Saturday, March 21, 2015

Deanery Q2 Minutes 1/15/15


Deanery Q2 Minutes 12/11/14

St. Sebastian
Thursday, December 11th 2014

In Attendance:

QUEEN OF ANGELS
Very Rev. Brian P. Dowd – Pastor
Rev Msgr. Jonas C. Achacoso – PT Parochial Vicar
Mr. Juan Rodriguez – Pastoral Associate/DFF/YM
Mrs. Carmen Cruz – CFF
Dr. Conrado Gomez – Parish Council Rep.

ST. RAPHAEL
Fr. Jerome T. Jecewiz – Pastor
Sr. Christine Scherer – DRE
Mr. Richard O’Connor - Food Pantry
Ms. Elizabeth Ciro – Food Pantry

CORPUS CHRISTI
Fr. Patrick West – Pastor

ST MARY - BVM HELP OF CHRISTIANS
Rev. Christopher O’ Connor – Pastor
Rev. Evans Julce – Parochial Vicar

ST. TERESA
Rev. Msgr. Steven A. Ferrari – Pastor

ST. SEBASTIAN
Rev. Kevin Abels – Pastor
Rev. Carlos Velasquez – Parochial Vicar
Rev. Rodnev Lapommeray – Parochial Vicar
Rev. Abraham Thaddeus – Parochial Vicar
Dcn. Jorge Castillo – Part time
Ms. Sonia Casanova – DRE

VISITOR
Ms. Ellen Rhatigan – Deanery Planning Process

1.        Opening Prayer
2.        CONGRATULATIONS TO REV. ABRAHAM THADDEUS WHO HAS BEEN INCARNATED INTO THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN!
3.        Approval of Minutes - Summary of Minutes were approved
4.        Presenation of Agenda Items:
a.        Deanery Planning Process: (Part 3) Ellen Rhatigan, from the Office of the Vicar, joined us to discuss the Deanery Planning Process. She expressed that our Deanery is doing a great job in the Planning Process. There will be 2 meetings Planning Process – 1st on January 15th at 7PM, and 2nd on March 19th at 7PM. She emphasized to our Deanery that two lay representatives from the Parish Pastoral Council should participate in both meetings. Three questions were given to each parish pastoral council:
                                                               i.      As a parish, what makes you most proud?
                                                             ii.      What are you struggling with as a parish (internally and externally)?
                                                            iii.      What issues do you see in the community that are impacting the parish?

Queen of Angels, Corpus Christi, and St Sebastian’s have completed the questions. Parishes that did not complete the questions have until Jan 15th 2015. They can submit the questions to Fr. Dowd. Ms. Rhatigan explained that the Deanery Planning Process must address the Real Needs of our Deanery. Parishes should focus on 4 things:
                                                            iv.      Identify our strengths and challenges as a Deanery
                                                              v.      Identify areas where we can collaborate as a Deanery
                                                            vi.      Develop and Foster a system Communication and Collaboration in our Deanery
                                                           vii.      To implement our shared goals, strategies, and development of a core leadership within 2 Years

b.         Parish Reports:
                                                               i.      Queen of Angels: We had our Advent Mission in English and Spanish – reflections can be found on video (Eng - http://youtu.be/hdcnLxurXDA / Span - http://youtu.be/YV3cfUGMNDg). • We celebrated an Ecumenical gathering for the Feast of St. Nicholas Illumination and Carol Sing on Dec 4th.  • Feast of O.L. Guadalupe begins tonight with the Rosary and ends with the Mass and Celebration tomorrow evening. • Faith Formation is putting together a Children’s Play titled “Love Came Down at Christmas” on Dec 14th at 4PM – it will include a potluck dinner for the family. • We are having our Annual Christmas Concert on Dec 24th at 4:30PM and 11:30PM. • The Christmas Bengali Mass will not be celebrated on Christmas Eve, but will be celebrated on Sunday, Dec. 28th at 5PM. Please share the information with your Bengali Parishioners.
                                                             ii.      St Sebastian – In preparation for Advent, the parish had an all day advent penance from 7:30AM to 7PM on Tuesday Dec 10th. In addition to Penance on Saturday, the parish has Penance on Monday morning after the Mass, Penence after Mass on Wednesday Evening, and Penance in Spanish after Mass on Thursday Evening. • Included in their Advent celebration they started Vespers on Sunday with Special Guest Speakers. • Other events during Advent, like O.L. of Guadalupe are being celebrated. •  They will be having a 12 Mid-Night Mass. • Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is Monday - Friday, 7:30AM to 7PM.

St. Sebastian School – Open House will be on January 27th and January 29th from 9AM to 10:30am. Deanery received a Flyer from Fr. Abels. Please use this for your Bulletin Blurb:


OPEN HOUSE AT ST. SEBASTIAN SCHOOL: St. Sebastian School – A Catholic School of Excellence serving the parishes of B.V.M. Help of Christians, Queen of Angels and St. Sebastian - will be having an Open House on January 27th and January 29th from 9AM – 10:30AM. We’re located on 39-76 58 Street; Woodside, NY 11377. For more details, contact us at 718-429-1982. Find us on the web @ www.stsebastianschool.org

SEE ATTACHMENT FOR DETAILS

                                                            iii.      St. Mary's: BVM Help of Christians: Last Sunday they hosted a Diocesan meeting for the Mexican Apostolate. Fr. O’Connor met with the Director of the Apostolate – Rev. Jorge. Tonight they celebrate their Feast of O.L. of Guadalupe at 11PM in Honor of St. Juan Diego. Celebration continues on Friday Morning with the “Antocha” at the Cathedral. Fr. O’Connor will return to the parish to celebrate the Feast of O.L. of Guadalupe at 7PM, followed by a musical procession around the Church with Mariachi’s. They will end with celebrations. • Next Thursday they will do Christmas Caroling around the neighborhood. • They are also doing a Raffle for the Young Adults who are attending World Youth Day in Poland. See OTHER BUSINESS for details. • There will not be a Mid-Night Mass on Christmas Eve. • Rev O’Connor is installing Surveillance Camera’s due to a security and theft problem. Fr. Jecewiz suggested to Fr. O’Connor and to all the Pastors – see OTHER BUSINESS for details.  
                                                            iv.      St. Raphael’s: Fr. Jecewiz gave a report on the Food Pantry. They had over spent for this year – this is because of the increase in prices for food, and cut backs on food stamps. They are collecting gift items for clients who are participating in their Advent Giving Tree Program. • Feast of O.L. of Guadalupe Mass was celebrated on Saturday, Dec 6th. • Korean Community has completed a major retreat – Fr. Jecewiz explained that the Korean Community is not from the area, but comes to St Raphael’s to celebrate their faith.
                                                              v.      Corpus Christi:  Feast of O.L. Guadalupe begins tonight with the Rosary and ends with the Mass and Celebration tomorrow evening. • English and Spanish Novenas for Christmas begin on Monday and end with a Bilingual Mass on Christmas Eve. • Fr. West hired a Youth Minister to start a youth group on Thursday Evenings. Scripture sharing has been going very well.
                                                            vi.      St Theresa: Feast of O.L. Guadalupe Mass will be on Sunday at 10:30AM. Rosary will begin tonight and the Mañanitas will be on Saturday Night. • Monday, Dec 15th begins the Novena to the Divino Niño – which have will talks by visiting priests, deacons, and seminarians. Theme will focus on Pope Francis’ teachings on “People of Mercy”.  It will conclude with a big celebration on Christmas Day. • The Parish is part of a Pilot Program called Generations Faith Campaign – their goal is to raise $445,000. They have made 50% of their goal. •  Msgr. Ferrari has recommended his Music Director to any Pastor who is looking to hire.
5.        New Members to the Deanery:
a.         Fr. Abels introduced to us Mr. Harry Connor – Director of Buildings and Grounds, Deacon Jorge Castillo – Part time Deacon for St. Sebastian, and Sally Williams – Coordinator of Pastoral Care.
6.        Other Business:
a.         St. Mary’s / BVM is holding Raffle for Young Adults going to World Youth Day. Cost $40. Winner gets 4 Tickets to Fly anywhere with JetBlue. SEE ATTACHMENT FOR DETAILS
b.         Recommendation for Pastors: Anti – Theft Iridescent Powder that can be bought at a Spy Shop – SEE https://www.queensspyshop.com/ or call them at (718) 779-9580. Fr. Jecewiz explained that it is possible to get some of the money back through insurance.
c.         Deanery is interested in doing an All Monday Penance, similar to the Lenten Season. It is being done in the Archdiocese of New York. Pastors of the Deanery believe that this may cause confusion to Parishioners of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Fr. Dowd and Ms. Rhatigan will mention it to Vicar. No decision was made as Deanery to pick a day or to it on the same day that the Archdiocese of New York. More to come by email.
d.        Fr Evans presented to us a plan for attending the March to Life. The cost for the trip will be $65. It does not include sleeping bag or toiletries. The trip will be for 2 days, beginning on January 21st, and ending on January 22nd. We would meet at St. Mary’s Church before 9AM and return back to the parish at 11PM. Details will follow during the month of December 2014 & January2015.
e.         Dr. Gomez presented an idea for DFF’s and CFF’s for our RCIA program, using the Compendium of the CCC as the structure of our classes. If DFF’s and CFF’s within our Deanery use the same Syllabus, it would be easy for any adult student to transfer into any of our Parish RCIA Programs. He believes that the Program can work alongside our Liturgical Calendar, fostering in our Adult Students a love for Sacred Scripture and Spiritual Formation. SEE ATTACHMENT FOR DETAILS
f.         Fr. Lapommeray open the discussion on Young Adult Ministry within the Deanery. Members of St Sebastian Young Adults would like to invite Young Adults within our Deanery to participate in their group meeting. He asked for permission to spread the word through our Deanery. Fr. Dowd recommended Fr. Lapommeray to get in touch with Ms. Fran Klettner who is in charge of the “Deanery Happenings”. Ms. Klettner receives by email events and activities to have them posted in every Bulletin within our Deanery. Ms. Klettner’s email is franklettner@verizon.net  A suggestion was made to Deanery to discuss the topic of Youth Ministry and Young Adults Ministry on Jan 15 2015, or March 19th 2015.
7.        Closing Prayer

Jan 15th - 7PM - Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians - St Mary's
March 19th - 7PM - St Raphael – UPDATE (Decided on Oct 16th)
May 21st - 1PM - St Teresa



Deanery Q2 Minutes 10/16/14

Corpus Christi
Thursday, October 16th 2014

In Attendance:

QUEEN OF ANGELS
Very Rev. Brian P. Dowd – Pastor
Rev Msgr. Jonas C. Achacoso – PT Parochial Vicar
Juan Rodriguez – Pastoral Associate/DFF/YM
Carmen Cruz – CFF
Conrado Gomez – Parish Council Rep.

ST. RAPHAEL
Fr. Jerome T. Jecewiz – Pastor
Sr. Christine Scherer - DRE
Elizabeth Ciro – Food Pantry

CORPUS CHRISTI
Fr. Patrick West – Pastor
Augusto Lucero - DRE

ST MARY - BVM HELP OF CHRISTIANS
Rev. Christopher O’ Connor – Pastor
Rev. Evans Julce – Parochial Vicar
Mrs. Patricia Wise – DRE

ST. TERESA
Rev. Msgr. Steven A. Ferrari – Pastor
Rev. Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez – In Residence (Retired)
Norberto Saldana – Pastoral Associate/
                    St Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

ST. SEBASTIAN
Rev. Kevin Abels – Pastor
Rev. Carlos Velasquez

1.        Opening Prayer
2.        Approval of Minutes - Summary of Minutes were approved
a.        Correction – Miss spelling of Bazar for the Sept Deanery Minutes.
3.        Presenation of Agenda Items:
a.        Recreational Program for the Youth in the neighborhood: Kenny from St. Raphael, who worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Sunnyside & Woodside, has expressed interest in starting up a sports program within our Deanery. Kenny contacted Fr. Dowd again to discuss ideas and ways to create a Recreational Program within our Deanery. There was little response from the parishes within our Deanery. Kenny is looking for space to have these activities. Parishes in our Deanery lack sufficient space due to other activities or programs like CYO. Pastors voted not to support at this time.  
b.        Directors of Faith Formation Meeting Report: The Directors and Coordinators of Faith Formation discussed about networking resources, sharing ideas, collecting data, support and formation for fellow Catechists, registration fees, text book and materials for students, and boundaries. Our next meeting will highlight the Structure of our Programs, Parent Formation, Continual Faith Formation, and formation for Catechists. Pastors, DFFs, and CFFs agree that we need to be on the same page. The standards were set by the Office of Faith Formation – it’s up to the Pastor/DFF/CFF to apply it to their parish life. Modifications can be implemented based on the Pastoral needs of a parish. We will be meeting on December 18th.
c.        Deanery Planning Process: (Part 2) Deanery planning process: The Episcopal Vicar Support team is encouraging our Deanery to create a 5 Year Plan with goals. Ellen Rhatigen will be our representative.  This Deanery Planning Process must address the Real Needs of our Deanery. Details of the Deanery Collaboration Process will focus on 4 things:
                                                               i.      Identify our strengths and challenges as a Deanery
                                                             ii.      Identify areas where we can collaborate as a Deanery
                                                            iii.      Develop and Foster a system Communication and Collaboration in our Deanery
                                                            iv.      To implement our shared goals, strategies, and development of a core leadership within 2 Years
Details can be found on the attachment that was sent by email.

Our Deanery will be part of the Pilot Process. A decision was made by the Pastors to have 2 meetings – 1st on January 15th at 7PM, and March 19th at 7PM. 2 Parish lay representatives from the Parish Pastoral Council are asked to participate at the January 15th meeting.
d.       Parish Reports:
                                                               i.      Queen of Angels: Friday Night Youth Center opened up in the beginning of October. The Parish held a Swing Band Concert on Sept 28. Our next event will be Ocktober Fest on Saturday, Oct. 25th with special guest “Spatz Donovan.”
                                                             ii.      St Sebastian – Korean Community is asking the Fr. Abel to start a once a month Mass. The Pastors gave suggestions and concerns about the process. Deanery already has a Korean Mass celebrated at St. Raphael’s. Still to be discussed.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament schedule will be Monday - Friday, 7:30AM to 7PM. They are adding an extra time for Confession after the 7PM evening daily masses. 

St. Sebastian School – is accepting an award at St James Cathedral. School will be closed on Monday, Oct 22nd for a Formation Program on Bullying. They are planning to resurrect a Parents Board for the School. Mrs. Dolan passed out a flyer about the Diocese Emergency Alert Program that is being provided by DeSales Communication. Details can be found on their web site @ http://desalesmedia.org/alertsystem/. The 8th graders will be receiving their ring/pins at the 9 AM Mass on Friday, November 7th. Mrs. Dolan invited all the Pastors to join in the celebration.  A celebration will follow for the students and their parents in the school auditorium.
                                                            iii.      St. Mary's: BVM Help of Christians: Fr. O’Connor will be installed as Pastor on Saturday, Oct 18th. We congratulate Fr. O’Connor, and offer our prayers and support.
                                                            iv.      St. Raphael’s: The Director of the Mexican Apostolate, Fr. Jorge, visited the parish to discuss plans and activities of the Apostolate. There are plans to have regional masses in the future for the Mexican Apostolate. Much of the activities, events, or lectures for the Apostolate will take place at the Co-Cathedral of St Joseph. The distance presents a problem for members of St. Raphael’s.
                                                              v.      Corpus Christi: Hired a Youth Minister to start a youth group on Thursday Evenings.
                                                            vi.      St Theresa: Annual Parish Mission will be on Oct 19th to Oct 21st. The parish leased out the school building to the Board of Ed. Construction began in June, and should conclude by September 2015 – They moved their Religious Ed program down to the Auditorium, due to the construction. They rented partitions to help create classrooms. The Parish is part of a Pilot Program called Generation Faith Campaign – their goal is to raise $445,000. Dancing with the Community Stars will not be held at the Parish, but at the Boys and Girls Club Center in Long Island City. They started a Monthly French Film Festival to help inspire people to join in the Trip to France – It’s free and everyone is welcome to participate.
5.       Other Business

a.        A Teen Safety concern was presented by Dr. Conrado Gomez, who explained to the Deanery the necessity of informing parents and leadership about present dangers that can affect our families. He explained that Sexual Predators can groom teens into doing things with simple instruction, sometimes even complex, just to trap them in a dangerous situation.  Families seem to have little control of the activities that their teens enter into with strangers, especially when it comes to the Social Media Networks and Emails. Child and Teen Lures have topics and articles on this issue. Several sites can be used to help Pastors, Parish Staff, Catechists, Youth Ministers, Parish Leaders, and Parents be informed:
                                                                           i.      ISAFE - http://isafe.org/wp/
                                                                         ii.      Virtus – www.Virtus.org
                                                                        iii.      Shield the Vulnerable - http://www.shieldthevulnerable.org/
                                                                         iv.      Child Lures Prevention -  http://www.childluresprevention.com
                                                                          v.      Teen Lures Prevention - / http://www.teenluresprevention.com/  
b.        Bulletins are emailed to every Pastor in our Deanery by the Secretaries of the Parishes.
c.        Diocesan Pilgrimage Washington D.C. – St Sebastian’s is going and will inform Pastors about the trip
d.       March for Life – Jan 22nd – St. Mary’s is interested in collaborating with other parishes to get a bus to go to the march.
Details will be presented at the next Deanery Meeting. 

6.       Closing Prayer

Jan 15th - 7PM - Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians - St Mary's
March 19th - 7PM - St Raphael – UPDATE (Decided on Oct 16th)
May 21st - 1PM - St Teresa




=

Deanery Q2 Minutes 9/18/14

Queen of Angels
Thursday, September 18th 2014

In Attendance:

QUEEN OF ANGELS
Very Rev. Brian P. Dowd – Pastor
Rev Msgr. Jonas C. Achacoso – PT Parochial Vicar
Juan Rodriguez – Pastoral Associate/DFF/YM
Carmen Cruz – CFF
Conrado Gomez – Parish Council Rep.

ST. RAPHAEL
Fr. Jerome T. Jecewiz – Pastor
Sr. Christine Scherer - DRE
Elizabeth Ciro – Food Pantry

CORPUS CHRISTI
Fr. Patrick West – Pastor

ST MARY - BVM HELP OF CHRISTIANS
Rev. Christopher O’ Connor – Pastor
Rev. Evans Julce – Parochial Vicar

ST. TERESA
Rev. Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez – In Residence (Retired)
Deacon Roberto S. Abundo
Norberto Saldana – Pastoral Associate/
                    St Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

ST. SEBASTIAN
Rev. Kevin Abels – Pastor
Rev. Carlos Velasquez
Rev. Rodnev Lapommeray

VISITORS
Very Rev. Thomas Pettei – Vicar of Queens
Rev. Josephjude Gannon –Vocations Team


ST MARY - BVM HELP OF CHRISTIANS
Rev. Christopher O’ Connor – Pastor
Rev. Evans Julce – Parochial Vicar


1.        Opening Prayer
2.        Approval of Minutes - Summary of Minutes were approved
3.        Presenation of Agenda Items:
a.        Rev. Josephjude Gannon - Vocations: Bishop introduced a new plan for a Vocation Outreach Team. Over seeing the team will be Fr. James Rodriguez – the Vocation Director. Our contact will be Rev. Gannon. Pastors, and leadership can ask for resources at the Vocation Office. The Office of Vocations encourages parishes to invite our delegate, Rev. Gannon to give talks at Masses and//or Holy Hours, at parish groups - most especially youth and young adults groups / programs, and parish schools. Contact Rev. Gannon at St. Gerard Majella - 718-468-6565. For resources and information from the Vocation Office call or email: 718-827-2454 / vocation@diobrook.org
b.       Recreational Program for the Youth in the neighborhood: Kenny from St. Raphael, worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Sunnyside & Woodside. The club has been disbanded. Kenny contacted Fr. Dowd and discussed his interest in starting a Recreational Program, which work closely with the Deanery. Several ideas have come up to start a Deanery Sports initiative within the youth groups - Kenny was informed about it. Kenny is looking for space to have these activities. Parishes in our Deanery lack sufficient space due to other activities or programs like CYO. More to come about the Recreational Program
c.        Deanery Planning Process: Deanery planning process: The Episcopal Vicar Support team is encouraging our Deanery to create a 5 Year Plan with goals. Two meetings can be made to work together with the Episcopal Vicar Support Team. Fr. Dowd, and Fr. Pettei explained that this plan is to help us network, share ideas, collaborate, and execute these goals. They encouraged parish leadership to get involved in the planning.
d.       Faith Formation: Faith Formation: Concern about the shortage of Communions and Confirmation in the Diocese. Fr. Dowd encouraged us to call a meeting to create a plan of action toward youth in our community who have not received all or some of the Sacraments of Initiation. We scheduled a meeting at Queen of Angels for Thursday, October 9th 2014 at 10AM.
e.        Parish Reports:
                                                               i.      Queen of Angels: Parish Pastoral Council is planning a Ministry Fair for the Parish. ESL Program will begin on Saturday, September 21st at 2PM

                                                             ii.      St. Sebastian: Received two new priests - Rev. Carlos Velasquez & Rev. Rodnev Lapommeray. The parish has begun a 4th weekday Mass in the Evenings at 7PM: Mon., Tues., Weds., Friday in English, and Thursday in Spanish. The Schedule for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will change in October from Wednesdays, 7:30AM to 7PM. New schedule will be Monday - Friday, 7:30AM to 7PM. Registrations for Faith Formation has increased in size. Enrollment went from 292 to 413 after a big push for Catechist.

                                                           iii.      St. Mary's: BVM Help of Christians: Fr. O’Connor is now the new pastor. Fr. O’Connor invited parishioners to participate in cleaning up the Church. 75 Volunteers participated. Faith Formation started on Wednesday September 17th.  They will be hosting a Catechetical activity with the Office of Faith Formation for Directors and Coordinators of Faith Formation.

                                                           iv.      St. Raphael’s:  Bishop DiMarzio made a Pastoral Visit to their parish. Korean community is putting together a Bizarre for the parish and community. They are also celebrating the feast of the martyrs of Korea at the Co-Cathedral of St Joseph on Friday Night. The Spanish community is planning an all day retreat on September 27th.

                                                             v.      Corpus Christi: Faith Formation starts next week. Basket Ball program started up. St. Faustina play was successful.

                                                           vi.      St Theresa: Blessing of Animals on Oct 4th at 2PM. Feast of St. Theresa, Oct 4th with 5PM Mass. Feast of the San Lorenzo, Sept 21st and 5PM Mass. They started the Faith Formation Program. Spanish Charismatic group hosts a Holy Hour for the Community, twice a year.
5.       Other Business

a.       School of St Sebastian’s will be turning into an Academy in 2017. They are developing a group to help in the transition towards an academy. Enrollment is at 458. Fr. Dowd and Fr. O’Connor will be celebrating Mass with the Fr. Abels for the Opening of the School Year. Confirmation is on Oct 2nd. Currents (NET TV) did a piece about the School. SEE VIDEO - http://netny.tv/episodes/currents/st-sebastians-school-shaped-academic-physical-excellence/#.VD_pSLDF-aI  They interviewed Mrs. Dolan, Sr. Theresa, and one of their Gym teachers. They hired 6 new teachers.
b.       Renew Your Vision – Members of the Queen of Angels Church Youth Ministry, St. Mary’s – BVM Help of Christian, and Our Lady of Lourdes (Brooklyn) joined together for a 4 Week Course on Developing and Strengthening Youth Ministry.
c.        Fr. O’Connor Installation Mass will be on Saturday Oct 18th at 5pm.

6.       Closing Prayer

Oct 16th - 1PM - Corpus Christi
Dec 11th - 1PM - St Sebastian
Jan 15th - 7PM  - Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians - St Mary's
March 19th - 1PM - St Raphael
May 21st - 1PM - St Teresa