promote the upcoming 90th Anniversary of the Parish. Commemorative bricks were suggested.
· Candy Bates suggested involving the class of 2018 since they would be the 90th graduating class from the school and perhaps incorporating the ways in which life has changed. Cathy Sivec would be able to help coordinate this.
· Father expressed concern over the condition over the decorative black lamp posts at the Mull Ave. Circle. Several are broken and in pieces and need to be replaced.
· Father said that Father Swirski’s funeral Mass was well-attended despite the short notice and thanked Parish Council for their help in spreading the word.
· Father continued the discussion on ways in which vocations might be encouraged in both the Parish and the Diocese. It was suggested that dedicated prayers for vocation be made following every Mass during the month of May since that is the month of ordination.
· Father asked about the status of the school security initiative. Todd DeKatch will follow up on the plans.
Old Business:
· Parish Council minutes from the February meeting were approved.
· Donut Sunday in March hosted by Parish Council was a success.
· 14 people responded to the request for new member nominations and discernment meetings will be held on April 11 and April 13 at the Church. Todd DeKatch, Candy Bates, Pat Clark-Varga, Kathy Dietrich and Cyndy Cook volunteered to attend the meetings on behalf of Council.
· Chris Peters continues work on the podcast system and will donate a laptop for the project.
· The Student of the Year plaque was located in storage and will be updated and re-hung as soon as possible.
· The Knights of Columbus have volunteered to help finance the new plaque.
New Business:
· Chris Peters volunteered to be the Vice-Chair of Parish Council for the upcoming year which will begin on July 1st.
· Cyndy Cook agreed to remain Secretary.
· Multiple people have expressed concern over the storage issues at the Church. Kathy Dietrich offered to oversee a clearing out of the storage areas beneath Zwisler Hall and Todd DeKatch offered to oversee the storage at Byrider Hall. Father Valencheck will post a notice in the bulletin advising the various ministries to make time to organize the items they have in storage.
Pulse of the Parish
· Chris Montana mentioned that the Mother of Sorrows funeral Mass support group is actively seeking new members and support for its mission of attending funeral Masses at the Parish. Father Valencheck offered to post this information in the bulletin.
· Concern over the annual 5th grade trip to Moreley Health Center was expressed by several parishioners who wondered if it was really necessary to take students off campus in order to receive basic biological instruction.
· Concern was expressed over the dim lighting and possibly dangerous conditions at the Faith Lodge, including adults loitering in the park after dark. Father reminded Council that the facility is owned and operated by the City of Akron and that St. Sebastian only has limited control over the interior of the building. It was suggested that citizens directly notify the Parks Department of the City of Akron with any problems they may observe at the Park.
· A Council member was asked if there was any way to re-use the palms left over from Palm Sunday, perhaps in the fire at the Easter Vigil?
· A Council member was asked if the Ushers could be reminded to keep their voices down during Mass.
Commission Reports
· Worship
o No Report.
· Spiritual Life:
o Book Rack:
§ TheNational Catholic Reportersubscription was cancelled. With Fr. Valencheck’s permission, the Catholic Reading subscription service will send 3 copies of the weeklyNational Catholic Registerinstead.Our Sunday VisitorandAmerica magazinewill continue to be offered.The Wanderersubscription was cancelled due to low readership.
Parish Life:
o Archivists:
· Mary and Ann Loftus are currently sorting through parish photographs; they have agreed to set aside those which might make appropriate cover pages for our bulletin during the parish’s 90thanniversary year.
o Sanctuary Society:
· Preparations for their main fundraiser, the International Festival, to be held on Saturday, April 23rd, are currently underway. Sponsorships are very welcome and being actively sought.
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o Welcoming Committee:
· Marcy Smith reserved Zwisler Hall for January 21, 2017 in anticipation of a St. Sebastian Feast day pot-luck dinner.
o Girl Scouts:
Alice Incorvia reported:
§ In conjunction with our Girl Scout "give back" cookie badge, my 2nd grade Brownies, sold so many boxes of cookies that we were able to donate and deliver over $250 worth of pet food and supplies to the One-of-a-Kind pet store on March 13th. March 13th happened to be Scout Sunday as well, when more than half my troop (and the St. Sebastian Daisy troop) wore their vests and sat together at the 11:00 Mass.
o Boy Scouts:
Charlie Rodriguez reported:
§ The Scouts just finished district Pinewood Derby. 8 of the 12 finalist were from St Sebastian's Pack 3096. Not sure what resources are available to us other than Zwisler Hall and Byrider, but please let me know. We had a well-attended spaghetti dinner fundraiser in February in Zwisler Hall and would like to do a pancake breakfast in the Fall. We will be doing the trash pick-up for the upcoming International festival and our spring campout will follow in May with Pack Olympics and our Blue and Gold dinner with pig roast!
Closing prayer: Todd DeKatch
***The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 7 p.m.
***The Opening Prayer will be led by Candy Bates.
***The Closing Prayer will be led by Kathy Dietrich.
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