VPC MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 2007

MAY 2007 MINUTES

MEETING MINUTES

Genesis Vicariate Pastoral Council Meeting

7 p.m. ~ May 14 2007

St. Dorothy Parish

 AGENDA:

1.     Opening Prayer

2.    Tracking Committee Update

3.    Report From Vicars’ Meeting

4.    Election of Officers

5.    Open Forum – Announcements & Questions

6.    June VPC Meeting

TRACKING COMMITTEE UPDATE

St. Leonard & St. Dorothy had their Naming Mass and reception. They have come up with two options for their new name – the first choice is St. Terese and the second is Holy Family. They have submitted these names to the Cardinal and are awaiting his decision. They will have their “Mass of Unity” on July 1^st. The time has not yet been set.

There have been some inquiries regarding Ascension’s property by prospective buyers. An appraisal will have to be made first. According to diocesan guidelines, the boundaries of Ascension will be connected to St. Clement’s; therefore, all of Ascension’s debts must be paid fully by proceeds of the sale. The rest of the money will be placed in St. Clement’s saving account with the Archdiocese.

The process of moving St. John’s Deaf Center to St. Leonard is continuing. It was approved that some of the monies that come from the sale of Ascension will be used to offset the costs of moving the Deaf Center and the upgrading of the building at St. Leonard for handicap accessibility. They have already had a couple of meetings there and the goal for finalization of the move is August 2007. The diocese is helping with this process.

It was recently announced by the Cardinal that because there was not a pastor available to take over the St. Leonard - St. Dorothy merger, it is now going into a cluster situation with St. Clement. Fr. Gawlowski will be the pastor of the new parish as well as St. Clement.

St. Ladislaus and Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians are beginning to look at what needs to be done in the next step of merging. They have just asked the Tracking Committee for an extension to see what’s going to happen. They don’t want to rush anything and the cluster is working well at this time.

A question was about the clustering/merging of St. Clement and Ascension. Was this arrangement a part of the original plan submitted by the VPC? Ms. Beech explained that as the merger between Ascension and St. Dorothy began to move forward, Ascension realized as they were talking to their community that they would probably start going to St. Clement for services and that some were already worshipping there. It was felt that it was necessary to keep the continuity of the Van Dyke corridor. They had already been supporting the St. Clement schools through the years and their St. Vincent DePaul organizations and other groups had been working together. Fr. Gawlowski and Fr. Norb had been talking and that is where a lot of the discussion came between the parishes and parish councils and the clustering was approved.

Jerry Thomas of St. Leonard made a formal complaint in regards to the way a Priest was assigned to the new church. He felt that the decision automatically clustered them with St. Clement without any input from their committees or parishioners. Two priests declined the position and Fr. Gawlowski stepped forward to become Pastor. Although they are grateful to have Fr. Mike, he thought it may have been better if he would have been assigned as Administrator for 3 months and then offered the position.

Nothing was heard in regard to the status of St. Florian or Our Lady Queen of Apostles.

REPORT FROM VICARS’ MEETING

Fr. Andy provided handouts and discussed the “Priests Assigned to Parishes” Report from the Archdiocese of Detroit. This document breaks down the status of the 317 total diocesan, religious & extern priests in parishes. Extern priests in a diocesan priest incardinated in another diocese who resides in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

There are 249 Pastors, 53 Associate Pastors and 15 serving as Administrators. The average age of all priests in parishes is 56.3 years old.

There are a total of 169 Deacons in the Archdiocese (average age of all Deacons is 66.1 yrs. old). 137 Active Deacons are assigned to a parish (28 of which are paid staff), 24 are of Active Senior Status and 8 are inactive and are either on a leave of absence, inactive or out of state.

The projection for 2016 based on current trends is 243 total diocesan, religious & extern priests which is 74 fewer than in 2006. A full breakdown is available on the VPC website at www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org. The link is on the May Meeting Minutes page. (Click Here for the Priest Statistics Report).

The second handout is titled “Major Findings”. This is a report that is put out regarding the paid parish employee staff. The original report is approximately 16 pages, but Fr. Andy condensed the information into a one-page handout that was reviewed at the meeting. Fr. Andy explained that if some parishes are paying a higher rate to their employees, it may be justified. (Click Here for the Major Findings Report).   

There is an Educational/Technological survey being given by Msgr. Bugarin, Vicar and

Sr. Fran Naldony, Head of Education, trying to find out how parishes are doing technologically (email and the internet).

Fr. Andy briefly discussed the history of the two advisory groups of priests that help make the Cardinal make decisions. The first group is entitled the “Presbyteral Council”. This group is required by Canon Law and merged from the Priests’ Senate in 1969 under Cardinal Dearden. The purpose of this council is to advise the Cardinal on matters dealing with parishes and finances. The members of this council do not meet with other priests or lay organizations. The second group is the “Council of Vicars”. This group exists as a liaison between the Cardinal and the priests and laity of the Archdiocese. There is a proposal that these two councils be merged in some matter due to the shortage of priests. The Cardinal has expressed his appreciation of both advisory groups and believes that both are necessary for him to know what is happening in the Archdiocese. However, he has agreed to have committee study the issue in more depth and present its findings to the Vicars at a later date.

“Good Shepherd; Good Leaders” is a program for priests to help them improve their pastoral leadership of the parish. Thirty priests have already begun the process, but now is the time for phase II which will begin in January 2008 at St. John’s Conference Center. Those priests who are interested are encouraged to contact the Archdiocese. This program also has a lay component to help those in leadership positions refine their abilities and style. The only stipulation is that a lay person cannot participate in this program unless the pastor of the parish has already done so.

The directive from the Vatican regarding the purifying of vessels was once again addressed and a handout was distributed outlining the changes. "Purification" refers to the act of removing any particles of the Host or Precious Blood from the chalice or paten. The directive states “In response to the directive issued by the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, clergy in the United States are to perform the ritual purification of the sacred vessels following the reception of communion”. In short, this means that only the celebrating priest may cleanse the vessels during the Eucharistic Celebration. The entire outline distributed at the meeting is available by going to www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org\VesselPurification.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The Election of Officers was held and Mike Kostrzeba was unanimously voted to remain as Chairman of the VPC Council and Trudy Gorski will remain Vice-Chairman. We would like to thank them for their many years of dedicated service to the Council and look forward to their continued leadership!  

OPEN FORUM – QUESTIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

A list of assessments for each parish was handed out to the priests to take back to their parishes. It is a breakdown of the numbers of families in each parish and the assessments based on this number. The full list is available by visiting www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org\Assesments. (Click Here for the full list).

Sister Angelica Zajkowski of Transfiguration~OLHC Parish is going to be celebrating 50 years of religious service! Sr. Angelica belongs to the Order of the Holy Family of Nazareth and is the former Principal of Transfiguration Academy. Thank you for your dedication and selfless service Sister!

Fr. Gary Schulte of St. Sylvester will be celebrating his 35^th year of ordination on June 3^rd and there will be a reception at 4:00 p.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 26601 Ryan Rd, in Warren, just South of 11 Mile Rd. Tickets are $25 per person, and includes a delicious family style sit-down dinner (not a buffet), your gift and a bottle of champagne at each table. The reception is limited to just 125 seats so please get your tickets soon by calling the St. Sylvester Rectory at (586) 504-0013 or by contacting Steve Fallon at (586) 504-0013. Congratulations Fr. Schulte and thank you for your many years of leadership, devotion and your tremendous dedication!

In addition, St. Sylvester sold their school to the Warren Consolidated School District last January and they have invested $2.5 million into the building. It is now the Phrome Education Center and they are running classes and a litany of programs for the community. It has been featured in the Warren Weekly because of the tremendous amount of work they have put into the Center including an outdoor playground. They held an Open House May 16^th which was well-attended.

Ascension Parish will be having their final festival on Memorial Weekend, May 25^th – 28^th. There will be carnival rides, games, dancing, scrumptious food, a Bake Sale, children’s activities, Bingo and a Vegas Room. The parish is located at 21050 Ascension, in Warren. For more information, please contact the rectory at (586) 754-4000. The closing Mass for Ascension will take place on June 2^nd at 4:00 p.m.

St. Dorothy’s Final Fun Fest was held Saturday, May 19^th. There was great food and music, a good time was had by all!

Deacon Joe Iskra of St. Raymond – Our Lady of Good Council Parish is taking a new assignment after 11 years of service to the parish. He will now be working with St. Augustine & St. Monica’s.

Ms. Beech provided handouts for some upcoming events. The “Liturgy Summer Camp” is taking place July 22 – 26 at the Retreat Center at St. John’s, 44011 Five Mile Rd., Plymouth, MI. Camp One focuses on “Skills for Parish Worship for Commissions & Liturgical Committees” and Camp Two is “Skills for Parish Music Ministers”. These are for anyone involved in the Liturgy. For more information or to register, please call (734) 414-1100. Full details are also available on the VPC website at www.vpc.transfiguration-parish.org. (Click Here for more information)

“Focus on Initiation: Echoing God’s Word” is being presented August 23^rd through 25^th at the St. John’s Retreat Center in partnership with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate and the Archdiocese of Detroit. The topics are for the continuing formation of RCIA team members and:

Ø       Presumes an intimate connection between the celebration of the Liturgy – in particular the Liturgy of the Word – and catechesis accommodated to the Liturgical Year

Ø       Demonstrates how to catechize during the period of the catechumenate

Ø       Presents the essential dimensions of catechesis based on the Liturgy of the Word

Ø       Teaches one method and some of the necessary skills to prepare for catechesis and preaching during the   catechumenate

Ø       Seeks to deepen an understanding of the relationship between faith, liturgy, theology and doctrine

Early Bird Registration deadline id June 23^rd and the Final Registration deadline is July 26^th. For a registration form, pricing or any information, please contact The North American Forum by phone at (202) 884-9758 or by email at info@naforum.org. You can also visit their website at www.naforum.org.

The upcoming Parish Leadership Conference will be held at different locations between October 13^th  and October 20^th. The Key Note is “Transforming Challenges Into New Opportunities For The Laity”. It is being presented by The Reid Group – John M. Reid and Maureen Gallagher.

The First Session will include the topics: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Parishes; Eucharistic Minister Training; Lector Training; Ministry to and with Divorced Catholics; Theology of Worship; Creative Planning for Challenging Times; Choir Workshop and How to Find Volunteers & Keep Them.

The Second Session will cover: 16 Qualities of Dynamic and Growing Parishes; Eucharistic Minister Training; How the Bible Came to Be; Ministry to and with Divorced Catholics; Spirituality of Worship; Spirituality for a Busy Life; Cantor Workshop and The Keys to Effective Team-Building.

Topics offered in Spanish are: Eucharistic Minister Training; Ministry to and with Divorced Catholics and Lector Training (not available at all sites).

The dates and locations are:

•  Saturday, Oct. 13^th, St. Mary ~ 415 N. Sixth Street, St. Clair, 48079 (810) 982-2343

•  Monday, Oct. 15^th, St. Gertrude ~ 28801 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, 48081 (586) 775-5820

•  Tuesday, Oct. 16^th, St. Scholastica ~ 8201 W. Outer Dr, Detroit, 48219 (313) 531-0140

•  Wednesday, Oct. 17^th, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel ~ 8330 Lewis Ave, Temperance (734) 847-2805

•  Thursday, Oct. 18^th, St. Joesph ~ 715 N. Lapeer Rd, Lake Orion, 48362 (248) 693-0440 x200

•  Saturday, Oct. 20^th, St. Isidore ~ 18201 23 Mile Rd, Macomb, 48042 (586) 286-1700

JUNE MEETING

There will be no VPC Meeting in June.

Father Andy said the closing prayer and the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Monica Archibald

Recording Secretary

LINKS TO RELATED DOCUMENTS:

[ Assesments ] [ Priest Statistics ] [ Vessel Purification Directive ]