VPC MEETING MINUTES - MAY 2008 COMBINED MEETING

MAY 2008 MINUTES

MEETING MINUTES

Genesis Vicariate Pastoral Council Combined Meeting

7 p.m. ~ May 19^th, 2008

Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians Parish

AGENDA:

1. Opening Prayer

2. Vicar’s Meeting Report

3. Tracking Committee Updates

4. “Michigan In Crisis”

5. Parish Paid Employees

6. Priest Statistics Report

7. Eucharistic Devotion

8. U.S. Census Statistics for Archdiocese of Detroit

9. Announcements/Open Discussion

VICAR’S MEETING REPORT

After a wonderful dinner prepared by Lisa Kowalski, the meeting was started off with a prayer by Mike Kostrzeba and followed by Fr. Andy’s Vicar’s Meeting Report.

There have been a number of complaints because of the CSA Goals set forth by the Archdiocese have increased for the most part. Even the ‘wealthier’ parishes north of the Genesis Vicariate are concerned because it’s getting to the point where they can’t meet their goals either. The clergy asked to have a review and one of the Archdiocesan CSA Committee members reminded them that the CSA goals are based on the previous year’s income. Each year the Archdiocese collects the parish’s financial reports (including Christmas donations, which are not taxed by the AOD) and bases their CSA goal on this number.

The Vicar’s Finance Committee has put in a proposal to place a freeze on the assessments, but there has been no definitive action or change as of yet. NOTE: If a parish does not reach its CSA goal, the balance is taken directly from the church’s funds. There is a specific formula based on many factors including income, programs, schools, median income and geographical location. If you are interested in what the formula is, please consult with your pastor.

Parishes that have or rent a school are taxed on their fundraising at 6%. The Vicars have put in a proposal to the Archdiocese Finance Committee requesting they discontinue this tax.

Fr. Andy received a letter regarding Pope Benedict’s statement during his visit that the U.S. needs more Catholic schools and the concern over our schools closing so quickly. At this time, we do have schools in Macomb County, but all of the schools in Wayne County have closed.

The Archdiocese is proposing putting together an “Administration Committee”. This new committee will provide many services including; suggesting reliable, proven contractors when parishes need work in and around their buildings, assisting with accounting and even evaluating parish staff.

A VPC representative brought up a very valid point when he expressed concern over the concept of the AOD having a ‘preferred vendors’ list because of his experience dealing with contractors and knows how their quality of work tends to decline and prices increase when they know they have no competition. This sparked a great deal of discussion amongst the council and many members explained how their parishes contact, assess and hire contractors. Fr. Andy will be bringing up the council’s concerns at the next Vicar’s meeting.

TRACKING COMMITTEE REPORT

The Tracking Committee has heard all of the Parish reports. The information will be given to each of the clergy and then they will need a response by October. Fr. Andy will bring the information to the VPC council for discussion then submit a response in the Fall.

“MICHIGAN IN CRISIS”

Fr. Andy discussed the “Michigan in Crisis Summit”, which dealt with the subject of the financial crisis in Michigan and its effects; such as the number of people out of work, without healthcare insurance, losing their homes due to foreclosure and other factors as a result of the economic downturn in Michigan. Ninety-eight percent of local Catholic parishes responding to the “Michigan in Crisis” survey last fall reported an increase in people coming to them in need of assistance.

He also distributed a brief summary of the report and noted that they are trying to give some type of relief to families in need. The handout contained information such as the AOD showing how to write for grants, how the St. Vincent DePaul can be more involved and much more. There is a workbook available from the Archdiocese and more information can be found on the Archdiocese website at www.aodonline.org. You can see an outline of the conference MICHIGAN IN CRISIS = PARISH COMMUNITIES IN CRISIS - PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR RESPONSE by clicking here.

PARISH PAID EMPLOYEES

A handout entitled “Major Findings” was distributed to the representatives, which is an overview of the full 22-page report. The findings were reviewed and Fr. Andy discussed the suggestion previously made at the Vicar’s meeting that parish employees won’t be given a raise this year due to finances This also includes the Archdiocese employees.

The decision whether or not to give an employee a raise is ultimately up to the individual parish. Each Pastor receives a packet for budgeting that includes a list of suggestions and goals to help determine the proper salary for each position based on education, experience, duties and comparable salaries from non-parish employees.

The full 22-page report is available from the Department of Parish Life and Services of the AOD and the “Major Findings” overview.

PRIEST STATISTICS REPORT

Fr. Andy distributed the May 2008 Priest Statistics report. It states that there are a total of 652 priests assigned to the AOD - 463 are Diocesan, 189 are Religious. Some of the assignments of the priests are as follows:

• 296 are in parishes (pastors, associate pastors and administrators)

• 11 are assigned to Central Services

• 26 are Chaplains

• 32 are College Faculty

• 143 are of Senior Status

• 113 are Retired

• 5 are Retired, but Active

• 20 are “Other”

492 are active, 141 inactive, 14 leaves-of-absences, 5 are on sabbatical. The full report is available on the “Priest Statistics” page of the Vicariate website.

EUCHARISTIC DEVOTION

Your parish was called and asked about Eucharistic Adoration and a map was put out with the locations and information. This was requested by Rome because the Pope is very concerned about proper Christian devotion and it being linked to vocations. Fr. Kasha said that our Archdiocese is in good stead. If you are interested in obtaining a map of where and when Eucharistic Devotions are held, it is available by contacting your pastor.

U.S. CENSUS STATISTICS FOR AOD

The “Demographic Profile of 6 Counties of the Archdiocese of Detroit Metro Area” (Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne) was distributed. Among the statistics, it shows that the total population of the 6 counties is 4,439,490 and the total Catholic Population is 1,455,664, which is 33% of the total population. The report then breaks down the total by county, area, race and schools. These statistics help to determine parish planning, Vicariate structuring, CSA goals and more.

The report was compiled by the AOD Department of Parish Life & Services / Pastoral Resources and is available at the  “2008 Census” page of the VPC website, or if you don’t have internet access you can contact Megan Lamont at the Parish Life & Services department by calling (313) 224-8011.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/OPEN DISCUSSION

The Recording Secretary distributed the April 2008 Meeting Minutes and a report that gave an overview of the activities of the last year. It included information about the ongoing “Contact Information Update” project and updates to the website.

St. Clements gave updated information regarding their Parish Festival with a corrected date and location.

St. Raymond’s school is being vacated as its lease ended in June. They are currently looking for a new tenant, but have a strong prospect with another Charter School group that is non-denominational but holistic in nature. The Vicariate Council voted unanimously to provide their support for the new group. As a side note, it was announced that it is official that the State of Michigan will not issue any more school charters, but existing groups can expand or move their programs.

Diane Shoulders of St. Raymond/OLGC, who was very active in many programs including their Vacation Bible School, lunch program and a number of outreach programs, is retiring at the end of May.

Fr. Andy proposed that we combine the Clergy and VPC meetings and hold them at the Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians Social Hall every month at the same time so the groups can be more unified and also to alleviate any confusion of where and when the monthly meeting is to take place. After some discussion it was decided that the first meeting in September 2008 will take place at Trans-OLHC, where we will discuss our response to the Tracking Committee (which is also our response to the Archdiocese), and then set up the meeting schedule at that time.

Jim Kiefer, Archdiocese Representative, distributed a list of the parishes that have and have not filled out their Outreach Surveys. The parishes that have completed their surveys are: OLGC, OLQH, St. Cletus, St. Edmund, St. Ladislaus, St. Mark, St. Martin de Porres, St. Raymond, St. Sylvester and Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians.

They are still waiting for completed surveys from: St. Clement, St. Terese of Avila, OLQ of A, St. Anne, St. Louis the King, St. Florian and St. Louise. If your parish has not filled out this survey, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible so the Archdiocese Parish Life & Services Department can complete this very important project. You can obtain a survey in person, by email, by USPS mail or on the AOD or VPC websites.

He also distributed an advanced announcement of the upcoming Annual Women’s Conference taking place on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at the Macomb County Community Sports & Expo Center from 8:15 am – 4:00 pm. They will be celebrating the “20^th Anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem (Pope John Paul II’s Apolistic Letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women). For more information or to register for the event, please go to www.aodwomensministry.org.

Mr. Kiefer then passed out a flyer for the “Foundational Topics for Lay Ecclesial Ministry” Series developed and sponsored by the AOD and co-sponsored and offered at the SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake. The core topics provide foundational formation for all and may serve in fulfilling requirements for certification. The schedule overview is:

• Monday, August 18^th, “Mission-Community-Ministry”

• Tuesday, August 19^th, “The Bible: Our Sacred Scripture”

• Wednesday, August 20^th, “Who is Church?”

• Thursday, August 21^st, “Spirituality & Liturgy”

• Friday, August 22^nd, “Catholic Social Teaching & Action”

For more information about the event or how to register, please contact JoAnne Castorena at (313) 237-5954.

There will also be a Pastoral Ministry Conference at the St. John’s Retreat Center in Plymouth titled “Sharing Faith – Sharing Work; Hopes, Strategies and Pastoral Applications for Ministers”. The conference will run from August 3^rd thru August 6^th and is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Detroit Office for Pastoral Ministries. Please go to www.summerconferencesdetroit.org for topic overviews, registration information, cost and workshop hours or call JoAnne Castorena at (313) 237-5954.

A closing prayer was said and the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Monica Archibald

Recording Secretary