MEETING MINUTES
St. Isidore Parish Pastoral Council
October 11, 2001

Members Attending: Rev. Richard Butler, Pastor, John Colonna-Romano, Deacon Charles Cornell, , Donne Cutting, Nancy Dome, Mike Holt, Patricia Noone, Shirley Ormsby, Rosario Rizzo, Domenique Sexton, John Slattery,

Members Absent: Marshall Cross, Paul Curley, Jackie Downing, Richard Martin, Sharon McCann, Margaret Passafiume,

Minutes: Minutes of September 13th accepted with corrections. Patricia Noone, listed as absent, was present.

Also added: The September 11 crisis raised questions of better quick communication procedures. Can we update e-mail data of parishioners? Would the sandwich board be of help? The discussion of religious education program noted that space is getting tight especially in the middle school level on Tuesday evenings.

Update from the pastor (see details below)

Fr. Butler reported on a dozen or so activities in the parish, including a collaborative program of confirmation preparation with St. Francis in Bolton and the departure next month of the Emerson Hospital chaplain Joan Horgan..

On the discussion of the new Baptismal preparation process, it was encouraged that we be sensitive and outreaching to parents who are planning adopting. This led to several concerns raised about the adoptive process. Fr. Butler will do some research.

On the topic of the Social Committee, appreciation was expressed for the great efforts at getting programs for young families even as a suggestion was made for an adult event - or perhaps, a dinner dance or the like. Perhaps Mardi Gras before Lent, or spring dinner-dance at the time of the Feast of St. Isidore (May 15).

October evening of reflection for both councils, set for October 21st., has been postponed. We will try to reschedule later.

Setting goals and priority for this year.
As we look to the upcoming year, it would be good to establish a priority which can then be the topic of the year. That is, something about which we can shape a vision or policy - not a nuts and bolts thing for us to be doing. The council is to be visionary, thinkers rather than doers.
Youth Ministry was a topic repeated several times. There is an opportuneness to this in the light of the combined effort with Bolton this year in confirmation preparation. (The view was also expressed that perhaps this is too early; better to work things out this year with Bolton, then explore the question further.)
Ecumenical-interfaith work was noted. This especially in the light of the contacts of these past weeks following the September 11th tragedy.
Social action outreach was noted. This year the baton has been passed from Jean DeMelia for the many efforts she had worked on. Heather Cohen is taking on the Thanksgiving dinner piece. Other pieces about to be developed.
Domestic Violence is an issue that needs to be addressed. Thoughts from the recent Concord meeting on the topic were explored. This could lead to educational programs for the older youth on date-rape or to social justice issues surrounding the church and women.
At the November meeting John will seek additional topics and the agenda will be to prioritize the task for this year. All members are asked to think on this and to submit their thoughts.

Review of the meeting
. In the final go-around, all seemed pleased with the meeting.

Next meetings:
Nov 8, Dec 13 2001 Jan 10, Feb 14, Mar 14. Apr 11, May 9 2002
Archdiocesan assembly of parish pastoral councils and parish finance councils Mar 9, 2002

Update from the pastor to parish pastoral council 11 October 2001

Response to the tragedy of this month.

As reported September 13th an ecumenical service was hosted here the night of the tragedy. Following the last meeting we continued responding to the tragedy. On September 14th we observed the National Day of Mourning with the church open all day and a celebration of Evening Prayer that night. In the various liturgies remembrance was made and prayers offered for peace. September 16th a collection was taken for relief efforts. September 18th as the town held a memorial in the center, Fr. Butler led the invocation. On October 4th at the Vigil against Hate sponsored by the religious communities of Acton Boxborough and Stow at the West Acton Baptist Church, Fr. Butler represented St. Isidore's

Newsletter

The November - December newsletter is being put together over the next couple of weeks.

Religious Education

Off to a good start. Most catechists positions have been filled; down to about a half dozen open slots.

St. Francis Bolton

The new pastor, Fr. Raymond Goodwin, and their religious education person have met with us in recent days to plan a coordinated effort this year in confirmation preparation. Their candidates and ours will meet here at St. Isidore's using the format and schedule we had in place. Come the spring, Bishop Daniel Reilly of Worcester will confirm their candidates at St. Francis Tuesday evening May 28th and Bishop Emilio Allué of Lowell will confirm our candidates on Saturday June 1st.

Finance Council

The pfc spoke on the annual finance report on the weekend of September 23rd. Initial response has been good. The message will be echoed in the next Newsletter to encourage those who did not get the message in September.

Stewardship Sunday

Stewardship committee is sponsoring a Stewardship fair October 27th - 28th with poster displays of various ministries after each Mass.

Italian Night

It was a great success with more than 250 persons served.

Square Dance and Light Supper

Will be held on Saturday November 17th.

New Auxiliary Bishops

Bishop Walter Edyvean and Bishop Richard Lennon were ordained September 14th.

Baptismal Preparation Process

The first meeting of the new process will be held next Wednesday. A major element of the new process is meeting with the prospective parents well in advance of the baptism.

Evening of recollection for PFC and PPC

Scheduled originally for Oct 21st, this has been postponed due to scheduling difficulties.

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service for Acton, Boxborough and Stow is scheduled for Sunday evening November 18th at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church.

Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors

Over recent weeks more than thirty were invited to these ministries and training sessions have been held and we will be installing about ten new Eucharistic Ministers and five new Lectors over the coming weeks.

Addressing Domestic Violence

Pastoral Associate Shirley Ormsby and Deacon Charlie Cornell and his wife Betsy participated in the recent full day workshop in Concord addressing Domestic Violence.

Emerson Hospital Chaplaincy

Joan Horgan, our chaplain, responded to the needs of New York in the aftermath of September 11th volunteering five days of crisis counseling.

Joan Horgan will be leaving the Emerson chaplaincy next month to accept the position of director of pastoral services at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The pastors of the area met with her a week ago to thank her for her service and to look to the future.

Ms. Kelly Dunn, director of Health Care Ministry of the Archdiocese oversees the appointment of a new chaplain. Four priests and a representative of the hospital will meet later this month to review applications and to narrow the list down. Hopefully a chaplain will be in place quickly. Salary of the chaplain is shared by the hospital and the parishes. Our cost is about $2,400 annually.