Parish Council

Members of St. Monica's Parish Council: 
           Father Eric Hall, Chris O'Bara (Chair), Dick Allen, Martha DeVore, Lisa Hill, Tom Linder, Kathleen O'Bara

To learn more about our Parish Council, to make suggestions, or offer help, please contact: council@stmonicaparish.org 

Minutes 7/14/10  

Attending: Father Eric Hall, Tom Linder, Dick Allen, Chris O’Bara, Kathleen O’Bara

Absent: Lisa Hill, Martha DeVore

 Religious Education:

 Whole Parish Catechesis: Council agreed to use the Sadlier ”We Believe” program recommended to them by Kathleen O’Bara DRE and topics committee. Options for programs were reviewed and agreement was reached to present the following four programs, which will follow Sunday morning mass for approximately 2hours followed by a potluck.

·         September 19th topic: Ordinary Time

·         Dec. 5th topic: Advent

·         March 13th topic: Lent

·         May 22nd  topic: Pentecost

Confirmation: New curriculum will be adopted for confirmation program this year. Kathleen O’Bara DRE presented program from LIFETEEN entitled Oneight and recommended adoption. Program will be presented in a Super Saturday format for St. Monica students with the possible inclusion of St. X. confirmation students. Confirmation will be held at St. X in the spring for both parishes. DRE will contact parents and students involved in Confirmation about this program. The first Super Saturday date is planned for December 11th 2010, and the rest will be planned in consultation with parents and students.

Youth Ministry: Multi-parish youth ministry continues to meet and discuss the need for programs for our teens.  Youth Masses will continues as additional programs are investigated including LIFETEEN.  NET evangelization team will be in our area from October 12-16 presenting programs for middle school and high school students. St. Monica’s has agreed to provide housing once again

Parish activities:

o       Yard Sale: Parish Yard Sale held July 9-10 was a success and $646.00 was raised which was shared by the Food Pantry and the Gabriel Project. This will become an annual event and will be held next May

o       St. Monica Fall Festival and celebration of St. Monica feast Day set for August 29th .

Mass will be followed by a potluck luck brunch.

o       Christmas Play: Date for annual play and potluck set for December 19th

o       Seder Meal: Date for meal was set for April 16th

o       Chris O’Bara discussed possibility of parish considering a multi generational mission/service trip possibly in 2012 and would like to discuss this further at a later time

o       Discussion of rotation of council members also discussed as well as welcoming participation of new people in council. This topic will be further discussed at next council meeting.

Building and Grounds:

Tom discussed need for tree removal next to rectory and church as well as brush removal along driveway. Decision made to have parish work day scheduled for October 23rd followed by cookout or potluck to deal with brunch and wood clean-up. Chris O’Bara will check into having a large dumpster delivered for use that day. Discussion of taking the old building down prior to this date was also discussed. Chris O’Bara and Tom Linder will follow up on this with parish members involved.

Council agreed to meet again on September 29th and closed with prayer.

Minutes submitted by Kathleen O’Bara 7/20/10

 

Minutes:
St Monica Parish Council Meeting
December 10, 2008


Present were: Fr Hall, Kathleen and Chris O’Bara, Martha DeVore, Joyce Wood
Fr Hall opened the meeting with a prayer.
Minutes of the Oct 15th meeting were approved.

Committee reports:

Religious Ed:
Kathleen reported that the DeSales Program for Adult Education has started.
There are 2 convenient sessions one on Sunday morning and one on Tuesday
evening.
The Children’s Christmas Program will be December 21st at 4:00 PM.
There will be a Pot Luck Dinner after the program.
A First Reconciliation is being planned as a part of a Parish Penance Service.
This will take place on Monday the 2nd week of Lent, the date is March 9th at
7:00 PM.
Kathleen said there might be some changes needed for the “Distinguished
Extinguishers”
Concerns will be addressed at a future Parish Council Meeting.

Social Concerns:
The Angel Tree and the Glove Tree projects are still in progress.
29 Angels will have Christmas Gifts, thanks to our Parishioners.
The Quilt Raffle drawing for the Gabriel Project will be on December 15th.
Our Parish contributed 22 Turkeys for the Thanksgiving Baskets.


Parish Activities:
Chris O’Bara discussed the possibility of utilizing St Monica’s Rectory for
Emergency Needs in the community. (e.g.: Families from out of town who have a
member in the hospital or a family that has been burned out of their home)
Father Hall suggested we look into the Legalities and also the contact other
shelters in the Parkersburg area for input in establishing a Shelter at our
Rectory.
Chris will set up regulations for this project.

Buildings and Grounds
No major concerns at this time.

Ministries/Liturgy:
Christmas Eve Mass is set for 7:00PM with Music and singing beginning at
6:30PM.
New Years Eve Mass is set for 7:00 PM.

Old Business:

At this time the review team of the “What’s Good” and “What’s Needed” has not met.
This will be discussed at a future Parish Council meeting.
A calendar of events for the coming year will be prepared and issued to the Parish.
Parish Council discussed a plan to re-order new members.
Names of parishioners interested will be submitted to Father Hall.
Father suggested a three-year term with new members added each year to replace
those going off the Council.

New Business:
Ian O’Bara will present plans for an Eagle Scout Project to the parishioners
at the December 21st PotLuck Dinner. It will involve clearing a pathway down to
and from the pond area on the back of the property and the setting up benches
and the Stations of the Cross.

Fr Eric’s Comments
Father Hall was pleased that the Scrip Project is doing so well.
Our next Parish Council Meeting will be February 4th.
Father Eric closed with Prayer.

St Monica Parish Council Meeting
December 10, 2009

 

Present were: Fr Hall, Kathleen, Chris and Ian O'Bara, Martha DeVore, Fran and Dick Allen and Tom Linder.
Fr Hall opened the meeting with a prayer.\

Minutes of the August 18th meeting were approved.

Committee reports:

Religious Ed:
CCD has gotten off to a good start. We have need of another teacher for the kindergarten children. Fr Hall and Kathleen will work out timing for reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion for the 2nd graders.
A DVD player and adapter have been purchased.
There are 7 students in the High School Teen Faith Formation group.

Social Concerns:
The Gabriel Project open house was quite a success. Pictures of the event appeared in the statewide Gabriel Project Newsletter. "Baby bottle" collection for the Gabriel Project will wrap up at the end of October. Martha's CCD class will help count and separate the coins.
The St Monica $25 monthly support for the combined area clothes and food closet was approved.
A Freezer will be available by early November for the collection of turkeys for Thanksgiving and later on for Christmas. Chris will handle that.

Parish Activities:
Dates for various parish activities will be put on a poster and placed in the vestibule.
A fall pot luck and game night will be held soon...date to be announced.

Buildings and Grounds:
Youth of the area have again been using the parking lot and sidewalks of the church for skateboarding and other activities and leaving various trash items behind. If anyone observes such activity, please ask them to leave the property. The property is posted for liability purposes and there have been minor acts of vandalism in the past.

Ministries/Liturgy:
Fr Eric was very please with the turnout for the Lay Ministers Retreat September 14th. There was discussion around increasing lay minister participation and that will be dealt with in the near future.
Christmas Mass schedule was discussed. We will have out our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. Currently set for 7:pm but that may move to a little later time depending on Fr Eric's needs.

Old Business:
Two classes have been set up for adult education; Sunday following Mass and Tuesday evenings. Each group's schedule to be worked out.
St Monica hosted the September Vicariate Meeting. Great thanks to Mary Ann Sweet and team for coordinating the event which included providing a meal. Those helping Mary Ann were Geneva Caplinger, Betty Maone, Jeanette Esker, Karen Barre, Natalie Linder, and Art Sweet and others.
The PPC team will meet in the near future to discuss future planning for participation in the PPC and to review the material collected around "What's Good" and What's Needed" at St Monica.

 New Business:
Ian O'Bara presented plans for an Eagle Scout Project he would like to do for the parish. It will involve clearing a pathway down to and from the pond area on the back of the property and the setting up of benches and the Stations of the Cross. The PPC approved the plan. Ian will develop a description of the project and needs assessment for parish participation and pass it out soon for all to see.

Fr Eric's Comments:
There was discussion about developing a Youth Group for St Monica/St X. The vision includes involvement with other parishes in the area from time to time. More to come in the future.
There was discussion about providing kneelers for the church in order for us to more appropriately participate respectfully during Mass. Some suggestions were offered around how that might be done. Fr Eric is looking into possibilities.
Fr brought up the school assessment question. He's recently been in discussion with appropriate individuals on the matter. He will discuss the issue with the Parish Finance Committee soon to work out an equitable way for us to meet our responsibility to support Catholic Education and at the same time do that in a way that is within our financial capabilities.
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 10th.
The meeting ended with prayer

 

St Monica Parish Council Meeting
August 18, 2008

 
Parish Council met August 18th in the St. Xavier Rectory.
 
Present were:  Father Hall, Tom Linder, Martha DeVore, Kathleen O’Bara, Chris O’Bara, Fran Allen and Joyce Wood
Father Hall opened the meeting with prayer.
Minutes from the July meeting were accepted and approved by members of the PPC.
Tom Linder suggested that the council post the minutes soon after the PPC meeting for the parish members to review. We will try to have the minutes posted within a week to ten days from the date of the PPC meetings.
 
Committee Reports
Religious Education  
Kathleen O’Bara announced that CCD classes will begin September 21st.
The grades 9 through 12 will be using the Spirit Weekly as study help as well as other Catholic teen instructional readings.
The younger students will be studying from the same books that St. Francis Xavier CCD students are using.
Fran Allen and Kathleen O’Bara discussed various programs for the Adult Formation classes.
Among those discussed were “Christ Renews” and the ”DeSales” Instructional Program.
The Subject of the Adult Formation Class will be presented to the parishioners on Friday at the” Meet and Greet” Pot Luck dinner.  Fran will review DeSales materials in hand.
 
Social Concerns
Martha DeVore gave a report from MaryAnn Sweet on the Gabriel Project.
 “Undie Sunday” and the collection of school supplies were a success.
The Gabriel House will host an open house on September 7th after Mass. Coffee and Donuts will be served.
The raffle for the Baby Quilt will be drawn at that time.
 The Baby Bottle project will begin in October.
A reminder that October is also “Right to Life“ Month.
Martha reported that we will need a freezer for the Turkeys that will be donated for the Holiday Food Baskets.
Chris O’Bara will take care of getting a freezer to the parish house to be used for that purpose the first week of November.
 
Parish Activities  
Chris reported that the August 22 Parish Feast Day/ Meet and Greet for Father Eric/ cookout is in the final stages of planning.
Chris will take care of getting the food. An invitation notice has been sent to parishioners.
 
Building and Grounds  
Tom Linder reported that the extensive repair to the Gas and Water lines at the church has been finished.  Lew Moyers and Dave Quattro did a wonderful job completing these tasks.
 
Liturgy  
Tom Linder reported that the Installation for Father Eric was very impressive.
Also, the Feast of the Assumption Vigil at St. Monica’s was very well attended.
 
Old Business
Tom announced that Mary Ann Sweet will coordinate the Meal for the Vicariate meeting which will be held at St Monica’s on Thursday, Sept 11th.
Father Eric will conduct a Liturgical Ministries Retreat on Sunday September 14th.
This will include refresher training for all ministries .  The event will last from 2pm till 4pm and end with a “potluck” dinner at the church to follow .
The council discussed a Calendar of events for the Parish.
It was decided to sponsor a “Potluck” dinner quarterly and these dinners will be sponsored by various service groups of the church for donations to raise money for social concerns in the community.
 The following dates/events will be placed on the calendar:
September 14th         Liturgical Ministries Retreat
December 21st          Children’s Christmas Play
March 29th                Seder Meal
May 17                     End of the School Year
Plans are also being made and dates for Lenten “Soup, Salad and Stations” and a date for a lecture on the “ Medical aspects of the Crucifixion of Christ” will be put on the calendar later.
 Our calendar will also include St Francis Xavier events of common interest.
 
New Business  
St. Monica’s Parishioners will continue to receive a box of contribution envelopes for the 2009 year.
 
Father Hall closed the meeting with prayer.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
Joyce Wood

St Monica Parish Council Meeting
July 2, 2008

Parish Council met July 2nd in the St. Xavier Rectory.

Present were: Father Hall, Tom Linder, Natalie Linder, Martha DeVore, Rick DeVore, Chris O’Bara, Fran Allen and Joyce Wood.

Father Hall opened the meeting with prayer.

Minutes from the April meeting were accepted as previously approved by members of the PPC.

Committee Reports

Religious Education

Chris O’Bara reported that CCD will continue the same as last year, with 6 combined classes.

He reported that the combined Bible School was very successful.

A discussion was held regarding combining the High School CCD classes with other Parishes in our area.

Fred Esker would like to have a multi parish service group for high school students. He will report on this at a later time.

Tom Linder Commended Kathleen O’Bara and the CCD teachers for an excellent program last year.

Social Concerns

Martha DeVore gave a report from MaryAnn Sweet on the Gabriel Project.

There are several cribs that have been donated as well as other baby items and are being stored the in newly renovated building. This project is serving several families at present.

Several people attended the Marty Haugan Music Conference in Bridgeport .

The basement of the Building has been cleaned and the door that was damaged will be repaired.

Also siding was put on the Gabriel Building .

Tom Linder reported on the St Monica Special Projects and its importance to the Lubeck Area. Joyce and Roger Zipfel do wonderful work with this service project.

Parish Activities

Chris reported that the Adventure Pursuit Picnic was fun and a number of St Monica folks were there.

A St Monica Feast Day dinner was discussed. Plans will be made to have a Feast Day/End of Summer Cook out.

Chris will be in charge of this event. It will be held at the church on August 22.

A notice will be placed in the bulletin.

Building and Grounds

Many items were cleaned out of the rectory and the basement of the Gabriel Building and taken to the annual Wood County Recycle Day Clean Up. There are still some other heavy metal items that will be taken to a metal scrap dealer to recover some cost for the parish.

Natalie reported on the repairs that were made to the Gabriel Building .

Natalie also reported that there is a gas line leak at the edge of the church property. The Gas Company notified her, and the gas has been turned off until this repair can be made. Dave Quattro will see to having the repairs made.

Jack Bohan will be repairing cracks in the wood on the altar.

Father Hall stated that he will meet with the finance committee soon.

Liturgy

Tom discussed the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption on August 15th at St Monica’s.

Father Hall agreed that we will have Mass on Thursday the 14th of August at 7:00 pm.

Tom reported that he has trained some of our CCD students to be Altar Servers at their request. There are also some students who would like to be lectors.

Father Hall said he would like to have refresher/training sessions for all ministries in the near future.

Chris O’Bara is planning an activity for the training of these students..

Old Business

Tom discussed the financial status of the parish with Father Hall.

He also talked about our Farewells to Father Casey and Father Dass.

Tom mentioned that he also thanked the People of St. Monica’s Parish for the Spirit they have shown in the past year with all the changes we have had.

Fran Allen discussed the new St. Monica WEB SITE.

If any one has pictures they would like to see on this site send them to Fran.

Chris has a CD with many pictures of past church activities and also the History of our parish.

New Business

A calendar of events will be developed for the coming "school year" for the parish. This calendar will also include St Francis Xavier events of common interest.

Father Hall suggested the Parish Council will meet every 2 to 3 months. We will have a PPC meeting on Wednesday August 20th. Calendar development will be a focus at that meeting.

A discussion followed regarding a parish “Meet and Greet” with Father Hall. It was suggested that we have this in combination with the Parish Feast Day dinner on August 22nd.

It was proposed that we look at turning over some of the positions on the PPC in the Spring of 2009. A discussion was held on how to get other parishioners in interested in Parish Council.

Tom mentioned the Parish’s Liturgical needs. Father Hall will plan a schedule to meet these needs.

Father Hall said he had visited the cemetery at Lee Creek and was pleased at how well kept it was. Tom said that Jim Emerick has been caring for the cemetery.

A review of “What is Good” and “What is Needed” at St Monica’s was discussed.

Topics on Evangelization, Family Centered Catachesis, and St Paul ’s Journey were discussed.

Fran Allen, Martha DeVore and Kathleen O’Bara will meet to develop ideas for Adult Formation at St Monica.

Father Hall closed the meeting with prayer.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joyce Wood

St Monica Parish Council Meeting
April 9, 2008

 

Present were Father Casey, Martha DeVore, Kathleen and Chris O’Bara, Tom Linder, Fran Allen, and Mary Ann Sweet

Father Casey opened the meeting with prayer.

Minutes of the January 16, 2008 meeting were reviewed and approved.

Committee Reports:

Religious Education:

Kathleen reported there is interest in a joint Vacation Bible School to involve all parishes in the area. More to come.

There is interest in having a parish celebration at the end of the CCD year to celebrate the year of learning.
Altar Server training will be conducted after Mass on 4/13.
Some of our CCD students will be attending the Youth Rally at Jackson’ Mill the week-end of 4/13.
Kathleen and CCD teachers will be evaluating which book series best meets the needs of the CCD program.

Social Concerns:

Mary Ann Sweet reported on the status of the Gabriel Project at St Monica. Currently 4 babies are being helped through the program.

Recent jam and jelly sale netted $120.00 for the Gabriel Project.
Bowser is donating siding and labor to install it to repair the old block building where Gabriel Project supplies are now stored.The door to the building has been damaged and will be replaced.
Mary Ann also reported that Catholic Community Services helped a number of people through outreach efforts at Christmas Time.
CCD students have been helping with the stocking of the food pantry on Food Basket Sundays.
A question was raised about how more funds might be raised to support social concerns. After some discussion pro and con, Father Casey pointed out that second collections need to be approved by the diocese. A suggestion to have seasonal events...cook-outs, dinners, etc...might be a way to raise funds. Chris will pursue the idea and the PC will revisit the idea at the next meeting.

Parish Activities:

A group from the parish went to Spencer to help with needs there.

A recycle week-end event is planned for 4/11-12. Chris and others will remove appropriate materials from the garage..including the old freezer...and the ground floor of the Gabriel Project Building and take them to the recycle location. The old copiers will also be recycled.

Buildings and Grounds:

Inspection of the church and rectory were recently completed. Tom will discuss with Father casey and Father will send it in. Fire extinguishers were also recently inspected by an outside agency and found to be in good condition. 

Ministries and Liturgy:

Holy Week and Easter services were well attended.

Ministries are now posted on the St Monica website as well as in the bulletin and on the events calendar in the vestibule.

Old Business:

The St Monica Directory has been updated. There are over 50 families and/or adult individuals registered with St Monica.

The bulletin has been upgraded to include names and contact information for various needs and activities for the parish.
Fran Allen had initiated the St Monica website...www.stmonicaparish.org...since our last meeting. A wonderful addition to the parish communication efforts. Many thanks to Fran for her work getting the site up and running.

New Business:

Catholic Sharing Appeal will be kicked -off this month.

Tom will attend the April Vicariate meeting on 4-10-08.

Father’s Comments:

The parish is in good financial condition.

A discussion about Father Casey’s Transfer took Place. He will be leaving St Monica/St X April 30th. Father Dass will be leaving on vacation around 4/22 and be gone for 5 weeks to visit his family in India. Father Peterson, Vicar, is arranging for priests to cover parish needs in their absence. A new pastor will be announced in the near future, before Father Casey leaves. Father indicated he knew who would replace him but because the parish where that person is now serving has not been told about the change, he cannot communicate the name at this time.

Father encourage us to continue to carry on as we have. We are very capable of taking care of our needs and he believes we will find the new pastor a good person to work with.

A farewell get-together will be held for Father Casey on Sunday, April 27the at the St X Parish Hall.

Father also alluded to the possibility that Father Dass may also be reassigned but nothing official has been issued yet.

On behalf of the Parish Council and the parish, Tom thanked Father Casey for all he’s done to help us over the past year.

The new pastor will not arrive until mid June. Tom will meet with him and work out when the Parish Council will meet again.

Father closed the meeting with a prayer

St. Monica’s Parish Council Meeting
January 16, 2008

Parish Council met January 16th in the St. Francis Xavier Rectory.

Members Present were: Father Casey, Kathleen O’Bara, Martha DeVore, Tom Linder, Chris O’Bara, and Joyce Wood

Special Guest was Mary Ann Engelmann, The Diocese Pastoral Service Liaison.

Father Casey opened the meeting with prayer.

Minutes from the November meeting were approved.  

Committee Reports  

Religious Education

Kathleen O’Bara reported that CCD classes are going well.

The Christmas Play was very successful and the children had a lot of fun presenting it.

Social Concerns

Martha DeVore reported that the Holiday fundraisers were very successful.

Among the fund raisers that the parish participated in were the Angel Tree, The Gabriel Project Baby Bottles, and the Turkeys for Thanksgiving.

The 6th & 7th grade students in the CCD class helped Joyce and Roger Zipfel with the Food Cupboard Project and they also made Refrigerator Magnets for parishioners to help remind them of the dates the pantry will be collecting donations.

The Quilting sessions have started at St Xavier’s Parish Hall and will continue every second Saturday until May.

Parish Activities

Chris O’Bara wants to schedule a Pot Luck/Game night at the Church before Lent begins.

The date chosen will be February 2nd. More information will follow in the Church Bulletin

There will be a junior high youth rally in April at Jackson ’s Mill. Several of the students from our parish want to attend this. Chris asked Father if the church could help with the finances for this trip.

More information will be put in the Sunday Bulletin.

 Building and Grounds

Dave Quattro and Natalie Linder will work with the Finance Committee to coordinate reconditioning the rectory if and when the decision is made to do that.

The Rectory has been cleaned and necessary repairs have been made.

The high school students use the rectory for their classes.  

Liturgy

Tom Linder reported that the Christmas Mass was very well attended

The Christmas Decorations in the Church were beautiful and they have since been removed and put away until next year.

Tom stated that we are in need of more altar servers.

Kathleen has already met with some of the students who are interested in serving and Father Dass will begin instructions soon.

Ash Wednesday is February 6th. There will be Mass and distribution of ashes at St. Monica’s at 7 pm.

There will be Soup, Salad & Stations on February 21. The women of the parish will take care of the food preparations.

A discussion followed regarding the Services for Holy Week.

The times were set:

Holy Thursday will begin at 7:00pm

Good Friday will begin at 7:00pm

Easter Sunday services will be at 8:30 am on Easter Sunday.

(There will be no Easter Vigil Mass at St Monica‘s)  

Old Business

Tom told Council that it has been suggested that St. Monica’s set up a committee to do a phone census                to establish a correct  membership. More information will follow.  

Tom reported that at present we are a financially stable parish, able to support day to day needs.

Father Casey indicated he would be discussing the school Assessment/Debt issue with others in the near future.  

Fran Allen is finalizing the web site for St. Monica’s Parish. We will hear more about this project when she finishes.

The Pot Luck/ State of the Parish dinner was well attended. A list of suggestions for improvement for the parish was posted for all members to see.  Fran Allen did an outstanding job preparing for and leading discussions leading to suggestions concerning strengths and needs of the parish.

Fran, Parish Council and others will address these suggestions.

New Business

 Father Casey asked  the Members of  St Monica’s to please check with him before spending any money .

Some unauthorized requests have been turned in to St. Xavier’s. Please get authorization before spending.  

Father Casey also stated that the church cannot advertise special fund raisers or contribute to the request of specific family tragedies, such as fires or illnesses or other devastations.. However, these notices can be posted on the Church Bulletin Board or handled "word of mouth" so members can contribute if they wish.

Tom stated that flowers have been sent to 2 members of the parish,  Mrs. Zell and Mrs. Parsons; both lost a parent recently.

Joyce Zipfel  is  now in charge of sending cards and flowers. Tom suggested that our parish raise separate funds for this committee to cover these needs.

The Parish thanked Chris for the use of the freezer to store the Turkeys in over the Holidays.

Mary Ann Engelmann addressed the Parish Council and reported that there will be 2 Training workshops for Parish Council Members one in February in Paden City and a 2nd workshop in April. We are urged to attend one of these sessions. These will be held on Saturdays.

The next Parish Council meeting will be April 9th.

Father Casey closed with prayer.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Joyce Wood

St Monica’s Parish Council Meeting
November 1, 2007  

The Council met on November 1st, at St. Francis Xavier’s Church after the 7pm Mass.

The meeting was opened with a prayer.

The following members and parishioners were present: Father Casey Mahone, Tom Linder, Martha DeVore, Chris O’Bara, Kathleen O’Bara, Fran Allen, and Joyce Wood

Minutes from the last meeting were approved.  

Religious Education

Social Concerns

Parish Activities

 Building & Grounds Report

 Liturgy Committee

Old Business

 New Business

 The meeting closed with prayer from Father Casey.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joyce Wood