St. Isidore Parish Pastoral Council

May 13, 2004

Members Attending: Glenn Bunnell, Rev. Richard Butler, Rosa Chow, Deacon Charles Cornell, Nancy Dome, Mark Douglas, Kathleen King, Sharon McCann, Susan Peabody, Rosario Rizzo,

Members Absent: John Colonna-Romano, Ann DeCristofaro, John Sangermano, Domenique Sexton

Evening Prayer

Minutes: Minutes of March 11^th accepted.

Update from the pastor
Summer Newsletter published that day and distributed, brief comment on the several items therein.

Election of new members to the PPC

Election scheduled for May 23^rd. Committee congratulated on the effort to recruit candidates. Charlie Cornell will prepare the ballot. Ballots will be available in the pews and handed to parishioners on entry; collected with the collection. Kathy King will cover the counting and notification of the five. After the five are notified we will arrange an announcement to the parish. The newly elected will attend the last meeting of this year, June 10^th.

Reconfiguration of parishes

Fr. Butler reviewed the recent days that led to his statement in last week’s bulletin and the e-mailed message to the ppc. As each council member spoke anecdotally of reactions through the community, the need to clearly keep a distance from rumor and to stay focused on the facts became evident. We are on a list of about 40% of the parishes from which the archbishop will make a decision on which parishes might be closed. There has been no official indication of how many parishes will be closed. The timing is planned for an announcement May 25^th.

Beyond that there are few facts available. Archdiocesan persons – while noting there is no definite number – do suggest in their statement figures around 60, 70, or 80. There are good reasons to think we might not end up on the final list but until the list is published there is a probability that we will be on the list. Living in that ambiguity is challenging but we will be going forward with hope.

Important to remember in the process that more is at stake than any one parish. This is a radical move on the part of the archdiocese. Let us pray for one another in these days. When the final announcement is made it is important to see the lists not as winners and losers but rather as an invitation and challenge for all to go forward together.

Generations of Faith

Nancy reviewed the plan for the meeting May 16^th / 18^th. She was appreciative of the reporting from ppc members of questions that have surfaced. It will help in formatting the final plan on what to present at the meetings.

Registration fees will not be taken until June.

New Business

Review of the meeting

“enlightening”, “light-hearted”. “informative”, “grace in face of adversity”.

Next meeting

June 10.