St Catherine of Siena

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

The Parish Council will hold its next meeting on Thursday, November 12th, at 7:15PM in Russell Hall. All parishioners are welcome to attend. The meeting will be preceded by a Meet &Greet at 6:30PM. Please join the Council as they address the many events and ministry activities planned for the holiday season and as they plan for the spring Time & Talent Fair.

Come and lend your ideas and your energy as we continue to shape the bright future of St. Catherine of Siena Parish.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday, September 17th @ 7:15PM in Russell Hall
The Parish Council will begin its new term for 2009-
2010 on Thursday, September 17th. A meet and great
will be held at 6:30PM in Russell Hall where the Council
will welcome five new members to be seated for the current
year. The meeting will follow at 7:15PM and will
address our mission and role in the parish along with
outlining for discussion our hopes, dreams and priorities
for growth of St. Catherine of Siena.
ALL PARISHIONERS ARE WELCOME
TO ATTEND @ 7:15PM IN RUSSELL HALL

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday, September 17th @ 7:15PM in Russell Hall

All parishioners are welcome to attend.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday, September 17th @ 7:15PM in Russell Hall

REMINDER: we will be having a “Meet & Greet” to welcome our newest Parish Council Members beginning at 6:30PM.

All parishioners are welcome to attend.

Parish Council Meeting

The parish council will begin its new term for 2009-2010 on Thursday,
September 17. The meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m. and will be held in
Russell Hall. Five new members will be seated on the Council and our first
meeting will be one that deals with our mission and role in the parish as
well with outlining for discussion our hopes and dreams for growth of
Saint Catherine of Siena.

All parishioners are welcome to attend.

NEW PARISH COUNCIL TERM

The new Parish Council will be seated on (and hold it’s first meeting) on Thursday, September 17th, beginning at 7:15PM in Russell Hall. All parishioners are welcome to attend or to con-tact our members with any questions or comments on parish pro-grams or activities.

PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS
The Rev. Michael Whyte, Pastor, 658-1642
Mr. Ralph Chappano, President, 404-7435
Mrs. Tina Yablonski, Vice President, 651-9494
Mr. William Walsh, Secretary, 658-2606
Mrs. Maryann Alimi, 651-3637
Mrs. Cindy Bursiewicz, 658-9532
Ms. Sharon Byron, 651-0097
Mrs. Louise D’Agosto, 658-0333
Mr. Greg DeFrancesco, 658-4197
Mrs. Joan Duffy, 658-5525
Mr. Berney Gaffney, 651-7730
Mrs. Sue Paul, 651-9245
Mr. Anthony Napolitano, 651-9749
Mr. Charlie Page, 658-4047
Mr. Chet Bukowski, 658-2453
Mr. Tony Pereira, 658-1478
Mr. Bill Rice, 651-4946
Mr. Antoine Menoret, 778-3781
Mr. John Dillon, 651-7434
Mrs. Bryce McGowan, 217-0313
Mrs. Kathi Bonner, Dir. of Religious Ed., 658-4737
Mrs. Judy Pluta, Youth Minister, 408-9408
Mrs. Susan Zybert, Music Director, 216-6519

FINANCE COUNCIL MEMBERS

Parishioners are always welcome to contact Fr. Michael or any member of the Finance Council with any questions or concerns pertaining to our parish’s finances.

The Members of the Parish Finance Council are:

The Rev. Michael Whyte, Pastor & Treasurer, 658-1642
Mr. Gene Trovato, Chairman, 651-9090
Mrs. Joanne Dombrosky, Secretary, 651-8605
Mr. Dick Hopkins, 658-5478
Mr. Dan Osborne, 651-8627
Ms. Debbie Rotondo, 658-9110
Mr. Scott Muryasz, 693-4164
Mr. Steve Cerchia, 658-6862

PARISH COUNCIL

The Parish Council is looking for a few additional parishioners to join us for the 2009/2010 year. We meet six times a year and our mission is to discuss issues critical to our parish and to make St. Catherine a better community and place of worship. All that is needed is a willingness to get involved. Go to our parish website to see the minutes from past meetings.

Nomination forms for membership may be found in the atrium/vestibule. Deadline for nominations is May 17th. For more info please contact Bill Rice @ 558-5423 or wrice@webaward.org OR Susan Farrell @ 658-2657 or Nonni3smf@aol.com

PARISH COUNCIL

The Parish Council is looking for a few additional parishioners to join us for the 2009/2010 year. We meet six times a year and our mission is to discuss issues critical to our parish and to make St. Catherine a better community and place of worship. All that is needed is a willingness to get involved. Go to our parish website to see the minutes from past meetings. Nominationforms for membership may be found in the atrium/vestibule. Deadline for nominations is May 17th.

For more info please contact Bill Rice @ 558-5423 or wrice@webaward.org or Susan Farrell @ 658-2657
or Nonni3smf@aol.com

Parish Council Minutes from February 4, 2009

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 

                                                          

February 4, 2009

 

Alimi, Maryann	X	DeFrancisco, Greg	X	Kuzmin, Frank	X	Rice, Bill President	X	Whyte, Reverend Michael,Pastor	X
Bursiewicz, Cindy	X	Duffy, Joan	X	Melendez, Norman	x	Menoret, Antoine	X
Byron, Sharon		Farrell, Susan , Secy	X	Napolitano Anthony		Walsh, Bill	X	Bonner, Kathi DRE	X
Chappano, Ralph  V.P.	X	Gaffney, Bernie	X			Yablonski, Tina	x	Pluta, Judy Youth Ministry	X
D’Agosto, Louise	X	Hollis, Martin		Pereira,  Tony	X

X = Attendees

 

 

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in ordinary time; blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in ordinary time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom ofGod

The meeting began with all attendees introducing themselves and what committees each represent.

 The previous month’s minutes were reviewed with two corrections to be made.  The changes will be made and resent to William Rice, council president.

 Parish Overview-Father Michael Whyte

 Father announced the hiring of a new music director, Susan Zybert.  Susan comes to this full time position with an extensive musical background including a master’s degree in sacred music.  She has been helping the parish as the musical accompanist during the Christmas holidays and working with the adult and children choirs.  We are very happy to have Susan join St. Catherine Parish and look forward to new and exciting venues.

Father Whyte reported that work on the front of the church began last week.  Facilities repair has been the number one issue which needs to be resolved.  Eleven separate leaks have been noted in and around the front of the church and in various rooms which are needed and used on a regular basis.    Repairs include new plywood, replacing of damaged shingles and the placement of new shingles in the front part of the church.  The latter were kindly donated by a parishioner and the shingles, front and back, will now match.  It is thought that some of the vents in the areas where leaks have been found may be removed to prevent future leaks or until it is determined exactly the cause of the leaks. Also noted is the presence of some rotted wood which hopefully can be addressed back to the original construction.  The good news is the repairs will be less than the original estimate of $9000.00.

The other major issue has been the heating system and the lack of being able to accurately control the temperature via thermostat.  After consultations with several different companies, Father is happy to report that the situation has been resolved with the pilot system correctly activated.  The resolution came with the heating codes being found and fixed. 

Snow removal is over budget for the year.  Our current contractor is Simscroft-Echo which utilizes different fees for snowfalls: 1”to 3’ has one price range; 4”-6” another fee and so on.  Since it is impossible to predict from year to year, with this year being a particularly heavy snow year, it was mentioned that a retainer type fee might be the way to go.  However, shoveling of walks and smaller pathways would still have to be taken into account as this is usually charged as a separate fee.

The hiring of a part time custodian is in the very near future.  This person would work approximately two and one half days a week and be responsible for general maintenance, small repairs, painting and whatever needed doing around the grounds.  There will be no increase in the salary budget to incorporate this position.

Discussion of Parish Council Role-Bill Rice

What is the role of the parish council and how can the council do more and be more?  The council is supposed to be the eyes and ears for the parish priest and there are concerns as to whether this commitment is being fulfilled.

Father Whyte discussed the bylaws and the need to have them either reprinted or at least brought up to today’s standard with more specifics.  He would also like to see more proactively.  Antoine Menoret  spoke about more vision and how the parish council should be contributing; Ralph Chappano spoke of the need for more accountability and some clean up of the constitution; Louise D’Agosto would like to see the parish council meet more often than every other month; Bill suggested more use of email and sharing of documents.  Father Whyte noted that sub-committees do meet at least once a month.  There were concerns on how new members to the council can take over the rolls of the previous members and continue to run the committees on which they have chosen to sit.  Joan Duffy suggested there be a protocol for new people to follow and then they could implement new ideas and changes.  Susan Farrell suggested that committee heads go back to sending out their reports to the members of parish council for review before each council meeting.  This had been done previously and gives members a chance to have their questions ready without having to discuss each meeting individually in it’s entirely.  In addition, it was agreed that each committee would review their individual section of the bylaws and report back at the next meeting with any recommendations or changes they would like to see instituted. 

Appreciation Party for Deacon Tom Delehanty

The party for Deacon Tom and his wife, Mina Lu is scheduled for Sunday, March 8th, after the 11AM Mass in Russell Hall.  Light refreshments will be served and a sign up sheet to contribute a light desert or appetizer will be posted in the atrium.  Father Russell will be invited and hopefully will be able to attend.  In lieu of specific gifts, it was decided that a gift basket would be more appropriate and enable individuals to gift according to their own wishes.  Envelopes will be provided for this purpose. 

Committee Updates

     Building and Grounds          Anthony Napolitano         No update at this time

     Communications                  Tony Pereira                       Bulletin up and running

                                                                                                   Calendar looking good

     Liturgy                                     Kathi Bonner                      Lenten Updates

 

     There are several new events being added this year:  there will be a 7AM Mass every Friday during the Lenten season followed by Stations of the Cross and Benediction.  The   8:30Mass will remain the same.  A parish mission, led by Deacon Arthur Miller, will be held on Friday, 2/27/09 and Saturday 2/28/09.  The theme of the mission, “God’s Good News” will begin at 7PM Friday and conclude with the 5PM Saturday Mass at which Deacon Miller will be the homilist.  Music will be provided by the Saint Michael’s Gospel choir.  On Friday, March 20^th, the 3^rd grade CCD class will present the annual Stations of the Cross at 7PM.  All parishioners are invited to attend. On March 23, there will be a parish wide penance service at 7PM.  On Wednesday mornings and evenings during the Lenten season, Kathi Bonner (mornings) and Tina Yablonski (evenings) will conduct bible studies relevant to the Lenten season.  Sign up sheets are available in the atrium until 2/23/09.  The classes will be held at 9:30am and 7pm respectively. 

 There was discussion on celebrating the feast day of our patron saint, Saint Catherine of Siena.  Her feast day is April 26^th.  Roseanne O’Hara is doing research on the customs and cuisine of her time and a pot luck dinner is being considered with meals representative of that era.

 

     Spiritual Life                             Antoine Menoret           No update

      Social Hospitality                    Greg DeFrancesco          No update   

       Social Justice                            Frank Kuzmin/Bernie Gaffney

              Comitas has had several requests for help with many willing to provide that help.         

             Rides and meals appear to be the most needed services.

 

     Youth Ministry                         Judy Pluta

              Judy reports that the meetings are going well with lots of teens coming on a regular basis.  They are interested and full of ideas; willing to jump in and help with anything.  The mission group is ready to go and will receive final instructions, directions, and packing information at a meeting on Sunday, March 1^st, right after the 9:30AM Mass.  Judy reported that the parish donation to help with the Boston trip amounted to $2300.00.  The kids raised $916.00 through fund raisers and contributed $800.00 themselves. 

 

     Planning                                   Bill Walsh

             

             The five year plan is in draft form.  It will be redone and when ready, sent to Bill Rice and Father Whyte for review.  Bill will then send the final revision to all parish council members.  A parish wide survey is also planned before the end of the year.

 

     Nominations                            Susan Farrell

 

                A couple of new members will be needed for the 2009/2010 parish council.  A secretary for the council will be needed as well.

 

Social hour followed.  The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 7:30PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Susan M Farrell, Secretary

 

 

                     

 

 

 

 

November 2008 Parish Council Meeting Minutes

                                                     PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

                                                          

November 5, 2008

 

Alimi, Maryann	X	DeFrancisco, Greg	X	Kuzmin, Frank	X	Rice, Bill President	X	Whyte, Reverend Michael,Pastor	X
Bursiewicz, Cindy	X	Duffy, Joan		Melendez, Norman	x	Menoret, Antoine	X	Delehanty, Thomas, Deacon	X
Byron, Sharon	X	Farrell, Susan , Secy	X	Napolitano Anthony	X	Walsh, Bill	X	Bonner, Kathi DRE
Chappano, Ralph  V.P.	X	Gaffney, Bernie	X			Yablonski, Tina		Pluta, Judy Youth Ministry
D’Agosta, Louise	X	Hollis, Martin		Pereira,  Tony	X

X = Attendees

 

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in ordinary time; blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in ordinary time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom of God.

INTRODUCTION OF ATTENDEES

Members of parish council introduced themselves and said which committees they were on.  New member, Tina Yablonski, has graciously joined parish council to replace Roseanne O’Hara who resigned as vice president and parish council member citing personal conflicts.  Ralph Chappano will take over as new vice president.

PRESENTATION FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE

The meeting began with a presentation from the Archdiocese of Hartford, Office of Development, and was conducted by Robert J. McTiernan, Mgr.  Among the services offered are endowment and planned giving, will and bequest seminars and the availability and utilization of administrative and professional expertise if requested. Planned giving can greatly enhance the long term benefits for parishes, schools, ministries and the Archdiocese of Hartford.  Our parish would have a much better idea on how to manage future expenditures with this type of implementation and would help insure the financial security of St. Catherine’s.  Future meetings will be set up with investment professionals. 

REPORT OF PARISH FINANCES

The meeting continued with a report by the finance council on the general condition of parish finances.  Dick Hopkins reported that finances have improved, revenue is up, offertory goals are being met and the extra collection once a month for maintenance has been successful in keeping operating costs manageable.  He also reported that expenses are down by about 10%.  The biggest challenge now being faced is to get back to the previous $600,000.00 reserve.  There remains approximately $22,000.00 in unpaid building fund pledges.  The finance council will meet January 13, 2009 and will present their financial overview to the parish in the following few weeks.

OLD BUSINESS-MINUTES APPROVAL

Minutes of last meeting in September, 2008 reviewed and accepted.

PARISH OVERVIEW-FATHER MICHAEL WHYTE

Father presented an overview of the required five year plan and said it still needed some changes and upon completion, will be presented to the parish council, hopefully by the next meeting in February 2009.  We need to know where the parish will be and how we will get there.

The music program continues with the temporary help of Carol and Michael Yachanin, Ezequiel Menendez and Mercedes Featherston.  Their help during this transitional period has been tremendous.  A committee will be formed to see what is best needed for our music program.  Five resumes’ have been received and interviews will be conducted after the first of the New Year.  In conjunction with this, personnel policies, currently not in place, will be designed and implemented.

Father hopes to organize new ministries for 2009.  Information will be available in hand outs and in the bulletin with more specifics.

Some maintenance projects will be in the near future:  roof of the church, gutters, flashings, with an estimate of $9000.00.  Some shingles in the rectory need replacing and ceiling repairs in the office.  There is an immediate need to eliminate black mold in the upstairs of the rectory.  Our parish is extremely fortunate to have many volunteers with the needed experience to correct these problems, thereby keeping the expenses to a minimum. 

The religious education program is progressing very well. An article in the Catholic Transcript featuring the newly organized religious special education classes for some of our children was very well received by the Archdiocese.  In addition, Judy Pluta has been doing a spectacular job as our new youth minister.  Whereas there were maybe 14-15 participants in the program, Judy now has anywhere from 35 to 40 young adults on a regular basis, all contributing time and talent to the various ministries and planning of future events.

The 7^th and 8^th grade participants are being led by Bill and Karen Carew.  This young group seems to be really coming around, building friendships and learning to work together.  This will become a very important core group as they move up in age.

Father Whyte spoke about the needs of Sacred Heart Parish who are really feeling the economic pinch, especially with their food pantry.  The Giving Tree program, always part of our holiday tradition, will be expanded this year to try and help those so desperately in need.

Several mission statements were submitted to the council.  Members discussed their favorites and what each meant to them.  Agreement was reached on a combination of two and will include in the weekly bulletin as required.

 

COMMITTEE UPDATES

There were no updates other than an email submitted by Joan Duffy on Comitas. Joan reported that two parishioners will be using the Comitas services for transportation and meals in the upcoming weeks.  She has had eight people respond to help with transportation to and from Hartford Hospital.

Antoine Menoret spoke about RCIA and how we might get more participants by looking beyond the parish for candidates.  The RCIA program should have a committee of laity sharing our faith with those interested in joining the Catholic Church, some who may have fallen away or just those people wanting to strengthen their own beliefs.

Refreshment schedules were assigned.  The next meeting will be Wednesday, 2/4/09. 

Future parish council meetings are scheduled for 4/8/09 and 6/10/09.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Susan M Farrell, Secy.

New Mission Statement

The Parish Council approved a new mission statement for St Catherine's Parish at their November meeting.

We strive to be a faith filled community living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Roman Catholic tradition. We are committed to loving God through participation in the sacramental life of the Church. We pray and grow together supporting and caring for all.

This statement of mission will appear on our website and on the weekly bulletin when the masthead is next updated.

Parish Council Meeting September Minutes

Here are the minutes for the September 2008 St. Catherine Parish Council Meeting.

Download PARISH_COUNCIL_9-16-08.doc

September 2008 Parish Council Meeting Minutes

                                                     PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

                                                          

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

 

Alimi, Maryann	X	DeFrancisco, Greg	x	Kuzmin, Frank		Rice, Bill President	x	Whyte, Reverend Michael,Pastor	x
Bursiewicz, Cindy	x	Duffy, Joan	x	Melendez, Norman	x	Menoret, Antoine	x	Delehanty, Thomas, Deacon	x
Byron, Sharon		Farrell, Susan , Secy	x	Napolitano Anthony		Walsh, Bill	X	Bonner, Kathi DRE	x
Chappano, Ralph	x	Gaffney, Bernie						Pluta, Judy Youth Ministry	x
D’Agosta, Louise	x	Hollia, Martin		Pereira,  Tony	x

X = Attendees

 

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in ordinary time; blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in ordinary time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom of God.

The first meeting of the year began with opening prayer and the introduction of new members. 

Minutes were approved and accepted.

Reverend Michael Whyte, temporary administrator of Saint Catherine of Siena, was welcomed and congratulated on his new position as Pastor of our parish.  He has been with our parish for the past eighteen months and will serve a six year commitment as our new Pastor.  Father thanked everyone for the many letters of appreciation sent to the Archdiocese on his behalf, for the support given him during his temporary position and looks forward, as we do, to the next six years at Saint Catherine. 

 

PARISH OVERVIEW-Father Michael Whyte

Father has several ministries which he would like to see happen during the upcoming year:  there is a great need to address several groups, i.e. fallen away Catholics, members of our parish in mixed religion marriages and divorced and/or remarried Catholics.  Suggestions were made to have some type of open door informal information night and discuss options on how to invite these members back into our parish and to discuss their needs.

Father needs to present a 5 year plan for the parish as required by the Archdiocese and also must have a mission statement, as required by Canon Law, for the parish council.  Examples of the latter will be sent by email to all members and will be discussed at the upcoming planning meeting on Thursday, October 2 at 7:30pm.

Father Whyte discussed a parish audit: what is going well and what needs improvement, i.e. employee benefit packages, collections, record keeping etc.  This will be addressed over the next couple of weeks. 

A building and grounds committee meeting was held with only five people in attendance.  A letter will be initiated to invite people to return as there is much work to be done.  Current cleaning and maintenance of the church and facility is a big issue as the costs are prohibitive for the work being done.  The possible hiring of one person, perhaps a retiree, to oversee and maintain this area on a part time basis was again discussed.  This would greatly relieve the current budgeted expense which would then be adjusted accordingly.

Revenue increase was discussed and Father mentioned a company called Letter Concepts which works off a flat fee and has a very successful reputation at raising money.  The finance council will look into a three to six week soft sell approach.  The renting of the parish center is definitely a potential source of income.  Father would like to have someone look at our center and suggest reasonable renting rates and then have a volunteer from our parish oversee this.  A set of rules would be assigned for any organization or private party who wishes to rent the center, that party being responsible for any exit clean-up. 

 

YOUTH MINISTRY

The new youth minister, Judy Pluta, was introduced by Bill Rice.  Judy reported that there has been a great start to this year’s program with 31 youth at the first meeting and 33 at the second.  The second meeting was held at an earlier start time and seemed to work better for the majority.  Judy has three specific roles which she thinks will create more community among the youth; spiritual, service and social.  Upcoming events include helping with the garage sale of items no longer needed by Father Russell, the revenue which Father is generously donating to the youth group, a possible dodge ball tournament sometime in October and guest speakers from food share.  She is working on plans through December 2008.

 

BILL RICE-President

Bill wants to initiate some type of thanks to the Archbishop for allowing Father Whyte to remain at Saint Catherine’s as our parish priest.  Several suggestions were made, perhaps a contribution to the appeal but a letter of appreciation and thanks was decided on as the proper response.  A letter will be drafted and sent by Bill Walsh.

A retirement party to honor Father Russell’s service to our parish will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2008 after the 5:00p.m.

Mass at which he will be the celebrant.  A reception will be held in Russell Hall with refreshments and gifts presented to Father.  Parishioners will be asked to provide appetizers and beverages will be provided. An email will be sent out by Bill Walsh with more information in the next few weeks.  Father Russell will be permanently residing at St. Thomas Seminary.

Bill announced the resignation of Roseanne O’Hara as vice president and parish council member due to health issues with a member of her extended family.  A replacement for this position will be chosen from the current council members and an alternate will be contacted to fulfill the 18 member council requirement as defined in the by-laws.

 

COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

Committee needs were discussed and parish council members gave a brief description of their committee and its needs.  Members decided which committees they would join and chairs of these committees were named.  A complete and updated list will be available at the next council meeting.  Basically, each committee needs to have specific guidelines and directions, must be chaired by a parish council member but can be made up from parishioners outside the council. 

Committee members inquired as to whether individual budgets are available for each committee; is there a parish council budget? This will be discussed at the finance meeting, 9/17/08.

A note is made that three council members will be needed for the upcoming 2009/2010 year.

 

PLANNING MEETING

The bylaws need to be addressed and updated.  The current copy dates back to the arrival of Father Russell in 1989 and came from the Archdiocese.  The consensus is to merge ours with the current guidelines from the Archdiocese and use a common sense approach in the best interest of Saint Catherine’s.

Members discussed looking into a Parish Data Management System to augment or replace the current system.  Tony Pereira will investigate and report at the next meeting.  An informal planning and brainstorming session for the parish council will be held on Thursday, October 2 at 7:30p.m.

Each committee should present three to five focus issues important to their individual committees.  Bill Walsh will lead this meeting and track suggestions. 

It was noted that two youth members are needed for the parish council.  Judy Pluta will advise at the next meeting.

 

PARISH FINANCES

Father Whyte reported that revenue is generally up, especially the last few weeks, and currently, expenses are down.  To date, $17000.00 has been expensed with an approximate $15000.00 more to go.  There are some fairly serious mold problems in the rectory which must be taken care of and some basic clean up and repairs long overdue.  The men’s club will help and Ron Huston has offered to do a walk through to help prioritize the needs. 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

The parish wide directory is expected to arrive within the next week.

Refreshment schedules were passed around for members to sign and the meeting was adjourned followed by social hour.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Susan M Farrell, Secy

 

Building & Grounds Committee Needs Your Help

As you know the parish does not have a full– or part-time maintenance person and so much of the day-to-day repair and maintenance work is accomplished by volunteers. From plantings and garden work and repairs at the rectory to fixing the kneelers and working on small painting jobs, parishioners with interests and talents in these areas help out a great deal. If you are interested in joining this group of dedicated volunteers please do so. In the next bulletin we will list the meeting dates and time as well as some contact names for various projects.

ST CATHERINE OF SIENA

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

JUNE 4, 2008

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 

Alimi,Maryann	X	Farrell,Susan  Secy.	X	Pereira, Tony	X	Walsh, Bill
		Hollis,Martin			X	Russell, Reverend Richard R. Pastor
Bursiewicz,Cindy	X	Kuzmin, Frank		Rice, Bill  Pres.	X	Delehanty, Deacon, Tom	X
Byron, Sharon	X	Melandez, Norman	X	Sparkowski, James	X	Bonner, Kathi  D.R.E	X
		Napolitano, Anthony	X	Vendetti, Sheila Rae	X
Duffy,Joan	X	O’Hara, Roseanne V. P.	X			Whyte, Reverend Michael  Temp Adm.	X

X = attendees

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom of God.

Minute’s approval:  Reviewed and accepted.

Council president, Bill Rice, addressed the meeting and gave a brief review of the parish council and what they do as the eyes and ears for the pastor and the temporary administrator, Father Michael Whyte.  The council requires s a three year commitment initially with the availability to sign up for another three years if so desired.  Every member is expected to be on or help in heading up the various committees which fall under parish council jurisdiction, utilizing their own personal talents and time.  Current members introduced themselves and gave a brief description of their time with the parish and current interests and responsibilities.

The new election process worked well where volunteers, who had expressed interest in joining the council had their names placed in a basket and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, were chosen at random during one of the Masses.  Those names not picked will be kept for future vacancies and again asked if they would like to participate when other current members retire. 

Parish Overview-Father Michael Whyte

Father welcomed the new members to the council and expressed his thanks to those members who have completed their service: Mark Asmar, TJ Donohue, Steve Reed, James Sparkowski and Sheila Rae Vendetti.  New members this year are: Antoine Menoret, Ralph Chappano, Louise D’Agosta, Bernie Gaffney and Greg DeFrancesco. 

Father Whyte discussed the new contemporary music ensemble which is expected to debut 6/14/08.  It is hoped that a positive feedback will result.

There is no resolution on the return of Father Russell at this time, but Father Whyte expects some word in the next couple of weeks.

The finance council has approved expenditures to solve the sound issues in the new addition and will go with the best solution.  The approximate budget for this is $15000.00 with labor at about $4000.00 and the balance for supplies.   New insulation panels on the walls and ceiling are expected to greatly improve the sound quality.  Completion of this project should be done by the end of the summer.  At that point, new rates will be discussed for the future renting of the hall. 

Repairs to the parking area have also been approved with an approximate budget of $7000.00.  This will be for the most crucial repairs first but it is noted that in the future, the entire parking lot will need to undergo a complete renovation, perhaps in five to six years.  Also noted is the future need for a new roof on the rectory as well as the church.

Father Whyte is happy to report that the newly instituted once a month maintenance collection is going well and has added nearly $40,000.00 in revenue to date.  Overall, revenue is up, but even with the second collection, is still falling short of monthly expenditure needs.  There is a possibility of a long term deficit down the road as it is difficult to project what costs will be in an uncertain economy.   

There is a possibility of a Sunday night Mass at St. Catherine’s, but permission must first be obtained from the diocese.  The consensus is that it would be very well received, especially with the very busy lives of most parishioners these days.   Membership in our parish has gone up but we do experience some losses when children in our CCD classes register for St. Mary’s School and no longer participate in our religious education classes.

 

Youth Ministry

Bill Rice discussed a meeting held on 6/1/08 and led by Bill Carew with a dozen or so families in attendance.  The focus was on the middle school age children of our parish, how to get and keep them more involved in the activities at St. Catherine’s.  This group will work closely with Judy Pluta, new youth ministry director. 

Also noted, Grant Osborne, Troop 175, of our parish built a wall within the shed as his Eagle project.  He also built hanging hooks for wreaths and miscellaneous items.  His goal was to take one area and make it more secure and serviceable.  Troop 175 is a good resource for community needs and service for earning Eagle Scout status.

Building and Grounds-Nothing new to report; covered by Father Whyte

Communications

Tony Pereira discussed the new church directory, the general feedback of the actual picture taking and mentioned that those who did not participate can still submit a picture for publication.  It must be vertical to be included. 

Liturgy

Kathi Bonner held a general meeting three weeks ago which was very well attended.  New music was discussed, worship aids and what the current needs are;  contemporary music meeting  and rehearsals are set to go; will be every other week and alternate between the 5pm and 10am Mass in the summer.  The bulletin will publish what will take place at each Mass, i.e. bell choir, adult choir, youth choir, contemporary music etc., and whom the officiating priest will be.

Spiritual Life          no report

Social Hospitality  no report

Social Justice         no report

Planning                 no report

Joan Duffy gave a brief report on Comitas.  There are currently about 60 people involved at this time helping with meals, transportation and whatever needs are requested by the parish community.

 

Nominations

Susan Farrell thanked everyone for their participation and phone calls to parish members interested in joining the parish council.  There was an excellent response this year.  She thanked outgoing members for their help and welcomed the new parish council members.

Before concluding the meeting, Bill Rice discussed the bylaws and the need to reestablish the annual survey; this will hopefully be done in the fall.  This survey would consist of questions with rankings of perhaps 1 to 5; i.e. how can we make our parish better? What would you add to the weekly agendas?  We would have to make a push to get everyone possible to participate in order to get a true result.  Results would be distributed at a social or parish wide meeting. 

The meeting was concluded with closing comments and social hour.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan M Farrell, Secy.

 

Parish Council Minutes

Here are the minutes for the June 2008 St. Catherine Parish Council Meeting.

Download parish_council_6408.doc

PARISH DIRECTORY

The photos have been taken for our new directory! If you were unable to make it to a photo shoot, you can still be in the directory (in alphabetical order) by submitting a photo by June 21st. Please e-mail the photo to Tony Pereira.

Parish Directory

The photos have been taken for our new directory! If you were unable to make it to a photo shoot, you can still be in the directory (in alphabetical order) by submitting a photo by June 21st. Please e-mail the photo to Tony Pereira.

Parish Council Meeting

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING - June 4th @ 7:30PM in the Music Room. All parishioners are welcome to attend.

March 2008 Parish Council Meeting Minutes

ST CATHERINE OF SIENA

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

MARCH 5,2008

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 

Alimi,Maryann		Farrell,Susan  Secy.	X	Pereira, Tony	X	Walsh, Bill	X
Asmar,Mark		Hollis,Martin	X	Reed, Steve	X	Russell, Reverend Richard R. Pastor
Bursiewicz,Cindy	X	Kuzmin, Frank		Rice, Bill  Pres.	X	Delehanty, Deacon, Tom	X
Byron, Sharon	X	Melandez, Norman	X	Sparkowski, James	X	Bonner, Kathi  D.R.E	X
Donohue,T J		Napolitano, Anthony		Vendetti, Sheila Rae	X		X
Duffy,Joan	X	O’Hara, Roseanne V. P.	X			Whyte, Reverend Michael  Temp Adm.	X

X = attendees

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom of God.

Minute’s approval:  Reviewed and accepted.

Attendees introduced themselves and gave a brief statement about them, how long they have been in the parish and a little about their respective families.

General parish business discussion: Father Michael Whyte

Father Whyte addressed parish revenues suggesting a need for a ten percent increase in offertory collections.  Even though there has been a general increase since the last request, there remain unpaid pledges from the parish expansion project; pledges that have been received have helped to cover the 2007 parish deficit.  The second collection being taken up once a month for maintenance has been well received and checks come in on a regular basis. 

Father discussed the need for a new cleaning contractor which would initially cost more for the first year but would be lower in subsequent years.  The hiring of a combination cleaning/maintenance employee is being considered.  This person would be an employee of St. Catherine’s and be responsible for many of the needs currently being contracted outside the parish.  The general salary is projected in the $32 -38K range.  At this time we are paying outside contractors as needed, i.e. Echo Farms comes with sand and salt for the driveway and walkways every time snow is more than a couple of inches.  One weekend alone was a cost of $1800.00. Landscaping monthly costs run around $900.00. The current storage shed is adequate at this time but would likely become too small if the parish is to obtain equipment for inside maintenance.                                                           

General parish news: Father Whyte

There is an increase in parishioners and registrations.  The two new ministries, parish outreach and parish shawl are going extremely well.  Father Whyte would like to introduce a new ministry outreach for those Catholics in alternative marriage i.e. divorced, separated or for those who have fallen away from their faith and need an avenue to reconnect. 

Emily Bonaguide, the new youth minister has resigned.  The long commute and extra academics involved with her job made her 20 hour weekly commitment to St. Catherine’s a challenge and she was not able to fulfill the parish needs.  Although two meetings were held to try and address her needs and the parish needs, unfortunately it was not able to be resolved. 

Summer bible camp was discussed and hopefully can be held this year. 

 

Youth Ministry:

Bill Rice spoke about the need for more programs for the older youth members of our parish. It is very important to address their needs and keep them engaged early on.  A focus age was discussed and perhaps the need for a specific group to address the issues.  It was suggested that a trickle down effect might be a good way to accomplish this:  high school students would mentor middle school students who in turn would help out with the K through 6^th grade children.   This would be part of the job description of the new youth minister but it was agreed that a parental group could be started first who would then align with whomever assumes the youth ministry position. 

A meeting will be set up soon and dialog started.  A proposal for an ad hoc committee for youth participation was nominated and accepted.  Bill Walsh, a member of the parish council, will chair a youth activities committee. 

Joan Duffy discussed the Java and Jazz fund raiser, maybe in May.  This is a scholarship fund held in the memory of Tom Duffy and goes to young musicians.  It is normally extremely well attended and youth members are asked to help with this project.   

Website Overview update:

Bill Rice talked about the new St. Catherine’s website.  He demonstrated some of the ins and outs of the system and how to navigate it.  The site will always open with a welcome letter followed by basic information, i.e. Mass schedules, Sacraments etc, committees and links to each.  Bill explained the ease of use, how to do new postings and how simple it will be to maintain so that anyone in the future will be able to navigate the different venues.  It will literally become a living history for the parish.  Bill said that after ten days, items will be stored in the archives.  The church calendar may be utilized by anyone who wishes to post an upcoming event or meeting.  Each category will have its own color code for those who only wish to view specific information, i.e. CCD or ministry meetings. 

Committee Updates:

Steve Reed-Buildings and Grounds

Steve reported that a group from UHAR came out to evaluate the acoustics in Russell Hall.  A report will be sent out and changes are expected to be made.

There are some electrical changes being made.  Sensors will be able to be accessed by approved parish members.  The parts needed to fix the kneelers and pews are coming in and will be repaired by volunteer carpenters from the parish. 

Tony Pereira-Communications

The parish directory will be coming in the spring with times and dates to be announced soon.  The previous company chosen for past directories is no longer in business so Tony has to find a new company.  The directory is free with no cost to the parish.  The idea is to have family picture packages available for purchase from the participating company at a reasonable cost while updating our parish family.  More news to come but Tony will need many volunteers to help coordinate times and names.

Kathi Bonner-Liturgy

The liturgy committee now has 12 people.  Everyone is very involved in making the Alleluia .arty a big success.  It is a celebration of the Tridium.  It will be held on Saturday night after Mass from 9:30 to Midnight and will feature food and drink.  It is at this time still in the planning stages but is expected to draw a sizeable crowd.  This will be a good trial for future endeavors.

A training session for ushers will be set up.

 

Spiritual Life-Cindy Bursiewicz

Cindy passed out prayer cards from the Knights of Columbus featuring a picture of Pope Benedict XVI and a prayer to insure that his upcoming trip to the United States will be successful and safe.  Those attending his visit to New York were chosen by lottery. Six people were chosen to go to Yankee Stadium and accepted that invitation.

Social Hospitality-Anthony Napolitano

Anthony was not able to attend.  News in his absence:  The men’s and women’s club will be helping with the Alleluia party.  The fish fry was very successful.  The progressive dinner will be held on April  12 in Russell Hall.  Sign up sheets available in the vestibule. 

Social Justice-Sheila Rae Vendetti

The Mercy project held annually before the Easter season received a very good response.  The atrium proved to be a successful avenue for donations.  The money received is divided among the Youth Group, Family Life Education and Gifts of Love, the latter always needing monetary and food donations.

Nominations-Susan Farrell

There are three people who showed interest in joining the Parish Council from the Time and Talent fair.  Others have expressed interest and will be contacted in the near future.  When a final count is determined as to how many are needed to join for the upcoming year, these interested parties will be contacted and if necessary, a vote taken in May.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Susan M Farrell, Secy

Parish Council Meeting March Minutes

Here are the minutes for the March 2008 St. Catherine Parish Council Meeting.

Download PARISHCOUNCIL_3-5-08.doc

New Parish Council Members Needed

The Parish Council is looking for a few additional parishioners to join us for
the 2008/2009 year. We meet just six times a year and our mission is to discuss
issues critical to our parish and work to make St. Catherine’s a better community and
place of worship. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to get involved. For
more info contact Bill Rice @ 558-5423 or wrice@webaward.org or Susan Farrell
@ 658-2657 or Nonni3smf@aol.com

Parish Council Meeting

Parish Council will meet in Russell Hall on Wednesday, March 5^th at 7:30 pm. We will discuss the new Website, committee reports and get an update on parish activities. All members of the parish are welcome.

 ST CATHERINE OF SIENA

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

JANUARY 9, 2008

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 

Alimi,Maryann	X	Farrell,Susan  Secy.	X	Pereira, Tony	X	Walsh, Bill
Asmar,Mark		Hollis,Martin		Reed, Steve		Russell, Reverend Richard R. Pastor
Bursiewicz,Cindy	X	Kuzmin, Frank	X	Rice, Bill  Pres.	X	Delehanty, Deacon, Tom	X
Byron, Sharon	X	Melandez, Norman		Sparkowski, James		Bonner, Kathi  D.R.E
Donohue,T J		Napolitano, Anthony		Vendetti, Sheila Rae	X	Bonaguide, Emily D.Y.M.	X
Duffy,Joan	X	O’Hara, Roseanne V. P.	X	Viganti, Paul, Youth		Whyte, Reverend Michael  Temp Adm.	X

OPENING PRAYER

We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of redemption, empowered by an extraordinary Spirit who calls us to follow Jesus.  We are ordinary people in Ordinary Time, charged with the extraordinary mission of building the kingdom of God.

Minutes approval:  Reviewed and accepted

General parish business discussion: Father Michael Whyte

The 2007 budget is closed and the reports are almost complete.  The end of year figures will be presented when available. 

The 2008 budget figures will be presented to parish council when complete.  Some major increases in expenditures include a large increase in medical insurance.  On the plus side, there was a substantial increase in 2007 revenue, approximately $73,000.  Part of this was realized from the 600 plus students enrolled in the religious education program.  There was also a great response to the appeal in October for increases in weekly donations including the 2^nd collection recently introduced to help with energy and maintenance costs.

 

Overview of upcoming projects:  Father Michael Whyte

There are several projects which need to be addressed:

1. Acoustical panels
2. Ice melting coils for the roof
3. Upcoming meeting with Direct Energy for possible switch from CL & P
4. Parish registration and envelope participation.  Fr. Whyte will incorporate this item into his homily sometime in January or beginning of February. It is important to show continued parish growth to the Archdiocese to avoid

   Simsbury

   churches having to merge.
5. No update on Father Russell at this time.  He is driving but still walking very slowly.
6. Baby Jesus was removed from our outside Nativity Crèche.  It is hoped that this was just a prank and that it will be returned in time.  If not, a replacement will need to be purchased and a discussion was held on the possibility of enclosing the Nativity with a plexus glass type protection.

Father also announced that a very generous donation was received from a parish member to offset the heating and air conditioning costs.

 

Building and Grounds-Steve Reed

Steve was unable to attend due to illness but he kindly emailed to Bill Rice a brief overview of major activities upcoming.

1. Carrier I-Vue interface to be installed this month-will allow energy savings and better control.
2. Kneeler repairs should occur this month, as the parts have been received.
3. Russell Hall downtube should be walled in this month for aesthetics and sound reduction. Russell Hall noise reduction is pending confidence in a solution and a sufficient budget.
4. Building and grounds will continue to meet on the third Monday of each month

 

Communications-Tony Pereira

An updated parish wide directory will be tabled until May or June, just before the parish picnic.  This will be more conducive to families with college age students.  Tony will need volunteers to greet and coordinate photo sessions.

Website update-Tony and Sharon Byron are looking at software programs.  The

Vatican

website looks promising but would need some local tweaking.  Discussion on privacy issues:  include all parishioners with the ability to opt out?  The big issue would be navigation and content.  The idea is to start fairly simply with the ability to grow and add as needed.  Email addresses of all parish members would be part of the directory.  Bill Rice would like to see a goal of emailing the parish bulletin to all parish members on each Friday.

 

Spiritual Life-no updates at this time.

 

Youth Ministry-Emily Bonaguide

Emily reported that there has been a slight decrease in youth participation.  She had 15 members at the last meeting.  Sandwiches and cookies were made and sent to Loaves and Fishes.  She is looking to do more service based projects this year.

The parish council needs two youth representatives to sit on the council and Emily will contact some of her members to assist.

 

Soc ial Hospitality-No update at this time.

Social Justice-Sheila Rae Vendetti

Sheila reported that the Christmas project was a big success.  There were many gifts, good food and candy for the approximate 50 to 60 children who attended the party in celebration of Three Kings Day at Sacred Heart Church in Hartford.

The Mercy Project is the next big event, always taking place during the Lenten weeks.

A discussion was held on how to get more people to use the new entrance when coming to Mass. Also, a head usher would be ideal to coordinate each Mass and be sure we have enough for greeting and collection.  Chris Hug will be called to see if he can help with this project.

 

Planning Committee-Bill Walsh

The committee is working on the parish survey.  Ideally, this would be done once a year, perhaps being combined with parish registrations.  It was stressed that parish feedback and commentary is very important.

Nominations-Susan Farrell

Three people inquired about joining parish council for the upcoming year, 2008/2009.  Parish Council meets six times a year and advises the pastor on issues facing the parish and makes recommendations to fulfill these issues.  Members serve a three year term and can re-join for an additional three year, total of six.  Open positions are filled in March.  Susan Farrell has the list of people showing interest. 

General-Refreshment schedule for next meeting:  Roseanne O’Hara and Father Whyte.

Next meeting is Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. 

Other meetings will be in May and June, 2008.

Confirmation will be held on the Friday before Memorial Day with Archbishop Mansell as the presider.

Discussion on resuming coffee and donuts after Mass and perhaps coffee after Mass on the first Friday of each month.  John Hoffman will be contacted regarding coffee and donuts.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Susan M Farrell, Secy