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MEETING MINUTES
Genesis Vicariate Pastoral Council Combined Meeting
7 p.m. ~ November 9th, 2009
St. Anne Parish
AGENDA:
1. Opening Prayer/ Last Season’s Follow-up
2. Presbyteral Council
3. Handing Over the Gavel / Vicar’s Report
4. Announcements/Open Forum
OPENING PRAYER/FOLLOW-UP FROM LAST SEASON
After the Opening Prayer led by Fr.
Eckert of St. Cletus, Fr. Wesley ushered in the new
season with a greeting and the council introduced
themselves, as we have a couple of new faces! We also
learned that Jim Kiefer, AOD Representative, has
retired.
We began by reviewing the ‘points
of consideration’ from the May 2009 meeting, including
the question whether the VPC should meet quarterly as
opposed to monthly. Should a pressing arise, a special
meeting can be called by the Vicar or the Committee
Chair. Most representatives were in favor of the motion,
but according to the by-laws, the topic must be tabled
until the next meeting and providing we have a quorum, a
vote will be taken at that time.
Fr. Kotlarz suggested that we might
want to hold off on making any major changes until we
see how the Diocese will be restructured. He also noted
that Archbishop Vigneron has combined the Presbyteral
Council with the Vicars to enhance communication and
collaboration, and would also like to enhance the APC
and make it more active. The topic was discussed for
about half of the meeting and there will likely be much
more intense discussion regarding this issue at the
December meeting! All Vicariate Pastors &
Representatives are encouraged to attend.
Previously, the council discussed
establishing a subcommittee for each of the following
areas; Youth Ministry, Stewardship, Evangelization and
Christian Service. These 4 areas are the same that we’ve
needed help with as in past years. Once established, the
subcommittees will meet monthly or bi-monthly and report
back at each VPC meeting. Each representative has been
asked to choose 3 areas they would most like to work
with and submit them at the December meeting, at which
time subcommittees may be formed. The council is going
to invite representatives from the AOD to provide a
presentation on each of these topics.
Fr. Eckert suggested that there be
some sort of “attendance record” established and kept
with the Diocese for the pastors of our Vicariate to
ensure attendance at the meetings. Although it would be
difficult to enforce, it may encourage more pastors to
attend the Council meetings. At this month’s meeting, 12
parishes out of the 20 that make up the Vicariate were
represented, and only 6 pastors were in attendance.
It is possible that our “5-Year
Plan” submitted last year may be sent back to us for
updates and if this is the case, there will be a great
deal to do. Parishes are currently working towards
clusters/mergers at this time. The 4 areas that we will
be creating subcommittees for have been a part of the
initial 5-Year Plan.
TOGETHER IN FAITH
Transfiguration-OLHC & St. Lad’s
will have their first official combined Parish Meeting
in January, 2010. Bishop Flores may attend and the
meeting date will be announced next month.
St. Cletus has had a number of
meetings with Kathy Wagner of the AOD and everything is
moving along nicely for their clustering with Our Lady
of Grace. Bishop Vigneron still needs to approve their
plans. They have had 3 Sunday Mass programs with their
new parishioners at St. Cletus and a Dinner Meeting at
Our Lady of Grace. Fr. Sid expressed how wonderfully
spiritual and lovely the group is! Fr. Sid noted that
the Archbishop still needs to approve the cluster
process before it can proceed & be finalized.
On June 11, 2010, St. Cletus will be
celebrating their 50 yr. Anniversary and they are
continuing to make repairs and updates to the parish and
are making an effort to “go green”!
Fr. Milosz, Pastor of Our Lady Queen
of Apostles, mentioned that he has been disappointed
with previous cluster plans falling through. At one time
they were supposed to cluster with St. Florian, then St.
Ladislaus, but through the appointing of different
pastors, the plans fell through. He is going to begin
discussions with Fr. Wesley to possibly cluster with
Transfiguration-OLHC.
Fr. Wesley reminded the group that
clustering and merging doesn’t necessarily mean that a
parish is going to close. It does ensure that if a
Pastor ever becomes sick or unable to run their parish
that other clergy can help them out. That is for what
the plan is intended. Unfortunately, in today’s times,
there are too many parishes and not enough priests and
they need a contingency plan.
St. Raymond and Our Lady of Good
Counsel were one of the first parishes to cluster and
are now clustering with Our Lady Queen of Heaven. They
are finding that it is important for each of the
parishes to maintain their own identity. Fr. Kotlarz
also noted that they have about 300 people registered
for their food distribution program, which is quite
successful. While the people wait for their number to be
called to pick up their food, Fr. Bob and the
parishioners have invited the recipients into the church
and he has been explaining to them what our Faith is
about. The people that come for food are from quite
diverse backgrounds and not all are familiar with
Catholicism and our beliefs. The number of people coming
early to learn has steadily grown over the weeks!
Our Lady of Good Counsel has
eliminated their 4 p.m. Mass.
PRESBYTERAL COUNCIL
Fr. Wesley noted that the Presbyteral
Council is required by Canon Law, but the Vicar’s group
is not a requirement. All members of both councils lost
their positions, so the priests voted in a new
Presbyteral Council and Archbishop Vigneron appointed
new Vicars.
HANDING OVER THE GAVEL / VICAR’S
REPORT
Fr. Roman Pasieczny of St. Martin de
Porres Parish has officially been named our new Vicar.
Fr. Wesley, the previous Vicar, will assist Fr. Roman
with the transition. The orientation for the Vicar’s was
scheduled for November 17th and the first Vicar’s
meeting will be on December 7th.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/OPEN DISCUSSION
Transfiguration-OLHC is having their
Annual Pierogi Sale on December 13th and will be
offering Potato/Cheese, Kraut w/Polish Mushroom &
Farmer’s Cheese. Please be sure to call the Parish
Office with your order by December 7th.
Our Lady Queen of Apostles is hosting
a program given by the Polish nuns who were the
housekeepers in the Vatican for 23 years and worked
under Pope John Paul II. They will be discussing what it
was like working with this amazing Pontiff on December
24th at 6 p.m.
Fr. Pasieczny will be having a meeting
with the Warren Police Commissioner regarding “Safety in
our Neighborhoods”.
St. Louise will be hosting their
Annual Craft Show on Saturday, December 5th from 10 a.m.
until 4 p.m. For more information, please call the
parish at (586) 751-3340.
“Seminar Style Marriage Preparation
Programs 2009”, contains numerous seminars taking place
throughout next year. The Bishops of Michigan have
suggested these topics to be included: Marriage as a
Sacrament, Conflict Resolution, Careers, Family of
Origin, Communication, Children, Commitment and Church,
Intimacy, Sex and Procreation, Understanding of
Sexuality and Marriage and Natural Family Planning. For
a list of the programs offered, their dates and times,
please contact the Office for Family Ministry at
313-237-5892.
Our Lady Queen of Apostles is hosting
a January Christmas Party to support the Catholic Radio
Station “Radio Maria”. Mass will take place on January
17, 2010 at 10 a.m. and the party will follow from 11
a.m. until 3 p.m. For more information or to purchase
tickets, please contact the Parish Office at (313)
891-1520 or by email at
QofAParish@aol.com.
At our next meeting on January 18th,
2010, elections for officers will be held. A closing
prayer was said and the meeting was adjourned at 8:40
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monica Archibald
Recording Secretary |
VPC
MEETING MINUTES - NOVEMBER 2009
