Saturday, August 8, 2015

The August meeting of the Women of St. Paul was called to order by President Terry Scalera at 9:25 am following a devotional by Janet Spoden at 9:15am.

Those in attendance: Fr. Fabio Alvarez, Terry Scalera, Ewa Buslauer, Janet Spoden, Jane Durrell, Carol Balaun, Cheryl Cull, Vivian Overn, Carol Lersch, Beverly Farkus and Joyce Shakespeare.

July minutes were read by Beverly Farkus. There were no corrections and they were approved by those in attendance (by a show of hands).

Treasurer’s report was given by Ewa Buslauer . An audit was completed in July and copies of this report will be available at the next meeting. Ewa reported that there had been a debit of $131.53 for outreach purposes and religious articles; sales of religious articles $245.oo; profits of $113.47 shown.

Old Business:

 Follow up discussion on offering CPR training/recertification for those who are interested. President Terry Scalera reported on information from the White County EMT Services. They charge $50/person for the class and would come to the church campus for training. The YMCA of White County charges $90/person. Due to the church’s proximity to the White County EMT Department it was suggested by White County staff that AEDs on site are not a necessity for the church.

 Carol Balaun reported on a website, a Non-profit which raises funds for churches and other types of organizations to be used toward CPR training for their members.

 Janet Spoden mentioned the Red Cross as another possible source for training or the ALA, (American Lung Association). Terry Scalera reported that the Red Cross is more expensive than the White County EMTs. Terry Scalera will send a letter to the leaders of the other ministries to discern their level of interest with CPR training. It was also suggested that perhaps the SOR needs to consider offering the training to their teachers and assistants. Terry will discuss this with Laurie Vitek, DRE.

 Terry Scalera emailed Lourdes and Fr. Fabio regarding the communication between the office and the Homebound and Sunshine ministries. Improved communication is needed to know who to send cards and prayer blankets to, in a timely manner. Beverly Farkus stated that this information should be automatic between the office and appropriate ministries to avoid excluding some parishioner who needs help and prayers.

New Business:

 Beverly Farkus requested funds to purchase more religious articles to boost the inventory for Fall Festival in October. She estimates that $300 would be adequate. Fr. Fabio requests that some 5 x 8, paperback Bibles be purchased with this order to have on hand. The motion was made by Terry Scalera with a show of hands to pass the request.

New Business continued:

 Jane Durrell presented a brief explanation of the Izzy doll, a fallen Canadian soldier’s legacy (1994 in Croatia). She provided a copy of instructions, both crocheted and knitted, as a possible ministry for needy children. It was suggested that these dolls could be made by ladies of St. Paul and donated to charities like “Circle of Hope”. These dolls cannot be sold.

 Joyce Shakespeare reported the Knitters of St. Paul obtained 300 American flags through the “Pocket Flag Project”. This group folded the flags and sent them to Owen Broom’s unit in Afghanistan with the enclosed note, “Thanks for serving your country. Here’s a little bit of home.”

 Beverly Farkus commented on the recent funeral reception for Sid Brangham. It was felt that there wasn’t enough food for the large number of people attending the funeral mass and reception. There was a discussion regarding the fact that many parishioners didn’t know that Mr. Brangham had passed and therefore, due to the lack of communication, not enough people brought food for the reception. A discussion ensued regarding reinstituting the phone tree. Beverly will discuss the feasibility of this with Debra White. Beverly also commented on the need for the Bereavement and Arimethean groups to become more active with attendance at any and all funerals at our church. It was also suggested by Beverly that a positive message could be placed in the bulletin to remind parishioners of our unstated responsibility to those fellow parishioners who die and our need to support their funeral needs.

 Terry Scalera reported that in spite of the problems incurred on the day of the funeral reception that she had received a lovely thank you note from the Brangham family.

 Janet Spoden discussed the poor conditions of the kitchen and parish hall prior to the funeral reception when volunteers arrived to set up the hall. Garbage was found in the kitchen containers with flies abounding. Stale fruit and glasses of juice were found on several dirty tables in the hall. It was noted that, not infrequently, the kitchen, the hall and the tablecloths are found in disarray. Janet suggested that a check list should be created for those using the parish hall/kitchen and it should be checked religiously after each use. If someone or group leaves the hall in disarray their privileges to use the hall should be suspended. Janet noted that the White County Health Department could ostensibly close our kitchen, if it is left with decaying food which draws insects, especially during warmer months. There was no further discussion on this topic and no resolution.

 Carol Balaun suggested that the bulletin could have a new “Did You Know” section whereby the communication between parishioners and various ministries is improved. Carol applauded the current website and stated that it should be used more by all of us as a means to “get the word out.”

Fr. Fabio commented that many in our church choose not to be involved and we can only do so much to encourage this. All parishioners do desire a sense of belonging but there are many ways to attain this and some do not include volunteering.

The Hispanic women of St. Paul’s want to start a nightly adoration which is a tradition in Mexico. They are currently having the book for this translated into English. The process will proceed to see how many wish to participate after the translation is completed and approval is obtained from the Archdiocese. If approved, there would be a period of 1 year to determine the success of this type of ministry. Normally, the adoration is held on the 2nd Saturday of the month, starting at 9:30pm and going until 5:00am. Sometimes it is customary to have an early morning mass at the completion of the adoration. Psalms are used and the Rosary is prayed along with other prayers during the allotted time. Fr. Fabio will apprise us as to when the translation is completed in the event that some of the other women of the church want to participate.

Fr. Fabio is asking that Anglos and Latinos work together for the Fall Festival. He would like to see each booth (food, games, etc.) represented by both groups. The raffle tickets should be here this week and then we can start selling them.

Fr. Fabio was disappointed with the poor attendance at the parish picnic. Many reported to him that the heat was a problem for them. Perhaps some consideration should be given to moving the date to earlier in the summer. The pool is enjoyed by many but it is not necessary for the success of the picnic as there are always games for the children. Fr. Suggested moving it to the week after Mother’s Day and although there is Cinco de Mayo earlier in May he does not feel that is a problem.

Fr. Fabio addressed the concerns regarding the dirty/stained upholstered kneelers and pads in the pews. He would like to see if we can remove the stains ourselves. Terry Scalera stated that she thought this would be worth trying if the right equipment could be obtained. Fr. doesn’t want the pads to be removed from the pews as some had suggested. No resolution at this time.

 Fall Festival

Terry Scalera would like to see suggestions for more ways to make money at the Fall Festival. The Hispanics have already set-up committees through their different ministries. This would also be a good idea for the rest of the church ministries. Terry suggested asking the Chamber of Commerce or the White County schools if they would like to be involved. Carol Balaun mentioned that there could be a conflict with the Chamber because they are already involved with Agrifest which is at the same time perhaps? The next meeting is August 19 @ 7:30pm.

The meeting was adjorned @ 10:30.

Respectfully recorded and submitted by

Janet Spoden, Acting Recording Secretary