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APRIL 2008 MINUTES
MEETING MINUTES
Genesis Vicariate Pastoral Council Meeting
7 p.m. ~ April 14, 2008
St. Mark Parish
AGENDA:
-
Opening Prayer
-
Document on Poverty & Racism
-
Vicar’s Meeting Report
-
Genesis Budget & Assessments
-
150th
Anniversary of the Archdiocese
-
Parish
Outreach Surveys
-
Upcoming Events
-
New
Donation Statement Guidelines
-
New
Vicar / Structure of Vicariate Meetings
-
Open
Forum / Announcements
DOCUMENT ON POVERTY & RACISM
Fr. Andy gave an overview of the presentation given at
the Vicar’s meeting about the connection between poverty
& racism. Two documents by Catholic Charities were
presented, the first being about the issue of poverty
and its effect on racism, the second document is a tool
for reflection and action; in other words, how do you
begin to address this question. This book is based on
another document they put out entitled “Poverty in
America”. It is a good overview on Catholic social
thought and some statistics based on the economy being
in the state that it is, this is now a reality for more
people than it was in the past.
VICAR’S MEETING REPORT
At their April meeting, the Clergy discussed the
previous meeting with the Tracking Committee where it
was mentioned by Bishop Boyea that some thought our
Vicariate was not unified and that maybe we could break
up into “sections” (for example, the Detroit and
Hamtramck parishes be one section and the Macomb County
parishes be another). A report from the Tracking
Committee will be given to the Vicars in June.
The Clergy discussed the issue of some parishes within
the Vicariate still not having a “cluster partner”, and
it was proposed that St. Mark may be clustered with St.
Clement in the future. They also discussed having a
“western” and “eastern” side to the Vicariate. Fr. Andy
and others felt that there needs to be more discussion
on these proposals as these are just plans and are not
something that goes into affect immediately.
St. Clement and St. Dorothy have now combined their
outreach programs.
It was brought to the attention of the Committee that
Bishop Quinn will now be the Bishop of the Genesis
Vicariate as discovered in Tuesday’s edition of the
Michigan Catholic.
GENESIS VICARIATE BUDGET & ASSESSMENTS
Father Andy distributed a copy of the 2008-2009
Assessments to each of the representatives. After
reviewing the previous amount and discussing it at the
last meeting, it was determined that the assessment was
too high. Fr. Andy discussed this with Janet, the
Vicariate Bookkeeper/Secretary and they revised it so it
would be the equivalent of $1 per household. This has
reduced the total to $13,517 and the Clergy felt that
this will be a manageable amount for their parishes.
Fr. Andy requested that the Assessment payments be sent
directly to Janet Morgulec at St. Sylvester so they can
be deposited into the Vicariate’s account as soon as
possible. If a parish’s CSA count is wrong or if the
pastor feels that they cannot meet this amount, they are
asked to contact Dave Smith, Head of Finances for the
Archdiocese of Detroit. A copy of the assessments is
available on the website at
http://www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org/2008-2008%20Budget.htm.
The cost of religious education is not included in these
assessments.
Fr. Andy noted that the adjusted proposed budget is very
“thin” and is cutting it close when it comes to the
actual costs to run the Vicariate. The adjustment in the
cost of the assessments was done because of the
financial struggles that the parishioners are going
through due to the economy.
150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE
The Archdiocese of Detroit is celebrating their 150th
Anniversary on May 18th. This will represent
our unity among diversity. It will be at the Cathedral
and they will be sending out more information about the
event soon. You can also check the Archdiocese of
Detroit website at
www.aodonline.org.
PARISH OUTREACH SURVEYS
Jim Kiefer of the AOD thanked the parishes that have
already submitted their “Parish Outreach Surveys”. The
parishes that have completed and submitted them are: Our
Lady Queen of Heaven, St. Cletus, St. Edmund, St.
Ladislaus, St. Mark, St. Sylvester and Transfiguration –
Our Lady Help of Christians. Several parishes submitted
theirs at the meeting. Jim then distributed a copy of
the original message that went out to all parishes with
email addresses.
There are 3 Vicariates that have already completed this
project and a “pinpoint” map was created for each using
the information from their completed questionnaires. The
maps geographically illustrate which types of outreach
opportunities, programs and services are offered by the
different areas of those Vicariates. The Archdiocese did
a great job putting these maps together!
To obtain a copy of the survey, please contact Jim at
kiefer.jim@aod.org or go to the Vicariate website
where you can download it at:
http://www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org/Parish%20Outreach%20Survey.htm.
The completed survey can be sent to Jim Kiefer by postal
mail, fax or email. You can also contact him to with any
questions regarding the survey.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jim discussed many of the
things happening throughout the Diocese including the
“Michigan In Crisis” seminar at the Seminary (a few of
the Genesis VPC members present were planning to
attend). The “Gospel of Life” Conference is going held 4
areas of the Diocese and this year it will be focusing
on "Forming
Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" and its subtitle
is: "A Call to Political Responsibility from the
Catholic Bishops of the United States." The dates and
locations are:
V
Saturday,
May 10, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, 2701 Chicago Blvd.,
Detroit.
V
Thursday,
May 15, Christ the Redeemer Parish, 2700 Waldon Road,
Lake Orion.
V
Friday,
May 16, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, 21201 E. 13
Mile Road, St. Clair Shores.
V
Wednesday,
May 21, Our Lady of the Woods Parish, 21892 Gudith Road,
Woodhaven.
The cost is $28 per
person, $22 each for three or more from the same parish
or organization. Youth track pricing is $100 per group.
Call (313) 237-5778 to register or for more information.
Full text of the U.S. bishops'
"Forming Consciences for
Faithful Citizenship" is available online at
www.faithfulcitizenship.org.
There is also a program
for youth in the Vicariate regarding voting. Even though
it is targeted for those who are too young to vote, it’s
a great way to get them familiar with the voting
processes connected to the “Catholic Social Teaching”
of
the Church. The
Office for Catholic Social Teaching
coordinates and designs programs to promote greater
awareness and understanding of our Church's social
teachings throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit at every
level: in parishes, elementary and high schools, youth
and campus ministry, colleges and universities,
seminaries and continuing formation of clergy,
religious, and lay ministers.
Mr. Kiefer also announced
the
2008 “Conference for Leadership” which is often
thought of for those on parish staff, but is also
intended parish council members and lay-leadership. This
year it focuses on “Sharing Faith” and “Sharing Work”. A
number of great presenters are going to be at this
conference that offers the attendees to:
V
Renew your
personal and communal call and mission.
V
Explore
the importance of your faith and the faith of the other.
V
Discover
new ways to share spirituality and experiences of God.
V
Recognize
the connection between faith shared and ministry lived.
V
Appreciate
new and effective approaches for ministering with
others.
V
Experience
the arts as avenues to greater self-understanding and
doorways to a stronger, faithful commitment to work in
communion.
V
Open your
spirit and ministry to new possibilities
The cost is $290 for all
3 days for those who will commute; $420 for those who
will reside at the Conference Center. It includes 3
meals per day and refreshments and runs from 8:30 a.m.
until 8:30 p.m. daily. Some of the evening sessions are
being hosted by local parishes at not cost but if
finances make it difficult for you to attend, there are
partial and full scholarships available. It is primarily
held during the day but there are evening programs as
well. It will be held at the St. John Conference Center
and will from August 4th – 8th.
CLICK HERE for more information or for registration
materials.
He also announced the
upcoming
“Castelot Summer Scripture Conference”
presented by the
Office for Pastoral Ministries. This year presenters
including Fr. Rick Macey, Dr. Warren Carter, Fr.
Lawrence Boadt, C.S.P and Dr. Megan McKenna. It is at
St. John’s Conference Center from June 16th – 19th and
features:
V
Scholarship in a Relaxed Setting
V
Morning Prayer and Taize Evening Prayer
V
Daily Eucharist and MUCH MORE!!!!
Event and Registration Information is
available on the Archdiocese Website by
CLICKING HERE.
Mr. Kiefer has received
an updated VPC member database and will soon be sending
out information about upcoming seminars & events. He
also encouraged those with email access to use it as a
preferred method of communication amongst the VPC
representatives.
DONATION STATEMENTS
Previously, you could not
include donations such as paying for Wedding or Funeral
Masses, flowers, or lighting offering candles in your
tax statement, but you now can. This has been announced
in an email and also a packet sent to the Parish staff
and bookkeepers.
For example, if you have
a funeral or wedding (the person who the mass or
donation is in honor of must be – or have been - a
member of the parish), when you make the donation you
can request that it be put on your yearly statement.
Also, if paid by check (which is preferred) the person
making the donation can then use a copy of the check as
a receipt.
Fr. Andy noted that Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of
Christians uses envelopes for people lighting offertory
candles to put into the donation basket and it is
recorded (as long as the parishioner’s official envelope
number is on it) and included in their yearly parish
donation statement.
People interested in more information or donation
guidelines, please contact your Pastor or parish
bookkeeper. If they need more information, they can
contact Fran Ashe at the Archdiocese of Detroit. There
are people within Fran’s department that can come out
and work with your parish bookkeepers if they have any
type of problem, including computerized financial
issues.
Please remember, when making these types of donations,
you must ask for it to be added to your statement, it is
not automatically done so. Also, a parish cannot charge
for a Sacrament although they can suggest the amount
that is usually donated.
NEW VICAR/STRUCTURE OF VICARIATE MEETINGS
The end of Fr. Andy’s term as Vicar is approaching and,
as required, he has contacted all of the priests and
requested if anyone would like to be the new Vicar. He
received many letters stating what a good job he was
doing and encouraging him to stay on as Vicar, so he has
submitted a request to the Archdiocese to stay on for
another three years (thankfully!). The council took a
vote and Fr. Andy was unanimously nominated to continue
on as our Vicar.
Fr. Andy proposed that after the year-end combined
meeting that, as of next term, we start having combined
Clergy and VPC meetings in the evening each month. This
will make it much easier for more of the clergy to
attend for the committees to be more united and
effective.
The May 19th meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at
the St. Ladislaus Annex in Hamtramck.
OPEN FORUM – ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our Lady Queen of Apostles held their Annual
“All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner” on Saturday, April 19th.
Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians held their
Annual “Spring Fun Festival” on April 26th &
27th. This was previously named the “Potato
Festival” then the “Apple-Potato” Festival after the
OLHC merger. It has now been re-named to reflect the
unity of these two parishes.
St. Clement is having their Annual Festival on June 6th,
7th and 8th. There will be rides,
live music, dancing and great food!
Representatives from St. Louise’s MCREST Organization
approached St. Cletus requesting their assistance. St.
Cletus is sending 2 organizations; The Ladies’ Club and
the Mom & Dad’s Club help with the program and are also
looking for other volunteers. They provide a breakfast,
lunch and dinner as well as help them with
transportation.
Fr. Gary stated that St. Sylvester received a unique
request. The year 2009 is the 300th
Birthday/Anniversary of Hayden, so the director for the
Warren Community Chorus and the Conductor of the Warren
Symphony Orchestra approached the Warren Area
Ministerial Association (W.A.M.A.) and requested to do
Hayden’s 1801 Symphony on the Last 7 Words of Christ on
Good Friday at St. Sylvester. They will be choosing 7
ministers to read and give a short reflection on the 7
statements of Christ dying on the Cross. Hayden wrote an
orchestral piece of each of Christ’s statements. More
information on this wonderful event will be available
shortly. You can also call (586) 751-3636 for updateds.
After some general discussion, a closing prayer was said
and the meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Monica Archibald
Genesis VPC Recording Secretary |
VPC
MEETING MINUTES - APRIL 2008 MEETING
