Holy Cross Parish Council Minutes

April 8, 2008

Present:  Kris Chatfield, Kathy Geroski, Sam Beale, Jim Miles, Fr. Patrick, Theresa O’ Donnell, Cass Catroppa, Adrian Law, Helen Homrich and Dale Bennett.  Not Present: Gabriela Probst, Angie Pavon, Yvonne Taveras, and Jim Moleta.  Guests: Mike Hardin and Betty Sweeney.

The meeting was opened with a prayer.

· Distribution and Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the February meeting were distributed and reviewed.  Motion to approve the minutes was seconded.  Minutes approved. (Note: the March meeting was cancelled.)

· St. Martin de Porres – Mike Hardin gave an overview of the St. Martin de Porres ministry, which was started in 1982.  They are currently spending about $36,000 year to help families and individuals in need of food.  They can feed approximately 400 – 500 families each month.  They only furnish food and food items, but have recently begun to work with the St. Vincent de Paul ministry to cross-refer people between the ministries.  The current needs of the ministry are for more volunteers in the morning from Tuesday through Friday, to help distribute food and pack boxes and bags.  In addition, they are looking for someone to work within the community to organize food drives.  They would also like someone to help them create an Access database, so that they can automate all their records.

· St. Vincent de Paul – Betty Sweeney gave an overview of St. Vincent de Paul.  Their greatest need at this point is additional donations.  Because of the situation with the economy, they are running out of money each month, usually 2 – 3 weeks after their collection week.  They primarily help people with money for rent, utilities, MARTA tokens, etc.  No one receives cash – money is paid directly to the debtor.  People are usually given help for 2 months, and then referred to other agencies.  All clients are evaluated on the urgency of their need, and also on their ability to work with St. Vincent de Paul to change their situation.  Fr. Patrick indicated that the ministry could appeal to the finance committee for additional funds in their budget for the next year.  Budgets are currently being submitted.  There was also a suggestion made to include an announcement in the e-newsletter prior to St. Vincent collection Sunday, and to have members of the ministry in the gathering area after Masses on that weekend, with collection baskets.  Once the money situation is resolved, Cass has asked that the ministry consider having a staff person in the church office several days per week.  It is difficult for potential clients to get in touch with the ministry over the phone, due to the lack of staffing in the main St. Vincent de Paul office, which serves as an intake clearing house.  Many people come directly to the church office for help, because they cannot get through on the phone.

· Old Business – The e-newsletter has been received very well.  Kathy reported that she researched calling post and there is no charge to set up the account, but only a charge per phone call made when an announcement is sent out.  Fr. Patrick will keep this under review.

· Committee Reports – Theresa reported that the Adult Education Committee is looking for new members.  There are several people rolling off the Committee this summer.  There were no additional Committee reports.

· Next Meeting – Our next meeting is scheduled for May 13, 2008. 

Meeting was adjourned with a prayer.

Respectfully Submitted, Kris Chatfield