Present – Frank Pugliano, Pres., Jackie DeSanti, VP, Dan Slavin, Tom Christman, Jean B Zongo, Sandy Zelka, Frank Hughes, Joe Tamer, Fr. Farano, Tracy Coffey, Peter Ranalli and Steve Morgan.

Absent – Pat Tobin, Rudy Paulsen, Brian Evers, Paul Kutey and Dennis Mullahy

Frank Pugliano, President, called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM. Frank led the opening prayer. Frank suggested that, for future meetings, any Council member may lead us in prayer if he or she wishes to do that.

Minutes – Frank called the members’ attention to the minutes of June 21. Jackie DeSanti made a correction; Rudy and Paul were absent at the June 21 meeting, not present as stated in the notes. Tom made a motion to approve the minutes with corrections, and Sandy seconded the motion. The minutes were adopted as amended.

Frank asked Marlene to try to get the minutes out to all Council members by the Monday following the meeting. All committee reports will be sent to Marlene a least one week prior to the monthly meeting. Marlene will then forward those reports to all Council members. Please review all materials before the meeting.

Frank also asked Dan to keep an “Action Register”. This will be reviewed at the end of each meeting.

Committee Reports

Prayer and Worship – There will be changes in the Mass schedule for Christmas. Also, there have been suggestions made to commemorate national holidays and other special events. Sandy suggested that all veterans be asked to stand to be honored during Veteran’s Day weekend.

Christian Work & Services – The school supply collection, Remember the Poor, was a great success. Items were distributed locally and sent to the Sister Parishes.

Youth Ministry – Brian was on a well deserved vacation, but is working on the fall schedule. Youth conference will be Nov. 10–11.

Pastoral Care – no report

Faith Formation – A presentation on “Love of God” is scheduled for Sept. 12,

Sister Parishes – Three boxes of school supplies were sent to Georgia.

Finance – no report. The Finance Committee is finalizing the annual report.

Hospitality/Welcoming – no meeting

Ministry – no report

House and Grounds – Fr. Farano said that the new kitchen is coming along well, and it will be “up to code”.

Religious Ed – Too early for numbers. There is an annual appeal for religious ed teachers. Frank Hughes volunteered to teach a 5th grade class. Thank you, Frank.

Discernment – The first discernment was held on June 13 for new Council members. Six persons took part; the following were chosen: Frank Hughes, Jackie DeSanti, Joe Tamer and Jean Baptiste Zongo. Congratulations and thanks. (As an aside, the two people who were not chosen were very pleased with the process, and indicated that they would be interested in discerning again next year.)

The second discernment was held for Council officers. Sr. Murphy was the facilitator. Final results were: Frank Pugliano, President, Jackie DeSanti, VP and Marlene Papa Recording Secretary. Frank noted that the “new” discernment takes “getting used to”. Fr. Farano went over the process. Tom said that it is a new process and will grow on us. After much discussion, it was decided to have the whole Council, in the future, take part in the discernment for officers.

Parish Picnic – The picnic will be held on September 17 from l: 00PM–5:00PM behind the “new kitchen”. A planning meeting will be held on August 17 at 7:00PM; sign-up sheets will be posted at all doorways to the church.

Pastor’s Comments

• Father would like to continue the discussion of the paper, “Mission of the Contemporary Parish” at the September meeting. Copies are available.
• “Called to Be Church” – Each parish will have 2 delegates. The Council will probably help with choosing. This is a long process and will extend over a two year period. Father feels that the Bishop will want reconfigure the whole diocese. Father stressed that “no one” is immune from change.
• Father would like to thank all staff and parishioners who helped with the funeral services for Bishop Broderick. He said he was overwhelmed by the response from the parish
• Father thanked JB Zongo for his services as President.

New Business – An executive meeting was held on Tuesday evening, August 15 at which Father suggested the need for a Parish Census. He is not looking for a “head count”, but rather a personal approach to reaching those who do not practice their religion regularly and to find out if there is something we, the church, can do for them. He would like to use a program approach, which will take over a year to complete. We have 2,000 families who receive letters and mailings, but less than l, 000 families are active.

Joe Tamer had two comments:

1. how do we define our parish?
2. Joe feels that a good key time to reach those who do not practice their religion on a regular basis would be to target the Christmas and Easter Masses.

Committee Chair appointments were reviewed. This will be discussed further at the September meeting.

Parish Web Site – In need of updating. Jackie will contact Peter Hines by the Sept. 13 executive committee meeting. Frank would like the name of the chairperson for each committee and a short write up to post on the site. Tom suggested that we provide parishioners with information about the parish web site.

Review of Paris Council Constitution – Needs update. Jackie will coordinate the drafting of suggested changes. Please e-mail any suggestions you may have (amendments, additions or deletions) to Jackie by September 13.

Camp for Exceptional Children – Tracy reported that the camp was, again, a huge success. About 20 campers aged 6 – 13 attended. Frank McCaffrey, men’s basketball caoch from Siena College, brought one of Siena’s players (Kenny Habrouck) to camp. The children were thrilled. Father thanked Tracy for her work with this wonderful project. Frank said we owe Tracy a “debt of gratitude”.

Action

• One week prior to each monthly meeting, all committee reports are to be e-mailed to Marlene.
• Parish Council members should read the “Mission of the Contemporary Parish” article before next meeting.
• Parish Census
• Jackie will speak to Peter Hines by September 13 re: the parish web site.
• Jackie will be working on changes to the constitution.

Father Farano said that he has been chosen as “Vicar General” for the diocese. He will spend one full day a week at the chancellery (Wednesday). On Thursday mornings, he will work on the “Propagation of the Faith”.

Next meeting will be September 20th at 7:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted, Marlene Papa