Final June 26, 2012 Minutes for the Education Committee Meeting ...

Final June 26, 2012
Minutes for the Education Committee Meeting
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
7:30 pm
Cathedral Parish Center
Attended: Fr. Pete Literal, John Hosler, Anne Merwin, Rosemary Peddicord, Karen
Banta, Sally German, Mary Jo Coiro, Al Fitzsimons, Meghan Cosgrove, Carol Gould
Absent: Rozelle Abraham, Jane Rohd, Kathleen Willis
I. The meeting opened at 7:35 pm with the Come Holy Spirit prayer.
II. Minutes of the May 22 nd , 2012 Meeting were approved.
III. Review of Youth Ministry Programs with Meghan Cosgrove
Cosgrove noted that she has been doing Youth Ministry programs without the support of
former assistant Olivia Goldsborough who is now teaching at another school. Recently
Loyola College grad student Lauren Janniello has volunteered to provide staff support
and her enthusiasm and capability are inspiring. Sherri Rachuba and Stacey Todd
provide additional assistance with programs and paperwork.
Cosgrove provided the following comments in conjunction with the review of her written
report:
VBS camp offered the previous week had 65 campers with 18 middle school helpers.
Work camp offered this week had 12 middle schoolers and 3 high schoolers.
An Orioles game outing will take place later this week.
The Kings Dominion trip had to be cancelled due to only 20 registrants.
No programs are scheduled for July, and in August there will be SMILE camp and an
additional VBS with Sherri Rachuba.
New Bridge program will be the focus for Middle School Youth Ministry in the fall.
This program is designed to engage middle school parishioners and parent volunteers to
expand their involvement in the parish community. The group will meet every Sunday
from 4:30 to 6 p.m., from October through April. The program and opportunities will
incorporate liturgy, fellowship, service and education. A list of 30 families from SSR
and SCMOQ has been compiled to target their involvement in this program to get the ball
rolling.
Examples of activities that Bridge participants will be encouraged to engage in are:
December lessons and carols, a Ravens game, and viewing NOOMA videos that are 15
minute scripture/verse videos with discussion to follow. Service undertaken by 8 th
graders in the Bridge program will count toward their Confirmation Service hours.

Final June 26, 2012
Coiro further suggested that Bridge “Parts of the Program,” be linked to the activities of
CMOQ core ministries, eg. Education 10/7 be linked to the panel discussion organized by
the Education Committee 10/6 or Service linked to a Haiti or other service
projects/events.
5 p.m. HYPER Mass will continue to be offered with a gathering of High School students
after mass from 6:30-8:00. Cosgrove hopes to phase in something additional for High
Schoolers next year.
There was a brief discussion of Confirmation preparation as well. This coming year it is
anticipated that there will be 100 Confirmation candidates as opposed to 87 this past year.
Between October and March there will be 9 classes. It was suggested that parents be
drawn in at the same time as a few of these classes to engage them in their children’s
Confirmation prep.
Closing discussions expressed concern for the loss of Olivia Goldsborough as a critical
link of bringing SCMOQ students to Youth Ministry programs. It is hoped that the new
administration of the school will become engaged in filling that link. German noted that
it will continue to be difficult to engage students if parents continue to take there children
elsewhere for Mass. We need to re-engage that constituency at Cathedral.
Hosler closed with recap of the following immediate goals:
• Create a Confirmation class for parents whose children are being Confirmed
• Request support for the void created by Olivia Goldsborough’s departure
• Efforts to engage students will target SSR and SCMOQ equally
IV. 2012 Education Committee Panel (in October)
The October 6 th panel discussion will be a 3-hour event—from 9 a.m. to noon. Ideally
there will be 6 speakers with 20-minute presentations; a question-and-answer period; and
time for requisite opening and closing remarks and breaks. The following four areas to
address remain:
Finalize the list of Panel Presenters: Hosler noted that he has four potential speakers at
this time. His hope is to have a balance of men and women, religious and professional,
and at least on distinguished member of the parish to share there views on ‘Being
Catholic in a Secular World.’ Committee members offered Hosler further suggestions
and at the close this discussion Hosler suggested that he would circulate his list of
possible speakers to Education Committee members via email.
How to Manage the Question and Answer Session: The question and answer session
may ask participants to write down their questions to manage the discussion and time
most effectively.
What is the Best Venue for the Panel: It was suggested that the panel be held in the
School gym where the panel might be raised on the stage and the room better able to
accommodate a larger crowd. Hosler will email Kathleen Whelan and Sherri Rachuba to

Final June 26, 2012
reserve the gym for the morning of October 6 th . This is before the start of basketball so
there should not be conflicts for the space.
Honoraria for Speakers: Discussion of honoraria needs to take place in conjunction
with finalizing the list of speakers.
V. Other Updates
AFFT Update: Anne Merwin prepared a sample Information Table on CMOQ
Educational Opportunities to be located in the Narthex. Details of the size and finish of
the table, and its location need to be cleared by staff. Members of the Education
Committee would take responsibility for making sure the table does not get littered with
unrelated material. The committee was very grateful for Merwin’s efforts to continue to
move plans for this important marketing tool forward.
Proposed upcoming events:
Panel discussion 10/6
Archbishop Lori 11/3 or 11/10
Advent Retreat 12/1
Lenten Retreat 3/2
Fr. Larry Richards 4/27
Catholicism Retreat 5/22
Merwin to email details of this list to Gould for minutes.
WORKFLOWS Update:
All those working on Workflows are asked to get completed drafts of your Workflow to
Hosler no later than the middle of July. Drafts need only focus on content. Formatting
not necessary.
VII. The meeting closed with the Our Father prayer at 9:08 pm.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 24th, 2012 at 7:30 pm in the Parish Center.
Please note that Hosler and Gould will be absent from the July meeting.
Respectfully submitted
Carol Gould