Holy Cross Parish Council Minutes
August 18, 2009
Present: Kris Chatfield, Kathy Geroski, Kathy Hoffman, Mercedes Arancibia, Cass Catropps, Donald Cirino, David Culver, Joan Ford, Carole Kissel, Donovan McGee, Jim Miles, Pat Reiley and Fr. Richard Tibbitts. Not Present: Jan Arias and Larry Grummer-Strawn. Guests: Barb Garvin, Mike Hardin and Llane Briese.
The meeting was opened with a prayer.
· Distribution and Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the May meeting were distributed and reviewed. Motion to approve the minutes was seconded. Minutes approved. It was recommended that our minutes be published in the Sunday bulletin, in addition to being posted on the church website.
· Pastor’s Comments – Fr. Richard welcomed everyone to the meeting. He indicated that although we were called “Parish Council”, he would like to begin running the meetings under the Pastoral Council model, which focuses on the spiritual needs of the parish, and making recommendations to the pastor through reflection and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Introductions of the Council members were made, as well as the visitors to the meeting.
· Election of New Officers – Kris Chatfield nominated Kathy Hoffman as new Council president. Fr. Richard suggested that we take a moment to pray and reflect, and then go around the room and each person nominate someone and explain their reasoning. Several people were nominated, but respectfully decline the position. Kathy Hoffman was nominated again, and after discussion of the role of the Chair, accepted the nomination. Jim Miles was nominated as Vice Chair and Kris Chatfield as Secretary. Nominations were accepted and approved.
· Old Business – There was no Old Business, except for a mention of the Memory Garden status. Donovan McGee will report on the Garden’s progress at our next meeting, if there is an update.
· Committee Assignments – The role of Committee Assignments was explained for the benefit of Fr. Richard and new members. Council members are responsible for contacting ministry heads within the group that they represent and bringing any issues to the attention of the Council. The following assignments were made: Mercedes Arancibia and Donald Cirino, Hispanic Ministries; Joan Ford and Rat Reiley, Human Concerns; Jim Miles and Kris Chatfield, Parish Life; Carole Kissel and Donovan McGee, Education; Larry Grummer-Strawn and David Culver, Worship and Spiritual Growth; Kathy Hoffman and Jan Arias, Stewardship. It was suggested that if there are any reports from ministries that will be presented at future meetings, that the information be sent to Kris Chatfield via email, for inclusion in meeting minutes.
· Stewardship – Kathy Hoffman has met with Fr. Richard and the consensus is to continue with Time and Talent in the fall as we have been doing. The ministry fair will take place in September, Parish Treasure will take place in October, and we will do a renewal of the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal in March. Cass announced that she is working with the printer to redesign the ministry booklet, and hopes to use a magazine format with more information. The new booklet will not contain names and phone numbers of parishioners. Cass is hoping to be able to re-do the parish directory in house, now that we have the new printing and copying equipment, but this will not take place in the near future. Kathy also shared that is was her and Fr. Richard’s desire to see more social gatherings for the parish. It was suggested that she work with Lisa Farnsworth, as she heads the Focus on the Family ministry, especially on a repeat of the Halloween party.
· Dominicans in Honduras/St. Martin de Porres – Fr. Richard raised the issue of the monthly collection that currently takes place for the Dominicans in Honduras. This was put in place a number of years ago by the Dominican priests and has remained as a Holy Cross monthly collection since then. Fr. Richard would like to replace that envelope with a monthly collection envelope for St. Martin de Porres, which is a parish based ministry. Mike Hardin gave a brief presentation to the council to explain the St. Martin de Porres ministry. They provide food items only, to those in need within a specific service area. They are a separate ministry, in that they are totally self-funded, based on donations, and take no money from the church budget. They have gone from serving over 200 families several years ago, to serving over 800 families this past year. The need for food assistance has grown dramatically. The traditional annual expenses for St. Martin de Porres run around $40,000, but have increased to almost $70,000 this year. They have been able to make that budget amount by diverting some funds that had been set aside for equipment maintenance, and also through some one-time special donations made as gifts. A question was raised as to whether other similar ministries at Holy Cross would want to be included in a monthly collection, but it was explained that all other ministries, with the exception of St. Vincent de Paul, are supported through the church budget. St. Vincent de Paul already has its own monthly envelope. It was requested that we have some sort of information printed in the bulletin periodically, detailing the mission and expenditures of St. Martin de Porres. Fr. Richard proposed that we place an announcement in the bulletin, letting the parish know that we will no longer have a collection for the Dominicans in Honduras, but providing the mailing information so that anyone who wishes to continue their contribution, could do so individually. We will then implement a monthly envelope for St. Martin de Porres. The Council approved of this change, and was also supportive of the suggestion to create a “sister parish” relationship with the Dominicans.
· Youth Ministry – Fr. Richard introduced Barb Garvin, our new full-time Youth Ministry volunteer. Barb gave a presentation on the Life Teen program for high school students, and the Edge program for middle school youth. Both will be implemented at Holy Cross this fall, with a formal kick-off in January. The programs are designed to engage our youth in all aspects of their faith – educationally, spiritually, emotionally, socially and apostolically. As part of the new program, there will be some changes in the religious education department. Separate Spanish and English CCD will only be offered through the 5th grade, with both Spanish and English middle and high school students participating in the Life Teen and Edge programs together.
· Church Security – Fr. Richard announced that due to some security issues at the church, beginning in September all doors leading into the church will be locked during the day, except during Mass times. People will only be able to enter the building through the office doors, and through the Education building. The doors from the office to the church gathering area, and from the Education building to the church will also be kept locked. This is for the safety of the staff, as we have had multiple problems with people entering the church area and wandering through the building when they should not be there. The adoration chapel will also be locked, with a key code entry pad for adoration guardians. Any member of the parish may have the code to enter the adoration chapel.
· Next Meeting – Our next meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2009.
Meeting was adjourned with a prayer.
Respectfully Submitted, Kris Chatfield