Parish Council
Meeting Minutes
November 16, 2005
Meeting called to order at 8:10 p.m.
In Attendance:
Msgr. Scheyd, J. Tugman, D. Dagesse, C. Ayoub, L. Karl, K Karl,
M. Barnard, S. Lione, T. Donelan, T. Marino, S. Potts, K. Redman,
P. Brier.
Msgr. Scheyd opened with a prayer.
Minutes of October 19, 2005 were approved.
Business Manager: Deacon John reported that the Annual Report
had been sent out and no comments have been received so far.
Reports:
Our Lady's Guild:
Pat Brier announced that the Guild has a trip planned for Nov. 28th
to New Haven to visit the Knights of Columbus museum. They will
be having an evening of recollection on Dec. 7 at Villa Maria Guadalupe
hosted by the Sisters of Life. The annual Christmas Party on Friday,
Dec. 16th will start with 11am Mass followed by lunch in Stapleton
Hall. Gifts will be collected for the seniors at St. Camillus Nursing
home in Stamford.
Catholic Daugthers:
Our general meeting and Turkey Bingo took place on November 3. That
evening we also collected clothing and toiletries for our parish's
Midnight run. The Deceased Members' Mass of November 6 with the
Knights was well attended. Coffee followed. Our thanks to the Knights
for the donuts! Each year our Court hosts a Christmas party for
S.T.A.R. (The Society to Advance the Retarded). This year's party
is scheduled for Thursday, December 1st here at Stapleton Hall.
We usually have approximately 40 guests. Plenty of food, music,
singing, dancing and, of course, a visit from Santa Claus. Chairing
the party this year is Helen McBrien. Our next scheduled meeting
will be on February 2nd.
(Report submitted by Margaret Sandstrom read by the Secretary.)
CCD:
Carol Pinard's mother-in-law passed away this week and she is presently
in Maine for the funeral. She asked me to make this report for Religious
Education: The second of our Confirmation workshops was held on
Nov. 14. This parent/child exercise was facilitated by Kelly McCarthy,
DRE of St. Cecelia. The third and final workshop will be held on
November 28.
The 4th grade CCD class will participate as a group at the 8:30
a.m. Mass on November 20, Feast of Christ the King. The 3rd grade
will be involved this Advent in an evangelization project. The gospel
of St. Luke covering the birth of Jesus along with a picture of
a crèche will be put together on a card and then inserted into the
boxes going to Star Families at Christmas. Dr. Flynn is scheduled
to return on Dec. 22 as the fifth grade presents their donation
to the people of Haiti. The money they give reflects tips they have
earned for good deeds. The second grade is in preparation for the
Sacrament of Reconciliation scheduled for Saturday December 3, 2005.
Monsignor sent a letter to all parents with children registered
in our program regarding late arrivals at class and we have seen
improvement in the last few weeks.
(The report was submitted by CCD and read by the Secretary.)
Knights of Columbus:
With regrets, I cannot attend we Nov 16th. I have a business function
that night which I cannot change. There are a few reports we would
like to make. Our next planned activity is the Crèche set up the
Saturday after Thanksgiving. We celebrated our deceased members
mass on Nov 6th and will be setting up the intention for this mass
next year. Thank You.
(The report was submitted by Bob Schott and read by the Secretary.)
Youth Ministry:
Denise Dagesse submitted and reported the following:
All high school teens are invited to our youth group meeting
November 20 (6:00-7:00).
All high school teens are invited to come out for a little prayer,
pizza, and be ready to help with our third annual Thanksgiving basket
drive. Teens and parents please RSVP for the meeting so we can plan
for food.
All high school freshmen are invited to attend the first annual
Christmas progressive dinner on Saturday, December 3 (6:00-8:30
PM).
Night will include dinner (prepared by the teens), cakewalk, drawings
of the kids by a local artist, and gingerbread house making for
the parish shut-ins and local soup kitchens. Flyers should have
arrived in the snail mail last week. Parents, please encourage your
ninth graders to gather with their St. A's friends as we celebrate
Advent and Christmas.
St. A's and St. Mary's Ski and Snowboard Trip To Stowe, Vermont:
February 3-5, 2006
All high school teens are invited to ski/snowboard on the snow capped
mountains of Stowe, Vermont over the weekend of February 3-5, 2006.
Cost is $275.00 and includes coach bus transportation, lift tickets
for two days, hotel, and four meals (lessons and rentals are extra).
A $200.00 non-refundable deposit is due to Denise ASAP.
Middle School Ministry (grades 7 and 8): Second Annual Pie Eating
Contest and Frozen Turkey Bowling: Sunday, November 20 (12:00-2:00)
Calling all seventh and eighth graders! You are all invited to attend
the ever-popular frozen turkey bowling and pie-eating contest on
November 20 in the St. A's school gym. Parents please contact Denise
Dagesse @ 434.5352 or Kathleen Sweeney 966.1312 to register your
student(s). We will also need parent chaperones for this event.
Baked ziti lunch will be served during the event. Also, students
are asked to bring a package of new socks (men's sports styles/tube
socks) and hotel size toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste,
lotion, shaving cream, etc.) to benefit the December 18 Midnight
Run.
Third Annual Helping Feed Our Neighbors Thanksgiving Basket
Drive and Frozen Turkey Drop: This Weekend November 19-20.
The high school youth ministry will be facilitating their third
annual drive this weekend. Parish families are asked to adopt a
needy Covenant To Care family and provide a basket or decorated
box filled with Thanksgiving goodies. All baskets/boxes can be dropped
in the lobby of the church THIS WEEKEND ONLY. Frozen turkeys will
be accepted on Monday, November 21 between 10:00-1:00 in the parking
lot (Cherry Street entrance to the church) and will benefit the
St. Vincent DePaul Society in Norwalk.
Teen Mass: Teen Music Ministry:
All high school guys and girls are invited to join our teen music
ministry @ the Teen/5:00 PM Mass. We welcome beginner and advanced
singers. All you need is a commitment to make weekly practice (we
meet in the church@ 3:45) and provide the worship music during the
Mass. Any interested teens can contact youth minister Denise (434.5352)
or our Teen Mass music leader Angelo (975.7498). We have introduced
a new GLORIA during the Teen Mass. Any one who attends the 5:00
PM Mass can email Denise (lifeteennc@aol.com)
with the word GLORIA in the subject line and she will email you
an MP3 file that you can download, listen to, and practice.
Emmaus Retreat:
Chris Ayoub reported that the Emmaus Retreat was great and had a
full house. The next retreat is March 10, 11 & 12, 2006.
Pastor's Report:
Msgr. Scheyd reported:
Bishop Lori has given permission to raise money and proceed with
Phase 1 of the building project which includes the purchase of the
condominiums across Maple Street, the renovation of Stapleton Hall
and the demolition of the old Parish House and conversion to a parking
lot. He reviewed this history of the attempted acquisition of the
Village Inn property and the option to exchange that corner for
the Park and Maple Street corner. The option to purchase the condos
on Maple Street was extended to June 2006. The Capital Campaign
will take place from Dec. 2005 to June 2006. The parish must have
50% in the bank and 50% pledged in order to continue with the plan.
Phase 2 & 3 of the building plan, which includes the renovation
of the school, is on hold. There are currently 184 students enrolled
in the school and 1200 in Religious Education. There will be a letter
sent to parishioners after Thanksgiving. The parish is looking to
upgrade the website, currently it gets 20,000 hits a month.
New Business:
Pat Brier suggested a Parish Calendar, which would make it easier
to clarify the booking of Stapleton Hall and other facilities. A
Sunshine Committee has been organized by the Women's League. Melissa
Engel is the contact.
There will be NO meeting in December. The date of the January
meeting will be announced.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Lione, Secretary
Contact Us
Saint Aloysius Parish
Main Office
40 Maple Street, New Canaan,
CT 06840
Tel. (203) 966 0020
Fax: (203) 972 7691