Parish Council

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on October 14, 2008 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Jose Shaji, Mary Bennett, Mary Chan, Frank Muenneman and Michel Baylocq. Chrisi Fleming, Jerry Griffith and Roy Sardina were absent. Parish Staff (Sister de Chantal and Victor Valdez) were present by invitation. Father Jose called the meeting to order at 7 pm and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the September 9, 2008 meeting were approved as read.

2. Pastor’s Report.

Fr. Jose reported that the Octoberfest dinner, hosted by the Oswald family, was a great success, with more than 60 attendees. During discussion, it was suggested that the parish should offer baby-sitting for social events in order to encourage younger families to attend.

Fr. Jose will continue to say mass one Sunday/month at Our Lady of the Wayside, switching with Fr. Moran.

Fr. Jose reported that work is starting on upgrading the parking lot lights, and should be done by December

A. Religious Education Report. Victor Valdez reported that catechist recruitment was very successful, and that we have 24 catechists for the Religious Education classes. There are 32 Candidates in this year’s Confirmation class, and 30 were able to attend the initial meeting on 10/8.

B. Liturgy/Seniors Report.

Sister de Chantal and Father Jose are interviewing cantor candidates

Sister de Chantal is organizing some excellent upcoming events for the Seniors Group (ages 50 and over – although all are welcome to participate). There will be a trip to see Fr. Thomas and visit Jackson Rancheria on October 20. In November will be Go for the Gold II.

The liturgy for All Souls’ Day is in preparation, with discussion of how to remember the deceased parishioners. We are planning for a special collection at the mass before Thanksgiving for St. Anthony’s.

There was discussion about improving the parish bulletin. The present Sunday bulletin is often too small for all the news. A larger format bulletin would be useful. Also, including a calendar insert in the bulletin of upcoming parish events would be helpful. The website calendar is very good, but not used by everyone.

4. New Business. The Town Hall meetings for the Parish are scheduled for 10/16 and 10/21. A subcommittee will be formed to review and implement the suggestions received from the meetings.

5. Old Business. Father Jose then asked if there was any old business. There was none.

6. Executive Session. Father Jose then asked for an Executive Session.

There being no further business to come before the St. Denis Catholic Parish Council, the meeting was adjourned until the next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, 11 November 2008, 7 pm.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE

PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ST. DENIS PARISH

9 September 2008

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on September 9, 2008 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Jose Shaji, Mary Bennett, Sean Monahan, Jerry Griffith, Frank Muenneman and Michel Baylocq. Mary Chan, Chrisi Fleming, and Roy Sardina were absent. Parish Staff (Sister de Chantal) were present by invitation. Father Jose called the meeting to order at 7 pm and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the June 9, 2008 meeting were approved as read.

2. Pastor’s Report.

Fr. Jose noted that his first couple of months during the summer had been quiet, and that he felt very welcome. He has arranged for Fr. Laverone and Fr. Pabst to continue to help out on one Sunday a month. He would like to find one more priest to help at St. Denis, so that he could do more masses at Our Lady of the Wayside. He hopes to see more involvement from young families in parish activities during the year.

Fr. Jose said that the Back-to-Church Night on August 30 had been very successful, there were over 170 people for dinner. This was hosted by Cathi Fox and her husband. There was some discussion about changing next year’s date to mid-September, and to have more childrens’ activities. This year’s event had been moved from September to August due to other schedule changes over the summer.

The parish report recommended a youth program for teens. Fr. Jose is considering creating a youth minister post, which would develop programs to keep post-confirmation teenagers involved in the church community.

Fr. Jose will conduct a town hall meeting next month to discuss ideas for changes to the parish with the parishioners. The initial schedule is for meeting on 10/16 and 10/21 at 7 pm. It was suggested that Fr. Should solicit inputs from the parish by notes or email before the first meeting. The town hall meetings will be followed by a ministry council to help people find more ways to contribute to the parish community. It was suggested that Fr. Jose host a coffee during a weekday for older parishioners.

Parish Lights:

Fr. Jose reported that the bids on the project for interior church lighting had been unexpectedly high. Therefore, he has changed plans and will be upgrading the parking lot lights first. The parking lot plans have been approved by the planning commission, and the work should be completed by the end of the year.

A. Religious Education Report. Victor Valdez could not attend since he was conducting a “back-to-school” meeting in the Parish offices with all of the Sunday school teachers.

B. Liturgy/Seniors Report.

Sister de Chantal and Father Jose are still looking for a cantor to sing at the 5:30 mass on Saturdays. We may share a cantor with Our Lady of the Wayside.

Sister de Chantal is organizing some excellent upcoming events for the Seniors Group (ages 50 and over – although all are welcome to participate):

· October 6 - Wine Country Tour in Napa Valley, led by J. DeLuca

· November – Go for the Gold II

· December – Filoli Tour (exact date is still TBD)

4. New Business. Frank Meunneman gave a brief report on a conference he had attended. The major topics were the Lay Participation in the Liturgy, and Effective Parish Councils.

Fr. Jose commented that he wanted to make some improvements in the roles of parish committees. It is important to follow proper process.

5. Old Business. Father Jose then asked if there was any old business. There was none.

6. Executive Session. Father Jose then asked if there were any Executive Session topics that needed to be discussed. There was none.

There being no further business to come before the St. Denis Catholic Parish Council, the meeting was adjourned until the next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 7 pm.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE

PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ST. DENIS PARISH

13 May 2008

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on May 13, 2008 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Vincent Ring, Mary Bennett, Mary Chan, Joe Merkert, Sean Monahan and Mary Anne Rodgers. Deborah Aikins, Chrisi Fleming, Jerry Griffith and Frank Muenneman were absent. Parish Staff (Sister de Chantal and Victor Valdez) were present by invitation. Father Ring called the meeting to order at 7 pm and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the March 25, 2008 meeting were approved as read.

2. Pastor’s Report.

A. Religious Education Report. Victor Valdez reported on Confirmation, which will be held this coming Friday, 16 May 2008, at 7:30 pm – Forty students are to be confirmed by Bishop Wang.

43 students were given First Communion on 3 May 2008.

4 new families have approached Victor about signing up for Religious Education classes now, even this late in the year.

Over 300 children participated in the Religious Education classes this year – although over the last 2-3 weeks, as the weather has gotten better, there have been more and more children not showing up every Sunday morning. 8 June 2008 is the last day of Religious Education classes for this year.

Two issues were identified by Father, Victor and the Parish Council that should be discussed with incoming Administrator Father W. Jose Shaji – a) Should Religious Education be held on Sundays (as it is now) or on a weeknight during the week; and b) Our Lady of the Wayside members have requested Religious Education classes out in Portola Valley – perhaps at Woodside Priory in the afternoons on a weekday.

Summer Vacation Bible School – only four signups so far – Victor is going to make a big push for more signups and make a decision by 1 June 2008 whether or not to hold it this year.

Future Religious Education Potlucks need to be held on an evening that does not conflict with other church or major school or holiday activities – so that we can get the maximum number of participants to come and enjoy/socialize at these potluck dinners.

B. Liturgy/Seniors Report. Sister de Chantal reported that we are getting a new photocopier – so that it will be easier to mass-produce song sheets, bulletins and another documents necessary for distribution at masses.

Sister de Chantal noted that the Choir group is working hard and holding an extra practice every week.

Sister de Chantal, Father Ring and perhaps even new Administrator Father W. Jose Shaji are looking for a cantor to sing at three of the four masses each Saturday night – the current cantor is now only singing at one mass a month.

The Parish Council asked Father Ring to include in the weekly bulletin from time-to-time to encourage all parishioners, in all masses, to sing heartily and happily at every mass.

Sister de Chantal is organizing some excellent upcoming events for the Seniors Group (ages 50 and over – although all are welcome to participate):

· 17 June – Asian Art Museum

· July – Old Movies Night + Potluck

· August – Visit Angel Island for a day

· Sept/Oct – Wine Trip (Sister de Chantal and Jo DeLuca are organizing)

Finally, Sister de Chantal is working to get Henry’s Garden (Saturdays, Channel

4, 9:30 am) to come and do a segment at St. Denis’ Memorial Garden. Mary Anne Rodgers suggested that we do a flower arrangement course on that day as well.

C. Pastor’s Report. Father Ring next updated everyone on his activities:

Volunteers Reception – to be held after the Saturday, 31 May 2008 5:30 pm mass

at the Monsignor Rodriguez Parish Center. It will also include a sendoff tribute to Father Ring for his excellent work as Pastor at St. Denis.

The Parish Social Committee, led by Kerri Fregosi, is already working on the Back-to-Church Night, which will be Saturday, 6 September 2008, starting with the 5:30 pm mass. Cathi Fox and her husband will be running the Back-to-Church Night event. We discussed the possibility of having Chris/Kris McCabe, Mary Ellen and perhaps others organize a great kids event/events for 1 hour at this event, too (e.g., scavenger hunt, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, jumpee house, clown with magic and balloons, potato sack race, etc.).

The Annual St. Denis Golf Tournament will be held (thanks to Joe Merkert) at the Sharon Heights Country Club on Thursday, 18 September 2008.

For next year’s Italian dinner, it was recommended to have people pre-pay and make the payment non-refundable – so as not to have people say they are coming and then never show (because 4-8 people missed out on last year’s dinner because of this).

The Parish Council asked Father Ring, Sister de Chantal and Victor Valdez to please include the full parish calendar for six months into the future in the Mass Bulletin at least once a month.

Father Ring has invited the new Parish Administrator (will become Pastor when he is incardinated as a Diocesan priest), Father W. Jose Shaji, to spend two days with him at the parish on 9-10 June 2008.

Father Ring announced that three members have done an excellent job and have fulfilled their three-year commitment to the Parish Council: Deborah Aikins, Joe Merkert and Mary Anne Rodgers. Father Ring then announced that he is seeking to replace these three members (obviously at Father Shaji’s discretion as well) with Mr. Michel Baylocq, Mr. Roy Sardina and one other person to be named later.

Our next Parish Council meeting – the final meeting of the year and also the final Parish Council meeting with Father Ring as Pastor – will be held on Monday, 9 June 2008, 7 pm. Father Ring will invite Father W. Jose Shaji to this meeting. If Father Shaji accepts, then Father asks that as many of us come who can (including the new members, Michel Baylocq and Roy Sardina), as well as Sister de Chantal, Victor Valdez, Kevin Ford – the head of the Parish Finance Committee, Kerri Fregosi – head of Parish Social Committee, Pat Mach – head of the Parish Outreach Committee, and Bill Helfrich from the Parent Advisory Board. Note: unfortunately both Joe Merkert and Sean Monahan will be out of town and thus unable to attend the meeting on 9 June 2008.

Parish Budget: Father Ring reported that he and Kevin Ford, head of the Parish Finance Committee, have been running a number of different scenarios for the upcoming fiscal year’s annual budget. Father has also sent a letter to most Parish members asking them to donate monies specifically for the Archbishop Annual Appeal.

Monetary Projects: Father Ring has authorized three final monetary projects as St. Denis Catholic Parish Pastor (before he retires and leaves the Parish):

· Parking Lot Lighting in the parking lot next to the Monsignor Rodriguez Parish Center

· Lighting inside the St. Denis Catholic Parish church itself

· Moving the Crucified Christ in the St. Denis Catholic Parish church to the center of the sanctuary

Father Ring and Mary Chan discussed with the Parish Council the

importance of having a Grief Ministry/Support Group at St. Denis Catholic Parish. Father Ring recommended that we discuss this with Father W. Jose Shaji and encourage him to set this up after he becomes Administrator.

4. New Business. Father Ring then asked if there was any new business. There was none.

5. Old Business. Father Ring then asked if there was any old business. There was none.

6. Executive Session. Father Ring then asked if there were any Executive Session topics that needed to be discussed. There was none.

There being no further business to come before the St. Denis Catholic Parish Council, the meeting was adjourned until the next scheduled meeting on Monday, 9 June 2008, 7 pm.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE

PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ST. DENIS PARISH

9 June 2008

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on June 9, 2008 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Vincent Ring, Fr. Jose Shaji, Mary Bennett, Mary Chan, Joe Merkert, Jerry Griffith, Frank Muenneman and Michel Baylocq. Chrisi Fleming, Sean Monahan and Mary Anne Rodgers were absent. Parish Staff (Sister de Chantal and Victor Valdez) were present by invitation. Father Ring called the meeting to order at 7 pm and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the May 13, 2008 meeting were approved as read.

2. Pastor’s Report.

Fr. Ring introduced our new pastor, Fr. Jose Shaji, and one of the new members on the Parish Council, Michel Baylocq.

The 31 May After-Mass Father Ring Retirement and Thank You for Volunteers reception was a great success. Over 150 guests attended, everyone enjoyed good food and good company. The flowers were particularly lovely. It was recommended that we keep the event on the same day for next year.

A. Religious Education Report. Victor Valdez reported that the Summer Vacation Bible School will not be held this year, due to low enrollment.

B. Liturgy/Seniors Report.

Sister de Chantal and Father Ring are still looking for a cantor to sing at three of the four masses each Saturday night – the current cantor is now only singing at one mass a month.

Sister de Chantal reported that the St. Francis fundraiser on 6/8 was very successful.

Sister de Chantal is organizing some excellent upcoming events for the Seniors Group (ages 50 and over – although all are welcome to participate):

· July – Old Movies Night + Potluck

· August – Visit Angel Island for a day

· Sept/Oct – Wine Trip (Sister de Chantal and Jo DeLuca are organizing)

C. Pastor’s Report. Father Ring next updated everyone on his activities:

The Annual St. Denis Golf Tournament will be held (thanks to Joe Merkert) at the Sharon Heights Country Club on Thursday, 18 September 2008.

4. New Business. There was a discussion about keeping the monthly meeting on Tuesday’s or moving it to another night. It was decided to leave it on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Mary Chan proposed giving part of the 5th Sunday collection to a parish which was rebuilding their church that had been lost in the Katrina hurricane. This will be noted in the Sunday bulletin.

5. Old Business. Father Ring then asked if there was any old business. There was none.

6. Executive Session. Father Ring then asked if there were any Executive Session topics that needed to be discussed. There was none.

There being no further business to come before the St. Denis Catholic Parish Council, the meeting was adjourned until the next scheduled meeting on Monday, 8 September 2008, 7 pm.

February 12, 2008

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on February 12, 2008 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Ring, Deborah Aikins, Mary Bennett, Sean Monahan, Joe Merkert, Frank Muenneman, Jerry Griffith and Mary Anne Rodgers. Chrisi Fleming was absent. Parish staff was present by invitation. Father Ring called the meeting to order at 7:00 and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the November 12, 2007 and December 11, 2007 meetings were approved.

2. Pastor’s Report. Ms. Bennett then requested the Pastor’s Report.

A. Religious Education Report. Victor Valdez reported that 41 second-graders made their First Reconciliation on February 9, 2008. Each family introduced its student to the priest, and most families also received Reconciliation with their children. The family potluck two weeks prior to Reconciliation prepared the families for the sacrament.

The Confirmation retreat for the eighth-grade students is scheduled for March 1st.

Father then noted that Fr. Matt Carnes would be leaving for Georgetown University, and it was decided that the parish should hold a reception for him in May or June after the 9:30 Mass. It was also decided to make a donation in his name to either the group with which he worked in Chile or to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

B. Liturgy/Seniors Report. Sister de Chantal reported that the computer program which aided in the compilation of the songsheets for Mass was now working. Parishioners have suggested that the sheets were more helpful than the music hymnals. Given the need to use so much paper on a regular basis to reflect the changes in music, it was suggested that people be advised that when the sheets are ready to be replace they may take the sheets home. Sister also reported that Rob Grant’s music at the 11:30 Mass is excellent. It was suggested that there should be added to the bulletin a brief introduction of each of the new cantors.

Sister also reported that the ministry schedules could now be prepared four months at a time.

3. New Business. Father then introduced the discussion of new business.

A. Report on Social Committee. The planning for the St. Patrick’s Day dinner, scheduled for March 14th, was still tentative, given that Mr. Merkert and the Fregosis would be out of town on the date scheduled for the dinner.

The Thank You reception is scheduled for May 31st. Father noted that a new volunteer family to organize the Back to Church dinner in September was needed.

Ms. Bennett introduced the idea for a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper for next year, and agreed to coordinate planning for the event.

Mr. Merkert agreed to review the planning for the Fall golf outing and dinner to determine how to make the event break even.

B. Church Building Projects. Father then opened a discussion about a proposed expansion of the Church, and provided a rough draft of the schematic. The plan envisions an expansion of about 1,000 square feet, including the installation of new church lighting and carpeting. The rough cost estimate is $300 to $400 per square foot, but the total project likely would cost between $600,000 to $700,000. Father reported that the Finance Committee was not in favor of the project because the project would result only in an increase of about 80 seats, and did not justify the cost.

The Council then discussed related issues, such as a reduction in the demographics for the Parish, the shortage of priests, the ability to raise the funds to pay for the project and the likelihood that the project would trigger the need for additional upgrades to comply with applicable City of Menlo Park codes. The consensus of the Council was to “go slow”, and in general the Council was not in favor of proceeding with the project at the present time.

C. Miscellaneous. Father next discussed the positive feedback received regarding the use of videography at the 4:30 Christmas Eve Mass. A videographer was hired to provide the necessary cameras, equipment and cabling, and the Parish’s projector was used to show the Mass to those people in the courtyard. It was agreed that the same process be implemented at the 9:30 Easter Sunday Mass.

4. Old Business. Ms. Bennett then asked for a report on the Outreach Committee from Ms. Chan. Ms. Chan reported that the next project to be undertaken by the Committee was in line with that part of the Committee’s mission statement regarding international support. Pat Mach has arranged for a speaker from the Catholic Kenyan School, which is affiliated with the Lifebloom program in Kenya and addresses the needs of young women involved with prostitution. The Committee has determined that its next 5th Sunday collection would be used to support this program, the Central Asia Institute, which builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Maryknoll missions.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned until the next meeting, rescheduled to Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

Deborah Aikins

Secretary of the Meeting

December 11, 2007

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Denis Parish was held at 7:00 p.m. on December 11, 2007 in the Library of the Parish Center. Present were Fr. Morris, Deborah Aikins, Mary Bennett, Mary Chan, Sean Monahan, Frank Muenneman, Jerry Griffith and Mary Anne Rodgers. Chrisi Fleming and Joe Merkert were absent. Parish staff was present by invitation. Father Morris called the meeting to order at 7:00 and led the opening prayer.

1. Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the November 12, 2007 meeting were conditionally approved.

2. Pastor’s Report. Ms. Bennett then requested the Pastor’s Report.