Holy Trinity Church Parish Pastoral Council

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL Issue 188______January 9, 2017

The 188th meeting of the Holy Trinity Parish Pastoral Council took place on Monday January 9, 2017 in the meeting room of the Parish Center. Deborah Dion called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM. The opening prayer was read by all Council members present. The Mission Statement was read by Deborah Dion.

The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed. The motion to accept the minutes of the December 5, 2016 meeting, was made by Maureen Nomakeo and seconded by Wade Brunelle. In attendance were: Wade Brunelle, Deborah Dion, Dennis Hamel, Bozena Jaworowski, Krzysztof Jaworowski, Maureen Nomakeo, Stephen Oleksak Sr, Fr. René Parent, M.S., Jeanette Petretti and Wanda Pluciennik. Absent: Sandra Kielbasa, Lucyna Lewinski and Deacon Charles Wainwright.

Committees Reviews: Ministry & Worship: Lucyna Lewinski couldn’t be present at the meeting, so she asked Wanda Pluciennk to relate the information regarding the Midnight Mass. It seems that the new program wasn’t as well received as the one from the previous years. Quite a few people mentioned that the songs were too long, too many verses and the general feeling about the division between Polish and English songs was that it wasn’t evenly split. Cory and Lucy are working on changing the program for next year. Fr. René Parent reported that the Children’s Christmas Pageant went very well. Fr. René Parent spoke with Fr. Thaddeus about having a Parish Mission during Lent. The Mission would be bi-lingual, a few nights in Polish and a few nights in English. It would be something to look forward to during Lent. Details still need to be worked out.

Building & Maintenance: Stephen Oleksak Sr stated that there is not much to report. Now that the Christmas Season is over all the decorations need to be put away, he’s getting people together to help with this project. The date is set for Friday, January 13 at 7:00 PM. Fr. René Parent mention that the oil tank in the Rectory needs to be removed and he asked the Building & Maintenance Committee to look into it.

Social: Fr. René Parent reported that the “Appreciation Dinner” is planned for Saturday, January 28. Invitations will be send out. The “Winter Dance” will take place on Saturday February 4, 2017. Dinner at $20.00 per adult and $5.00 for children 5-12 years old, will be served from 6:00 – 7:00 PM. Dancing from 7:00 PM – Midnight to the music of “Polski DJ”. Kathy put all that information in the bulletin.

Religious Education: In the absence of Deacon Charles Wainwright Fr. René Parent reported that Katherine Smith, one of the High School Religious Education teachers, had to withdraw for health reasons. Deacon Charles agreed to cover some of the classes. Elementary classes are going smoothly.

Adult Education/Community of Faith/ “Rediscover Your Spiritual Roots”: Dennis Hamel reported that on January 29, 2017 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM there will be a presentation for all Religious Education parents. Dennis made an invitation letter, that was given to all CCD students to give to their parents. The next presentations are planned for February 26; March 26 and April 23. Dennis Hamel mentioned that there were a few very interesting articles in the last issue of the “Mirror”. Dennis came across a very interesting e-mail, inviting people for Christmas Mass. Something worth considering for the future. Fr. René Parent mentioned about having “Greeters” with name tags, at the 10:30 Mass. Dennis will follow up on that.

Social Justice: Deborah Dion reported that the parishioners were very generous this Christmas, with the donations to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The list of items received was very long and included many clothes, toiletries, stationery, cards… For Easter, they’ll be collecting items for the Bethlehem House. Looking for a way how to best advertise it.

Sick & Homebound: Maureen Nomakeo and Theresa Oleksak put together and delivered Christmas baskets to about 25 sick and homebound parishioners. They were extremely grateful. Theresa Oleksak always does a wonderful job and comes up with new and interesting ideas.

Youth Ministry: Jeanette Peretti reported that there was a good turnout for the movie night in December. The next movie night is planned for February 17 at 5:30 PM. Jeanette spoke with one of her friends, who’s very enthusiastic about helping her.

Finance Council: Wade Brunelle reported that we will end this fiscal year very well. The collections during Christmas weekend were very good.

Old Business: Calendar Raffle: Is going very well. The Gift Card Fundraiser was extremely successful, even more so than in the past. Stephen Oleksak will try to have the coffee hour on Feb. 26, after the 10:30 AM Mass.

New Business: Jeanette Peretti got in touch with the company about the Butter Braids (Breads) Fundraiser. The order forms will be send to the Rectory. The dates for the orders are March 3 – 19, with delivery on April 12.

Closing prayer was offered by Jeanette Peretti. Meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM. Closing prayer for next meeting: Stephen Oleksak Sr. Next meeting is Monday, February 6, 2017 at 6:30pm

Respectfully submitted by Wanda Pluciennik