Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes: November 2016
St. Francis de Sales Pastoral Council
Meeting Minutes
November 22, 2016
Attendees: Ray Traube, Sylvia Brokos, John Fisher, Rob Hardy ,Carolyn Webster, Alice Long, Erin Perkins, Patrick Perkins, William Bankert, Deacon Jim Sullivan, Fr. Jaime Garcia and Fr. Jack Ward.
Absent: Sally Raphel, Kathy Glover, Julie Linder, and Iris Hernandez.
Order: Ray Traube brought the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
Opening Prayer: The Embracing Our Mission – Shaping our Future prayer was said by all.
Approval of Minutes: Due to some late arrivals, there was not a quorum when the minutes were addressed.
MINISTRY REPORTS:
Faith Formation: No report.
Latino Community: Iris Hernandez emailed her report. Although attendance at the Adoration on November 19th was low, it was a beautiful service and very inspiring.
Liturgy: Sylvia Brokos reported that the committee held its second meeting. New mission statements for the various ministries we approved. The committee also approved the suggestion that the parish resume using the bells at consecration. Father Garcia presented two ways to set the altar during the consecration and the committee approved the second. Father Garcia contributed that future bilingual Masses will be held at the 5:00 PM Saturday Mass as they are better attended.
Parish Life: Rob Hardy reported that the Black Friday and Christmas Bingo are expected to do very well. He said that bingo can use volunteers. He asked if the Knights of Columbus could recruit at the Donut Social and Fr. Jack thought it was a good idea.
Service: Carolyn Webster reported that outreach continues to be busy. For October, they saw 275 clients, distributed 276 food bags and provided financial assistance to 52 families. For November, they saw 233 clients and distributed 229 food bags.
She also reported that the Lady Knights contributed $500 and Wegman’s donated $1200 toward the purchase of Thanksgiving turkeys. So far, 123 vouchers have been distributed.
John Carroll High School donated food collected in their annual drive. The students checked the expiration dates on all of the food, shelved the food, made up the bags and took them to the office. ShopRite in Aberdeen donated 23 bags with traditional Thanksgiving foods included.
Toys from the annual toy drive will be distributed on December 10th. Any remaining toys will be given to the Latino community and Prince of Peace. 110 children are signed up at SFDS.
Stewardship: John Fisher did not have a report but he did ask request feedback on Stewardship Sunday. Deacon Jim said that the office received 4 telephone calls about stewardship on Monday but that it is too soon to see if there will be increased collections. Sylvia Brokos suggested that the second collections be listed in the bulletin so that those who do not receive envelopes would know what was being collected.
Youth: Patrick Perkins reported that there will be a youth representative in place by January. He also reported that all of the youth groups (middle school, high school and Latino) are now meeting on the 3rd Friday of the month. This has increased attendance.
There was a good turnout for Trunk or Treat and many of the high school students went to the “Spirits of St. Francis” presentation afterward.
He also reported that the Bags of Plenty program is doing well. The youth will be helping at the Breakfast with Santa, with the Outreach, will go caroling on 12/16 and will be decorating for Christmas.
Finally, he reminded everyone that this year’s Christmas play “The Legend of the Poinsettia” will be performed on December 3rd, 4th and 5th with a special performance on the 7th for the Lady Knights.
OLD BUSINESS:
Liturgy Committee—Ray Traube asked about the composition of the committee. Currently, there are 10-12 active members and Fr. Garcia is working on getting coordinators for the various committees that are overseen by Liturgy.
The Council voted to accept Nikki Gorski to replace Julie Linder on Faith Formation and to accept Bill Countess to replace Carolyn Webster on Outreach.
Ray Traube asked for volunteers to work on the upcoming Council elections. Fr. Jack encouraged all of the current members to run again. After some discussion, John Fischer will head the committee and will be assisted by Rob Hardy, Ray Traube and Sylvia Brokos.
The Council is responsible for the upcoming Donut Sunday. Patrick Perkins will open Kilduff. Carolyn Webster will pick up the donuts; Sylvia Brokos will get the cream and juices. Ray, Carolyn and Sylvia will set-up but we need to send a sign-up schedule to the Council members.
NEW BUSINESS:
Collections— Deacon Jim asked the Council for approval to take collections at every Mass including Thanksgiving and Ash Wednesday. The Council approved this suggestion.
PARISH UPDATE: Fr. Jack discussed the Pastorate and how that will affect the parishes involved. Holy Spirit will join with SFDS and Prince of Peace sometime after February. It may happen right away or it may take up to 5 years. Fr. Jack already has started meetings with Fr. Simmons to determine what the future will look like. Each parish will keep its own identity with its own parish council and finance committee. Representatives from these committees would meet with the other parishes on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. Programs that are jointly run will continue that way. There will be some modification to Mass schedules.
Fr. Jack also reported that the parish audit recently was completed. The auditors had some concerns about the handling of the collection bags. The auditors also mentioned some sort of reserve for the cemetery but it was unclear if they meant $200,000 cash or an insurance type policy in that amount. Deacon Jim will look into that. There also was some discussion that the parish may owe an additional $51,000 to the archdiocese for the Viaticum.
On November 21st, Fr. Garcia was very late in going to his car which was parked on the Rt. 95 side of the parish office. Before he could get to his car, he was approached by a man who demanded money. When Fr, Garcia did not produce any money, the man demanded his coat. Fr. Garcia reached into his bag as if he had a gun and the man left. As a result, Fr. Jack wants to improve the lighting and install cameras on both sides of the Kilduff-Office complex. He also decided to close the Stone Chapel at 3:00 PM on Mondays through Thursdays, at Noon on Fridays and close it entirely on the weekends.
Deacon Jim reported that the Knights want to install two defibrillators. If new, the cost would be $2200 each. Jim is hoping to purchase refurbished ones. As he did for Prince of Peace, Fr. Garcia has offered two raffles his cooking skills by preparing dinner for the winner. He is willing to do it twice to assist in raising the money.
GOOD OF THE COUNSEL: Patrick Perkins updated the Council on plans for the Jubilee Mass and the food to be served following the Mass. He also stated that the choir(s) would not be performing Twelfth Night this year but would sing at the Jubilee Mass and at Epiphany.
COUNCIL’S CORNER:
Outreach Numbers
Thanks to John Carroll and Shoprite.
Elections
Closing Prayer: Fr. Jack said the closing prayer.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:34 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Sylvia Brokos