Parish Council
Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2007
Minutes
St. Aloysius Pastoral Council 2006-2007
March 19, 2007
The Meeting was called to order. Msgr. Scheyd opened with a prayer.
In Attendance: Msgr.
Scheyd, Fr. Keefe, Deacon Lou Howe, W. Flynn, M. Mc Donagh, T. Marino,
R. Mantila, D. Dagesse, K. Karl, L. Karl, R. Schott, L. Paglialunga, C.
Pinard, M. Sandstrom, C. Hussey, T. Donlon, D. Howard, S. Lione.
The Agenda for the meeting was approved and accepted.
Minutes of the January 15, 2007 meeting were approved.
Business Manager: Deacon Lou Howe presented the Second Quarter Fiscal Year Financial Summary. A copy was distributed and discussed. Expenses increased due to payroll increase and additional work on the school and cleaning of the columns in church. There is a new Chart of Accounts from the Dioceses. All 87 parishes will be working on a web-based Quick Books Professional application. Among the benefits, the fact that the data is immediately backed up and the Diocese can create reports from the statements. All parishes will be on the same basis. The Diocese will have a ‘read-only’ access. Mark Watson, Chairman of the St. Aloysius Finance Committee can also assist our office from off site. The negatives of the system are that there are times when servers go down. We also need high-speed processors and broadband capability. The payroll will be handled online using Intuit. We are a pilot parish and all parishes will be online by July 1st. There will be new procedures to handle the Offertory collection, which will include a tamper proof bag. There will also be the capability of an electric offering. St. Aloysius will be audited within the next few months. The collection of pledges for Foundations for the Future is going well. $2.8 million from 781 pledges has been collected. It is believed that the sending out of statements has increased the payment of pledges. A bid for the renovation of the new rectory has been accepted and it is expected to go to contract on March 20th. Joe Siska, a parishioner, has donated his time as the Project Manager. The contractor, Salvatore Zarrella, is also a parishioner. His bid was significantly lower than the other bids. The Bishop must sign off on the contract. The target date for occupancy is early July. The plans were displayed; renovation is expected to begin on April 2nd. The Stapleton Hall renovation will begin with the installation of the elevator, repairing the leaks, converting the current living space to offices and the renovation of the hall.
Reports:
School:
Don Howard stated that enrollment is 193; up from 182 in June, 195-198
students are expected in September 2007 in grades Kindergarten-8th
Grade. There is an emphasis this year on retaining
students. The Winter Ball sponsored by the Friends of St.
Aloysius was a great success. The funds raised support the
school, Religious Ed program and Youth Ministry. Self Study
continues as part of the re-accreditation process by the NESCA.
An evaluation committee will visit the school in 2008. This process
takes place every 10 years.
CCD: Carol
Pinard distributed a flyer for the ‘Afraid! The Gospel of Mark’.
The program will be presented on Monday, March 26th in the Church.
Music Ministry: Thom Marino reported that he was pleased with the attendance at the concert in February and the Taize last week.
Youth Ministry: Denise Dagesse reported that the ski trip in February was
successful. Plans include a lock in retreat, a Holy Hour, the
Midnight Run and the Mission Trip.
Catholic Daughters:
Margaret Sandstrom reported that they held a 'poetry and art' contest
with the St. Aloysius students. This year, the participants were
from the 4th through the 8th grade. Winners will be announced at
the April meeting. The Birthright baby shower took place on March
1st. Susan Connelly from the Norwalk office attended again this
year. The annual Irish Soda Bread Sale took place on
March 10th and 11th and was a huge success! The proceeds,
$1,908.25, were the most ever collected! They will be awarding 2
scholarships again this year, one for a seniors and one for an 8th
grader. The next meeting will be a Pizza Night on April
19th.
Knights of Columbus: Bob
Schott stated that there would be a Parish Men’s Night on April 12th at
Silvermine Tavern. The Knights plan the reinstitution of a
scholarship for college. The Founders Day on March 29th will
celebrate 125 years.
Pastor’s Report: Msgr. Scheyd noted that the Winter Ball was a great event for the parish. We will need more space in the school and will be looking the recommendations from the evaluation committee. He commended Dr. Howard on his leadership. He reinforced the fact that the offertory collection will be a little different to prevent tapering. An outside firm will conduct the financial review. Lori Watson has offered her expertise. Mark Watson has been named Chairman of the Finance Committee. There will be three new members on that committee this coming year. A sign for the front of the Church is under review by the Zoning Board. It must meet certain size standards. Msgr. Scheyd encouraged attendance at the Women’s League Brunch at the Country Club of New Canaan on Palm Sunday.
Old Business: A discussion on the “Pastoral Plan for Evangelization—Following in the Footsteps of Christ” followed. An abbreviated list of points in the discussion follows:
- Bob Mantilia is representing St. Aloysius.
- We are charged with listing the current activities that would be part of the plan as well as considering additional activities. A Parish Mission in the fall and a Lenten series were suggested.
- Bob suggested we end each Parish Council meeting with a review of the Pastoral Plan.
- It was suggested that we undertake a Parish Census. By Canon Law, every Catholic in New Canaan falls under the Pastor’s responsibility. Discussion followed which included some type of re-enrollment. It was suggested that this could be an opportunity to reach out to current and potential parishioners to encourage more active parish participation. Bill Flynn, Bob Mantilia and Sue Lione volunteered to be on a committee to explore the possibilities of such a project.
- It was noted that no donation is currently requested for funerals and weddings held at St. Aloysius. The consensus was that there should not be a charge for funerals, however we could consider a charge for weddings.
New Business: The Parish Feast is June 9th.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 7:30 P.M.
Deacon Lou offered the closing prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Lione
Contact Us
Saint Aloysius Parish
Main Office
40 Maple Street, New Canaan,
CT 06840
Tel. (203) 966 0020
Fax: (203) 972 7691