St. Margaret Mary’s Parish Pastoral Council
Annual Report 2008

Since this is the Parish Pastoral Council Annual report for 2008, I shall refer to the “Parish Pastoral Council” simply as “Council”.

All of the Council Executive returned and served for the entire year.  It consisted of Fr. John (President), Phyllis Holmes (Secretary), Shona Timmins (Vice-chairperson) and me, Stephen Collens (Chairperson).  The President is “ex officio”.  The rest of the Council Executive is selected from the elected members of Council.  This past year was the second year of a two-year mandate for the elected members of the Executive Council.  Thus, as required by the Council’s Constitution, the first order of business of the new Council will be to select a Chairman, Vice-chairman and Secretary.  Since the current elected members of the Council Executive are all finishing their first terms, the new Council may choose to continue with some or all of the current Council Executive as, according to the Council Constitution, the executive members are permitted to stand for a second mandate.

The returning elected members of the Council were Richard Cathcart, Phyllis Holmes, Maurice MacDonell, Julie Sutton, Shona Timmins and I, Stephen Collens.  All of these members are serving their first terms on Council and they all have only one year remaining on their mandates.  Paul Albert and Dorothy Wood were acclaimed as new members, bringing the total number of elected members to eight.  Richard Cathcart resigned from Council in June reducing the number of elected members to seven.  On behalf of the Council, I sincerely thank Richard Cathcart for his service.  There were positions for up to two more elected members to be filled.

The Nominations Committee consisted of Fr. John, Anne-Louise Mahoney and Brian Tansey.  They canvassed a number of Parishioners who they thought would be suitable candidates for election to Council.  They brought forward three excellent candidates (Tim Brennan, Norma McCoy and John Moran) along with sowing a few seeds for next year.  The willingness of all three to face an election for two positions attests to their characters.  The Nominations Committee suggested that we accommodate all three candidates.  The Council agreed in principle since it would be a shame to turn down anybody who is willing, especially since we have not had a full complement of elected members for some time.  However, the Council Constitution limits us to nine elected members.  To allow us to accommodate all three, Julie Sutton resigned as an elected member.  The Council then appointed Julie as the new Chairperson of the Parish Life Committee.  There is no current Chairperson of the Parish Life Committee but Julie was "de facto" performing the function as an elected member of Council.  The Chairpersons of the recognized standing committees are all members of Council.  The net result is Council is lucky enough to both retain the services of Julie and allow Tim, Norma and John all to join the Council as elected members.

I wish to take this opportunity to recognize, and thank, Shona Timmins and Dorothy Wood for exemplary service this past year.  I was absent from a number of meetings due to health issues in my family.  Shona filled in as Chairperson during my absences on all but one occasion.  On that occasion, Dorothy graciously stepped forward when asked.  Also, Dorothy was key in one of the major accomplishment of the past year, as noted below.

This past year was mostly a consolidation year.  There were no major changes, which was good in light of the major changes of the year before.  However, we do have some non-routine accomplishments of note.  They were:

1. Priority Setting;
2. Mass schedule policy;
3. Dormant Committees.

Priority Setting

One of the first items of business of the new Council was the idea of setting goals for the Council.  A special committee was struck consisting of Maurice MacDonell, Deacon Eugene Perabo and Dorothy Wood.  The special committee organized a retreat on January 19, 2008 to which Chairs and representatives from all of the Committees, as well as Finance Council, were invited.  Paul Albert, Dan Alder, Janet Alder, Elaine Borg, Richard Cathcart, Phyllis Holmes, Linda Gunning, Maurice MacDonell, Julie Sutton, Shona Timmins, Fr. John and I, Stephen Collens all attended the retreat moderated by Deacon Eugene Perabo and Dorothy Wood.  The result was a list of nine items that required attention first, along with some suggestions on what needed to be done.  Many of the items were addressed in both Pastoral Council and Finance Council meetings following the retreat.  A subsequent follow up meeting, held on September 20, 2008, was moderated by Dorothy Wood and attended by Paul Albert, Elaine Borg, Linda Gunning, Maurice MacDonell, Shona Timmins, Fr. John and me, Stephen Collens.  In that meeting, we summarized what had been accomplished.  The report of that meeting is attached to the end of this report.

Mass Schedule Policy

The last major change to the Mass schedule was made after much soul searching and consultation with our congregation to settle on two Masses on Sunday morning, at 9:30am and 11:30am.  There was no 9:45am on the survey but due to the verbal feedback that Fr. John received, he set the times at 9:45am and 11:30am.  We have since come to the realization that having the two Masses so close together caused a few logistical problems (parking and preparation for the second Mass, for example) so we reverted back to 9:30am and 11:30am after summer this year.

Over this past year, we often reverted to only one Mass when convenient.  Last year's Christmas Bazaar was one occasion and the AGM was another.  The single Mass varied between 10:00am and 10:30am.  We received some feedback indicating that the regular 11:30am group felt that their Mass was considered less important and, hence, cancelled.  This was not really true but it could be perceived as such.  Thus, on the advice of the Liturgy Committee, the Council recommended to Fr. John that when we combine the Sunday morning Masses, we always do so at a time about half way between so that neither group should feel that their Mass is being cancelled.  The time chosen was 10:30am.  That is why the summer schedule's single Mass is at 10:30am.

As the year progressed, the Council discussed many other occasions where we considered reverting to one Mass.  The question then arose as to why we were even having these discussions.  We discerned the Mass should be the top priority of a Catholic community.  We need to set aside time for God as Jesus, through our Church, calls us to do.  The end result was the decision by Council to limit the occasions where we revert to only one Mass, other than during the summer months, to a very select few.

Dormant Committees

This item is not an accomplishment, but the lack of an accomplishment.  We currently have two recognized standing Committees that are dormant.  They are the Religious Formation Committee and the Parish Life Committee.  They are “dormant” in terms of the fact that they have no official members and they have had no official meetings.  That is not to say that there is no activity in the Parish that falls under the mandates of these Committees.  The Christmas Bazaar, Hospitality Sundays, the Pancake Breakfast and the Strawberry Social all fall under the Parish Life Committee.  Also, our RCIA Preparation and Sacramental Preparation of Children programs fall under the Religious Formation Committee.

The active Committees are also constantly in need of new members.  I implore all of our community to consider joining a Committee, the Council or the Parish Finance Council.  It is a way for you to contribute to your community.  It is also a way for you to come to a better understanding of why some things are the way they are.  You may also be the source for some innovative ideas that may lead to constructive change.  Be not afraid!  Come forward!  Now that Julie Sutton has moved into the position of Chairperson of the Parish Life Committee, consider helping her to make this Committee a success.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everybody what the purpose of a standing Committee is.  It is a group of people working together for a particular purpose.  The Committees should be looked upon as “enablers”, not bureaucratic roadblocks.  Being a member of a Committee does not necessarily entail any expertise.  The Committee structure provides support and guidance for the individual members of that Committee.  New members can learn from the existing members.  Also, the Council is also there to provide support and guidance.  Because the Committees have an explicit voice on the Council, there is access to further support from the community at large.  The Committee structure, through the Council, also provides for the co-ordination of the different Committees’ activities, including, where necessary, obtaining funding from the Parish Finance Council.

Stephen Collens
Chairperson, Parish Pastoral Council

SEPTEMBER 20, 2008 UPDATE ON PROGRESS MADE FROM RETREAT HELD ON
JANUARY 10, 2008

Participants were asked to brainstorm specific areas that were deemed to be most critical in terms of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities or Threats to St. Margaret Mary Parish.

These areas were then posted and prioritized.

There were 9 areas that were deemed to be the most critical.  In order of importance, these included:

1. How to ensure financial growth in the parish.
2. How to get more people involved in ministry.
3. How to get people involved in community activities other than liturgy.
4. How to engage young parishioners in terms of music, liturgy and prayer.
5. How to become more welcoming and aware of our neighbour.
6. How to attract more parishioners.
7. How to extend the Social Justice Program.
8. How to be less judgmental, less fearful of conflict.
9. How to develop better communication within the Parish.

The following solutions with action items were identified:

Group A:

1. 1. Financial Growth
   • Attract more parishioners
     See item 2 for action taken.
   • Implement Diocesan “Planned Giving” Program
     A presentation has been made on the Planned Giving Program.  Finance Council followed up with the Archdiocese.  The Archdiocese will consider making this a biannual presentation.  The Archdiocesan contact’s name, Jules Dagenais, and number will be in the bulletin.  There is a link to the Archdiocesan web site from the St. Margaret Mary’s web site.
   • Communication Plan, extending of events
     Fr. John addressed the parishioners during Mass on the need for stewardship in financial giving.  Fr. John also informed the parishioners that our new Archbishop has no intention of closing our parish as long as we remain active and fiscally responsible.  Financial reports are now being provided semi-annually.  Also, income and expense statements are being made more frequently.  Parishioners were reminded of the ongoing needs of the Parish over the summer and the response was good.
   • Ensure rental space is subscribed
     This is an ongoing priority.  We co-operate with the Old Fire Hall Community Centre on space usage.  The Old Fire Hall will be renovated in the near future (July 2009?) and they are looking to us for help.
     
     
2. 2. Increase Parishioners
   • Website update and accuracy
     The St. Margaret Mary’s Parish website has been updated with current information.  The bulletins are available on the website.  Marc Bertrand is the Web Master.
   • OSCA (Ottawa South Community Association) article to invite lapsed Catholics
     There is an advertisement in OSCA for all churches in our vicinity, including ours.  We must keep OSCA informed of any changes well in advance.  OSCA has our Mass, Christian Meditation and Evening Prayer schedules.
   • Citizen insert at Easter
     Invitation to the Easter Liturgies was placed in the Citizen.
   • Sign on Church
     We paid the City of Ottawa the prescribed fee ($200) for two signs pointing to our church building.  They are at Bank/Sunnyside and Riverdale/Sunnyside.  Linda Gunning is looking into a better sign for in front of the church building.  A sign will be integrated into the front renovation plans.
   • Paper the neighbourhood with flyers annually
     This should be done for big events such as the annual Bazaar, Strawberry Social and the spring party.
   • Make contact with new Ottawans such as foreign service, professors and Parliamentarians
     
     
     The Carleton University web site has a link to the St. Margaret Mary’s web site.  We need to get announcements in The Hill Times and Diplomat.
     
     
   • Mail the bulletin to St. Paul, Carleton, chaplaincy, Corpus Christi, Immaculata.
     Send special event notices out via email.  Get links on web sites to our web site.
     
     
3. Group B:
   
   
4. 3. How to get involved
   • Welcoming at the liturgies
     A request for volunteers was placed in the bulletin.  There was only one.
   • Greeting Committee
   • Registration forms should be made available in the church.  Follow up could be done by Pastoral Care.
   • Contact e.g. Name and number for Committee
   • Job description
   • Ask old and new parishioners
     
     
5. 4. How to become more welcoming and aware of neighbours “Walk the Walk”
   • Inform the parish of this issue and what the parish representatives have discussed
     Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council meeting minutes are being posted on the bulletin board.  Parish Pastoral Council meetings are open to all parishioners and the agenda will be posted on the bulletin board in advance of the meetings.
   • Greeters/Ushers to greet and distribute bulletin
   • Ushers to assist with seating
   • Name tags or ministry pin for greeters and ushers and others, such as Pastoral Care Committee members
     Nametags have been discussed for Parish Pastoral Council members.  The details still need to be worked out.
   • Training session for welcoming new parishioners
   • Invite new people to participate
   • Welcome visitors and new parishioners such as those who have come for baptisms, weddings, etc.
   • Establish a Welcoming Committee to organize giving information packages
   • Sign up procedure
   • Form mentor families for new parishioners
     
     
6. Group C:
   
   
7. 5. How to engage children/youth to participate in music, prayer life of parish
   • Improve Family liturgy (make a schedule, 1 or 2x monthly)
   • Invite children to read or participate in some way during liturgy
   • Ask youth for their needs at a special meeting
   • Get the youth involved in the liturgy
   • Initiate the Alpha program
     Deacon Eugene will be tackling the implementation of the Alpha program once he is “fully” retired.
   • Initiate some evangelization program
   • Vary youth Mass with quiet Mass on a schedules basis
   • Invite youth to sing in the choir

The following parishioners attended this meeting:
Fr. John DeCoste, Paul Albert, Elaine Borg, Stephen Collens, Linda Gunning, Maurice MacDonell, Shona Timmins and Dorothy Wood.

It was suggested that a further follow up meeting be held in January 2009.