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Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting,
St. Mary’s Presbytery Sligo. Wed. December14th 2011
Attendance;
Canon Tom Hever Adm. Pauline Cushman Nuala Caliendo
Fr. Pat Lombard Colette Divers Sr. Elenita Baggio PM.
Sr.Catherine Casey S.J.A. Ursula Dunphy Peggy Mullen
Fina Golden (Chair) Bill Fox
Apologies;
Marion Roycroft Kay Horan Barry McMahon
Paul Keogh
The evening prayer of the church was led by Sr. Elenita.
The minutes of the Nov. meeting were read and adapted on the proposal of Ursula Dunphy, and seconded by Peggy Mullen.
Matters Arising;
The letters of gratitude to Dermot and Joseph, letter of congratulations to Sligo Rovers, and the letters to An Taoiseach, An Tanaiste, the local TDs and Senators were sent.
The two information evenings on the New Missal were very successful, the presentations were very good and gratitude was expressed to Fr. Pat who organised it.
The conference given by Bishop Murray at the diocesan gathering at Rooskey is available on CD from the parish office.
The Scripture sharing groups are going well, all 17 copies are in use, Sr. Catherine and the PM sisters’ groups are well attended.
New Parish Pastoral Council Members;
Three nominations were received, Dermot Finan, Peggy Mullen, and Niamh Reilly. They are to be contacted by letter to arrange to meet them before the next PPC meeting. As there is no representative from Kevinsfort area we should try to get someone from there. It was also decided to contact Fr. Andrew regarding the possibility of having a representative from the Polish community. It is hoped to have a final list by Feburary.
Welcoming Committee;
This issue was raised at the parish assembly, it was suggested that we should have a welcome committee, to greet people as they enter the church. Even though Breege and her group are doing a very good job it was felt that the members of the PPC should do it, to be present ten minutes before Mass begins and to remain at the back of the Church to welcome the community as they enter and give them a copy of the missalet. The gathering is a very important part of the Mass, so as we enter we should be welcomed into a community.
Eucharistic Conference;
The subcommittee prepared an information leaflet which was distributed last Sunday at the end of each Mass. Each person attending the congress will have to register with the congress, but if we wish to attend as a parish group we will have to register each individual person separately. The registration forms will be available in the New Year they will have to be filled in and returned as soon as possible. There is more information coming available each day on the web, and there will be more information available from the parish after Christmas. There is a new prayer available for children. As no one knew what “Statio Orbis” means we are to look it up.
Youth Ministry
Fr. Tom gave the report to the meeting, all the various activities are progressing well.
The alpha programme for transition year students is working well in Summerhill and
Ursuline colleges, and next year they may be able to lead it themselves. They hope to start it in the Mercy College after Christmas. The retreats for the confirmation groups are going very well with the students showing a lot of interest. The response to the
Thursday evening prayer group is small but they will continue with it. They have a nice core for the Sunday evening Mass which is the main focus of their work. They have witness
talks once a month. Seventeen youth have already fully paid for their trip to Medjugorje at Easter, but they are hoping to get up to thirty going. They will have a fundraising concert in the Gilooley Hall on the 22nd Feb. The school authorities are very co-operative and supportive of their work in the schools. The John Paul II awards have been launched for the transition year students. A Question was raised about the witness talks, it was felt by a member that the impression was being given that the only way of finding God is only by going through a very difficult situation, they felt that some of them were too long also, they suggested that happy people find God also and they could share their stories for a balance.
Advent / Christmas preparations;
The Nativity play was excellent, the production, Sets, costumes, and make up were very good and we should try to promote it.
The advent and Christmas preparations are going well. About 40 people are attending the way of gentleness and the cathedral was very comfortable. There is a difficulty with using the incense as it sets off the fire alarms. Next Tue will be the reconciliation service
Bill will lead the hour, volunteers were needed for the prayers, Ursula, Sr. Catherine, and Peggy volunteered. Fr. Tom or Bill are to invite the people to come up for the blessing.
The carol service will be at 8.15pm next Sunday and we were asked to encourage friends and family to attend.
The Christmas vigil mass is at 10.00pm, masses at 8.30am, 10.00am and 12.00md on Christmas
Day, there will be no evening mass.
The weekday masses for the two weeks after Christmas will be at 10.30am each day. There will be a New Year vigil mass at 11.30pm on the 31st Dec.
The 7.00pm mass on New Years day will be a mass for peace.
Child Protection;
A training course for priests and parish reps was held with Frank McGuiness and Mary Nicholson the diocesan child protection team. Only people who are directly working with children need to be vetted. In public places people do not need to sign in. In the upper room only the adults are required to sigh in. The audits are going to be done on all the dioceses, The Elphin audit will take place after June2012. The HSE are to do an audit also in the near future. We have to keep this issue alive and active, and be constantly aware of it.
AOB
The diocesan day of reconciliation will take place on 24th Feburary, it will show our sorrow before God and before people for the terrible abuse of children. All parishes will do it independently; we will have an all night vigil. A group of two people from the PPC and two from the adoration co-ordinators and the priests will organise it. A book by Fr.
Kevin Scully on repentance and reparation can be used as source material for the lay people leading it. A rota for security is necessary and we should set it up at the next meeting. There is no report from the apostolic visitation yet.
Training of new Eucharistic Ministers will take place on a cluster level in Feb, we need a good number of new people so we should forward the names of people to the priests.
Everybody was wished a Happy, Peaceful and Holy Christmas and New Year.
Next Meeting Wed 11th January 8.00pm.
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Chairman Secretary
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Proposed Seconded
Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting,
St. Mary’s Presbytery Sligo, Wed. 9th November 2011
Attendance;
Canon Tom Hever Adm. Fina Golden Peggy Mullan
Fr. Pat Lombard Nuala Caliendo Colette Divers
Patricia Mulligan Ursula Dumphy Barry McMahon
Vita Forde-Monaghan Sr. Elenita PM Kay Horan
Sr. Catherine Casey SJA Marion Roycroft Pauline Cushman
Apologies;
Bill Fox Dermot Collery Paul Keogh Joseph Murphy
The evening prayer of the church was led by Sr. Elenita.
The minutes of the October meeting were read and adapted on the proposal of Barry Mc Mahon and seconded by Sr. Elenita.
Matters Arising;
It is proposed to have a Diocesan wide day of reconciliation on Fri. 24th Feb. if this wont go ahead, then we in this parish should go ahead Commencing on Fri. 8.00pm and concluding with the 8.00am Holy mass on Sat. The Mass on Fri evening should have a guest speaker of note to attract people. The different religious orders in the parish could lead the different hours. The adoration Chapel should be closed and the adoration transferred to the Cathedral. Male volunteers would be needed for security during the night hours.
Letters to Parishioners;
The final draft of the letters were read, and they are to be distributed with the contribution envelopes to all the houses in the parish.
Eucharistic Congress Update;
The schools competitions are underway and already some entries have been received, and the prize-winning ceremony will take place next Feb. The congress programmes is not ready yet, so we can’t make a decision regarding best days to attend. It will take place in the RDS from Monday to Saturday and finish with the High Mass in Croagh Park on Sunday. The procession will take place on Wed evening from the RDS. There will be various workshops and evening events taking place during the week. Some of the Guest speakers include the Papal Legate, Cardinal Sean Brady, Br. Alois Loser (prior of Taize), Archbishop Tagle from the Philippines and many other distinguished speakers. More details available from the web www.iec2012.ie . As a parish we will need to register as a group as soon as possible, so people will need to give in their names and details beforehand. There will be a meeting area in the RDS for groups as they arrive. The Poor Clares convent will open for adoration during the week. 500 people have volunteered already but 3,500 are needed. A committee is being put in place to organise within the parish and two volunteers from the PPC were required, Peggy and Nuala volunteered.
A man named Noel from Cork has got a monstrance made which he will take to churches around the country to promote adoration. Fr. Drumm will give a talk on the last four parts of the Mass, offertory, consecration, blessing and adoration as part of the preparation for the Eucharistic Congress. The Congress candle is in the sanctuary of the cathedral, and it will be lit on the first Sunday of Advent. The prayer card is available and we should make every effort to say it every day.
New Missal Information Days
Will take place on Tue 22nd, and Wed 30th November upstairs in the Gilooley Hall followed by a cup of tea.
Youth Ministry;
Canon Tom had met with them earlier to day. The mass, alpha programme and prayer group are all going well for them. They are going to Medjugorje on Easter week and they plan on doing some fundraising beforehand. This group should then form the basis of the youth group for the Eucharistic Congress. As Joseph Murphy is stepping down from the sub committee a volunteer was need to fill the vacancy. Vita was not sure if it is possible as she has other commitments at that time so Colette agreed to do it for one year. Gratitude was expressed to Fr. Johnny Sweeney and Goretti for all their hard work.
Advent / Christmas Preparations;
Way of Gentleness; is all prepared, starting Tue 29th Nov for four Tuesday nights.
Scripture Sharing; will start in homes from Mon 28th Nov. for four weeks.
Sr. Elenita will lead an instruction session for leaders at 8.00pm on 16th Nov. in St Mary’s.
Carol Service; will take place in the Cathedral on Thur22nd at 8.00pm.
A carol service will also take place in Johnston Court for the Social Services practices will begin on next Wed in the Social Services.
There will be no evening mass on Christmas Day.
The 12.00md Mass on the 1st Jan will be the peace Mass. The New Years eve midnight Mass is to be confirmed yet. The Adoration Chapel will close over Christmas, the dates to be decided later.
Child Protection;
Gratitude was expressed to Maura and Karen who are checking all the volunteers, and following up all the references.
Rooskey Report;
Very good day and about 130 delegates attended which was excellent. Bishop Donal Murray’s conference was excellent, it was very clear and good to listen to. The music was very good also.
“Share the Good News” book published about a year ago by the Bishops Council is a very good, it is a detailed document on the history of the church and the changes that are taking place in modern times, a signpost for us which we as a pastoral council need to be familiar with. It is available in Veritas bookshop and we should get it, read it, and use it to form our agenda as a pastoral council. It will help us to be in tune with the Bishops Council. A summary can be downloaded from the bishops’ conference web site.
AOB
Letter of resignation was received from Dermot Collery due to other committments, Joseph Murphy has also resigned, letters of thanks to be sent to both of them. Also a letter of congratulations is to be sent to Sligo Rovers on winning the FAI Cup.
Great sadness and disappointment was expressed at the closure of the Irish Embassy in the Vatican. There was disbelief of the reason given, stating it was to save money. We felt it was ill judged and bad timing. It was decided we should write to Mr. Kenny, Mr. Gilmore, our TD’s and Senators to express our disapproval.
Next Meeting Wed 14th Dec
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Chairman Secretary
--------------------------------- -----------------------------Proposed Seconded
Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting
St. Mary’s Presbytery, Sligo. Wed 12th Oct 2011
Attendance;
Fr. Tom Hever, Adm. Marion Roycroft. Ursula Dunphy.
Nuala Caliendo. Patricia Mulligan. Barry McMahon.
Sr. Catherine Casey S.J.A. Pauline Cushman. Colette Divers.
Fr. Pat Lombard. Vita Forde-Monaghan. Bill Fox.
Fr. Johnny Sweeney S.C.A. (youth ministry)
Apologies;
Kay Horan. Paul Keogh. Fina Golden.
Sr. Elenita P.M. Joseph Murphy.
Sr. Catherine led the evening prayer of the church. Fina Golden was unable to attend so Marion Roycroft chaired the meeting.
The minutes of the September meeting were read and adapted on the proposal of Vita Forde-Monaghan, and seconded by Ursula Dumphy.
Matters Arising;
Joan Geraghty secretary of the D.P.C is to be invited to attend one of our meetings, Nuala is to invite her.
The day of reparation is to take place during Lent next year unless the Dioceses arrange one before this. Final transport arrangements were made for the Diocesan Pastoral Ministry Gathering.
Barry is to attend the catechesis course in Roscommon in place of John who is unable to attend.
The letters from the PPC are to be distributed with the boxes in November and the nominations to be returned by the 4th December. There will be reminders in the parish news letter and a box will be placed at the end of the church after Sunday masses for the completed replies. Fina and Fr.Tom Hever will look at the replies and bring details to the Jan. meeting.
Eucharistic Congress;
One day tickets are available now, Tuesday is a designated family day and family tickets are available. A short discussion followed and it was decided we should attend as parish community, but it was decided to wait for the programme details before making further arrangements.
New Missal; To help us understanding the changes in the wording of the mass, two provisional dates have been set Tue 22nd and Wed 30th Nov. for talks on the introduction of the new missal; this will be specially aimed at Eucharistic Ministers, readers and the PPC members.
A very good workshop for choirs and singers was held in Carraroe church, Liam Lawton also gave a very good talk in Collooney.
Youth Ministry Report.
They have started back in the schools with the Alpha course now in Summerhill college and the Ursuline College, this will be their first full year in the schools so they intend having a full programme. The schools are more aware of their being available to help and as a result they are being invited into different classes for specific teachings i.e. Baptism etc. The Wednesday Holy Mass in the Ursuline is well attended. They are arranging a youth pilgrimage to Medjugorje and they hope about 40 will travel. The prayer meeting in St. Bernadett’s chapel on Thursdays at 7.00pm has recommenced. They are arranging to meet with the confirmation classes to do some preparation/formation work with them. The youth Sunday mass at 7.00pm continues and they will have a cup of tea and a social upstairs after.
A drug awareness day in the form of a treasure hunt will take place on Wed next 19th Oct it is inclusive of all nationalities and religions, and it focuses their minds on the dangers of drug use.
John Paul 11 Awards; will be launched on Mon 5th Dec and they will target transition year students.
Advent / Christmas Preparations.
Way of gentleness; will be in the Cathedral on Tuesdays at 8.00pm, 29th Nov Nuala will lead, Barry will lead on the 6th , the Youth Min will lead on the 13th and Bill on the 20th which will include the reconciliation service, beginning at 7.00pm.
Christmas Carols; will take place on Sun 18th Dec.
Nativity Drama; will take place on 9th to 11th Dec.
Scripture Sharing; will take place on Thursday nights and a second daytime one is to be arranged so more of the senior people can attend.
It was decided that this year we should bring it to the people in their community and try to have it in a home in all of the station areas. It will be discussed with the area reps at their meeting on the 10th Nov.
Child Protection;
A meeting was held with the parish protection team, they have updated all the registers, checked that all are vetted, and they have contacted and checked all the referees. The Diocesan child protection team will meet with all priests and parish protection officers on November 29th to review child protection in the dioceses.
A.O.B.
Cluster Meeting report; Fr. McLoughlin attended and shared on employing a catechist, in their parish they work with the `Do this in Memory of Me` and Confirmation programmes. They are looking at setting up baptism formation groups and working with Eucharistic Ministers and readers and the PPC for adult spiritual enrichment and formation. All agreed that they should explore further and as the expense will be shared by the three or four parishes the burden for each parish will be reasonable.
Congratulations; was expressed to Barry McMahon who has been appointed deputy supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbanus. The knights have been very helpful and supportive in our parish over the years.
Next meeting Wednesday 9th November at 8.00pm
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Secretary Chairman
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Proposed Seconded
Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting
St. Mary’s Presbytery, Sligo. Wed.14th September 2011
Attendance:
Canon Tom Hever. Adm. Fina Golden Marion Roycroft
Fr. Pat Lombard Nuala Caliendo Paul Keogh
Vita Forde-Monaghan Colette Divers Patricia Mulligan
Fr. Deo gratias Dermot Collery Sr. Elenita P.M.
Sr. Catherine S.J.A. Kay Horan
Appologies:
Ursula Dumphy Barry Mc Mahon Joseph Murphy
Sr. Elenita led the evening prayer of the church.
The minutes of the June meeting were read and adapted on the proposal of Marion Roycroft and seconded by Kay Horan.
Matters arising;
Fr. Deo gratias was welcomed to the parish; he is staying here for a month. Vita Ford- Monaghan was congratulated on her recent marriage. Sympathy was expressed to Patricia Mulligan on the recent death of her mother in law. A query arose regarding the meeting notification, to check if everybody received it.
Canon Tom reflected on the events which occurred over the summer, the fall out from the Cloyne report, the government response and the Vatican reply. He spoke about how difficult it is at this time, many people are angry and annoyed with the church and bishops. He acknowledged the failings and faults within the church, and how the constant media attention and negativity can undermine us. He invited the meeting to share their views; it was felt that many who publicly voiced their views had not read the report. We were strongly encouraged to read the report, so we can respond in truth to any false accusations. It was stated by those who attended the World Youth Day that the media reports were biased and not correctly reported.
New Council Members;
A letter giving details of the work of the PPC and inviting nominations for new members, and a nomination form are to be distributed with the envelope boxes by the area representatives in November. This will be explained in the parish bulletin also. Kay and Nuala are to prepare a draft copy of the letter for the next meeting. The letter and form will also be available at the back of the church. The completed nomination forms are to be returned to Fr. Tom or to Fina.
It was decided to set up a ‘welcome committee’ who would visit the new estates and the houses, where boxes are not being delivered, i.e. those who have no contact with the church. It was suggested we give them the parish information leaflet and a letter inviting them to get involved. Kay and Nuala are to prepare a draft for next meeting.
Eucharistic Congress – Preparations;
Details of the primary school art competitions are finalised and the letters will be going out to the schools, the closing date is 30th Nov 2011. There will be a separate competition for special needs children. The subjects and details for the essay competition for the secondary schools are also finalised. Only first, second, and transition year students will be taking part. There are prizes for the schools and students. The Bishop has sent a letter to all secondary schools. The judges will be from outside the dioceses. They will be launched at the Diocesan gathering in Rooskey on the 15th Oct.
Most of the Congress events will take place in the RDS, plans for the Eucharistic procession through the streets of Dublin are underway. There is a meeting of all the diocesan coordinators in Maynooth this week. There was a promotional stall at WYD in Madrid and the Congress bell travelled to Lourdes with the Dublin Diocesan pilgrimage.
The walk to Knock was very successful about sixty people took part, and they are looking at doing it again in late April or early May next year.
Corpus Christi – Review
It was very well attended and organising it through the cluster was very positive, it was suggested we do it as a cluster again. The PA system could have been better, so we need to look at how it can be improved for next year. Gratitude was expressed to all who helped.
Youth Ministry – Report – Future Faith Development;
Mass is being organised for the 1st year students, and the Alpha programme is prepared for the 4th Year students. A prayer and get together event will take place in St. Bernadette’s chapel every Thur evening. They also plan to work with the group of 25 who travelled to Lourdes from the Dioceses, Fr. Pat led the parish group to WYD and they were very touched by the experience, especially at seeing so many Catholics practising together, they were also touched by the charisma of peace in the presence of the Pope.
The John Paul 11 awards are not launched here yet but the plans are at an advanced stage. We were asked to keep this ministry in our prayers and to let people know what is taking place. The parish has provided a lot of space and support for youth now.
Child Protection;
There was nothing new to report.
A.O.B.
Parish assembly; It was decided that the questions and replies which came up at the parish assembly be removed from the back of the Cathedral, and that we need to look at finalising any remaining issues like the welcome committee.
Way of Gentleness; After some discussion regarding heating and attendance it was decided to return to the Cathedral for this Advent
Correspondence; a letter was received from Joan Geraghty acknowledging receipt of our letter regarding response to listening process. A discussion followed regarding the need for a response and the need for a day of reparation. It was understood that the Church and Dioceses are awaiting the report from the Raphoe Dioceses before arranging a national response. Although there is a day of reparation arranged during the Eucharistic Congress, it was suggested that we should have a day (24 hours) of reparation on our own parish with the various apostolic bodies in the parish taking responsibility for different hours we are to make a decision at our next meeting.
Rooskey Gathering; Will take place on the 15th Oct, Bishop Murray from Limerick will be the main speaker. Five members will attend Vita, Fina, Marion, Sr. Catherine and Barry or Dermot.
National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland; A conference will take place in Roscommon on Mon 17th Oct. from 11.00am to 4.00pm, Vita and John will attend.
Parish Clustering; The Corpus Christi procession was a very good first step, and there are plans to employ a catechist who will work with various groups i.e. Eucharistic Ministers, Baptism Ministry, etc training them on a clustering level. Fr. Mc Loughlin from Roscommon will speak about their experience at the next cluster meeting. Each PPC will have to decide on this, a small group would be put in place to arrange programmes and oversee it all. There is still a lot of preparation but it should take some of the workload from the parishes.
Sr. Elenita was wished well on her journey to Rome for the Presentation Sisters Chapter meeting.
The new missal; Fr Pat said that we should look at this as a meeting God, in the words, and as a meeting Him in a real way. And it is important that we tell people about this. It was decided to set up a small group of Fina, Colette, Frs. Tom and Pat and Sr. Catherine who will look at the issues and report back to the next meeting.
Fr. Sean O Dowd; Very sincere gratitude was expressed to Fr. Sean O Dowd for his help and support in the parish and good wishes in his new appointment in Athlone.
The PA system in the Cathedral has been serviced and it is much better, it was suggested that the readers need to proclaim the word of God not just read it.
Next Meeting Wed.12th October at 8.00pm
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Chairman Secretary
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Proposed Seconded
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