Frank P. called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.  Tom Christman led the opening prayer and asked for intentions from the council.  Several people asked for prayers for friends and loved ones.  Tom gave thanks for the announcement that he will be a grandfather in the future.

In attendance:  Frank Pugliano, Mike Rossi, Dick Connery, John DeFilippo, Tom Christman, Fr. Farano, Dennis Mullahy, Brian Evers, Harvey Bowks, Peter Ranalli, Pat Tobin, Frank Hughes, Jackie DeSanti, Joe Tamer and Marlene Papa.  Sue Krosky, who is serving with Tom as a member of the Christian Service sub-committee for “Called To BE Church”, was also at the meeting.

Absent:  Mark Morrison, Paul Kutey, Julianne Ruff, Jeanne Pitkin, Jean-Baptiste Zongo and Sandy Zelka.

Frank reviewed the January notes (the February meeting was cancelled because of weather).  John DeFilippo made a motion to accept the minutes as drafted; Harvey Bowks seconded the motion.  All agreed.

Frank reviewed the Action Items from the January meeting.

COMMITTEE/PROGRAM REPORTS

Mom’s Group

Pat Tobin reported that the Mom’s Group has been a great success in the early going.  Some weeks, more than fifteen mothers are in attendance.  Pat says that the moms are very appreciative of the opportunity to come together for a few hours

The group is looking for some kind of barrier to make the area in the front half of the parish hall a little smaller.  Father Farano says that can be arranged.

Thanks to Gayle Bouchard and Pat for getting this program off to such a good start.

School Board

Jackie DeSanti was supposed to represent the council at the March meeting of the school board, but unbeknownst to Jackie, the meeting was not held on the night it was scheduled.  Frank will contact the board’s secretary to ensure that we are advised when a meeting has to be rescheduled.

Dennis reported on what was discussed at the March school board meeting:

• the new all day kindergarten session has had a great response.  Twenty-two pupils are already enrolled for the next school year.
• there was a question about whether or not some schools depend too much on fund-raising to cover their operating expenses.  Father Farano said that is not the case with our school.  The needs of our school are fully covered by its budget; fund-raising initiatives undertaken on behalf of the school are used to supplement budgeted activities, programs and services.   

UPDATES

Parish Survey

Don Levy, director of the Siena Research Institute (the organization that is conducting the survey for us), reports that 1,003 completed responses have been received to date (out of about 2,200 surveys distributed).  Dr. Levy says that the normal response to a survey is much lower, and that he is very encouraged by the level of response.

Dr. Levy provided the following information:

• 97.7% of those responding say that they consider themselves to be current members of St. Pius X;
• 50% of the respondents have been members for over 20 years;
• 25% of those responding currently serve the church in some capacity;
• 94% are very happy with St. Pius X.

Some of the respondents removed the code numbers from their surveys, apparently because of a concern that their responses will not be kept confidential.  Siena staff will send a postcard reminder to everyone who has not yet responded to the survey.  That will be followed by a telephone call to everyone on the parish list who has still not responded.

Called To BE Church

Frank reported that four sub-committees have been established by the six parishes in our Local Planning Group: Administration; Christian Service; Faith Formation; and Prayer and Worship.

The four committees have prepared a brief statement of the issues they are studying; this statement will be distributed to the parishioners of all six parishes as a bulletin insert on Palm Sunday weekend.  In addition, the diocese is requiring that each parish hold a town hall-style meeting in April to keep its parishioners informed about what is happening with CTBC, to answer any questions from the parishioners, and to ask for parishioner input into the work of the four committees. 

Sue Krosky and Tom are representing St. Pius as members of the Christian Services sub-committee.  This committee has met several times.  Tom and Sue reported the following:

• a goal of this committee is to have the six parishes share their programs and services, but there is concern among the parishes about the many worthwhile collections that are undertaken in each parish.  For example, St. Pius conducts a collection for over-the-counter medications to be sent to our Sister Parishes in Georgia.  How would such a collection be handled if all six parishes participated?  Would all parishes want to participate in every collection that they have each conducted separately in the past?
• there has been discussion about buying a van for use in carrying out programs and services.  One question is, how would a van be shared among the six parishes?
• a meeting of pastoral care ministers will be held on April 8 to identify what each of the parishes does in this area, and to begin to discuss collaboration and cooperation.

Final reports and recommendations from each of the CTBC planning groups around the diocese are due at the Bishop’s office on July 1 of this year.

Parking

There is no “perfect” solution to the parking problems.  When there is an event at the church, there is no way to “police” the parking areas.  It was suggested that a map of the parking areas be posted on the bulletin boards near the doors to the church.  Also, perhaps there could be a “gentle” reminder each month about the “no parking areas”.

The new “Handicapped Parking” spots cannot be addressed until the parking lot is re-striped.  Resurfacing the whole parking lot is very expensive.  Father and Brian will speak to Jerry Forenzo about installing temporary handicapped parking posts.

NEW BUSINESS

Joe Tamer

It is with regret that Frank P. accepted the resignation of Joe Tamer from the church council.  Joe, his wife Nicole, and his three children will be moving to Connecticut, where Joe has accepted a position as headmaster of a private Catholic school.  They will all be missed.

Joe has been a wonderful, hardworking member of this council, giving us insight into the thoughts and feelings of the younger members of our parish.  He has been a great advocate for including college-age and older young-adults in the life of our parish.  We know Joe will be up to the challenge of this career move.  He and Nicole leave with our prayers and best wishes.  

Discernment Committee Meeting

A short meeting was held prior to the council meeting tonight to discuss the discernment process for this year.  A report will be sent to all council members.

PASTOR’S COMMENTS

Fr. Farano mentioned a few opportunities that are available for all of us to contribute to areas outside the country:

• digging wells in Africa
• Fair Trade Coffee – this would be a great opportunity for Confirmation class candidates.  Coffee could be sold on a monthly basis, and third world countries would benefit from the sales.
  

Father mentioned that he would put a flyer in the Easter weekend bulletin encouraging parishioners who have not yet done so, to respond to the parish survey.

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Frank reviewed the Action Items from tonight’s meeting.

Frank said the closing prayer, and adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully Submitted,

Marlene Papa

Next Meeting…………………………Wednesday, April 16 at 7:00pm