Parish Council Meeting
June 9, 2009

Present: D. Sierra, E. Morton, J. Walsh S.J., P. Sullivan S.J., J. Robinson, J. McLaughlin, J. Caron, M. Zimmer, M. Brennan, M. Attardo

Fr. Paul Sullivan opened with a prayer. J. McLaughlin sang a farewell song with the pastoral council acting as backup singers.

New Business

Transition:

The bishop has appointed Fr. Gregory Mullaney as pastor. He will be assisted by Fr. John Antonelle, with Fr. Gregory Galvin, director of vocations for the diocese, in residence. Fr. Paul reported that Fr. Mullaney came to a staff meeting today.  He believes that Fr. Mullaney will be try to be pastor of the entire community while Fr. Antonelle will minister to the student community.

The staff shared their concern that there will no longer be a woman on staff. Members of the pastoral council are also saddened at the loss of Anne Marie O’Connor. M. Brennan suggested writing a note of thanks from the council. M. Zimmer will consult Fr. Gerry and the student members of the council to ask for their personal experiences and memories and provide a draft note for E. Morton to review and sign for the council. Fr. Paul will set up a large card for parishioners to say their good-byes and thank Anne Marie for all her good work.

Farewell Events:

About 60 parishioners have signed up for the potluck/reception on June 28th but not all  of them have indicated what they will contribute. M. Attardo will contact those undecided signers and find out what they can bring.

The council will set out additional signup sheets in the chapel for those who don’t go to the Aquinas Center after mass. We will also make the signup spaces larger for easier writing. M. Brennan volunteered sheets of red foam board for signs.

Committees needed: Set up, Buffet/food serving, Coffee making, Clean up.  Ted Hill is heading a group working on decorations. The K of C has been asked to help set up. The hall is booked for a birthday party the night before the event so Alice will help set up the room for the Sunday event after the birthday party is over.

The cabaret set for June 26th will be held at St. Mark’s.
 
Fr. John asked if the Roundtable could supply food items to be cooked by parishioners and brought in for the event. The council decided to buy the food and cook in the Aquinas Center kitchen on Saturday.  There was much discussion about choosing the main courses to be prepared ahead of time. I think we settled on the following to be cooked on Saturday:

• Chicken pieces
• Meatballs, peppers and sausages
• Ham
• Beans

Fr. Paul recommended that we check with Alice to see if we have enough plates, coffee cups and silverware.  We may need disposable supplies if numbers continue to grow. J. Caron volunteered to shop for supplies at BJs. J.Robinson will check to see if his family can cook chicken for the event. Several other council members volunteered to work on food prep on Saturday.

M. Attardo reported that she hasn’t received any material for a memory book and time is running short. She suggested putting out three books and allowing people to sign and write messages to our departing staff.

Welcome Events

Fr. Paul suggested the Pastoral Council and Finance Council have an informal get together  with the new pastor and staff after July 1st.

Neighbor to Neighbor

M. Zimmer asked about allowing some requests to be posted without any attempt at confidentiality. J. Caron said that the students thought a consolidated list would be neater and easier to use in addition to maintaining  privacy.  J. Caron brought a disc for M. Zimmer. She will install Access on her computer so she can monitor and maintain the list of requests.

Minutes

Fr. Paul has been  posting the minutes of all pastoral council meetings in the Aquinas Center. M. Zimmer will take over beginning with the June 2009 minutes.

Respectfully submitted,