March 7th, 2002

Members Present: Mary Eve Thomas, Chuck MacDonald, Claude Paradis, Carol Berg O’Toole, Susan Sell, George Wertin, Peter Eichten

1. Opening Prayer:
   Was led by Mary Eve. There was brief check-in by all members
2. Mission Statement & Covenant: were read.
3. Minutes from February meeting were approved.
   - there was one addition to the agenda: Discernment process for new members.
4. Old Business:
   
   1. Policies: The Council reviewed the slightly revised “Safety and Protection” policies, and the Council unanimously approved it. (Note, we need one more person that was not at the meeting to also approve this policy - it is attached.) It was suggested that all of our policies be put into one packet, and also to put them on the web - there are only 4, and they are fairly short. (the 4 policies are also attached) Carol indicated that this policy being in place is significant given the situation of abuse cases in the Boston area recently.
   2. Focus Groups: There was agreement that the 2 focus group sessions so far have been very positive with a great deal of energy and good input. The last session is this Sunday (Mar. 10). The Stewardship Committee will review the information and they will probably make recommendations to the Finance Committee and the Pastoral Council. It is also planned to communicate directly with those who participated in the sessions
   3. Parish Handbook: There was some discussion and ideas on more items to be put into the Handbook. It was suggested that there be website information, all the committees of the parish, and the 4 policies be put in the Handbook.
   4. Archdiocesan Capital Campaign: The parish has raised $242,000 at this time. There are still about 3,000 pledge cards to go out. Several members volunteered to help work on that mailing. Peter will contact them when it’s time to do that.
   5. Welcome Givers: Council members signed up for a time to be a Welcome Giver.
   6. Visibility of the Council: Schedule was reviewed.
   7. Staff Member Handbook: The Handbooks was distributed to all parish employees, and they are being asked to sign a document indicating that they received and read it. There will also be an informational meeting on the Handbook on Tue. Mar. 12 after the regular staff meeting.
   8. New Member Discernment: May 9th was set as the date for the discernment. All Council members are asked to invite people to participate in the discernment. It was suggested that we go to the committees, and to those that participated in the focus groups.
5. New Business:
   
   1. Goals for 2002/03

      There was some discussion about the process to use, it was agreed that we will suggest Themes or Categories that look at the over all picture of the parish. It was also agreed that we should not loose sight of the present goals, and that perhaps they need to be somehow incorporated into the new goals. Below are the themes or categories that the group named - those who missed this meeting are asked to add to if they want. The entire Council is being asked to review these themes, and the task for the next meeting is to narrow them down, and create some specific goals. So, everyone is being asked to come to the next meeting with 2,3,or 4 goals that arise out of the listed themes/categories:
      THEMES/CATEGORIES GOAL IDEAS

      • Communications: training
      • Empowerment: Collaborative Ministry in action - SCCs as a way to emphasize CM.
      • Building Community
      • Hospitality
      • Stewardship - Fiscal and time & talent
      • Ownership of SJA
      • Diversity
      • Effectiveness: in measuring activities;
      • Fine-tuning the things we do; reviews for admin.
      • Peace & Non-violence
      • Justice Activities: housing and transportation
      • Liturgy
      • Youth Space
      An example of narrowing these down: Chuck suggested that perhaps what we have here is: Ministry, Responsibility, Community. Then, from that we need specific goals. *NOTE: remember that the Pastoral Council will set these goals and they will be presented to the parish. It is the task, in most cases, of the staff and committees to implement the goals.
6. Final Prayer: led by Mary Eve.
   Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Eichten