PARISHES REPRESENTED: • St. Ambrose SISTER ANNE: Tonight's meeting is to look at how we can all function
and look at the church as one, how all of us can be able to really say
how we can be able to serve, and be served, and really take a look at
it. So, the process tonight -- and you're stuck with me for a couple of
weeks I guess whether you like it or not -- my name is Sister Anne Bryan
Smollin. We are going to take you through this and we're going to make
it happen. We are going to look at this in a variety of ways. And as we start tonight
to look -- you have already been together and I've not been with you during
those other meetings -- but you've been together and some of you had gathered
some other types of materials. We'll start tonight by kind of bouncing
from there and seeing where we go. So, it's going to be a time to look
at how we can make the church better in many, many ways. And it belongs
to all of us to be able to do that. It doesn't belong to one person, it
doesn't belong to a person who's called a pastor, it belongs to all of
us because we are all church and we all have to own this. So, in one sense
it's a privilege for all of us to be able to look at this; in another
sense it's a real responsibility as we all start and really own this,
all right. Some of you already have all of the dates that we will be gathering.
There is one change in March, it goes to March 5th, and that's the only
change. But outside of that you should have the dates till December. We
didn't do all eighteen months. The other thing is we think that you're an accelerated group, and maybe
we could do this in different levels or ways. So, we're going to do it
so it meets the needs of all of the people who are present as we all gather
here. For those of you that have the participant's guide, maybe you could share
that with the people that you're sitting next to; and for those of you
that don't, don't worry, we'll fill in the spaces and we'll make all of
that happen. As we look at it though, we're supposed to begin with the song called
"Called To Be Church". Now, perhaps you know that much better
than I; and if you do, that's wonderful and you can sing louder than the
others. And for those of you that don't know it as well, I borrowed a
tape of it. So, I thought as we begin tonight, we could begin with the
song that was commissioned for this whole process, "Called To Be
Church." "Called To Be Church" was played and sung by the group.) (The whole group now separated into groups of six, all number ones gathered
at one table, number twos at second table, etc., until six groups were
formed, one group of six at each of six tables.) A 3-page Parish Profile Composite 12/07 was distributed to each participant. SISTER ANNE: Now, my focus here is to have a mixture of parishes and
I don't care what parish anybody is from. But would you now just introduce
yourself. (Introduction of members followed.) SISTER ANNE: Let us begin with the scripture reading so that we open
up our minds, let's open up our hearts to the word of the Lord. So, I
would ask this table if they would take the prayer and be able to kind
of center us for a few moments before we begin. Luke, Chapter 9, vs. 18-20, was read by various participants.) PARTICIPANT: (Reading) Our response to the question, "Who do you
say that I am," is reflected in everything we do. It is good to think
about how we see God influencing our daily thoughts, words, and actions.
Our answer to this question is visible in our presence here at this meeting.
It will continue to be reflected in our efforts and our goals of this
process. But first and foremost the answer to this fundamental question
of faith is a response to how each of us sees ourselves in relationship
with God, and how we believe God sees us, both individually and collectively.
Our response to this question as a group will ultimately influence the
church for this Local Planning Group and our Diocese of Albany, when we
arrive at the conclusion of this planning and recommendations phase of
our ongoing pastoral planning process in June of 2008. SISTER ANNE: Let me ask you to reflect on these questions for a moment: • What is my response to Jesus' question, "Who do you say
that I am?" These questions can help us begin to be centered on the focus of what
we would like to do tonight. So, for the next few minutes I'm going to
ask you, within the table that you find yourself, would you share any
piece of those reflections? I'll just quickly summarize those questions again. And then any piece
that you feel free and want to share -- and please if each person could
have some type of sharing so that we can kind of start to look at ourselves Would you please just share any type of response within that table? (A discussion was held among each table for approximately ten minutes.) SISTER ANNE: It's terribly important to us that we look at what our relationship
is with Jesus as we start our part of the process. That's very important
that we look at who we are in relationship to Jesus and who Jesus really
is for us. The next part of this calls us to really look at how those gifts are
defined. We need a skill, a skill all of us have used. There's a skill
that teaches us how to listen to each other, to form our ideas, and tobecome
very creative. There's a skill all of us have learned called brainstorming. I'm now going to ask you for one minute of your life. I'll put a piece
of paper in the middle of every table. So, would one person at each table
become the reporter for the table? And this is going to be what we are
going to do for the next 60 seconds. We're going to brainstorm something
and I'm going to play one group against the other. And I want to see which
group comes up with the most ideas. So, at the end of this time I want
each group to count up the number of things on your list. I want to see
which one of these six groups can come up with the most ideas in 60 seconds.
And the rule of brainstorming again says that anything that gets thrown
out must be put on that list. You can't say, no, that won't work. You
have to show everything. So, everybody knows who the reporter is at the
table? Right now, for the next 60 seconds, I ask you to brainstorm every possible
conceivable thing that a bathtub can be used for -- a bathtub. (Brainstorming session followed for 60 seconds, after which each table
reported numbers individually as: 20, 15, 19, 17, 18, 16.) SISTER ANNE: Another piece to it is: If we took the time to really listen
to this list, there would be things on other people's list that are not
on that list. Because one of the three pieces of being able to throw out
things and not say it's not going to work, or that's dumb, or whatever,
is the ability to be able to create and see and hear. That's what we want
to do right now. We want to now look at the challenge, the call to be
church. And as all of you have really been called to take this role, you
have to perhaps become aware of the wonderful gifts that God has given
to you and blessed you with to be able to get you to this stage. And all
of us are gifted. And everyone has gifts that we need, perhaps even little
gifts that others don't have. And that's what rules on this whole body
that we're talking about. So, I'm going to ask you to stay with the same skill. So, what I'm saying
to you is please remember the skill of brainstorming. It's not to get
into a discussion, it's not to say this is true or this is not true. So,
as you now just talk to each other for the next few minutes, what are
the gifts that you truly believe God has blessed you with and given to
you so that you can be called to this task? Now, this can be a difficult task because we're not used to saying gifts,
we're not used to saying good things about ourselves. And yet God has
blessed us with these gifts. So, as we think about our own relationship
with Jesus, what are some of these gifts that really and truly we know
we have and, therefore, we can bring to this process? Would you all just
share one or two of those with your (Short discussion among participants at each ndividual table.) SISTER ANNE: Now I am going to ask you to just ponder the concept a bit.
As we now think about the whole process, what have you all been called
to come together for, to really create this Called To Be Church? What
do you really think is needed? What are the talents, what are the skills,
what do we really need? And I'm going to ask each table to really kind of talk that out a little,
and then in a few minutes we're going to talk as a group so we can hear
it. What are the gifts and talents that we need to gather this community
to achieve the goals of creating a Called To Be Church? So, each table,
would you surface that? And then let's hear from all tables after you've
talked to each other for a few minutes. (A group discussion among each table followed for five minutes.) SISTER ANNE: Let us kind of become one group for a moment. Now let's
listen to each other, let's talk to each other for a few moments. Because
it's not just going to be within each table. But what are some of the
things that surfaced at your tables? Let's hear from you. What are the
gifts, what are the talents that you think are really needed, what are
the things that you said or other people said at your table? Perhaps there
were things that surprised you or things that opened up some course of
awareness for you? PARTICIPANT: • Think outside the box SISTER ANNE: Talk to each other. What do you think? Yes? No? Anything
you want to add to it? PARTICIPANT: The first thing we established is a common mission among the parishes
and not to think of ourselves as a whole bunch of different churches;
we all are part of the church. If we all work together to get that concept
down, that will really help us in that process. • Need for a consensus of evangelization, ministry, and community
among the different parishes. SISTER ANNE: Now, pay attention to yourself as you're listening to these
things. Sometimes you say, oh, no, or that won't work. That's okay. Because
you can hear yourself inside. PARTICIPANT: We need to be: • Realistic PARTICIPANT: • We would like to represent all of the people, not just the people
who are church-going people, but also people who are not attending church
right now. SISTER ANNE: Other groups? PARTICIPANT: It looks like the majority of our ideas center around: • Communication We also have the mechanics of how are we going to get this job accomplished,
and we noted: • Problem-solving SISTER ANNE: Anyone else? PARTICIPANT: We said that: We have to be people who are visionary We have to think for others. Because as we look around the room, this
is an upper-middle-class, white group and we have to think of the whole
church, think beyond our back yard, be welcoming. We have the door, but
we have to be relatable. Which stems from the fact that there are so many
other churches that are now pulling people that we aren't. How are they
doing it? How are they selling themselves? SISTER ANNE: Now, let's talk for a few seconds. What is it that you're
thinking, or what do you say about, wow, that's a piece that I can't forget? PARTICIPANT: Let's hope that somebody takes all of these lists so we
can separate all this down so I can read them at my leisure and absorb
it all. Because I was amazed at all of the ideas. SISTER ANNE: It's very important that we have this feedback. PARTICIPANT: I would like to comment on what the last group was just
talking about as far as -- and we talked about it earlier today at our
parish group -- marketing ourselves, outreaching to some of the people
that are not active in the church now. PARTICIPANT: I like the idea of joyful. I really appreciated that. PARTICIPANT: I like the idea that we not be stressed over it but keeping
focused on priorities. And there's a lot of talk about the closing of
parishes and so on. That's a secondary issue because that's not the church.
The church is the people. The churches can burn down, the building, and
the church will still exist because the people exist. So, the focus and
priority should be kept on the spirituality, God's grace, preaching the
gospel, witnessing the gospel and so on. PARTICIPANT: I like the idea of unity and not empire-building. I thought
that was very nice. PARTICIPANT: Our group came up with the idea of seeing what other churches
are doing, the specifics -- you know, meaning other faiths as well. PARTICIPANT: I like the idea of building on one another's strengths.
Like for St. Clare's we have the bereavement group, and that seems to
work well for us. And maybe that will work well with other churches, too. PARTICIPANT: I like hearing keeping Christ as the center. SISTER ANNE: It's very important that, once in a while, we check in with
each other. Because we're going to all be working together, and we have
to keep growing together and really making room for all of us to hear
what the person who's sitting next to us is thinking. Because it helps
all of us. Which is right, it's the relationship that we have with our
Jesus that really and truly is going to define this. And we need to also
look at what the parish is all about. SISTER ANNE: Geoff Burke made sure that everyone has a copy of the Parish
Profile List. So, for the next three minutes what I'm going to ask you
to do is to take a few minutes to look this over. So, this next part is
going to be looking at this and looking at it as a task also. (A short recess followed.) SISTER ANNE: The questions are on page two where it says Parish Profile
Study: As you review each Parish Profile and the Group Summary, you might
look at the following. And those questions are what we're going to ask
you to kind of center on as you're looking over this whole Parish Profile. • What are the physical characteristics of this whole planning
group? Just those questions for a few seconds. Would you as a table, as you
have a few minutes ago, kind of look over the Parish Profile and center
some of your discussion on these questions. And I'll give you maybe about
fifteen minutes to do this. (Sister clarified at this time that the first number of 9,830 is “families”;
the number attending weekend liturgy is the “individual”,
6,584.) (Individual table group discussions followed for fifteen minutes.) SISTER ANNE: We started off this evening reflecting on the prayer, "Who
Do You Say I Am," the scriptural passage. Maybe we're starting to
ask the question, “who do we say we are?” Maybe that's where
all this is going right now. As we start to look at the profiles, we start
to look at what needs to happen. And as you think back now at the discussions
you just had, and at the profiles that you just studied, could I ask you
to kind of share as a group now? What one thing -- as you think about this tonight, the things you've
heard, the profiles of what you just looked over and what you shared with
each other -- what one thing really stands out for you? What are the things
that are standing out for you? And what conclusions are you going to draw
from reviewing these profiles? Those are the next two questions on the
participant's guide. What one thing stands out for you -- what most stands
out for you, and what conclusions do you draw from reviewing these profiles? So, instead of now as a table, could we for a few moments just share
with each other, what one thing stands out for you? PARTICIPANT: I think the thing that stands out most is that we don't
have a lot of young people in this group. PARTICIPANT: The data is not sufficient. There's no trend data, there
are no baselines. It's hard to make any analysis of the data that we have
been given, particularly in relationship to the questions. PARTICIPANT: We talked about the discrepancy between the amount of families
who attend church versus individuals that attend church. And we also were
concerned about the low number of RCIA candidates from each parish. PARTICIPANT: We noted that there were more funerals than there were baptisms. PARTICIPANT: Relatively speaking we are a homogenous group -- is that
the right terminology -- we're middle class, we're all white skinned.
You know, there's some individual differences, of course. We also thought there was a lot of duplication of services. We're not
efficient. Where each parish is doing their own thing, there may be experts
in one parish. You know, give it to them, or help them and vice versa. PARTICIPANT: The parishes are very isolated to one another, working independently.
Whereas one lady mentioned in her parish there's a great bereavement group.
If they did that, and they shared that with all six parishes, we could
maybe attract a lot of people. PARTICIPANT: The thing that stood out most for me was you take the number
of extra families and equate that to individuals, there's a huge disparity
between the number of individuals who are members of our parishes and
the number that actually attend Mass on the weekend. PARTICIPANT: I notice that, out of the six parishes, there are two that
have schools. Some of the students could come over to our schools that
are already established. PARTICIPANT: There's a statistic that I have to ask exactly what it was
about. The people trained to lead the Sunday service without a priest.
I think that that may be something that we need to really take a cognizant
look. Because I know in other parts of the state this is like a precursor
to closing churches and whatever. Or maybe another view -- I know that
St. Clare's has a Parish Life Coordinator and that is working very well.
And for the other parishes that aren't experiencing not having a priest,
this may be something we need to be really talking about because it may
be coming to other parishes at some point. PARTICIPANT: One of the things we talked about was we have faith formation
up through Confirmation, but we really do not educate the students and
keep them connected. We need to talk about connecting the twenty-three
year olds that kind of drop off after that. PARTICIPANT: One of the things we have are people who leave the community.
And in some ways, instead of trying to expect to retain our parishioners
who reach twenty and move away somewhere, we need to look into gathering
in that age group that may move into our community somehow. The other
thing I wasn't sure about is whether there's a variation from parish to
parish in terms of the number of registered parishioners, how current
-- you know, exactly what that means, whether there are eight people who
moved away in that list. And I know St. Clare's said that they look for
return addresses or something. I don't know whether we do that or not.
But I don't know what exactly that base means I guess. And I don't really
know if the potential in the community is covered by the parishes, how
many Catholics there are in that area. And I don't know if those statistics
are available. PARTICIPANT: I was struck by the comment that, you know, we all do similar
things and we all do them well. This thought kind of ran through my head.
If we look at fire companies in the Town of Colonie, they all do fire
drills but each one specializes in something different; for example, the
company village has the rescue squad, West Albany has something else.
So, they all, within the town, have a specialty. For fear of losing that
thought, I just thought I would mention that. PARTICIPANT: I bought a new calculator for myself. I'm going back to
school. But I thought I would take a look at the second page where, even
though it says number of registered parishioners, and then each one of
the parishes are listed alphabetically, I did a percentage of, thinking
as a parishioner, how many people are registered versus how many people
show up to church. And it ranges from a high of, like, 70 percent down
to 43. Now, it's even worse numbers because that is not parishioners, that's
the number of families. So, these numbers are really -- when I look at
my own parish, it gave me cause for thought. Because just taking these
ratios here, I come out to 43 percent. And this was a topic of, I'll say,
heated conversation at one meeting. So, this leads well into net month’s
topic of evangelization. PARTICIPANT: Something else that we mentioned at the table that the gentleman
there was just talking about, we have a lot of ministries that we're involved
in together. But we do a lot of ministries well, whether it be the music
ministry, or food pantry, bereavement, there's a lot of things that we
do well together as a parish. PARTICIPANT: I think what we need to take away is that there's a real
essence of our commonalities, and that we should be comfortable in anybody
else's parish. And I make the assumption that there are groups out there
that don't have that aspect. And I think we're starting way ahead of the
game by being able to be someone like that. Sometimes that's not always
a good thing, but at least we can understand where this is going. And
I know that there are other planning groups that are not like that. I
have friends and they're already meeting a challenge before they start. SISTER ANNE: So, now we have looked at that. Now, in the center of this
table I put a few pieces of a puzzle. What I'm going to ask you now is
if you will take those and pass them out so every person at the table
-- well to pass out one piece to as many people as possible. There are two sides to this piece of paper that you have in your hand.
One side has some type of marking on it; the other side is plain. Would
you turn to that plain side? Now, the thing we are going to do right now -- no one is going to see,
including the people at your table -- so, right now I'm going to ask any
person that has that piece of puzzle, on the blank side, would you just
write your name -- your first name is fine. And now I'm going to ask you
to write what is a gift, a talent, that you personally believe that God
has blessed you to be able to bring to this process? What's a gift that
you have, a talent, what's a value that you hold, a strong piece of you,
something about you? One word is fine, whatever. And again no one else
is going to see this right now. But as you think about yourself, and we
think about being called to church, what is a gift or a talent that God
has blessed you with, what is some special value perhaps that you hold
onto, what is something positive about you? Would you write that under
your name? And now I'm going to ask if we can kind of do this as a group because
it's going to be a little bit hard. Now, as you can see on this easel
there's a green piece of paper. Would the person who has number 1, would
you come up here -- the person who has number 1 on their little clue,
would you now come up here, please? And when he comes up – and all
of you are going to do this -- you're going to take this glue and on the
side that has your name and the gift, I'm going to ask you to put this
glue on there and go over and put it on that piece of paper in the appropriate
place. (The puzzle was assembled with each individual piece.) SISTER ANNE: Let me invite all of you back up here for a few moments,
please. As you look at this puzzle, it didn't quite work out. We never
have to admit this to anyone. You have to think outside the box, good.
You get the idea. And the truth is though that, as we look at it and we
see it, I would like to ask you for a few minutes to just reflect. What
was that like for you? Some of you had feet. So, you had to come up and
find the place, put glue on, write something on the back. Others didn't.
Some of you gave your pieces away to other people. What was that like
for you? Because what's really important is to look at what happened for
you as you started to do that. So, just for a couple of seconds, what
was that like for you? What did you do? PARTICIPANT: I was very relieved when I walked up there and saw the number
where I was supposed to be. SISTER ANNE: Okay. But that gives you a lot of security. PARTICIPANT: I had some feet, and people with feet all got together and
saw which ones would match. SISTER ANNE: But it got creative after a while because -- okay, we all
belong together and you stuck together so you kind of made that connection. PARTICIPANT: I just gave my piece to Father Farano. PARTICIPANT: I was stuck with one of the pieces that weren't called right
away and I felt left out back there. PARTICIPANT: I didn't have a piece at all. So, I wanted to play but I
couldn't. SISTER ANNE: So, you just sat there saying I didn't even have a piece. PARTICIPANT: We had a strategy to hold back and wait and then we would
know where we would fit. PARTICIPANT: My piece was number 1, and when you gave us the instruction
to put something that we thought was a gift from God that we bring here,
I was really sitting here thinking, trying to be as clear as I could.
And then you said, okay, you got two seconds. And then I felt extremely
frustrated because I wanted more time and I didn't have it. And so, I
put something down there, but I really wasn't happy with what I put down. PARTICIPANT: We all worked together to accomplish the whole. SISTER ANNE: Even though it's a little shaky picture, it's all right.
Your point is well taken, and people did work together. But see what happened
as we did even a simple little puzzle? It's the same kind of process that
very often happens as we work together. Some of you said that you feel
like you have a piece to add or a piece to contribute, and others feel
left out, or I have to sit back and wait, or I really want to push it
forward, or maybe I could find some similarity and kind of connect there
or make those connections. And all of the feelings that we have, and all of the kinds of things
that happen inside of us – even when we do something as simple as
this -- it's the same kind of thing that happens as we all start to work
together. And that's okay. It's so good at times for some people; and
for others it's like, oh, yeah, let's go do it. And some of you were doers,
and some of you went and got coffee and there was no getting you involved
under any condition at all. And that happens. So, all of us play different
roles. And what's important for us to recognize is that we have got to
identify the roles that we play as we go through this time together. And I realize now that some of you have not -- I was not, as some of
you know, part of the earlier process either, and I guess some of you
were not either. So, you don't all know each other. And as we start to
kind of interact, it's my hope that we really do stop and talk to each
other, get to know each other. We're going to be stuck together for a
couple months. And I don't mean that negatively. I'm just saying if we
are, then let's enjoy our time together. Let's get to know each other
a little bit, too. So, let's really make a goal to talk to each other
as we start to come together. PARTICIPANT: I want to speak to the people who held back. We're the kind
of people who want to understand how we can help and fill in where there
are vacuums. PARTICIPANT: I was the person who had the piece that doesn't quite fit.
And maybe reflecting on that, maybe we have to realize that, through this
process, things may not quite go together. SISTER ANNE: That's a good point. Because things don't always look like
they fit. And sometimes things are awkward and there are spaces and so
we have to figure out what to do. So, I'm kind of glad it didn't work
out, to be honest with you. Maybe it wasn't supposed to, I don't even
know. PARTICIPANT: Maybe somebody put their piece in the wrong spot. SISTER ANNE: Or maybe it is in the wrong spot. It doesn't matter. But
somehow or another we worked together to accomplish the task that we had
to do. But it is important that we look at the awkwardness, or the imperfections
at times, or the spaces, or the lack of clarification. But it's also important
that we look at how we can all be a part of it. And there is time to sit
back and reflect. And there are times that we do let other people do it
because of the gifts and talents are there for other people. Some of us
are blessed in different ways; others can't do certain things. That doesn't
mean that anybody is bad. It just means maybe you can do this one time
and I'll do it the next time. We all work together. And that's what I
hope that the journey we all walk on together will be, just this kind
of thing that we somewhat started tonight. So, as we look at that, it's
important. There's some questions quickly that I'm supposed to look at with you
in sharing tonight's work. What accomplishments or recommendations do
we need to share with the rest of our church? We're talking now your whole
parish, your parish, the whole parish. What tasks, or accomplishments,
or recommendations do we need to share with the rest of our church? What's going to be terribly important is that there's a communication
from this to everyone. It's not just for us to be together. PARTICIPANT: I think we need to share everything, and we need to be as
personable about it as we possibly can. They need to feel that, even though
there's only a handful of us representatives, that they are a part of
the process. PARTICIPANT: I felt the same way. I think people have to be aware that
we really are planning to do something and we're in the process now, that
it's not just out there. PARTICIPANT: When the town meetings happened, I heard feedback that some
parishioners did not go because their perception was that the decision
has already been made and, therefore, my input isn't worth anything. So,
one of the things that we were speaking about in our church was to publish
the e-mail addresses of the core team members and also publish in the
bulletin what the next theme would be that we would be discussing, and
asking the parishioners to give us any of their ideas, whatever the case
may be. And all we would do is put ideas on a big list with no names,
strictly anonymous, and then the next time we come together each one of
us would be able to bring this list as some means of contribution from
our parish. PARTICIPANT: So there's a spirit of openness and cooperation. SISTER ANNE: The next question is: What tasks need to be accomplished
before we meet in February? PARTICIPANT: Will we be getting a summary of this meeting? SISTER ANNE: Yes. PARTICIPANT: I think one of the tasks is for each parish to take that
summary and kind of summarize that for our parishes either by the bulletin
or something from the pulpit. PARTICIPANT: Are we going to get another participant guide before the
next meeting? SISTER ANNE: I would hope so. I would hope that we will all have participant
guides before the next meeting. PARTICIPANT: I think we need to identify the kinds of data that -- further
data that we need. I think that came up in two or three groups, that this
is a great start but maybe not sufficient. Not to collect it by next time
around, but what do we need? SISTER ANNE: Anybody else? PARTICIPANT: I think we need to reflect on the tasks before us this evening.
And then maybe go out and look at other parish sites across the country
and diocese that may be doing something similar to us, and get some ideas
of what they're doing also. PARTICIPANT: Maybe next time people could report back on what goes on
in some of the ministries of each parish, if there's any unique ones or
whatever. SISTER ANNE: And that may very well fit in with the whole evangelization.
Anybody else? PARTICIPANT: What are other local planning groups doing? SISTER ANNE: The same thing we are. PARTICIPANT: But what are their responses? SISTER ANNE: We are one of the first groups to meet. I think somebody
met the other day someplace up north. PARTICIPANT: It would be nice to share ideas between other parishioners. PARTICIPANT: We'd also like to know the different ways that other parishes
chose to share this information and what was the feedback. Was it accepted,
or you need to change a few things; and so, if everybody could learn from
other people's experience, how this is and share it with their own friends,
then it would help other people. PARTICIPANT: One thing that was brought up was the absence of young people
in a group like this. Maybe some thought could be given to that. SISTER ANNE: There will be times that other people will be brought into
this group. This is the core group now, but there will be times because
of certain topics that obviously you will invite other people to come
in. And perhaps that could be something that people reflect on, some younger
people. PARTICIPANT: Somewhere it said something about at-large members. I don't
know if that's what you were talking about. But it seems to me like that's
something that might be remedied easily. SISTER ANNE: Absolutely. PARTICIPANT: How many at-large members are here tonight? SISTER ANNE: Six raised their hand. But certainly that can be addressed. The topic in February is evangelization and sharing good news. PARTICIPANT: Before we get to there, could we get the schedule clarified? The schedule of future meetings was set forth as follows by Sister Anne: January 8 PARTICIPANT: Is there a location for November 6? SISTER ANNE: We meet until April here. And then May to August we meet
at Assumption. And then September to December we meet at Pius. (Some confusion about locations of meetings was discussed.) SISTER ANNE: I think April is here. I think it's here. It was four, four,
and four, that's what we did. I'm pretty sure April is still here at St.
Ambrose. So, the next three are here at St. Ambrose. And then May to August
is at Assumption. And then September to December is at Pius. We will tell
you each month where we're going to be. PARTICIPANT: At 7:00 o'clock? SISTER ANNE: 7:00 to 9:00. But let's start at 7:00 and really kind of
pull this together. As we close tonight, though, instead of trying to sing that song, would
you bear with me and let us just all together pray the Lord's Prayer together
as we come together tonight thanking God for the ability for us to be
able to risk sharing with each other and opening up some doors as we start
this process together, asking God's blessing on each one of us. (The Lord's Prayer was recited.) SISTER ANNE: Let us all bless each other as we go. Amen. (The meeting was concluded at 9:00 p.m.) LIST OF ATTENDEES ST. AMBROSE: • Fr. Frank DuBois, REDCABOOSE347@GMAIL.COM OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: • Fr. Geoffrey Burke OUR LADY OF MERCY: Bill Mielke, WMIELKE@NYCAP.RR.COM ST. FRANCIS DE SALES: • Jack Hauck ST. CLARE'S: • Fr. Tom Konopka, TKONOPKA@NYCAP.RR.COM ST. PIUS X: • Fr. Michael Farano, fmaf@nycap.rr.com
“CALLED TO BE CHURCH” INITIATIVE
LOCAL PLANNING GROUP MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 8, 2007
HELD AT ST. AMBROSE CHURCH, LATHAM, N.Y.
• Our Lady of the Assumption
• St. Pius X
• St. Clare
• Our Lady of Mercy
• St. Francis de Sales
• By what names do I refer to Jesus in my prayer and in my conversations,
and why?
• How does my perception of Jesus influence my daily life?
• What terms do I think Jesus would use in speaking with or about
me, and why?
table, please?
• Tolerance for other ideas
• Acceptance of change
• Know that we don't have all the answers
• Openness to ideas
• Ability to listen
• Communication to this group and to the parishes
• Be prayerful
• Don't limit process just to these meetings
• Own the process
• Be prepared
• Do research
• Read the materials
• Study other churches.
• Willingness to accept change.
• Capitalizing on the strength of all our parishes.
• Patient
• Visionary
• Leaders
• Innovative, as well as practical
• At some point, be promotors of what we envision
• Willingness and courage to stand up for our positions
• Prayerful
• Be researchers in the sense of looking beyond the ideas just in
our room, to get a broader picture of what might be
• Need to be joyful in our process
• Good organizers
• Seek other's opinions
• Reach to the young and the elderly, and all of the other groups
and constituencies that are part of the church such as clergy, former
clergy, single people, divorced people, all kinds of constituencies.
• We need to show patience and the ability to focus and refocus,
and stick with it.
• Take a position that nothing is a given.
• Organizational skills
• Optimism
• Flexibility
• Questioning
• Ability to change
• Ability to listen
• Ability to prioritize and to try to see and bring in more lost
sheep.
• Good listener
• Sharing freely
• No empire building
• Open to ideas
• Relate to people
• Public speaking.
• Insightful
• Organizing skills
• Experience in the church
• Gift of faith
• Vision
• And more importantly that we keep Christ as our focus.
We have to be people who are committed
We have to love the church
Be kind
Be patient
Be good listeners
Look for the good in people
Be at peace with ourselves
• Who are the people in this part of the Diocese?
• What ministries are well done?
• What might you improve?
• In what ways could we strengthen ministry as a whole in this Local
Planning Group?
• What do we see happening among these parishes?
• How are we as a whole fulfilling the mission of Jesus?
February 7
March 5
April 10
May 2
June 11
July 11
August 1
September 5
October 3
November 6
December 5
• Sister James Marie, SJM319@HOTMAIL.COM
• Caroline Gomez, JAGOMEZ513@AOL.COM
• Dolores Murphy, DMURPHY122@AOL.COM
• Richard Ostiguy
• Theresa DeAngelis, TSICILIA@EXCELSIOR.EDU
• Jim Morrell
• Margaret Griffin
• Vic Gilbert
• Linda Berkery
• Lillian Cunniff, Stenographic Reporter (LILCUNNIFF@MSN.COM)
Anne Snyder, ANNEVERONICA50@HOTMAIL.COM
Fr. John Waldron
John Kennedy
Mark Keegan, MKEEGAN@NYCAP.RR.COM
Robert Gallati, RJGALLATI@NYCAP.RR.COM
• Terry Ryan, TERRY_RYAN@GENPT.COM
• Joan O'Sullivan
• Nancy Streeter, NCBGS@AOL.COM
• Carla Hood, CHOOD@NYCAP.RR.COM
• Mary Beth Buchner
• Fr. David Noone
• Ed Prince
• John Szypulski, JOHN@JFSBSI.COM
• George Cline, GCLIE@NYCAP.RR.COM
• Nadine Cunningham, CUNNINGHAM@AVERILLPARK.K12.NY.US
• Nancy Volks, Parish Life Director, PLDSTCLARE@NYCAP.RR.COM
• Dave Eads, DCD924@AL.COM
• Ann Walsh, WALSHOME@MINDSPRING.COM
• Nancy Uruskyj, nmu@nycap.rr.com
• Mary Beth Ryan, WRYAN@NYCAP.RR.COM
• Gayle Bouchard, GAYLEB62@AOL.COM
• Sandy Zelka, SHERMMBA@HOTMAIL.COM
• Jim DiRolf, Jolene.dirolf@bms.com
• Jack Egan, carjack424@verizon.net
• Frank Pugliano, puglframe@nycap.rr.com