St. Jude Pastoral Council

Minutes of monthly meeting held at 7.00 pm

On Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Present:                John LaFond (Chairman), Fr. Dave Rogerson (Pastor), Sr. Betty Schumacher (Pastoral Assistant), Maureen Albi (Vice Chair), Molly Boll, Tom Cast, Jan Doran, Tim Duffy, Colleen McLaughlin, Art Mussman and Lauren Sing

Apologies:            Genevieve Cahoon

Opening Prayer: The meeting began at 7.05 pm with a prayer led by Sr Betty.

Old business:       

·        Listening Session Progress: Tim reported that the first two age-targeted preliminary listening sessions went off very well and they had received interesting feedback. The next two preliminary sessions with the remaining two age groups will take place in January. Once the information / feedback received from all 4 sessions had been analyzed and assessed, it would be brought back to the PC, probably in February or March. Then, a series of listening sessions with mixed groups will be carried out to complete the process. 

·        PC Selection Process and New Members: Introductions to the new PC members had been included in a previous weekly Sunday bulletin; however, it did not include their photos. The same introduction still needs to be rerun with photos for inclusion in a bulletin. 

Maureen is drafting a summary of the selection / nomination process by which parishioners can become members of the PC for inclusion with the new PC member photos and introductions. 

·        Archdiocesan Review: Fr. Dave handed out a summary which had been prepared as a result of the review and which included comments from staff and parishioners who had been interviewed. Overall, a favorable and positive outcome was received.  

Fr. Dave requested that PC members read the comments and provide feedback before they were made available to all parishioners. 

·        Preparation for “Catholic Come Home” commercials: The parish staff is preparing for an influx of inquiries about returning to the Catholic Faith following the upcoming “Catholic Come Home” commercials. They will make use of diocesan suggestions on how to respond to returning Catholics in a welcoming and responsive manner. 

·        Follow up with Ministry Liaisons: John suggested that now is probably a good time to follow up with our ministry liaisons and perhaps get feedback of potential PC candidates and needs of their various ministries to pass on to the Finance Council.

New business:           

·        Introduction to Fr. Lahgo: Fr. Lahgo introduced himself and shared some of his background and interests with the PC. He will be introduced at masses throughout the month of January and will begin full time duties at the beginning of February. During his time at St. Jude’s, Fr. Lahgo will only be responsible for sacramental ministry to the parish. Staff members will fill in for Fr. Dave’s other responsibilities.  

·        Parish Financial Status: Art shared that, except for December, monthly contributions were on a downward trend and behind budget. Expenses were being contained to monies being received, and the Finance Council has not had to dip into reserves yet.  

He also reminded the PC that the Finance Council had requested that the PC provide guidance on parish priorities to assist them in the development of a 5-year plan, which will help guide them in their budgeting process. A goal of the upcoming listening sessions is to obtain wider input on parish priorities to assist in the 5-year plan development. 

It was decided that we will invite Jerry Kuntz and Rob Sonderman (Finance Council chairman) to our next meeting. Jerry will provide an overview of his staff responsibilities, and the PC will offer feedback on immediate parish priorities for next year’s budget development.  

PC Selection Planning:         

·        Fr. Dave suggested that we revisit last year’s nominations of those who had expressed interest in serving on the PC.  

·        We will start the process of soliciting nominations next month. 

Procedures when a Priest is not available to preside at Mass:

·        Fr. Dave will look into the matter and advise.

Status of upcoming Liturgy changes:

·        The timeline for these changes to be effected is about 18 months from now.

Pulse of the Parish:   

·        Cheese and wine to be held on Saturday, 9^th after 5.00 pm mass.

Action Items:       

·        All PC members to contact their ministries and to consider feedback to give to the Finance Council regarding parish priorities for next year’s budget development.

·        All PC members to read through the Archdiocesan Review and provide feedback to Fr. Dave prior to its being made available to all parishioners. 

·        Maureen to complete the notice on PC selection process. 

·        John to invite Jerry and Rob to our next meeting.

Future Agenda Items:

·        Update on listening sessions.

·        Invite Ned Laskowski to a spring meeting to give us an update on the St. Jude Social Justice Committee activities and status.

·        PC Selection process for new members.

Closing Prayer:    The meeting closed with a prayer led by Maureen at 8.45 pm.