Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
October 15, 2008
7:30 PM in the Parish Library
Members present: Andy Anderson, Tony Cadiente, Ali Dwyer, Bob Erbe, Pat Golditch,
Fr. Joseph Grimaldi, Tom House, Amanda Meyers
Members absent: Vince Hurley, Margaret Kristich, Paul Vitali, Tim Walsh
Staff Members present: Mary McConnell, Gloria Suarez
Recording Secretary: Vic Suarez
Meeting called to order by President Pat Golditch at 7:45 PM with all reading the Council’s Mission Statement.
Candle Lighting Prayer – Tom House
Opening Scripture Reading – Bob Erbe
Opening Prayer – Andy Anderson
Pat Golditch introduced and welcomed the new Council member, Amanda Meyers.
Minutes Approval: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as written.
Fr. Joe clarified that the actual time, day and frequency of the proposed Spanish Masses is still to be determined. Some discussion ensued. Fr. Joe recommended a smaller group be formed to discuss this issue further.
Correction to meeting minutes of 9/17/2008 on p. 2: Robbie Rocha (not Calvin).
Fr. Joe Grimaldi – Wednesday, October 29, Sheila Lynch from Diocese will speak at the parish about faithful citizenship at 7 PM. She will address various relevant issues regarding responsible voting and will entertain questions. The parish bulletin will include passages from recent U.S. bishops’ letter about faithful citizenship.
Emergency/Evacuation Plan – Loree Borelli stated that the parish does have a good emergency plan developed by this council previously and it even exceeds the expectations of CalFire. It does need implementation of some training and a quick reference resource (e.g. flip chart). Richard Salazar has offered to work on this for the parish.
All rooms currently have accessible exits to the outside. It was suggested that the best place for gathering after evacuation may be in the space between the church and orchard behind the church. There must also be a controlled entrance (“check ‘em in”) and exit (“check ‘em out”) procedure for children. Back gate doesn’t open outward and may not be a sufficient exit. It could be left wide open when classes for children occur.
CalFire instructors have offered to volunteer their time to train parishioners in CPR (cost of materials only about $15) and some tentative dates (e.g. Nov. 8) have been determined. Workshops will last six to eight hours. Greeters, Eucharistic ministers, catechetical instructors, some members of WiseAchers and others in leadership roles should be encouraged to participate. At least six participants are required, but no more than twenty-four. Loree will arrange to make announcements in the bulletin and will provide sign-up sheets. First Aid training is also possible. Loree will arrange details with Fr. Joe and through the parish office. Ali Dwyer offered to be the parish contact person to coordinate efforts between the parish and CalFire.
Laminated safety/evacuation posters will be displayed around the parish.
Obtaining a defibrillator for the parish should be considered (about $1000).
Fr. Joe Grimaldi (continuation of his report):
Fr. Joe would like the following to occur:
Fr. Joe also noted that he takes the staff to lunch quarterly.
Tony Cadiente presented Fr. Joe with a folio of photos of the columbarium at St. Benedict’s.
[At this point of the meeting, Fr. Joe left the meeting since he was not feeling well.]
Advent – Mary McConnell said that tomorrow the Liturgy/Environment Committee will meet. Altar servers (third through twelfth grade children) will be introduced to our liturgies as servers. At most two altar servers will be assigned per Mass, and will be given some responsibilities currently handled by Eucharistic ministers. They will wear robes. Young people preparing for Confirmation have to be involved in some ways in parish liturgies.
Bishop Ryan will be leading the parish Advent Retreat and conduct the Reconciliation Service on December 11 and 12.
Parish Needs List –
Bell Tower – cement pad is currently in place; cost of project will be higher than projected.
Roof Repair – some obvious leaks from the last rainfall; work on roof will tentatively begin Oct. 27.
Tables for Patio – will be ordered later; Pat Thwing still looking for a good price.
Storage – a few items cleaned out. Mary would like to see some people involved in prior liturgies to get involved since they know what to keep or throw out.
Events –
Richard Dwyer will gather a group of people tomorrow night to discuss planning parish events.
Parish Play – Dec. 5 and 6. Pat Thwing will handle ticket sales, and make arrangements for the reception (meal at the beginning, dessert at the end).
Shamrock Shindig – March 8.
Parish Dinner Dance – Fr. Joe has details on this event.
AOB –
Pat Golditch: should the Council plan another annual parish free spaghetti dinner as was offered the past two years? This needs to be discussed in the future, but will have to occur after Christmas. Ali Dwyer suggested that maybe the event should be postponed until the newly-elected Council takes office.
Pat Golditch: at times a person has signed up at the Stewardship Fair, but hasn’t been contacted.
Could Rose Walsh contact the leaders of the groups to make sure they contact people who signed up?
Pat Golditch: many parishioners have expressed satisfaction with the bulletin, the blessing of animals on Oct. 4, the blessing of people at birthdays and anniversaries, etc.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 19.
Candle Prayer: Vince Hurley
Opening Scripture: Amanda Meyers
Opening Prayer: Tim Walsh
Closing Prayer – Ali Dwyer
Meeting adjourned at 8:49 PM.
Task List: