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Saint Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, Libertytown Maryland


Parish Council Mtg Minutes

St. Peter’s Parish Council

November 7, 2009 Meeting Minutes

CALL TO ORDER: Meeting started at 9:00 a.m. in the Birch Library.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Fr. Jason Worley, Chuck O’Connor, June Schabdach, Sandy Ballantine, Lew Sherman, Mike Horrigan, Ginny Abel, Sandy Gordon, Anita Gill, Bob Lilly.

MEMBERS ABSENT: Mike Riley and Phil Burr.

Chuck O’Connor opened the meeting with prayer.

MINUTES: The minutes from the October meeting were approved with a few corrections (Joe Vaughan will be taking the place of Monica Merkel on the Education committee; a spelling correction was made to Rick Heiland’s name; the phrase, “Chuck has asked for a proposal to prepare plans to submit for a permit to finish the church basement rooms” was added to the Planning committee report). Anita Gill moved to approve the minutes from the October meeting, Sandy Ballantine seconded, and the council voted unanimously to approve the minutes as amended.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Christmas Festival - Parish Council members will be assisting at the steam tables at the Christmas Festival on Saturday, November 14, 2009.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Communications:

  • Phil Burr has done research and met with FATA, the company that publishes the parish bulletin. The plan is for Phil to meet with the Communications subcommittee and present his research information. FATA has offered to host, maintain, and update the parish website. They also offered to publish the parish brochure for free.

Development: No report

Education:

  • Sandy Ballantine reported that that the Education committee met recently and discussed the latest encyclical and education ministry needs.
  • As a committee, they will recommend to the Finance committee that an LCD projector and laptop be purchased for use by the education ministry.
  • They also will recommend that a salary review be done by the individual in charge of such matters.
  • SPY will sponsor a Fair Trade Fair on Dec 5th and 6th during Coffee and Donuts Sunday.
  • A discussion was held concerning the fact that Carolyn Nolan is in charge of the sale of cemetery plots. Because this is a staff position, it does not fall under the Education committee’s responsibilities.

Evangelization:

  • Sandy Gordon reported that the Evangelization Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, November 18, 2009.
  • The decision to purchase the faith-based, educational CDs and pamphlets from Catholic Lighthouse Media is being placed on hold temporarily. Sandy is currently researching the possibility of having a parish mission(s) and is investigating the cost of such an endeavor. The hope is that St. Peter’s will be able to host a mission, as well as order the “starter kit” from CLM, and remain within the assigned budget for the Evangelization committee.
  • Upon Fr. Jason’s recommendation, Sandy is working with Fr. Terry Cramer to plan a mission at St. Peter’s during Advent. Fr. Cramer is a parish priest from Blessed Sacrament church in Alexandria, Virginia. He has been involved with offering retreats for the past five years and is highly recommended by Fr. Jason.

Finance:

  • Fr. Jason reported that the Finance committee met recently and that the financial health of the parish is good.
  • The first capital campaign is coming to an end. The second capital campaign has just begun and will be ramped up in the coming months.
  • The promotion of the EFT program among parishioners should be encouraged. Faith Direct offers a program that has offertory cards to be dropped into the baskets in lieu of envelopes. It was suggested that Mike Riley consider the Faith Direct program for the parish giving program.

Liturgy:

  • June Schabdach reported that the Liturgy committee will meet next week. The Healing Mass will be held in March 2010.
  • Margaret Stack would like to purchase another octave of bells for the bell choir. The cost would be approximately $2,500.
  • The Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service will be held by Rev. Baker in Mt. Pleasant.
  • New altar linens are being price checked.
  • Wednesday and Thursday morning Communion Services are being sparsely attended. Deacon Mike Misulia is ill and has not been able to help with the Communion Services.
  • Fr. Jason has asked the Office of Clergy Personnel for a list of available priests/permanent deacons who could assist at St. Peter’s. The idea of having a Communion Service in the evening versus in the morning might make a difference. Deacon John Martin works during the day; perhaps he could assist in the evening.
  • Fr. Jason brought up the subject of having five masses per weekend. We will have to continue to assess this issue.

Maintenance:

  • Lew Sherman reported that last Wednesday and Saturday half a dozen volunteers did repairs to the Thrift Shop. Painting was also done in the Parish Office Building.
  • A company that does power washing has been hired to clean the outside of Mr. Bowman’s house.
  • The fence between Mr. Bowman’s house and the church will be repaired. The fence pieces have been ordered and will be installed soon.

Planning:

  • Final payment is being requested by the builder of the new church. Yet, there are still a few issues to be addressed on the punch list before the final payment will be made.
  • St. Peter’s has a contract with Johnson Controls to address any heating/air conditioning emergencies.

Social Concerns:

  • Anita Gill addressed the issue of the many ministries that fall under the “Social Concerns” umbrella. Each ministry is acting independently and doing well. Chuck recommended that contact be maintained with each ministry to promote open communication and an avenue of support. The concerns or budgetary requests should then be brought to the parish council. Anita and Ginny are the voices for these ministries.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: no report

PASTOR’S REPORT:

Fr. Jason will be meeting with the other priests from Frederick County and Washington County in the coming weeks.

OLD BUSINESS

Coffee and Donuts Sunday:

  • To date, parishioners have not expressed much interest in asking questions of the parish council members at Coffee and Donut Sunday. A general parish council presence has not been successful. Perhaps showcasing each of the parish council committees at Coffee and Donut Sunday would be a good option. Some sort of display to describe the ministries (e.g. parish nurse, St. Vincent de Paul society, Thrift shop, etc.) would be helpful. Also, having the Time and Talent survey available to inform and invite parishioners to become more active in the parish would be useful, along with having a suggestion box available for comments.

Time and Talents Survey:

  • As we grow together as a parish, the parish council must express the needs and wants of our parish to its members. We must cultivate the lines of communication and encourage parishioners to offer their time and talents for the betterment of St. Peter’s. A rough draft of a Time and Talents Survey was distributed to the parish council members for comments and suggestions.

Future Parish Council Meetings:

  • The parish council decided that the “open” parish council meeting does not have to be held in January. It was agreed that Fr. Jason will make inquiries from the Archdiocese regarding any existing “development plans” that would assist us in the effort of encouraging parishioner involvement and commitment. Fr. Jason will then meet with the Communications subcommittee to develop a letter to parishioners, as well as a plan to encourage more volunteer efforts from our members. It is possible that the Time and Talents survey will be included with this mailing. New parishioner registrations currently go to Stacy and Laura Nisonger is the volunteer coordinator for St. Peter’s.


NEW BUSINESS/PLANNING SESSION:

PASTOR’S GOALS:

  • Fr. Jason would like to continue to work on improving the communication aspect of the parish (e.g. evangelization, faith development, marketing the parish) and building up the gifts and talents of individual parishioners.
  • He would like to have more people get involved in taking ownership of the church and their faith. It is important that a focus be made on encouraging parishioners to constantly strive to increase their faith and to make faith a bigger and more important part of their life.
  • With the implementation of the new missal in the next two years, there will be small changes to the mass. Parishioners need to be informed about the changes.
  • Fr. Jason would like to have a sign made for the front of the church.
  • A discussion was held on the importance of promoting youth/young adults of parish. They must know, love, and serve the Lord, and service is a critical part of their relationship with God and their brothers and sisters in Christ.

OVERALL COUNCIL GOALS:

  • Question of elder care: Marybeth Terrell would like to address the issues concerning elder care (i.e. legal issues and understanding the directives) with our parishioners.

COMMITTEE GOALS:

Communications:

  • The primary focus will be on revision and enhancement of the parish bulletin, as well as St. Peter’s website.
  • The possibility of establishing a Facebook account for St. Peter’s was discussed.

Development:

  • The memorial board still needs to be finalized, built, and put up in the narthex of the church.

Education:

  • A request will be made to the Finance committee to include the purchase of a laptop and LCD projector.
  • The question of salary of the religious education staff was addressed. The Education committee would like to know if St. Peter’s is in the process of bringing the wages of parish employees in line with the archdiocese. Fr. Jason will be meeting with the staff to review job descriptions and to ask if they feel that their wages are fair.

Evangelization:

  • A primary goal is to “grow” the Evangelization committee to include more individuals dedicated to spreading the faith.
  • In addition, a welcome packet is being developed to be given to new parishioners to St. Peter’s. A person(s) will call each newly registered family to personally welcome them and offer to visit their home with a welcome packet.
  • The Evangelization committee will be working with Joseph McCormick to re-establish the parish newsletter.
  • The committee would like to host a parish mission, hopefully during Lent.

Finance:

  • The Finance committee will continue to strive to maintain the financial health of the parish.

Liturgy:

  • The Liturgy Committee would like to see the establishment of an Altar Guild, as well as someone to make baptismal garments.
  • The question arose as to restoration of the Blessed Mother statue that was burned in the fire. Does this fall under the Arts and Environment subcommittee? Fr. Jason is the Chairman of that subcommittee and will address the issues of restoration of statues and the placement of such artwork in the church. As the church basement is completed, there will be more places available for art.

Maintenance:

  • The Frederick Rescue Mission currently receives clothes from St. Peter’s Thrift shop. The lid for the Thrift Shop donation box is being re-made because it is too heavy.
  • The foundation of the Thrift Shop has a crack in it and it is growing. Estimates need to be obtained for repair of the concrete foundation. There is also a water leakage problem on the other side of the Thrift Shop.
  • Lew Sherman is concerned about wearing out the volunteers who help with maintenance projects. He would like to find new volunteers to add to his call list.
  • The upstairs windows of the Parish Office Building need to be repaired. Some sills are rotting. Because of the liability issue, a licensed contractor should do the necessary repair work. This would be a capital repair and should be incorporated into the budget.
  • Nothing more has been heard from Rick Heiland about the cemetery fence. Repair work on the fence posts could be done over the winter and the fence could be constructed in the spring.

Planning:

  • The number one priority of the Planning committee is the recruitment of new members.
  • There are a few punch list items that need to be completed.
  • With regard to the completion of rooms in the basement of the church, Chuck has asked the architect for plans so that we can go to the County to ask for permits to begin building. We will need to find someone to be construction manager for the project.
  • The County has released us to do all additional fixtures in the church: the bathroom by the adoration chapel, the bathroom at the confessional, the sink and sacrarium in the sacristry, and the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms.

Social concerns:

  • A goal of the Social Concerns committee to build awareness in the parish of the various ministries under their umbrella.
  • Anita and Ginny would also like to establish a vision or mission for the committee. Their role will be to act as facilitators, touching base with the heads of ministries and then reporting issues/concerns to the parish council.

PASTORAL LEADERS ORIENTATION DISCUSSION

The Archdiocese of Baltimore hosted a Pastoral Leaders Orientation at three different locations during the fall. The title of the archdiocesan workshop presentation was, “Called to Serve – Gifted to Lead.” Below is a synopsis of the highlights of the parish council’s discussion on the presentation:

SLIDE #5 – “The faithful exercise the ministry of “king,” not in the sense of power and authority, but as servant leaders. For the Parish Pastoral Council, in particular, this means to help shepherd, to exercise care as well as lead, to protect as well as guide.”

  • We are representative of the parish. We need to hear what the parish wants and to follow through with implementation.

SLIDE #6 & 7 & 8 – “The three-fold mission and ministry of Christ as priest, prophet and king, and the tasks that flow naturally from them, play out at the parish level among five categories or mission priorities: Evangelization, Liturgy, Education/Formation, Service, and Stewardship.”

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  • Of all the mission priorities mentioned above Evangelization is the one that is a synthesis of the others.
  • Evangelization can only be effective when parishioners are properly catechized and receive adequate formation concerning the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, what it means to fully live and proclaim the Gospel with our lives in the world in which we live.

SLIDE #10 - “The pastor has primary responsibility for the implementation and oversight of all parish ministries which in one way or another should fall within these broad mission priority categories”.

    • We are an advisory body to Fr. Jason, not a governing body.

SLIDE # 12 – “Parish Pastoral Council is called upon to bring not only their members secular expertise but also their personal Faith and religious experience to bear in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the parish’s mission. This entails examining the strengths and weaknesses of each parish mission priority annually and recommending to the pastor not only where greater effort might be needed but researching possibilities for achieving greater mission success.”

    • We should be having our Planning Day earlier in the year.

SLIDE #16 – “St. Paul states that there are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit, a variety of service but the same Lord, and a variety of work but the same God who inspires everyone. To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). One of the roles of the Parish Pastoral Council, together with the Pastoral Leader and staff, is to identify the gifts and talents present in the community to further the mission of Christ and His Church and build up the community of believers.”

    • The Time and Talent Survey that we are creating ties in well with this point.

SLIDE # 30 – “Each parish is to have a Mission Statement that should answer three basic questions: Who are we? What are we? Why are we? A role of the Parish Pastoral Council is to ensure that the Parish has a Mission Statement that not only answers these questions, but also is relevant to addressing the “signs of the times” and future vision of the parish.”

    • Our current mission statement is in line with this directive.

Slide #31 – “It is the role of the Parish Pastoral Council, in collaboration with the Pastoral Leader and staff and the collegial structures of the Archdiocese, to do whatever is necessary to fulfill this mission.”

    • There is staff and leadership beyond this campus that can help us to solve problems that may be beyond our abilities.

Slide #35 – “The Parish Pastoral Council assists its Pastoral Leader in achieving the cooperation of the parishioners and staff in the task of carrying out the mission of the Church on the parish level.”

Slide #42 – “A Parish Pastoral Council takes its cue from the word “pastoral,” which is the term used in the Code of Canon Law in describing this body. That is, it “takes care of – it shepherds” the community in collaboration with the Pastoral Leader, other ministers of the Church, and men and women of faith more generally. The general function of the Parish Pastoral Council is to advise the Pastoral Leader in those pastoral matters presented to it by the Pastoral Leader.”

Slide #43 – The Four Basic Beliefs about the Parish Pastoral Council:

    • The Parish Pastoral Council is a pastoral reflection and planning group.
    • The Parish Pastoral Council develops the parish as a “living Christian community.”
    • Parish Pastoral Council is a Leadership group.
    • Parish Pastoral Council must be collaborative.

Slide #55 – “Membership on the Parish Pastoral Council should be determined in a way that ensures the participation and representation of the entire parish community and reflects the diversity of the parish, including youth, seniors, cultural and ethnic diversity, a variety of viewpoints, and life experiences.”

Slide #58 – “Ideally, Councils should be no fewer than eight persons and no more than twenty.”

Slide #68 – “A parish is not a separate entity unto itself; it is not a franchise. All parishes form one community of faith under the leadership of the Archbishop to be one Church of Baltimore”.

Slide #73 – “Every parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore is incorporated under the laws of the State of Maryland.” The officers of the Parish Corporation are:

    • Archbishop as President
    • Vicar General or Vicar Bishop as Vice-President
    • Pastor as Secretary-Treasurer.
    • In addition, two members of the parish, nominated by the Pastor and approved by the Archbishop serve as Lay Corporator
    • Sheila Thompson and Alex Grabenstein are the Lay Corporators for St. Peter’s Parish.

Slide #77 - Committees: Include most often, but are not limited to, the following interest areas:

    • Evangelization Vocations
    • Liturgy & Spiritual life Religious Education & Formation
    • Social Justice & Outreach Youth & Young Adult Ministry
    • Finance Planning
    • Maintenance & Facilities Stewardship
    • Respect Life
  • Look to Brooklyn Archdiocese as model for Pastoral Council
  • With regard to vocations, the Archbishop is coming to Anita Gill’s house for a Vocations Luncheon. Meg O’Neill is contacting local priests for submission of names of persons who might be interested in vocations. Some parishes have a Vocations Committee. We might consider it for the future.

Slide #79 – “The Parish Finance Committee mandated by the Code of Canon Law (#537), may be a committee of the Parish Pastoral Council. Good communication between the Parish Pastoral Council and the Finance Committee is essential. In order to this communication, a member of the Parish Finance Committee should serve on the Parish Pastoral Council.”

Slide #80 – “A good planning process ensures that the parish’s mission drives the budget rather than vice versa. In order for the budget to reflect parish priorities and goals, full and accurate information about program costs and any projected income from programs is needed. This information should be in hand by the time the Finance Committee prepares its proposed parish budget for the Parish Pastoral Council’s review.”

Slide #81 – “An activity should not be undertaken or a parish organization created just because a few individuals express their interest in it. A Parish Pastoral Council needs to see and understand how a current or proposed parish organization relates to the overall mission and goals of the parish.”

    An activity should not be undertaken unless it is in best interest of overall mission of parish. Be careful of splinter groups being incredibly vocal.

Slide #89 – THE CYCLE OF PLANNING – “The pastoral plan promotes the full mission of the Church, but in particular, how the parish takes part in that broad mission. While other groups within the parish may focus on a specific area of mission and ministry, the Parish Pastoral Council is responsible for determining how the parish can be most effective in fulfilling its total mission. ”

    We are on target with this. Evaluation needs to be done on the heels on the event to see if we met planning goals. Did we accomplish goals?

Slide #100 – “The Parish Pastoral Council should determine the process for submitting agenda items to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee develops the agenda so that items may be addressed adequately within a given time-frame at a regular or special council meeting.

The agenda and all necessary background information for agenda items should be sent to Council members in advance. Minutes and committee reports should also be sent in advance of the meeting for review by Council members. Only approval of the Minutes and updates to reports should be done in the meeting.”

Slide #113 – EVALUATION TOOLS

  • “To determine whether or not, and how well, the parish and the Parish Pastoral Council are achieving its goals and objectives necessary to accomplish its mission and mission priorities, it is important to do at least an annual evaluation or “check-up.” This will indicate what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done which should lead to setting goals and objectives for the next year, be it a calendar or fiscal year. Included here are some suggestions.
  • To further help each parish in the Archdiocese determine its strengths and needs, a strong recommendation is for each parish periodically to do a self-assessment.
  • The assessment is one part of a picture of the parish that, when combined with data from Archdiocesan Central Services, will assist a parish in planning for present and future needs. A Parish may be encouraged and guided to collaborate with neighboring parishes to share strengths and help each other meet its individual and regional collective needs in providing quality pastoral care to their parishioners and the community at large.”

Slide #118 – PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL EVALUATION

MISSION AND PURPOSE:

    • Essential Elements – How are we doing?
    • Do Goals and Objectives reflect the Church’s and Parish’s Mission
    • What has gone well? What hasn’t gone well? What needs to be done?
    • Relationships – Collaborative? Good Communication?
    • MEMBERSHIP :
    • Meets Criteria and Qualities
    • OPERATING PRINCIPLES & PROCEDURES
    • Meetings? Agendas? Planning? Decision Making? Etc.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

Minutes respectively submitted by Sandy Gordon.

Parish Mission Statement (rev. 3/05)

We the people of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Community are called by our Lord Jesus Christ to grow in faith, celebrate hope, and experience His loving presence in our midst. Drawing our life from the Eucharist and guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek to follow God’s Word by supporting one another, continuing our faith formation, promoting social justice, reaching out in service, and inviting others to share in our journey.



















 
 
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