May 5, 2013 - Readings for July 8 - Monday of the Fourteenth Week ...

6th Sunday of Easter May 5, 2013
Summary of Discussion/Meeting with the St. Cecilia Music Ministry
April 23, 2013
Father Dan and Deacon Jerry met with the members of the Music Ministry on April 23, 2013, for the purpose of getting input from
the group about parish life at St. Cecilia’s. Four groups were formed to discuss the following questions: What are we doing right
at St. Cecilia’s What do you really like What makes you proud What could we do better What items are needed to help us do
better If you could wish for anything you want for the Parish, what would it be The four groups provided these responses.
What are we doing right at St. Cecilia’s, what do we really like that makes us proud
*Deacon Jerry and Father Dan are major assets
*The Parish is very warm and welcoming to visitors and new comers
*A very good youth program
*Well run PSR and RCIA programs. Sister Therese is doing an excellent job
*The remodeling of the sanctuary is beautiful
*The parish offers a lot of special events, (eg Irish Night, Lenten and Passion Concerts, the Chicken Dinner, Veteran’s Day )
*Good variety in the mass schedule
*The food pantry and the community outreach it provides to those in need
*The parish is financially sound as a result of good money management
*The choir is very good having many talented singers and musicians
What could we do better What areas need to be addressed What items are needed to make us better
*We want a priest to be assigned. We would be happy if Father Dan were permanently appointed
*We need handicapped access to the parish hall
*It was a good idea to close the choir loft. Communion up front is fine. However, we need a formal plan to ensure that the disabled
and elderly in the rear pews receive communion.
*We need to address those leaving church directly after communion
*The microphones in the choir need to be dropped or additional added
*Mandatory back-ground checks for those other than PSR teachers seems unnecessary (Fr. Dan note…this is mandated by the
Bishop, thus not optional, sorry)
*What can we do to get more parishioners involved The same small group of people are carrying the load. We need a plan to
recruit new volunteers.
*The church is not the place for political views. Past issues need to be addressed
* Major purchases are made without consulting people in the parish who have genuine expertise before the purchase is made (eg
speaker system, new organ). We settle for what we got instead of what would have been better. We should not just settle for mediocre
when we have key resource people available to guide decisions.
*We should have additional specialty masses (eg jazz mass, rock mass)
*The choir is unorganized. We need to have either one big choir or three small choirs. It is not working to try to do it both ways.
Weekday practices limited to one hour would be helpful.
*Not all the ministry groups are open to additional members.
*Altar servers need to be better trained, learn to be more serious in their duties
*Persistent, ongoing maintenance problems, the condition of the church in particular
* Security needs to be addressed yet it is very difficult to get into church, other than for mass
*Scheduling of mass ministers need improvement. (EG if one is scheduled to be cantor, it is not possible to be lector on the same
day).
*How is membership on the pastoral council determined It needs to be expanded and members should rotate in and out.
*It is time to address mass etiquette
* We need to set up something more formal for servers at funeral masses
If you could wish for anything for the parish, what would it be
*We want a priest assigned. Be it a priest with strong leadership skills and one who will open wider communication in the parish
(Fr. Dan note: Assignments will be announced the weekend of May 11 & 12, 2013)
*We want a new chicken coup
*We want an elevator to the parish hall
*We would like better acoustics in the church with a new sound system
*A new ceiling in the church is needed
(Fr. Dan: Additional discussion resulted in rehearsing all music before Weekend Masses in the Lower Level Chapel. This will allow
for prayerful preparation at all weekend Masses.)
The listings from the four groups were almost identical. Friendly, general discussion was held. Father Dan thanked the group for
their participation and will take the information under advisement. We adjourned with a prayer.