Present – Frank Pugliano, Pres., Jackie
DeSanti, Tom Christman, Brian Evers, A. Joseph Tamer, Joe Tamer, JB Zongo,
Rudy Paulsen, Tracy Coffey, Paul Kutey, Frank Hughes, Sandy Zelka, Father
Farano and Marlene Papa. Absent:–
Dennis Mullahy, Steve Morgan, Julianne Ruff and Dan Slavin Frank called the meeting to order at 7:30 and led the prayer. Frank review the Action Items from the January meeting. Minutes – Tracey Coffey made a motion to
accept the January meeting notes, as drafted; Tom Christman seconded the
motion. All agreed. Sister Parishes • Father Bill is very ill, and is currently in the hospital. Christian Works and Services • Tom announced there will be a Lourdes Mission in our church April
22–25. Greeters Ministry Jackie DeSanti will conduct a meeting for present and prospective greeters
on March 7 at 7:00 PM in the chapel. Jackie is trying to revive and revitalize
this ministry. She hopes that enough people will be interested in serving
as greeters so that she can create a schedule to cover all weekend Masses. Discernment Process for New Council Members Sandy spoke with Lou Buff about a date for a “discernment weekend”,
but he would not give us a date until the School Board picks dates for
their election. Father Farano asked Sandy to call Lou again and to tell
him to assign us a date now, and not to wait until the School Board gives
him their preferred dates. “Called to BE Church” Update Frank gave a report on the February “Called to BE Church”
meeting. Evangelization was the topic for February. Father thinks that
evangelization is the single most important issue facing the Catholic
community. Our monthly discussions at Council meetings of the bishop’s
“Mission of the Contemporary Parish” presentation, is directly
related to the “Called to BE Church” sessions. The point was made that we need to share the results of these discussions
with the parish at large. Frank is compiling information to be added to
the parish web site, but his computer is down, so his work has been delayed.
The information to be posted on the web site will include a list of the
topics to be discussed each month. Parish Web Site Question re: Posting Quarterly Newsletter Jackie made a report regarding posting the pictures from the newsletter.
Apparently there would be a problem with posting pictures with captions
under them because we would need permission from parents to post the names
of minors on the web site. We will try to find a way to post the newsletter
without pictures, or at least without captions. Until then, though, the
quarterly newsletter will not be posted on the parish web site. New Business Parking for Persons with a Disability Jackie mentioned that there may not be enough handicapped parking spaces
near the entrances to the church. She will contact the Town of Colonie
to find out how many spaces are appropriate for the size of our parish
and parking lot. CLI Comment Tom Christman spoke about the CLI Banana Fund which raises money for
the Silesian Missions in Rwanda and Sudan. The money is used to support
a variety of projects in these communities. We continued our discussion concerning a revised parish mission statement.
After some comments and suggestions, we agreed to adopt the following
mission statement for our parish: St. Pius X parish is a eucharistic community. There was some discussion as to whom we should send this new mission
statement. It was decided to send the statement to parish staff, school
board members and representatives of the major ministries. Father says
that Ellie Peterson has a parish distribution list, so Frank will send
the statement to Ellie and have her forward it to the people on her list.
We will not be soliciting comments on, or changes to, the statement, but
the members of other parish organizations and groups need to be aware
of it. They should regularly ask themselves if the work they are doing
is consistent with this statement. Paul Kutey said that we must also be
prepared to respond to anyone who asks “Where do I fit in this mission
statement?” Tracey asked, if the council is a decision making body, why are we sending
this statement to others for approval. Frank said that we are a decision
making body, but even so, we should not have a problem asking others for
opinions and reactions. Discussion re: “The Mission of a Contemporary Parish” (Part
4) Frank will send all Council members a summary of this discussion for
review. ******************* ******************** ******************** Frank reviewed the Action Items from this meeting. Pastor’s Comments • Our church will be hosting the funeral for firefighter Ted Abriel,
whose mother regularly attends daily Mass. Father expects several thousand
people to attend. Frank led the closing prayer. Next meeting is on March 21 at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Marlene R. Papa
February 21, 2007
• Father John wants to repair the roof in Swainsboro.
• Father Vince, who speaks little Spanish, is giving the liturgies
in Spanish using an interpreter.
• Both churches are celebrating the beginning of Lent with a “Fat
Tuesday” pancake dinner.
• The parishes are most thankful for the generous donations from
the Archbishop of Savannah.
• There will be a collection of toiletries, white socks and sleeping
bags on February 24 and 25, March 3 & 4 and l0 & ll. These donations
go to two outreach locations serving the homeless.
Parish Mission Statement
We believe our God,
We live our Faith,
We share our Gifts,
We pray and work together in the name of Jesus.
Secretary