The Pastoral Council is meeting regularly again, generally on the first Thursday of the month.  Important information will be included in the bulletin (usually as in insert) and on the website.  Detailed meeting minutes are available on request.

Organization   The Pastoral Council has a membership of twelve parishioners.  Additionally, the two parish trustees (Pete Henrici, Ray McGoldrick), the faith formation coordinator (Chrissy Blanck) and the pastor (Fr. Michael) serve as ex-officio members.  Here are the current members:

Maureen Murray, Chair (coopmurray@msn.com)         Rob Bohm, Secretary (Rob@Bohm.us)

Sharon Oberriter (sharon.oberriter@gmail.com)          Jeff Woeppel (jeffrey.woeppel@gmail.com)

Michael Lachance (mplachance@aol.com)                  Carolyn Lewis (cal21871@gmail.com)

Kathy Shirm (kathleen.shirm@bassett.org)                  Cathy and Joe Parisi (joecatpar@gmail.com)

Peggy Poulson (poulson1@yahoo.com)                      Cythia Kukenberger (oakscreekmeadows@gmail.com)

Stephanie Nolan (nolanstephanie5@gmail.com)

Please communicate with them or the ex-officio members regarding any concerns, questions or suggestions.  

The pastor presides over and guides final decisions and their implementation.  Formal guidelines for how the council functions are available upon request.

November 11, 2021 Meeting Summary

Ministries and Committees Report. The work of the committee addressing such is essentially complete in that there is an organization chart and ministry brochure that have been finalized. It was decided that reports from the various ministry leaders would be communicated by Fr. Michael from late spring to early autumn to reach as many parishioners as possible.

Welcoming Ministry. Most Masses now have greeters available to welcome attendees. Also, a program has been designed and approved for welcoming individuals new to St. Mary’s. Part of the program includes inviting new and existing parishioners to a reception every six months. The first of these will be held on December 12 after the 11:30 Mass. In addition, brief sessions will be lead by Fr. Michael whereby a few new parishioners and volunteers will discuss such things as the mission and vision of the church and the ministry brochure in an informal setting. Finally, a plan was made to announce the establishment of the new parishioner welcome program to the church community.

Strategic Planning Retreat. There was agreement that having a strategic planning retreat would be important for laying out a blueprint for the longer term for the parish. This would sharpen focus on church activities toward the achievement of stated goals and would hopefully minimize distraction on lesser important considerations. This would build upon the church’s mission and vision statements and reference internal and external variables. The retreat will be planned for the first quarter of 2022.

The Global Synod on Synodality. Pope Francis has a goal of synodality whereby the goals of the greater church are achieved at the lowest of the church organizational structure. All dioceses are charged with submitting a report to Rome outlining parishioner ideas on what it means to be The Church. Instructions for the parish to follow.

Faith Formation. The St. Nicholas Festival will be held on the weekend of December 10 to 12. There will be series of events encompassing the weekend. Fliers outlining activities will be circulated and posted.

Fr. Michael Installation. Fr. Michael will be installed as Pastor of St Mary’s on December 8th, The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This will be performed at an evening Mass with Bishop Scharfenberger with a reception to follow in the parish hall. All are invited.

Anointing of the Sick Service. Fr. Michael has this under consideration.