Sacred Heart Parish
MINUTES OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING
Nov. 10, 2011
Attending: Fr. St. Martin, Winifred Murphy, Fr. Connelly, Martha Munsell, Joe Franco, Jacob Joseph, Mystica Alexander, Fran Noll, Peter Castellanos, Rick Johnston, Kristin Golden; Interpreters: Jenny Corbin, Anne Freeman
Welcome and Prayer: Fr. Connelly and the Council welcome Kristen Golden to service as a member.
Report from Pastor.
Roman Missal invites us to deeper prayer and meditation; greater connection to scripture, increase of music and new Canons; it follows a more literal form of translation than before; a return to ancient prayers. There will be a period of adjustment; a need to voice prayers slowly and prayerfully; the priest celebrant will need to set the tone. We all will need to use the pew card worship aids.
Report from Deaf community:
The deaf community is OK with the Mass time change to 11AM on Sun.
Senior Deaf Wellness welcomes a new coordinator, Betty Whittaker, who worked early on with DCC in Framingham. Rel.Ed. is going well with a First Comunion group and an older post First Communion group; good workshops for Roman Missal and ASL signing for new translation. K.of C. members are being very supportive of deaf activities. Nov. 19, 4pm Mass for K.of.C. will be signed by Fr. St. Martin, followed by spaghetti supper.
National Catholic Office of Deaf (NCOD) holds an annual pastoral ministry conference in mid Jan.; Deaf Apotolate of Boston is hosting Jan. 13 -17, 2012; there is always Mass with the local Bishop, so on Sat., Jan. 14, 2012, Bishop Sean O’Malley will celebrate Mass here at S.H. at 5:30pm, to which all are invited; the usual 4pm Mass will transfer to 5:30pm; a dinner and reception follows in parish center. The deaf community is not making Advent wreaths this year.
Report from Winnie: Comments on new bulletin format: great, feels warmer, more sense of community, keep resources on 1st. page, cover is beautiful, but give info/explanation, good to announce finances, good to have info on parishioner happenings; Fr. C. feels that cover should be connected with scripture of the Sun. and bulletin should spread news of the parish. Fr. St. Martin uses “Signings” to post his homily so that deaf and interpreters are more able to follow and understand.
5 PM Sun. Mass in UC: Winnie posed question: “should a task group be formed under direction of PPC, to research the need for this?” Comments: there does not seem to be need at this time as long as Masses at this time are available ( at least 3 are ); would have added value if related to youth, Confirmation/Rel.Ed.; could be an attraction for people to join parish; proper study is huge undertaking; could be an avenue to retain people; worthwhile to study; student activities from the secular world impede; there are many secular conflicts, what if Christians really stood up for their values and made demands; Bishop Sean and other Christian leaders are trying to speak in a collective voice; work toward a Newton youth group; offer a “pilot” Mass on several dates to see the response; offer a youth Mass in Sept. and June to coincide with opening and closing of school year.
There is wide variation of opinion. It was decided to incorporate this study into the broader aspects that are calling for PPC attention, namely a look at: Adult Faith Formation; Rel. Ed. needs; Parish census/visitation. The task for each of these areas is: (1) identify issue;(2) list 3-5 goals;(3) suggest concrete approaches; (4)person to coordinate; (5) expansion of group;
(6) next step(s).
Homework: Each PPC member is to select 1 area to which they are willing to commit as a member of a small study group; send your name/ group to Winnie by Nov. 19, 2011; Winnie will form 3 groups according to response and send further directives so that electronic dialogue may begin.
Question from the table: Has there been any advance into interparish dialogue among staff or others. Basic answer is no as no one parish or person has taken initiative. Fr. C. will report in Jan. on Dec. meeting for all priests in diocese, which meeting will focus on pastoral planning.
Next Meeting: Jan. 12, 2012 at 7:30 PM in convent library