Our Lady of the Valley

Pastoral Council Minutes December 28, 2011

The Pastoral Council meeting was called to order by Dave Crosby at St. Ann’s School Meeting Room at 7:04 p.m.

Present were:  Fr. Peter, Fr. Paulinus, Dave Crosby, Mary Marcus, Laura Picco, Barb Jones, John Peisher and Donna Haraty (Business Manager)

Absent:  Dave Parmley, Joan Coleman, Nancy Coleman, Hector Hoyos, George Hooper, Michelle Sexsmith, David Weyand and Kim Smith

The meeting was opened with a prayer by Fr. Peter.

Processing of the minutes from the last meeting on November 17, 2011 commenced.  Mary Marcus gave a brief synopsis of the November 17th minutes.  The minutes were approved by all members present.

Public Forum: 

No issues addressed.

Dave asked for committee reports.

Liturgy Committee:

There was no liturgy committee report as the pastoral council’s liaison (Joan Coleman) was not present.

Finance Committee:

Laura Picco presented the council with a report from the Finance Committee.  She touched on the following topics:

• Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) is at 60% of goal or $28,000.  The council would like to see a higher percent of parishioners donate to CMA.  CMA ends May – June.
• January 18th will be the “Budget Approval Meeting.”
• Collections have been above budget.  Last week $8,000 was collected.
• The “Christmas Bazaar” had a $3,000 profit.
• The “Field of Honor” had a $9,000 profit.
• There was a lot of discussion about the school at the meeting.  Scholarship and Endowment funds are decreasing for school.

School Report:

No Report.  There was no school report as Lisa Dirlam was not present and school is in recess.  Donna Haraty did mention that a new custodian was hired and is doing a great job.

Constituency Report:

 Donna Haraty commented on the lack of participation at the last coffee hour hosted by the parish council.  She was very disappointed in the council and thanked Laura Picco and Barb Jones for “stepping up” to take on the coffee hour as new members of the council.  She also asked for sponsors of upcoming coffee hours.  Upon discussion of future coffee hours it was determined that in order to increase participation and attendance reminders would be posted on Facebook, in the bulletin and announcements would be made from the pulpit at the end of mass.

Dave Crosby commented on poor participation and lack of attendance of parish council members at meetings.  Donna Haraty offered to call all members Mondays before meetings as a reminder.  Mary Marcus offered to email a reminder to all members Tuesdays before meetings.  It was also discussed that we would try to get cell phone numbers from all members for a “text message” reminder the day of meetings.  Lastly, Dave Crosby asked members that if you are not able to make it to a meeting you should let someone know beforehand.  Notification can be done via email or simply calling the business office.

Donna Haraty was proud to announce that she has heard a lot of compliments lately.  She mentioned that people are pleased with the mass schedule, priests and how things are being run.  She mentioned that collections have gone up and are reflecting pleased parishioners.

Dave Crosby thanked both Father Peter and Father Paulinus for extra masses.  He also thanked Laura Picco and Barb Jones for running the parish council sponsored coffee hour.

John Peisher gave a brief discussion about St. Mary’s.  He commented that attendance has dropped to approximately 70 – 80 parishioners from approximately 90 – 100 parishioners at the early mass as parishioners from the Hornell area are now attending the 7:00 a.m. mass at St. Ann’s.  He also mentioned to keep the coffee hours going as it will pickup.  There is a coffee hour every Sunday at St. Mary’s.

Social Ministry:

There was no report however Father Peter did share that demands keep growing and Audrey Tilden and her team work very hard every day to help people in need.  He went on to mention that Audrey and her team are also responsible for communion to shut-ins, assisting the Bereavement Committee and distributing food / gas vouchers.

Old Business:

There is currently an open position for an officer on the council.  Dave Crosby asked for nominations to fill the Vice President / Chairman slot.  Both Dave Crosby and Father Peter nominated John Peisher.  He was nominated so that he could act as a liaison and executive committee member for St. Mary’s.  John declined at this time.  Therefore, the issue was tabled and will be revisited at the next meeting in January.

Once again the council discussed coffee hours and the need to find volunteers to sponsor the upcoming coffee hour.  Donna Haraty mentioned that the council should ask both the Liturgy Committee and Finance Committee.  Father Peter agreed to ask Bill Loree and Gary Mikolajczyk if they would be willing to sponsor a coffee hour in the future.  Lastly, it was determined that coffee hours will be held the second Sunday of each month.  Therefore, the next coffee hour to be held will commence on Sunday January 8th.  Donna Haraty mentioned that she would email councils with the information.

Lastly, Father Peter mentioned that two of the three subcommittees are up and running.  Both CMA and Financial Planning have been meeting and Stewardship is still in the works.

New Business:

No Report.

Father Peter did mention that 12:15 mass will be added to the mass schedule starting Monday and ending April 4th.

Pastor’s Report:

Father Peter had no report as all other orders of business were previously covered.  However, he did take time to thank Laura Picco and Barb Jones for hosting the coffee hour and asked all council members to “share the good news and encourage others.”  He ended his report by telling the council that “generosity has been tremendous lately” and he is “very grateful for help from local people and area businesses.”

Meeting was closed with prayer at 8:14 p.m.

Next Meeting Date:  Wednesday January 25, 2011 7:00 p.m.

St. Ann’s School Meeting Room

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Marcus

Secretary