St. Raymond Catholic Church

PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

December 6th, 2006

Meeting Location:

Moran Hall Conference Room @ 7:00pm

Attendees:

Laurianne Behrens

(P)

Dave Conley

(NP)

Eric Hom

(P)

Bonnie Kramer

(P)

Fr. Bob McCann

(P)

Tom McClean

(P)

Rosann Russo

(P)

Connie Spence

(P)

Key: Present (P), Not Present (NP)

Guests: No Guests were Present

Tom McClean called the meeting to order.

1.) Opening Prayer

Eric led the council in prayer

2.)

Approval of November 2006 Minutes –

Eric Hom & Pastoral Council

November 2006 minutes were approved as amended

3.) Meeting Discussion Topics – Pastoral Council

Census Letter:

Tom passed around the Census letter written by Fr. Bob encouraging

parishioners to attend an input session in early January.  Input sessions will focus on

what is liked, disliked, and what each person would like to see in the future for the

parish.

Eric updated the Pastoral Council on the current status of the input session and town hall

project.  Eric has been working with Diana Bitz (Pastoral Associate) on the timing,

approved dates, and the structure of each input session that will take place the week of

January 8th.  There will be a total of six (6) input sessions in which one-hundred (100)

random parishioners were invited to attend and provide their feedback.  There will also

be an input session for the High School Youth during their Monday night Faith Formation

session.  The idea is to take all feedback and build the Town Hall agenda that will feature

you Q & A with Fr. Bob.  The Town Hall meeting will take place in mid-February.  Date

and Time will be finalized soon.

Discernment Process:

The Pastoral Council spent time reviewing and discussing potential

candidates that attended the Discernment Process on December 2nd.  

4.) Pastor’s Report – Fr. Bob McCann

Fr. Bob mentioned that Principal Tony Guevara will be taking a leave of absence through

the Holidays and will possible return the week of January 8th.  

Fr. Bob wanted to thank the Council on behalf of Fr. Terry for contributing $10K towards

his mission trip to Thailand.  He wanted to help support the underprivileged children and

schools as well as a few Catholic churches in need.  Eric asked that Fr. Terry write a

thank you letter and mention to the parish how the money was spent in Thailand.  Fr.

Bob confirmed that Fr. Terry will do both.

He reported on the October mass attendance count was up 4.5% over 2005.  Compared

to other local parishes, St. Raymond is continuing to grow.  Based on these results,

Rosann asked why our plate collection hasn’t grown much over the last year.  This is

something that the Council, Staff, and the Finance Committee need to address and

review.

Fr. Bob wanted to report the good news that the Parish debt will be paid off by the end of

2006.  The Parish will then focus on building a maintenance fund that will be used for

Parish/School building improvements needed in the coming years.

With a few other Parishioners, Fr. Bob has been working on trying to figure out where the

CYO basketball team will practice.  After some discussions with City Officials, the CYO

Basketball Team will practice at Fallon Elementary School.

The Facilities Committee is working on the current St. Raymond Master Plan that will

need to be updated.  Both Fr. Bob and Principal Tony Guevara agree that a gym and Pre-

K facilities are needed within the grounds of St. Raymond.  Discussions have begun.

Fr. Bob mentioned that Jennifer Mosel will be leaving the Parish Staff, but will continue to

help coordinate weddings at the Parish.  A replacement should be found in the next few

weeks.  

The Wassail event that took place on December 2nd had a great turnout.  Robby and the

choir did a fantastic job.

Fr. Bob wanted to thank the Council and the Parish Community for a memorable and

successful Jubilee Mass in his honor as a priest of 25 years.  The new Social Committee

worked hard to coordinate everything.  

He wanted to let the Council know that Al from the St. Vincent De Paul organization

wants to work with St. Raymond to raise much needed money for this organization.  It’s

been reported that 10%-15% of Dublin residents live below poverty.  In order to

implement a program like this, Eric requested that Al attend a Pastoral Council meeting

and make a presentation to the committee as to the specifics of the program he would

like to implement here at St. Raymond.  All on the Council agreed.

Lastly, Fr. Bob wanted to sincerely thank Tom McClean and Rosann Russo for their time

served on the Pastoral Council.  Both Tom and Rosann have served 4 years (1 more than

required) because of the transition from Fr. Patrick to Fr. Bob.  

5.) Old Business – Pastoral Council

N/A

6.) New Business

– Pastoral Council

Rosann asked about the LED St. Raymond sign that was going to be priced out.  The sign

would be used to promote Parish/School events and would replace the existing sign on

the Hill.  Eric mentioned that the cost for a LED sign would run between $25K-$35K.  

Tom mentioned that he might have a contact who could help with the overall total cost of

this outdoor fixture.  

Tom mentioned that he attended a deanery wide Pastoral Council meeting at St. Joan.  

People in attendance are the current Presidents of each Pastoral Council at St. Joan, St.

Isadore, and St. Raymond.  Overall, Tom thought that the meeting went well as he

reported that St. Raymond is definitely ahead of the game when it comes to the various

programs and ministries at the Parish.  With that said, there are things we could learn

from the other parishes.  He encourages whomever the next President will be to attend

at least the next meeting in January.

Next Pastoral Council meeting will be January 4th.  

The Pastoral Council presented Fr. Bob with his Jubilee gift from the Council.  

7.) Sacrificial Giving – Connie Spence

N/A

8.) Closing Prayer –

Tom McClean

Respectfully Submitted by __________________________________

  Eric D. Hom, Secretary