|
1. Opening Prayer
2. Attendance:
Present…Srs.
Barbara Marie Cady, Kieran Williams, Mary Ann Czaja,
Joanna Walsh, Mary Therese Brown, Janet Schemmel,
Joan
Jurski, Margaret Gallagher, Mary Jean Korejwo.
Excused…Srs.
Mary Magaret, Theresine Trocanter, Maxine Gildea,
Mary Ann Ennis, Loretta Jean Schorr.
3. Minutes
from last meeting were approved.
4. Discussion
of process for election of new co-chair…
a. No need for a “total discernment” this time since only
Council member are eligible and they were a part of
the total discernment process last year
b. Please let present co-chairs know by April 15th if you
are or are not available to serve as a co-chair for the
next 2 years(2003-2005)
c. A list of Council members available to serve as co-chair
will be sent to all Council members so that they may
give the situation thought and prayer before
the May
meeting
d. Co-chair leaving
office will be given a one-year break
before being considered for re-discernment.
e. A prayer service-discernment will be held during the
first half-hour of the May meeting to discern the new
co-chair
f. Present co-chairs will write a letter of invitation to all
non-council members inviting them to become a part
of Council. This will be done every year.
g. When sisters coming new to the diocese receive their
letter of welcome, they will also be invited to look at
the work of the Council and consider being a part of it.
h. All invitations to join Council will be accompanied by
an invitation to attend a meeting to see the Council in
action. Members will be added to Council whenever
feel they would like to be a part of Council. Term will
still be two years… so it will be necessary for the
co-chairs, or someone designated by them, to keep
a record of when terms are up.
i. The
following sisters are NOT available for the position
of co-chair at this time: Srs. Mary Jean, Joanna,
Margaret, and Mary Margaret.
5. Visioning….
…a discussion of “What we would like Council to BE and DO
resulted in the following ideas:
a. BE more present to the diocese
b. Deepen and make more bold our relationship with the
Bishop, Vicar General, Chancellor and heads of Diocesan
Departments
c. Use our experience and wealth of knowledge to serve in
broader ways the Church of Raleigh
d. Work with the “Young Adult Group Leader” to find ways
we can be present to this group of young adults and still]
be able to serve our weekend commitments.
e. Continue to look for ways to support sisters serving in
the diocese in prayer and action.
6. Council co-chairs will write a letter of
affirmation and support
to Sr. Betty Bullen for
her witness to and support as a letter
of the Church in Louisburg in the Jesica Sentillen tragedy.
7. Committee reports….
a. Celebration Committee…most members were not present so
Sr. Janet will contact them by
phone to be sure that all is in
place for the March 15th Jubilee Celebration. Jubilee article
was translated into spanish and submitted for the NC Catholic
the same weekend that the article appears in English.
b. Issues and Answers…committee will be sponsoring a
on-going formation day for sister on “Racism” which will
be held on May 3rd. More later.
c. Community Relations… committee has prepared a list of
discernment questions to be place on our internet site.
These will be submitted in the near future to the webmaster.
7. Old
and new business….
a.
Sisters Mary Beth and Mary have left Ahoskie. We are
still trying to find out if they are still in the diocese or
have left the diocese.
b.
Sisters Mildred and Cecilia McClain will be leaving the
diocese at the beginning of August.
c.
Srs. Isaac, Alice, and Michelle, SU will be joining the
staff at St. Mary, Wilmington in August.
d.
Retirement Fund Collection is down this year…as are
all other collections. We will be sending a check to the
national office for $168,000. Last year’s check was for
$216,000. Two reasons for the decrease appear to be:
the state of the economy, and the fact that the appeal
was made in many parishes on Thanksgiving weekend
when many parishioners are away.
e.
A letter of concern will be written by the co-chairs to
the Chancellor regarding the Council Budget. Noone
on the Council is every consulted about this; and this
year the budget was lowered significantly. Council needs
to know what is happening here in order to plan for future
events.
f.
We would like to make some contact with the Sisters at the
Outer Banks. Sr. Mary Ann Czaja offered to take an excursion
there this weekend to see them.
g.
A revised set of By-Laws was given to the Council members
to review before they are submitted to the Diocese for a April
1st deadline.
|
