ST. EUGENE PARISH ADVISORY COUNCIL
Meeting attended by: Fr. John, Fr. Joseph, Geri E., John E., Gene Z., Sam F., Agnes D., Renee N., Carol O., Mary Kathryn P., Christine F., Kristina H., Norman M., Carlos A., Ricardo M., Steve S., Steve A., Beth A., Cindy W., Maria M., Vanessa F.
Opening prayer led by Fr. Joseph
Youth Ministry – Christine F./Kristina H.
There’s been a re-organization of the two groups, Adults and Youth. We're starting to have activities outside thanks to the weather. We are planning to have an outing sometime next month. Other than that we're doing well. Planning on T-shirt for youth group.
· Trying to integrate the Hispanic and Anglo youth groups.
· We had some youth from St. Eugene attend the latest Search.
· Working on new T-shirt design
· Dan and Christine to lead a youth ministry session
Steering Committee John N./Sam F.
· Last concrete poured for the floor
· Main skeleton for the building starts tomorrow.
· Starting to work on curbing.
· So far we are on schedule.
· Have already spent ½ million.
Liturgy & Spirituality – Geri E.
- Conducted a training session for (3) new Eucharistic Ministers.
- We prepared and served dinner for the visiting Bishop and Priests who assisted in the Lenten Penance Service.
- Sam Fish attended our meeting to provide an update on the construction progress of our new Church.
- We prepared and served dinner for the visiting Bishop and Priests who assisted in the Lenten Penance Service.
- Sam Fish attended our meeting to provide an update on the construction progress of our new Church.
Religious Education/Faith Formation – Dan S.
1. Trailers are all in use
2. 3rd and 4th grade will be hosting the 10:30 Mass on May 1, 2011
3. First Holy Communion will be at 10:30 on Saturday May 21 for 30 kids
4. Confirmation will be held at Our Lady Lourdes in Raleigh on June 8th, at 6:00 pm. (It has been changed from the Cathedral, due to lack of space to accommodate our 70 candidates and their families.)
5. We have a team of adults ready to lead TYM next year, to take over for Gail, Joe and Tammy as they retire.
Family Life – Steve S./Bruce T.
Couples for Christ have started their 2nd course
Parish Community Spirit – John E.
- Served refreshments after the 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM Masses.
- Larger than usual turnout after each Mass this month.
- Donations were placed in a sealed envelope, identified as Community Spirit funds, dated and placed on Gail's desk in the Church Office.
- Church Kitchen and Community Spirit supplies are low. Need to be reviewed for replenishment next month with Bruce T.
- Retained the Community Spirit expenditures below budget level.
- Special "Thank You" to the Community Spirit Committee that assisted after each Mass.
- Confirmed the Community Spirit Budget for Fiscal 2012 with Finance and Accounting.
Buildings & Grounds – Carlos A./Sam F.
· Having plumbing problems in the restrooms.
· Replaced three toilets
· Have estimate to replace the rest of the toilets. Some furniture pieces also need to be replaced. It will be in the next budget.
It was also noted during the last heavy rain on Saturday that some gutters are heavily clogged and should be cleaned before they cause structural damage to the buildings.
Evangelization – Beth A.
As we are winding down so to speak the end of the "regular" busy year of church work, I again am amazed at what you all have accomplished. Not just one person, but everyone working together.
Budget: Needed to redistribute some $$ from some line items to other line items for this year due to need of funds for the Prayer Blanket Ministry. I will be needing to turn the budget request for next year (June 2011 - May 2012) sometime in May. Please advise your needs.
Budget: Needed to redistribute some $$ from some line items to other line items for this year due to need of funds for the Prayer Blanket Ministry. I will be needing to turn the budget request for next year (June 2011 - May 2012) sometime in May. Please advise your needs.
- The Disciples on the Journey Program was again successful. No more people, but committed ones to return. Approx 75 participants in 6 groups. Probably order only 75 for next year.
- The Small Faith sharing groups are going very well. The regular Sunday AM group is expanding. Hopefully next fall, there won't be the space crunch on meeting space and times, and we can possibly start a couple more groups. Wish I could be in multiple places at the same time! Thank you Piratzky's. Any topics or books you would like to start discussing? Let Lisa & Chuck know.
- The Prayer Blanket Ministry has mushroomed into a quite large group over the year, now with monthly get together. This ministry is dedicated to praying for the sick and homebound. Blankets for the sick or homebound are made from fleece or knitted / crocheted. Each Blanket comes with an envelope already contain Miraculous, St. Benedict, and soon St. Michael medals; bilingual prayer material. However, we are always seeking donations of yarn and bilingual prayer cards. Rosaries are also now made and accompany the blanket with a packet of bilingual religious materials. The blankets and rosaries are blessed prior to distribution. Inventory: It appears to be impossible to track how many blankets are being made, blessed, and distributed - even with our best efforts. Monthly gatherings are held for prayer and working together, building a nice Christian Community. Due to the economy, it has become harder to donate for some volunteers. For that reason, $$ from some of the other evangelization committees has been transferred to this group for this year. We will be hosting a bake sale on May 14th and 15th following masses. The proceeds from the bake sale will be used to purchase materials used in this ministry. For the most part, all materials have been donated for the last few years. The Ministry would also like to thank St. Eugene's Knights of Columbus for their generous donations of bilingual How to Pray the Rosary cards which accompany the blankets and rosaries. Thanks to Broderick's for their strong input on making this grow over this past year. We hope to have a workshop October 1st at the church on teaching and working together with others interested from the parish on making rosaries, crocheting, knitting, etc. All blankets are made with prayers for the recipient. Kindly remember that God always knows who that person is. All praise , thanks and glory be given to God alone! If you are in need of a blanket please contact the office or speak with a priest or deacon or call either Beth Adams or Sue Broderick. Keep making blankets through the summer, and turn in as time permits. We will begin the monthly sessions again in Sept.
- Welcome Booth @ Fall Food & Music Festival was again so much fun and appreciated this year. We will plan on helping again this year.
- Unfortunately, there was not much of a response to the Returning Catholic Program. I really felt bad about this, for several of you put many hours into the preparation. We have to remember that God is in control though, and we will continue to pray and study. There is a workshop I would like to try to attend this year on this subject to hear about some options. With working with RCIA now for the last couple years, I would like to see how Returning Catholics could maybe work to also enhance the RCIA program somehow. I think there is also something on how to get the entire parish involved in the process. (I know that sounds too easy!) That may not make sense at first, for they are two individual and needed programs. We will need to work on some study over the summer, and get together to discuss and come up with a plan.
- Another unfortunate, the Good Shepherd Prayer Group & Cursillo Ultreya stopped meeting. A couple of us are still in touch though in other Diocesan areas, and will try to keep all posted and keep praying for direction.
RCIA:
Wonderful year of RCIA will be drawing to a close the end of May. We will have one Catechumen & three Candidates being fully initiated into the Catholic Church at this Easter Vigil. Has been a very spiritually filled year with growth for all involved. RCIA class attended a Seder Meal on held Sat 4/9/11 @ Rectory. Many thanks to Mary Carrillo & Beth Teel did a really awesome job in preparation, with the assistance of Jose Carrillo & Mark Teel. Was a wonderful experience for the RCIA group and their sponsor's. Also to Fr. Joseph & Fr. John allowing us to celebrate in their home. Would like to continue this for next year.
| Catechumens | | Sponsor | |
| 1 | Teel, Mark | Teel, Beth | Baptism, 1st Communion / Confirmation |
| 2 | Ricks, Bernard | Ricks, Maria Lorena | 2012 Baptism, 1st Communion / Confirmation |
| Candidates | | Sponsor | |
| 1 | Carrillo, Mary | Carrillo, Jose | 2012 1st Communion / Confirmation |
| 2 | Hurley, Theresa | Lake, Cindy | Confirmation |
| 3 | Flannery, Sean | Velazquez, Miguel | 1st Communion / Confirmation |
| 4 | Sanchez, Guadalupe | Velazquez, Amaret | Confirmation |
| 5 | Eveler, Kaylee | Eveler, Luis | 2012 1st Communion / Confirmation |
Future Suggestion for the Finance Committee: Is it possible for a quarterly report to be sent to the committee chairpersons to keep track better of budget spending and $$ turned in (like for the books, etc.) That would be very helpful to be aware of on a regular basis, vs calling when needed. If that $$ could also get posted to the accounts, it would be helpful in budgeting for the activity the following year.
Safe Environment – Mary Kathryn P.
Nothing to report
Food Festival – Gene Z. – No report submitted
Food Festival Steering Committee Meeting April 6th
Volunteer Resources:
· No new volunteers to report yet.
Fundraising:
· Sent out English and Hispanic volunteers req.
· Work Hispanic contacts thru Carmen
· Looking for responses for 2 to 3 per mass for tickets sales.
· Would like to have separate money person and tickets handling.
· Intro session to
· Before raffle ticket sales begin there will be a $6k shortfall without Jeanette’s sales effort.
· Jeanette’s sales was $6k last year and $8k the year before that which involved non-parishioner sales.
· Need to figure a way to make up shortfall
· St. Ann’s website has a nice layout that is easy to follow and fast. Our festival pages take a long time to load.
· Need more assistance with sponsorship.
Food Booths:
· June timeframe for first food booth committee meeting.
· Bigger plates for Mexican booth in 2011 due to requests to buy more first time around. Dawn will discuss the matter at the first food booth meeting.
· Need to focus on the right size or economical return on the food portions.
· Move drink booth back into food booth area. This would allow the drink booth to be centrally located just outside of the games area thus more centrally located to the food booths, eating area and games.
· Some thoughts about using the ends of food booth area which are always unused but, could be populated by anchor ‘food booths’. However the reason that the ends are open is for safety reasons in regards to emergency vehicle access.
Publicity:
· Michelle Freer is our new publicity chairperson!
· T-shirt design contest to begin after Easter to take advantage of rel. ed. still in session.
· The Publicity Committee has a goal of creating effective communication about the festival both within the parish community and throughout the communities in which we live.
· Sponsorship packages – includes publicity for 2011, list of former sponsors, facts about the festival in regards to food booth types, entertainments, games, history, etc…. Show them what they get.
· Increase the emphasis of sponsorships versus increase in raffle tickets. More sponsors may encourage parishioners to buy more raffle tickets knowing that they are not the only source and feeling pressured.
· Looking for more volunteers for sponsorship effort in the fundraising committee.
· Parishioners would be encouraged to take sponsorship packages back to their employers or for parishioners who are self-employed to consider sponsoring the festival.
· Would like to still explore individual food booth sponsorship. However it was mentioned that an individual sponsorship of some booths might cause tension between those booths that do get sponsorship and those that do not.
· Michelle will work with Joe Howell to assist with additional sponsorship effort.
Entertainment:
· John Freer will continue as entertainment chairperson.
· Problems with the sound for one of the Hispanic acts that was reported was due to the last minute add of the act. Need better planning up front for all acts and make the committee chair aware with plenty of time to plan.
· The Stage Entertainment Committee plans to follow the successful pattern of the last two years by bringing a variety of local talent groups and acts with regional appeal to create an atmosphere where festival-goers will want to eat, stay, and play throughout the afternoon.
· More to follow soon!
Games:
Games:
· Dan will run the games again along with international village.
Decorations:
· Social ministry to come back again to assist as greeters.
· Need better coverings for tables.
· Looking for new items/ideas for further decorations.
Food Donations/Drive:
· Denise Willet will have more emphasis on the food drive.
Silent Auction:
· Beth Pursley will be the chairperson this year for silent auction.
·Looking to get back most of the same team that helped before and stick with the same format as last year.
Next steering committee meeting – May 3rd
Social Ministry – Ruth/Agnes D.
Migrant Ministry Collection finished and bags were assembled on 4/11/11. Delivery within the next couple of weeks. Garden workday for this past Saturday post-poned till 4/30. Ruth is very aware of the closet space and will do her best to do the deliveries a quickly as possible.
Budget information was sent to Carlos.
CPO will need more volunteers during the Summer since regulars take vacations. Mon-Fri from 9am to 1pm.
Stewardship – Renee N.
Last Welcome Brunch was well attended with 27 guests.
A special “Thank you” to Joe H. for his help with the campaign to raise collections recently. It was noted that so far this month the collections have increased since then.
Hispanic Ministry – Maria M./Daniel A./Isabel H.
Lenten talks with Ricardo Veloz were not as well attended this year as they were in 2010. Next year, they will be on Fridays to help with the attendance.
Next BAA season, there will be a campaign announcing it 3 to 4 weeks ahead and then collections will take place on one weekend only as it happens in the Anglo community.
Knights of Columbus – Norman M.
The Lenten Soup Supper went well when our Knights council hosted it. Thanks to all who helped out.
Jackson Maas, Jeff Maas's son, won the council and district Free Throw contest and went on to the State Championship in Burlington.
Our Chicken BBQ fundraiser event will be May 13, a change from May 6. Plates will be advance sale and sold hot at the Wendell IGA the day of the event starting around 11am. Plates are $6 for one or two or more, $5 each. The plates are delicious and we hope you will buy one or more. Advance sale will be after Masses.
Our Knights council will be leading in the Rosary before all the Masses in May.
The Knights of Columbus NC State Convention is in Durham on May 13, 14,15.
Our council will be doing Operation LAMB at the Walmart in Zebulon on May 21 and 22.
Our council already has a list of new council officers for the next fraternal year. Installation of Officers will be sometime in July.
Ladies’ Guild – Cindy W.
Nothing to report
Finance Council – Carol O.
The Finance Council met on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. The following items were discussed:
Workbook
HVAC 2012 contract
Restroom issues
Budget items are due by Easter
Finance will look into issuing quarterly budget reports to all Committee Chairpersons as suggested by Beth A.
Wendell Council of Churches - Fr. Joseph
Wednesday Prayer Luncheon Services have gone well. St. Eugene’s Ladies’ Guild served again today. There are several events taking place during Holy Week at the different area churches.
Vocations Committee – Steve A.
Due to a Last minute Work conflict the Vocations committee did not meet in April the next meeting will be held 5-5-11 after Holy hour.
Administration – Fr. Joseph/Staff
June 8th marks the Confirmations and the end of the Religious Education year. The staff is already planning for next year.
The staff already had their Lenten Retreat.
Administration is looking to set up and submit their budget still.
Fr. John will take his vacation of 3 weeks in June. Fr. Ryan will come to help Fr. Joseph on May 17, 2011.
Trailers are operational and have been equipped with tables and chairs already. Bulletin boards are going to be installed this coming week.
New General Topics – John E.
Elections for new officers will take place the weekend after Easter and there will be reassignment of committee chairpersons.
Closing prayer led by Fr. John.
Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 7pm.
