Parish Council Meeting Notes

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

@Holy Family Church, 6:30 p.m.

Present: Mary Pendergast, Denise Jakubiak, Valerie Cyr, Maggie LeClair

Pastor: Fr. Frank Jay

Regrets: Don Clark, Paul Cyr, Zenaida and Glenn Saldanha

1. Agenda Approved (see attached)

2. Meeting Notes from March 5th Meeting: Agreed the notes portrayed the discussion accurately. One omission, noted by Mary, was that it did not include the “Spotlight on Parishioners” which we had discussed. It is felt this remains a good initiative that we can begin to include soon – highlighting parishioners with photo in the bulletin, brief bio, a focus on their 'liturgical journey', and perhaps even a short talk (if they are willing) to the congregation.

3. Follow up on Objectives noted in March Meeting:

· Greeters/Welcoming – generally agreed this went well. We have a lanyard now with great inserts made by Fr. Frank with the names of those volunteering to do this. They are in the vestry and will be available for whoever is there to greet the congregation. For the next weeks:

▪ April 23rd – Maggie and (her Dad) Doug

▪ April 30th – Denise

▪ May 7th – Zenaida and Glenn (we signed you up, Zenaida, even though you weren't present! Hopefully that's okay? Let us know if you cannot!)

▪ May 14th – a CWL representative. Val indicated the CWL would like to do one Sunday a month and we decided it would be the 2nd Sunday of the month. The CWL meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month, so this date will allow them to determine who will be the Greeter at their meeting.

▪ May 21st - ....still available! Anyone interested?

▪ May 28th - ....Pentecost Sunday - also available!

· Children's Mass – all agreed it was a great morning! So wonderful to see so many children present, so a huge thank you to parents and grandparents who brought children!

▪ Next Children's Mass scheduled for Sunday, June 4th

▪ Suggestions to add to the effort: Social afterwards was great but perhaps less food? A cooler would be good to have available for the chocolate milk or other items requiring cooling. Perhaps children can play instruments – Fr Frank reported he has instruments which will be available next time.

▪ Concerns had been raised about posting children's photos on Facebook or any social media, and Fr Frank noted this, admitting it was not something he had considered. The group discussed how parents/grandparents are now very careful about obtaining permission before posting any pictures of children on social media and what might be the best way to deal with these concerns. In the end, it was agreed we would initiate two strategies: 1. ensure people know if taking photos which might end up on social media, take them so they do not show the child's face 2. at the next Children's mass we will ask parents beforehand to either approve or decline the posting of photos of their children on social media.

▪ Communication with former parishioners – those no longer attending mass. We had highlighted this as an important research effort for moving forward and we believe this is still valuable to pursue, asking everyone to suggest two questions it would be good to have answered. Maggie noted, as we are all aware, there are not many young people her age interested in attending church. She suggested a professor of Catholic Studies at UPEI, Professor Ariana Patly, who Maggie found was very good discussing these issues. She believes she would be happy to come for an afternoon talk some time, if we wished to pursue that. We agreed this would be a good intiative to hopefully begin some discussion around these issues. Maggie will make inquiries.

▪ Monthly Events Calendar: Zenaida has so kindly stepped forward to do this! At this point we have the following that we know about:

▪ Knights of Columbus Meetings - 2nd Monday of every month

▪ CWL - 2nd Tuesday of the month (not in summer months)

▪ Fr Frank's Birthday! May 3rd

▪ Knights Annual Yard Sale – Saturday, May 27th

▪ Children's Mass – Sunday, June 4th Social to follow

▪ Knights Annual Banquet – previously held in mid-June – Val and Paul will follow up on this – nothing planned as yet, as obviously it has not been held over the past two years.

▪ Next Parish Council Meeting –Wednesday, May 31st, 6:30 p.m.

***Please let us know any other events which could be posted on this Calendar!

4. New Bishop! Fr. Frank informed the group that he has met and chatted with our new Bishop Joseph Dabrowski, and he is planning to get out and visit parishes, which is a most welcome initiative for our Diocese. The Installation Mass for the new Bishop will be Thursday, June 29th, 3:00 p.m. At the Basilica in Charlottetown, and all Islanders are welcome to attend.

· 5. Pastoral Council Roles:

◦ Liturgical Coordinator – Denise has agreed to take this on – and Joanne provided a schedule for now until January 2024. We will follow up on this. Thank you, Denise!

◦ Evangelical Coordinator – Don Clark had a Bible Studies group which would be nice to see continue – again this will need to be coordinated as we go forward.

· Outreach – Denise and Carol Evans had been doing this previously with some other parishioners. They are continuing to do what they can – it is greatly appreciated by senior parishioners and shut-ins and an important part of our Parish effort!

6. Parish Council Members: Denise noted that parishioners who attend Saturday evening mass are not represented on Council, so she will make an effort to invite someone who is a regular Saturday evening attendee to be part of the Council. It was also suggested a member from the summer residents group would be a good idea as well. They are a welcome and important group in our parish, so we will follow up on that as well.

7. Other Business: Fr Frank expressed appreciation for the council bringing forward concerns about pictures of children on social media, as he would not have been aware of such concerns otherwise, noting this an important contribution for the Counsil to assist him as Pastor.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 31st, 2023, 6:30 pm. At Holy Family Church.