Members in Attendance: Betsy Baker, Patsy Ford, Tony Lefkowicz, Pat Marlowe, Sandy O’Shaughnessy, Patti Peters, Siobhan Rea, Joe Rosenberg, Matt Schallon, Claudeen Shelton, Diane Shelton, Veronica Wright, Fr. Joe Lehman

Member Absent: Theresa Mercier

Guest: Dick Surrusco

1. Prayer and Question of the Week

Following the opening prayer and discussion, Fr. Joe welcomed Siobhan Rea as our youth representative for 2009-2010.  She is on the Diocesan Youth Council as well.  Fr. Joe also recognized Dick Surrusco as a guest to the meeting.  Dick has been in formation for the permanent diaconate and once ordained will be assigned to Our Lady of Nazareth.

2. Approval of the Minutes

The minutes of the November 16, 2009 meeting had been generated and sent out by e-mail to council members for corrections and then for final approval.  As a majority of the members in attendance of that meeting did not grant final approval online, they were reviewed briefly and corrected in terms of the format desired as well as one typographical error.  Diane will adjust and send for posting on the website and the kiosk.  Fr. Joe commented that correcting and approving online will expedite their posting within the parish.

3. Old Business

1.      Grant Proposal Form – Script Receipts – Joe had sent out revisions he had made to the form individuals and groups would use to apply for funds OLN realizes from the Roanoke Catholic Script Program.  He stated he received no comments from any council members.  The council reviewed the form and discussed the origins of the money, its amount and whether or not to engage in an application process.  Previously, the council determined the recipient of the funds without a formal process.  The form he provided was simple and straightforward.  Joe stated the application process would protect us in terms of liability for whatever project or activity was funded (since it is directly tied to the council as the responsible party and not the parish at large as is the case in the distribution from the annual budget) and it would allow the council to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities regarding the management of these funds (which is approximately $200/quarter currently).   The availability of these funds at the end of the 4^th quarter will be advertised within the parish as well as the need to complete an application form to be reviewed by the council.  Potentially, all of the available funds could be distributed to one applicant or to several depending on the need and the requests at hand.   Pat requested that ministries within the church currently funded by the annual parish budget should not be allowed to apply for these funds unless it was for a special one-time project.

2.      Newcomer Registration Procedures – Fr. Joe reviewed the newcomer packet and reiterated the need to make sure BOTH sides of the green diocesan form is fully completed.  The information on the back is especially needed as it lists marital status, sacraments, etc. from which the pastoral staff can determine who needs what in terms of parish activities such as M.A.T.E. date, youth activities, parenting classes, etc.  There are currently flyers and brochures targeting different aspects of the parish.  Tony asked that stewardship material be included.  The Stewardship committee is in the process of being revamped and revitalized.  Once such materials are determined and produced they will be included in the packets.  The church envelopes in each packet are numbered with the number appearing on the face of the diocesan registration card.  When the family’s picture is taken be sure to note the number of the picture on the white newcomer information/interest page so Rita can capture the right one for the parish database.  Patti suggested newcomers be given a bulletin if they don’t already have one due to the amount of information contained on the front of it which includes the parish covenant (a separate copy of that is enclosed).  Fr. Joe mentioned the importance of our being accountable to the covenant.  Including it in the packet communicates the importance of the covenant to the parish’s life.  Tony and Matt brought up some concerns they had with questions they were asked at the newcomer table this past weekend.  It was suggested that if unable to answer a question either ask the person(s) to contact the front office or take their question and tell them you will find out and be in contact with them.

Patsy showed the council a mock-up of something she created on her computer that could be used to publish small pictures of newcomers (4 to a page) with space for their name and a comment or two about them to be posted on the kiosk in the Commons.  A great deal of discussion ensued regarding what information should be included and it was decided that the families should be asked.  These small pictures would be put on the kiosk for the month after joining Nazareth and then moved to a larger board (the back of the Newcomer Board used on newcomers’ weekends) generated quarterly to be displayed in the Fellowship Hall. 

4. Continued Work on Council Communication Suggestions

1.      Date for Parish Town Meeting – the date for the parish town meeting was set for

February 8, 2010 (the date of that month’s parish council meeting), 7-9PM in the Fellowship Hall.  The need to improve communication between the parish council and our parishioners was cited as the purpose of the meeting.  Questions, ideas, suggestions, etc. will be solicited in January prior to the meeting to give us an idea of what types of things our parishioners want to know and to research topics if necessary.  Various ways of formatting the meeting were discussed and will be reviewed by the ad-hoc committee charged with putting the meeting together – Matt (who will be moderator), Patti and Diane.  They will meet and put together a proposal for the event format at the next parish council meeting.

2.      Review the Registration Sheet for Newcomers - a new information form was provided by Fr. Joe that included a permission to publish pictures and identifying information in the parish (which was suggested at the last parish council meeting).  It was determined that the line regarding this permission which originally read “Can we post this information and your picture on a bulletin board?”  Would be changed to: “I DO/DO NOT give permission for my picture and my information (name) to be published within the parish.” (circling the one they prefer). 

      Signature: __________________________ Date: _____________ 

Parish council members when discussing this can write any additional directives the family may have such as only family name instead of listing individual names, etc.

Under programs/services it was recommended that another line item be added to the four listed.  It should read:   _______ other _________________________________

                                                                     (please provide a short description)

Dick requested that a question regarding disabilities be added to this form to aid Raina (Christian Formation) and Victoria (Youth) identify children with special needs.  It was decided that this form is for parishioner interests and that question is contained on the diocesan registration form.  On the newcomer form there is a space where it can be checked that they have children of Christian Formation age and desire contact.  When Raina and Victoria make that call they should pursue this line of questioning in a more confidential venue.

3.      Newcomer Reception – there was a suggestion at the last parish council meeting that newcomers be welcomed with a reception/dinner at least twice yearly.  After much discussion the council decided for the next year at least to schedule these welcome receptions around the Epiphany Party 01/03/10 and the parish picnic in September 2010.  Betsy volunteered to coordinate the newcomers’ reception that will be held one hour prior to the Epiphany Party ( 2:30-3:30 PM) with drinks and snacks and a “get to know” session after which we will accompany them to the Epiphany party.  Patti will schedule the room with Rita and get a list of newcomers for Oct. through Dec.  Matt suggested a minimum of 20 families so if the last quarter does not have that many we will go back a month or so until approximately 20 families can be invited.  Betsy will contact parish council members as to their availability and what food/drink/paper products they can provide.

5. Liaison Reports – Betsy – Christian Formation – no report; Patsy – Finance – engineers will be consulted to inspect the Centrum HVAC and provide suggestions and possible costs for improvements; there is a change in the annual report regarding increased offertory which resulted in a tax decrease of $2255; the finance council is considering an investing policy mission statement and will pursue once they have consulted 1-2 parishioners regarding financial planning advice; Tony – Pastoral Care – the head of Pastoral Care (Dick Surrusco) was present at the meeting and made a brief report; 5 new people have joined as pastoral care ministers and they are seeking a date to be commissioned; Pat – Justice & Peace – J&P is facilitating a process of trying to organize a structure for the various social outreach ministries in the parish and have had two large group meetings and one small meeting to work on this matter; J&P recently did a coat collection drive that was hugely successful; J&P will be involved with Operation Rice Bowl again this Lent which benefits Catholic Relief Services; Theresa – Youth – Siobhan (Youth Representative) gave report as Theresa was absent – youth are having a Winter party on Sat. evening; 30-hour Famine 2/27 & 2/28, 2010; nothing with the diocesan youth council since July – may not have a council this year due to problems transitioning from a region plan to a LPA plan; Sandy – RCIA/RCIC – Sandy said Jim Ridenhour said all was fine; Patti – Stewardship – no report; Joe – needs to meet with Fr. Joe soon to revisit We Walk By Faith; he asked parish council members to send him our pictures and biographical information (information we want on website – 5 sentences or less) to use for the parish council website; the council approved the $24/year maintenance expense to set up an e-mail address for the parish council on the parish council website; will put minutes up on website in PDF when he receives them approved; Matt – Fellowship – the Fellowship committee are off until Mardi Gras in February; chili cookoff went well and proceeds provided toilet paper for the Community Christmas Store; Claudeen – Health Ministry – yoga and senior lunches will resume in the new year; Maggie wants to do a “Biggest Loser” competition; the flu season is not over; Patsy asked Claudeen to ask Maggie about an evening aerobics class; Diane – Disabilities – Dick Surrusco, head of the disabilities committee for OLN and parish pastoral advocate for the diocese made the report since he was a guest; occupational therapists on the committee are assisting in improving mobility in the building; bathrooms are being completely renovated to make them more accessible to disabled; Young Life Capernaum program for 11-18 being instituted focusing on socialization of skills for kids with special needs with mentoring by peers in the schools; they are trying to identify kids for special needs catechesis and there is modifications in the Centrum being considered to allow individuals in wheelchairs to lector; Veronica – Word & Worship – lector schedules for Advent/Christmas are set.

6. A Christian Unity Gathering/Service – this was skipped due to the lateness of the hour and the need to end the meeting.

7. Parish Feedback – this was skipped due to the lateness of the hour and the need to end the meeting.

8. Next Meeting: January 11, 2010 - Question of the Week – Joe; Minutes – Diane Shelton

Agenda Items: Town Hall Meeting; Parish Council Website; e-mail Initiative

*Patti asked what the council wanted in the bulletin box ( 12/27/09) – it was decided that the box should focus on the upcoming town meeting.

Respectfully submitted by Patti Peters

                                                                                                            Approved: 12/23/09