Holy Cross Pastoral Council Minutes
May 10, 2011
Present: Kris Chatfield, Fr. Richard, Carole Kissel, Donald Cirino, Pat Reiley, Donovan McGee, Jan Arias, Tom Probst, and Theresa O’Donnell. Not Present: Jim Miles, Joan Ford, Mark Galvin, Dave Culver and Mercedes Arancibia.
The meeting was opened with a prayer.
· Review of Minutes – April minutes were read and approved.
· Pastor’s Report – Fr. Richard indicated that the Easter Tridium Liturgy was wonderful, thanks in large part to the plans and participation of the Liturgy Committee. He indicated that the Good Friday service was too long due to the length of the veneration of the cross. Suggestions for improving this part of the service were made and will be brought to the next meeting of the Liturgy Committee. Don Cirino mentioned that the Holy Thursday handout was mis-translated from English to Spanish. We use a machine to do some of the translating and it was incorrect. It was recommended that after the program does the initial translation, that a person actually review all the Spanish portions the ensure accuracy. First Communion for the 2nd graders took place recently and there will be another one this upcoming weekend for older children. The first weekend of June is the Sun Fest retreat for the youth group down in Florida. Fr. Richard will be attending with our Life Teen group. The Life Teen held a trivia night recently to help raise funds for the trip. Those that attended had a great time, so they are hoping to do another one with more participation in the fall. Thus far, Fr. Richard has not heard any major complaints regarding the new policies in place for keeping the buildings locked and secure during the day.
· Memorial Garden – Donovan indicated that a meeting was held on April 26th regarding the Memorial Garden proposal. Approximately 30 people attended. Deacon Ray Eagen from the Archdiocese was present. The meeting was run by Donovan, Dick Suever and Don Spelling. The conclusion was made that the Memorial Garden is not financially feasible at this time, and the project will be shelved indefinitely. An announcement has been submitted for publication in the bulletin regarding the decision. There will also be information forthcoming regarding a discount that has been negotiated with the Monastery of the Holy Spirit for Holy Cross parishioners to purchase sites on the grounds of the Monastery for burial of ashes.
· Pentecost Potluck – It has been decided that we will not move forward with the potluck, as another event is already planned for the same evening in support of the HIV/AIDS Ministry. We will revisit the idea of a parish potluck in the fall, perhaps for the Feast of the Holy Cross.
· Web Site – Donovan went on the parish website this weekend and identified several areas that need updating. Many menu items on the left side of the page do not open any additional page. There are no requirements for sacraments listed on the page. A question was raised as to whether or not Pastoral Council members should be listed on the website. Donovan will discuss these issues with Jim Miles.
· Ministry Retreat – Donovan received the most current ministry leader listing from Monique, although it is still incomplete. Fr. Richard indicated that the office is still working on updating our database to make it more complete and accurate. It was pointed out that many Hispanic ministry leaders were not on the list. We need a more complete listing, especially for the parallel English/Spanish ministries. Don Cirino indicated that the Hispanic Young Adult Ministry leaders are interested in expanding their ministry to make it one, bi-lingual Young Adult group. Tom Probst spoke with Barb Garvin and she is pulling together some recommendations for speakers for the ministry leader retreat. There is no set program through the Archdiocese, but there are people who can help us pull something together. Three topics that were suggested were marketing of ministries, inculturation and hospitality/retention and growth of ministries. A suggestion was made that we look into renting headphones for those participants that don’t speak English so that they can hear a Spanish translation of any speaker. A tentative date of August 27th was discussed.
· Liturgical Response Changes – Fr. Richard indicated that the Liturgy Committee is meeting to put a plan in place to promote the Mass response changes that will be implemented during Advent.
· Next Meeting – Our next meeting is scheduled for June 23, 2011 at 7:30pm.
Meeting was adjourned with a prayer.
Respectfully Submitted, Kris Chatfield