Present: Tom Croft, Elizabeth Browne, Rev. Raymond Rafferty, Conchita Gonzalez, Francis Paz, Miriam Duran, Rev. William Wizeman, Brenda Fairaday, Katharine Tillman, Connor Hailey, Eileen Canty, Robert Meadows-Rogers, Dorothy Valla & Michael Morrison.

Absent: Marcia Y. Ruiz.

Opening Prayer: Rev. Raymond Rafferty.

Amendments & Approval of Minutes of June 2 Meeting: Robert Meadows-Rogers moved that the Minutes of June 2, 2008 be approved. Eileen Canty seconded the Motion. The Minutes were approved unanimously.

Welcome to Dorothy Valla: Parish Council welcomed Dorothy Valla the new Principal of Corpus Christi School.

Pastor’s Report: Fr. Rafferty reported: 1) Michael Morrison & Victoria Munoz are the new Trustees of the Parish replacing John Rudy & Marcia Ruiz whose terms have expired. Trustees can serve 2 terms of 2 years each. Michael Morrison was introduced to the Council. 2) Marcia Ruiz will continue to serve on the Council as Fr. Rafferty’s Representative. 3) The Air Conditioner has been broken since August 23. The Service Company inspected the machinery shortly thereafter & said repairs were needed but did not return until today when they said that they would be back within 48 hours to do the repairs. Tom Croft asked if there was a response time included in the Service Contract. Fr. Rafferty said he did not know but would check the Contract as it was a valid question.

Principal’s Report: Dorothy Valla reported: a) All teachers returned to work so no replacements had to be hired which was a relief. B) The current student enrollment is 185 v. the goal number of 200. Some parents are having problems with paying the tuition so the Principal is meeting with them to work on a solution. c) The Cooke Center is here & the staff has gone out of its way to be helpful to the Faculty & students of the School. d) The physical improvements to the School have had a very positive impact on the School: i) Fr. Rafferty arranged for 3 offices to be painted & the floors sanded. ii) Mr. Joseph was invaluable with the re-installation of the computers. iii) The Advisory Board got money to have the hallways of 2^nd & 4^th floors painted. iv) The Cooke Center financed the renovation of the Lobby as well as desks for the older students. e) This weekend the banisters on the stairways should be repaired. f) Hoping for the classrooms to be painted by Christmas time. g) The Cooke Center moved into the old Faculty Room & moved the Library to the Convent. More work is to be done in the Convent & Conchita Gonzalez is recruiting a cleaning crew. There remains a lot of work to be done in the School & Convent . h) Francis Paz asked how many students there are in the Cooke Center. Dorothy Valla replied that there are 20 students. i) Fr. Rafferty praised Dorothy Valla for putting in a lot of voluntary time from July 1 to make sure the School was ready to open in time. Dorothy Valla then praised all of the parishioners who have been helping. j) Betty Browne then mentioned that the ACAP (Archdiocesan Catholic Alumni Program) has established a database into which each Parochial School can enter the details of all alumni from 1945 up to the present. Betty has been supervising a group of young people who are entering the School’s alumni. K) Fr. Wizeman enquired about the status of the Middle States probation. Betty Browne replied that it is being worked on & will be completed by the deadline.

Fall Parish Social Date: It was decided to hold the Social on November 8.

Parish Council Constitution: Brenda Fairaday having some difficulty in retrieving certain information but said there will be a report made at the next Council meeting.

Old Business: 1) There will be a pancake breakfast served to parishioners after the Masses on Sunday, September 29 from 9 AM to 1 PM. It will be the occasion to launch the Hospitality Committee. Volunteers to help are needed. Jane Hart is in charge of organizing the event. 2) Tom Croft conveyed past Principal John Balbi’s thanks to the Council for its generosity in the gift it gave him. 3) Tom Croft asked Katharine Tillman for the status on the plan to establish an electronic newsletter for the Parish. Katharine Tillman replied more investigation is being done but a company most organizations use is Constant Contact. Michael Morrison said that he will check what company his boss, Betsy Gottbaum uses.

New Business: None.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

The meeting then adjourned.

Submitted by Tom Croft.

top

MINUTES OF MEETING OF PARISH COUNCIL

OF CORPUS CHRISTI PARISH – October 6, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

Present: Tom Croft, Elizabeth Browne, Rev. Raymond Rafferty, Francis Paz, Rev. William Wizeman, Brenda Fairaday, Connor Hailey, Dorothy Valla & Michael Morrison.

Absent: Miriam Duran, Marcia Y. Ruiz, Conchita Gonzalez, Katharine Tillman, Eileen Canty, Victoria Munoz & Robert Meadows-Rogers.

Opening Prayer: Rev. Raymond Rafferty.

Approval of Minutes of September Meeting: Moved by Rev. William Wizeman to approve Minutes & seconded by Michael Morrison. Approved unanimously.

Pastor’s Report: Fr. Rafferty reported: 1) Could not find a response time in the Air Conditioning Contract. However, the Maintenance came the day following the last Parish Council meeting & repaired the Air Conditioner. 2) Currently there are no activities for the teenagers of the Parish. Fr. Rafferty suggested that Connor Hailey think about this situation & bring up some ideas. Examples of activities might be social or community service. Connor Hailey asked how many teenagers are there. The number is not really known, replied Fr. Rafferty. Connor Hailey agreed to think about it.

Principal’s Report: Dorothy Valla reported: i) School Census being undertaken. ii) It was discovered that approval of the School’s Technology Plan, allowing funding from the Archdiocese, had not been received after the Archdiocese had requested early in the year that certain conditions be met. Ms. Valla had sent a follow up letter satisfying the conditions & received approval from the Archdiocese last week. iii) The Middle States Plan is being worked on & will be finished & submitted by the deadline. iv) Bill Catucci visited the School to instruct the Faculty on how to use email. v) Sr. Alice is visiting the School weekly to instruct the Faculty on the usage of computers. vi) Parents are doing well with financial assistance to the School through various fund-raising activities. vii) The National Catholic Association is sponsoring a drive for all students to contribute $1.00 each to Catholic Schools that have been damaged by hurricanes in the Gulf Area.viii) On September 23 Fr. Rafferty & Ms. Valla attended a meeting in the home of member of Holy Trinity Parish. Members of that Parish’s young adults will paint the 3^rd floor of the School on November 15. ix) The tread on the stairs & the handrails on the stairs of the Broadway side of the School have been repaired. The Amsterdam Ave. side will be done.

x) The present enrollment of students is 187.

Hospitality Committee Report: An email report from Jane Hart is as follows:

Subject: Re: Hospitality Committee

Date: 10/2/2008

To: Elizabeth Browne

Betty

Sorry to be so late with my reply, I had a bit of an urgent situation with my job.

Here is the break down –

Religious education- -----2

Young adults----- -----------I

Flea market---------------9

Autumn social--- -----------8

Hospitality -----22+6 others previously committed

I believe The Spiritual Book Group, St. Egidio, Spirituality in Daily Life, Friends and CC School also had signers and took their sign-up sheets (which makes sense). There were no signers with the other groups. The groups who had recruiters seated at the tables had the best results. I think we got the representation we were hoping for on hospitality.

The breakfast cost $250, which was covered by donations collected plus an additional $80 which we would like to apply to stocking the hospitality closet when we reorganize it.

Perhaps you can share this info with the council via e-mail? –Jane

Fr. Rafferty thanked the organizers of the Pancake Breakfast.

Fall Parish Social Report: 1) Betty will pick up the raffle tickets for the Parish Secretary, Patricia, to stuff the envelopes. 2) Volunteers are needed after each Mass to distribute the tickets. Betty passed around a list for members to sign. 3) Betty to follow up with Jane weekly.

Parish Council Constitution: Brenda Fairaday distributed copies of the report compiled by the Committee comprising Brenda Fairaday, Francis Paz & Tom Croft at a meeting held on September 30. A lively discussion ensued giving the Committee a great deal of information & suggestions. The committee will meet again during October & report back to the Council at its next meeting.

Old Business: Michael Morrison had information on establishing a Parish electronic newsletter for Katharine Tillman. Betty Browne will give it to Ms. Tillman who was absent from this meeting.

New Business: Brenda Fairaday distributed a flyer announcing a day of recollection on Saturday, October 18, 2008 in observance of the 70^th anniversary of Thomas Merton’s baptism at Corpus Christi Church. Rev. James Connor O.C.S.O will lead the day.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, November 3 at 7:30 PM.

The meeting then adjourned.

Submitted by Tom Croft.

top