ST. MARY STAR OF THE SEA, PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes-St. Mary's Parish Council, Tues, May 2, 2006
Attendance: Fr. John Golas, Pres. Bob Bonato, VP Jim Doyle, Maury Goldberg, Teen Rep., Jamee Herbert, Bob Slabinski, Janice Rimiller, Pat and Paul Robotham, Nelson Waters and Judy Welcome. Also present, Trustee Ed Cruess, Sr., Liturgy Chairman, Jon Leblanc, and Ladies' Guild President, Marilyn Slabinski. Absent: Rick Daddario, Joe Fish and Barbara Wolf.
President Bob Bonato called the meeting to order at 7:00 and invited Fr. Golas to lead us in a moment of quiet in preparation for hearing the word of John's gospel, followed by discussion on a topic question and prayer. The program for Fr. James Boyle's well-attended funeral mass was shared.
Minutes of the Mar 7 meeting were accepted with minor corrections noted.
Committee Reports:
Small Christian Community Core Group-
Fr. Golas reported that the core group is meeting regularly and they hope that during the fall they might be able to bring the "Come As You Are" program to the parish. They are preparing by reading and discussing the book, Restructuring the Parish.
Religious Education-
Last Saturday, 84 children received their First Holy Communion at two ceremonies. They received rosaries from the K of C. The education classes are winding down at this time. The "Child Lures" program presented in March may be repeated in the fall.
Confirmation-
On Sunday, May 21 Archbishop Mansell will confirm 64 students at a 3:00 ceremony.
LEAP-
Jamee Herbert reported that the group had a Lenten series with Fr. Chris Meade. It will meet throughout the summer, attending the Soul Fest in N.H. and a Catholic Conference in MA.
Human Needs-
Pat Robotham and Judy Welcome reporting for Marlene Lindquist said that the April Food Drive was successful. In June, a collection of metal, drink-can tabs will be solicited to redeem at the burn unit of the Boston Shriners' Hospital. Each pound of tabs collected is worth three minutes of treatment. A fundraiser is slated for the later in the year-frozen coffee cakes will be sold.
Liturgy-
Jon Leblanc reported that the Holy Week services were well attended with only minor changes to be made next year. The survey results(550 respondees) indicated a desire for more adult education. Highest on the list of topics requested was "current issues" with "New and Old Testaments" following in popularity. A designated "Faith Coordinator" or a committee will be in charge of setting up programs in the fall. Deacon Tom Sutak and Fr. Meade have independently initiated some workshops. The survey results will be made available to the parishioners. The Education Committee of the Parish Council could be reformed to oversee the education spectrum.
Music-
-Rick Daddario sent the following notes: the choir taped the Easter Sunday mass on television station WTXX, Channel 20, celebrated by Archbishop Mansell. It was well received.
-The votive candle racks are receiving good response, bought by proceeds from the CD sale.
-About $6,000 profit has been already made from the sales. New CDs to benefit the parish are planned: Sweet Summer Dreams, Church Music and Christmas Selections. A Childrens' Choir CD is in rehearsal also.
FUN Committee-
-Rick heads up this committee that had an Easter Egg Hunt with 90 children and 1500 plastic eggs.
-The First Annual Spring Dance is to be held this Saturday, May 6 at the K of C Hall in conjunction with the Knights. The 130 tickets were free with anticipated costs being met by the auction of 64 gifts that were solicited and by a raffle.
-Parish softball games will begin Sunday, May 7 at 5:30 at Union School.
-First Friday Family Fun nights are being planned for September.
Finance Committee-
Bob Bonato, liaison, reported that there was a predicted $22,000 deficit for the first quarter despite increased revenue. This is due to the $30 thousand Cathedraticum outlay that came due. The projection for the year is still positive even with rectory repairs planned. There is $135 thousand in reserve. Less than 7% of the pledges are outstanding in the drive that ends in October. The money is helping pay for the stain glass windows for the Gathering Space.
Social Justice-
Pat Messina reported on the Social Ministry Leadership Workshop in Hartford sponsored by the Office of Urban Affairs. Educational tools and references were offered to inspire and inform parishioners about the root causes of problems affecting a variety of disenfranchised persons. Presently notifications of events will be posted in the bulletin and materials made available. A fine website presents a wide variety of materials- www.usccb.org. It is the official site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It helps put these difficult problems into perspective and offers sensible ways to resolve them with justice and dignity.
Buildings and Grounds-
Bob Archer's committee is working to spruce up the cemetery and last Saturday had a planned cleanup of the acreage across from the church. A joint effort managed to fill a dumpster. The committee prepared a list of prioritized items for repair. Approval was given by the Finance Committee to replace windows and vinyl-side the rectory. Put on hold was the Hart house boiler, a sprinkler system for the new church and acoustic work on the Gathering Space. A consultant quoted a price of $36,500 for sound abatement in the Gathering Space but due to the large amount, simpler ways will be searched out to improve the sound quality.
Legion of Mary-
Our praesidia sponsored an Acies convocation on Apr. 2. It was a prayerful renewal of vows with area church groups followed by a reception. It was a meaningful and successful event.
Ladies' Guild-
Marilyn Slabinski, President reported of their help for First Communion and Confirmation. On May 23 there will be an officer installation meeting and dinner. Shared use of the refrigerator was brought up in hopes that persons will label and remove food before it spoils.
Landscape Committee-
Jon Leblanc heads up this committee to plan for the use of the space where the old church was removed. The first planned meeting on May 16 will seek a vision and goals from members.
Old Business:
Nominations/Election of Parish Council members-
Maury Goldberg reported that balloting for nominations had been done and that five persons will be presented in the Gathering Space for election of four members on the May 20, 21 weekend. Nelson Waters, Judy Welcome and Barbara Wolf are on the committee.
ByLaws Committee-
Bob Bonato introduced the work of Jim Doyle's committee to clear up wording particularly as to nominations/elections, members/officers and quorum/voting. The committee presented the revision process to the council over two Saturday sessions. No additional suggestions/changes were forthcoming at the meeting but voting was held over to the next meeting since the current ByLaws allows voting by other than the 12 elected members of the council and not all of those involved were given the revised copy and advanced notice. Nelson Waters and Bob Slabinski are on the committee.
25th Anniversary of Fr. Golas' Ordination Committee-
Bob Bonato reported that the committee is making strides in the planning for the 2:00 mass and reception for Fr. Golas on Sunday, Sept. 24. A June issue Catholic Transcript congratulatory ad will be placed.
Parish Council Volunteers Needed-
Any member interested in a role as officer should contact Bob or Maury to be placed on a slate for the next meeting. Also a liaison to the Finance Committee is needed.
New Business:
-Fr. Robert St. Martin will be celebrating the 50th jubilee of his ordination this year. St. Mary's will host a mass for him at 11:00 on Sunday, Sept. 10 followed by a reception in the Gathering Space. A congratulatory ad will be placed in the June issue of the Catholic Transcript by St. Mary's.
-New Horizons has requested assistance for several of their efforts at their housing complex for physically challenged persons. The first event will be the June 17 Strawberry Festival where they need volunteers the day before and on the day of the event from 10 to 1 and 1 to 4 as well as cleanup at 4:00. LEAP and the confirmation class will be contacted to help and a bulletin request will be made.
-Judy Welcome brought up that the entrance doors should be more adequately marked. It is an ongoing project of the Décor Committee.
-Judy Welcome brought up for Barbara Wolf that a change in the collections for flowers and profuse use of flowers might be made. Sandy Purrier, Decorations Committee chairperson will be contacted.
Good of the Order-
Thank yous: Bob Archer and his committee for spring grounds cleanup and their work presenting priority repair spending to the Finance committee. Mark Robotham for his use of equipment and help by Luke Yabrosky. Deacon Tom Sutak for his Lenten series.
Recognition: Student Paul Quagliaroli is to be awarded the Connecticut Youth of the Year this weekend at the K of C Convention for his coat collection activity for the needy.
Remembrance: Mass for Fr. James Boyle, 7:45, Thurs. July 20.
Next meeting: Tues., June 6, 6:00 for rectory reception (for retiring and new members) before the meeting.
Meeting adjourned, 9:00.