October Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for Council Meeting on October 13, 2004

7:00PM at OLR Hall

 

COUNCIL MEMBERS

Present: Arnoldo Alcazar, Helen Baumann. Phil Coates, Chris Lundin, Walt Lundin, Jim McLaughlin, John Uebbing

Absent: Veronica Duluk, Tom Foy,

 

CLERGY AND STAFF: Fr. George Aranha,

LAITY:  Mikey Hoag, Gerard McGuire,  Bud McKenna, Micky Martin, Marguerite Purcell, Mike Veuve

 

Meeting Highlight Notes:    There was a lively discussion of the wonderful event celebrating OLR’s 50th anniversary.  The PC is most grateful to all the many elements of the parish who contributed to this event.  Kim Garcia has resigned from the PC due to family pressures.  There was a discussion of the Role of the Pastor in light of the new parish organization, and also the need for staff input to the PC.  The PC agreed as part of the process of reorganization to schedule a training on Consensus Decision Making for all interested parishioners on October 31, 2004.  There was a lively discussion of an initiative presented by the HCC to reach out to the parish with educational material on Catholic Social Justice Teachings.   The Finance Committee presented its quarterly report.

 

The meeting was called to order by John Uebbing

 

Opening Prayer by John Uebbing.

 

Discussion of the Minutes:  Walt Lundin requested that the minutes from September be revised to delete references to the HCC requesting the PC to support a moratorium referendum “on behalf of the parish”.  Walt pointed out that it is not clear who the PC speaks for, if it speaks for anyone but the individuals on the PC, and the HCC does not want to get into this.  The minutes were duly amended to remove two such references from the final draft.

 

Discussion of the Agenda:  Mike Veuve asked to speak on behalf of the HCC social justice teaching initiative from the HCC.  He was added to the PC policy on Moral-Political issues line item on the agenda.  There was also a discussion that future agendas would be prepared ahead of the PC meeting by the executive committee in a face to face meeting to consider the agendas.

 

Comments from the Council and Community:.

1.         Marguerite Purcell requested an update on the status of the PC Bylaws revision process.  Chris Lundin reported that a draft of the Bylaws had been emailed to everyone on the PC. He would resend the current iteration to the PC, and we will have a discussion of the Bylaws at the PC meeting in November.

 

 

 

PASTOR’S REPORT:

1.         Kim Garcia:  Fr George reported that he had called Kim but had not connected with her.  Helen did speak to Kim, and she is extremely busy taking care of her ailing mother.  She looks forward to being able to be more involved in the parish in the future.  We are all asked to pray for Kim and her family in this difficult time.

     

2.               OLR’s Anniversary Party:  This was a wonderful parish event showcasing many talents in the parish and inspiring us with the great amount of positive energy here in the parish.  It was a stellar example of collaborative efforts on the part of the laity and the clergy producing a spiritually grounded, community-building event.  Kudos to all the many dedicated, hard-working individuals who made this happen.

 

3.         Staff contacts with the PC:    Fr. George raised a question about Susan Clingingsmith being listed as an agenda item on the PC agenda.  He reminded the PC that the staff  are not expected to appear at these meetings.  The staff liaison with the PC is Chuck Tully, who usually comes.  Chuck has been extremely busy of late, so it is understandable that he is not here tonight.  Susan is taking a class, and can’t come until after the class is over.  John Uebbing expressed the desire to have Susan here because her ministry is so critical to the health of the parish, and it has been so problematic in the recent past.  As a new staff person, the PC wants to know what she is doing, and do everything we can to support her ministry.   Fr George asked that the secretary make sure that all of the staff people are on the distribution list for the PC minutes, and the staff will take responsibility for reading the minutes and following up on whatever is in the minutes in some appropriate fashion, including contacting relevant parties for clarification of the minutes.  Helen will confirm that all staff are getting the minutes.

 

4.         Stewardship:  Stewardship is going really well.  The banners are up at all sites, there are weekly inserts and solid suggestions in the center page of the bulletin every week.  Fr George has taken the message to the children in the catechetical program…they even have children’s envelopes.  Fr George wrote to all the presiders with suggestions for the homilies,  but he is thinking that perhaps they should have had a face–to-face meeting. He is not sure how much follow-through we are getting from the pulpit.  Overall Fr. George feels they are well organized and things seem to be going well.

 

            At this point Phil Coates led a discussion about the speakers for the masses on the 24th, the date of the ministry fair.  Phil asked members of the PC to volunteer to talk at each of the masses.  The message is to ask parishioners to give at least one hour a month to the parish.   Chuck has produced brochures which define the various tasks that need to be done.  Next Sunday we will be actively trying to recruit new volunteers to these ministries.  John Uebbing commented that it is critically important to tell people how their involvement will make a difference.  Jim. McL  thinks we need to be able to show the people who are not active how involvement will improve their immediate experience of the liturgies and the community in order to inspire their participation.

      

 

 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

1.     Religious Education Report:

Susan C. was not able to come to the meeting, but she sent John U an email report which he gave to the PC.  She is still looking for a 4th grade catechist for the SAG site.  Overall the numbers of children in the programs is up.  There are more than 100 children currently registered at each site.  There are more than forty kids in the junior high program at SAG, and more than twenty-five in the high school program at the Dermody Center.  These programs run on Sundays.

There was a general discussion about Susan’s job and the interest of the PC in knowing what she is doing so that we can support her.  We want this to be a collaborative effort. We are not wanting to make things harder for her, we respect the fact that she has a big job to do, and that she appears to be doing a great job.  We will be sure that she, and all staff, get copies of the minutes, and we appreciate Susan keeping the PC informed regarding the successes and the needs of her ministry areas.  Many on the PC believe that face-to-face contact is preferred in this important area, but we recognize that there is a lot going on, and that we want to encourage all of us to engage in formation, such as Susan’s class at ILM that currently conflicts with the PC meetings.  This will take time.

 

2.     Parish Administrator Report.  

             Chuck was unable to come to the meeting.  There was no information available about the census or the Time and Talent.  Walt Lundin reported that he had talked to Caryn Brady.  No one met with her. She asked that someone give her essay questions.  Someone apparently did, and she answered them, and they are in the process of being reviewed and summarized.  They will be communicated to the PC and to Susan C in the future.  No one took responsibility for making this happen.

 

3.     Communication Coordinator Job Description:

At the last PC meeting, Chris L offered to meet with Fr George to try to move this issue forward.  Unfortunately, Fr George has been too busy with Stewardship issues to have time to meet with Chris. This item is therefore tabled until after the Stewardship process finishes up;

 

4.     Consensus Decision Making Class:

After the last meeting, there was an attempt to set up a training on the subject of consensus decision making.  Due to a communications miscue, Fr George was unable to attend on the scheduled date.  Helen reported that Sr Pat Mitchell could do the rescheduled training on Halloween, 10/31/04,  but after that, it might not be possible until after the first of next year.  The PC agreed that 10/31/04 was acceptable to all the people attending the PC meeting. Hopefully Tom F and Veronica will also be able to come, and anyone else who is curious about this.  Helen reported that Sr Pat thought that we would need 10-15 interested participants to have a meaningful dialogue on the issues, but that as many people who would like to come would be welcome.

 

5.     First Quarter Financial Report:

Bud McKenna presented the report of the Finance Committee for the first quarter of this year.  A copy of the report is attached hereto as Attachment 1.  The report shows that the parish is operating at a slight loss for this quarter, due largely to higher than anticipated maintenance expenses and lower than projected rental income, due to a vacancy in one Homer Street unit.   The Finance Committee also produced a document titled Budget Account Definitions, which is expected to assist the PC in understanding the budget information produced.  A copy of this document is attached as Attachment 2.

 

6.     PC Policy on Moral-Political Issues: 

Mike Veuve started off this discussion with a request from the HCC for the PC to bless an initiative by the HCC to insert information about current Catholic social justice teachings into various forums in our parish…most notably, into regular articles in the bulletin.  The HCC submitted a formal, three page, written proposal for what they wanted to do, a copy of which is attached to these minutes as Attachment 3.  The goal of the HCC is to facilitate learning and action on Catholic Social Teachings (CST).  HCC intends to work with the staff of the parish to get more info on CST into the curriculum and the ministries.  Inspiring volunteers to work in these areas is a challenge.  It takes a lot of work.  There are currently thirteen active members of the HCC, and they are looking for help.

This request by the HCC incited some lively comments that made it clear that more careful consideration of the many issues subsumed under this agenda item would be necessary for the PC to come to a consensus about the proper role of the PC in the community, and the line that we need to define between catechesis on CST  and inappropriate and divisive political propaganda.  The PC did not address any process or forum for resolving the disparate views expressed at the meeting.

Jim M made a motion for the PC to resolve to support this initiative by the HCC.  It was pointed out that, since a couple of people had left the meeting, we did not have a quorum and could not vote on this. It was agreed that it would be the first thing on the agenda in November.

 

7.     Role of the Pastor on the PC:

Fr. George requested this discussion in response to questions from the parish staff in light of the discussions about consensus decision making and the pending revision of the Bylaws.  He is concerned and wants to be sure that we are all thinking about what this means and how it can work. 

John U described his vision of a CEO-Pastor.  He noted that we all have different skills and that we need to have structures to support our working together and utilizing the unique skills that we each bring to the mix.  Many participants expressed a desire to find a way to work together in a collaborative mode.  There was a general agreement that we are all trying to function as a faith based community, and we should be able to find a way to work together toward goals that we define in common.  Our goal should be to find the common ground so that we can all go forward together.

Fr George has been particularly concerned about the new Bylaws, and about the absence of broader input on the PC agenda.  His experience is that the PC is too loose, and it is too hard to recruit new members.  Chris L expressed his surprise, based on past experience, that the executive committee has not been meeting to set the agendas.  The executive committee agreed to get together in a face-to-face meeting to set future PC agendas.  Fr George expressed his gratitude for the candid discussion, which he found helpful.

 

 

8.     Agenda Items for November Meeting:

(ther than as noted elsewhere in these minutes, I did not note any agenda items. If anyone has notes on this, please let me know. hb)

 

9.     Packet for New PC Members:

Walt Lundin presented his proposed packet for new PC members.  Walt fervently wished that PC members would, from their particular viewpoints, make SOME suggestions about what THEY think should be added. (He suggested the FC definitions and 2-year budget history.) The purpose is to have new PSC members more knowledgeable about things, to avoid on-the-job-training. John U. commended his excellent effort, and the PC endorsed going forward with the packet as presented.

 

 

 

ACTION ITEMS:

1.

 

 

NOVEMBER AGENDA: 

1.     HCC request for PC support for CST agenda

2.      

 

Next Meeting: November 10th at OLR

 

Attachments:

1     First quarter financial report

2        Finance Committee  “Budget Account Definitions”

3        HCC Proposed Action Plan for 2004-2005

4        HCC Activity report for past month