TO:                  All Parishioners

FROM:            The Pastoral Council

RE:                  Minutes of February 12, 2008 meeting

One member was asked to prepare the agendas for subsequent meetings beginning with the March meeting, and he agreed to do so.

•A Lenten mailing went out as scheduled to all registered parishioners; the mailing included Lenten practices, schedules and made note of the new Flower Fund to which people are responding. The flower fund envelopes did not include a donor’s name line. This will be corrected for future donations.

•During Lent, there will be three Tuesday evenings at the 7:30 novena using stories of martyrs as an example of witnessing for our faith.

•A member mentioned that the Mid-Winter Dinner held on Feb. 9 went well. It was decided that a greater lead time for major events would be given in order to allow for easier planning and execution. Also, a determination of how to pay for the food will be agreed on at the outset. Various proposals for party planning include: Parishioner donations of food and drink, charging a nominal fee with a combination of food donations or a “free will” donation basket.

•Another member proposed several ideas for parish get-togethers including a Chinese Auction and a square dancing instruction evening. It was decided that both ideas were good, but no immediate dates were decided.

•April 5 is our next Movie Night. “The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” was suggested and OK’d by the members. A member agreed to get the movie. The pastor said the church would supply heroes and salads, for a light meal along with drinks. The event will start at 6:00 with dinner and the movie will follow. A flyer will be in the bulletin and also emailed to religious ed teachers.

•The pastor proposed a Memorial Day “cook-out, eat-in” event for Saturday, May 24, starting after 5:00 mass. We will need volunteers to cook food outdoors as well as serving, set up and cleanup. Fee to be determined. More details to follow.

•The pastor also reported the rising cost of the boiler repairs and a possible fundraising event was proposed for Friday, June 20 in order to coincide with the 21^st anniversary of the parish. One member mentioned the idea of a “reverse raffle.” A raffle featuring a donated high-ticket item like a TV or laptop was mentioned as possible prizes for a raffle for which the winner would be announced at the event. More details need to be discussed by the finance committee.

•All members of the PC will be inviting possible volunteers to form a Hospitality Committee. Names and contact info for possible committee members should be forwarded to the PC through the parish secretary before Easter. It was decided that Hospitality should be ideally be scheduled once a month and that it should take place from 9:00 to 11:30 to include parishioners from all Sunday masses. A blurb will be put into the bulletin asking for volunteers.

•A ministries wine and cheese party was discussed and will perhaps be held during the summer or in conjunction with the fund raising event to replenish the money spent on boiler repairs.

•The pastor mentioned the Catholic Ministries Appeal which was mailed to parishioners from the DRVC. He also devoted a page to the appeal in the OLH bulletin, emphasizing the good that will come of donations right here in our own backyard.

•A member mentioned an automated system for donating to OLH on a paperless basis as an alternative to using the weekly envelopes. To be discussed at the next meeting and in conjunction with the finance committee.

•The PC will have an open meeting for all interested parishioners on June 25. This meeting will take the place of the usual monthly PC meeting.