Members present:

Fr. Jack, Kevin McMackin, Tim Barry, Joe Staneck, Tom Bove, Jen Reker-Murphy, Peg Mersch, Sue Lennert, Dave Lennert, Linda Lennon, Fran Geier, Bonnie Mack

Opening Prayer:

Kevin read the first reading from Easter Sunday's Mass, We reflected on the work we do as members of Parish Pastoral Council.

Approval of February Minutes:

In the section of the minutes under "Long Range Planning": change Deacon Larry Maag's name to Bill Lonneman. In the section - "Relations with Neighboring Churches", remove the last sentence... "It was suggested that this subject be included in the Volunteer Fair."

Fran Geier made a motion to accept the Minutes with the two changes, seconded by Jen Reker-Murphy.

AMOS project:

Dave and Sue Lennert came to give us an update on the progression of the AMOS project. Dave reported there were 14 core members who were in the process of organizing a listening exercise for which Sue and Dave have been trained. The first stage is being aimed at "active" members of the parish. They (core team) will contact approximately 100 people by the end of May to see how they feel about St. Vivian and the Finneytown community. At the end of May, they will meet with other congregations in the AMOS group and compare notes of the exercise. They will then repeat the listening exercise in the fall with 100 more parishioners, chosen randomly. They reported that some of the core members have been visiting different Task Forces. Dave explained that we will be able to operate in our own self-interest and the self-interest of the Cincinnati area. He also reported that when we first got involved with AMOS there were about 30 congregations involved; now there are 35-36 and there will probably 40 involved by year's end. Sue asked that anyone interested in helping with one-on-one interviews please contact them. They said they will be present at the Volunteer Fair. Kevin McMackin asked Dave & Sue what they meant by "self-interest". Dave defined it as dealing with issues that directly affect your parish and community, for example dealing with a crack house that may be in your neighborhood. Tom Bove asked the Lennerts to send any information they would like to include in the Newsletter about the AMOS project to him and he would be happy to post in on the parish website. Dave said they will return to a future council meeting to keep us updated.

Volunteer Fair:

Kevin reported there has been a good response from the organization leaders. The fair is scheduled for April 6th & 7th following all masses. We will begin setting up Saturday at 3:00pm. Kevin is asking the Boy Scouts to help. There will be approx. 25 organizations represented at the fair. Kevin spoke with Cindy Pumpple and she said the Boosters would donate popcorn. We will have coffee and donuts after all Sunday masses. Kevin said the Parish Pastoral Council members could float around and answer any questions people may have. Tim Barry presented a rough draft of a survey that would be handed out at the fair. It included a checklist of the different organizations and a space where people could list their talents. It was suggested that Tim add an additional line about helping with the Parish Festival (June 14th, 15th & 16th) and also about chairing the 2004 Festival. Peg Mersch suggested we add something in the survey sheet about "substitute teaching". This is a paid position, not a volunteer one but Peg said St. Vivian's school is sometimes desperate for subs. Tim will have 250 survey sheets available and Fr. Jack said we could run more off at the rectory if we need to. Tom suggested that each group could possibly spotlight their organization in the bulletin throughout the year, 1 or 2 each week similar to the advertiser of the week.

Discernment Sunday:

Kevin reported we received about 90 names; he has received some no's already. The third year council members (Craig, Milt, Fran & Kevin) will begin calling to recruit candidates for Parish Pastoral Council.

Parish Mission Statement:

Kevin asked the members to read our current Mission Statement. He asked if we feel we need to add or delete anything. Tom felt it was appropriate because it basically stated, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Joe Staneck replied with, "If it's not broke, don't fix it!" Everyone agreed to have it stand as is.

Suggestion Box:

Linda reported there were no suggestions. Tom said he received 1 web-related suggestion, which he has already taken care of

Open Discussion & Walk-ons:

Bereavement: Peg Mersch said that the Bereavement Committee will have a menu of approx. 10-15 sample masses available by October. This will make it easy to plan a funeral mass for those who are grieving.

Leader Summit: Bonnie Mack asked Tom to report on the Leadership Summit. Tom reported 53 of the 77 groups were represented, only 1 of the 9 parish staff members didn't show, 50% of the Parish Pastoral Council members were present and 80% of Temporal Affairs were there. He stated the meeting went a little over; it took 1 hour and 20 minutes. He handed out an Organization & Leader list, procedure lists and other information pertaining to staff duties and communications information. He asked everyone if they learned at least 1 thing and received a wonderful response. He also said 71 of the 77 organizations were accessible via E-mail. Tim Barry told Tom he loved having the organization information right at his fingertips.

Twinning: Tim Barry reported that Barb Meyer thought it would be a good idea to divert some of our resources from the Outreach program and direct them towards Harlan. Barb wanted to make sure that Parish Pastoral Council was comfortable with that.

Proposal: During our 2 Food Drives: 1/2 to Winton Terrace & 1/2 to Harlan, Ky. They have found that Winton Terrace is supported by many other sources. Jen Reker-Murphy attended the meeting and said that Holy Trinity Parish in Harlan had a much greater need. Their food bank is only open 2 days/week and people start lining up at 6:00am. Their pantry is only a closet and they don't have enough for everyone. Tim said that 2 times as many people are being turned away than are being fed. Fran said that with the floods they are even losing things like blankets and small appliances. It was proposed that we fit 1 more food drive in the fall where 100% goes to Harlan. Peg suggested we even have a "Tools for Schools" drive collecting school supplies. Tom Bove also asked Tim or Jen to keep him up-to-date with information he could publish on the website.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned with a prayer.