Ray Collins honored as Affiliate

Friday evening, St. Mary’s celebrated with Ray Collins and his family. Ray was made an Affiliate of the Congregation of the Mission earlier this year. His quiet, constant service has been and continues to be a great blessing for the parish and all who know him.

Ray was presented with a certificate signed by the Superior General, Fr. Greg Gay and a letter of welcome and congratulations from the Provincial at the mass. Afterwards, everyone continued to celebrate at a reception in the parish hall.

PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING

The Pastoral Council met in the Parish Hall on Monday, 12 September, at 7:00 p.m.

Present: Fr. Jack Kane, C.M., Deacon Don Canonica, Nancy Penaskovic, Dan Bloodworth Jr., Bob Sevchuk, John Rowe, Amanda Venafro.

Absent: Herbert Quintero, Sandy Halperin, Bonnie Sevchuk, Judy Odom, Connie Scroggins, Mike Collins.

The Meeting began with a reflection & prayer led by Nancy Penaskovic. She read On Suffering from Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of St. Francis in an Age of Anxiety
by Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM.

The Council proceded with the proposed Agenda.

1. The St. Mary’s Mission Statement was read and reflected upon. Emphasis was put upon the common vision: that we are called to be a Christian Community in East Central Alabama. It was asked: Does this reflect the reality? It was mentioned that the Mission Statement is not supposed to reflect the reality but rather is a goal ever present before us. However, most often, the members of St. Mary’s respond when called upon.

The Spanish-speaking families are becoming more responsive and are feeling free to participate in Parish Life. A new committee has been formed — Comité Latino — that will treat matters specifically to the Spanish-speaking in our parish.

Fr. Kane said that at the first meeting of this committee, a serious concern was mentioned. In the past, when hurricane and tornado warnings were given, all advisories on the radio were given in English. This committee is looking into ways that these radio advisories could be given in Spanish. Nancy Penaskovic will contact Mr. Bill Meadows about getting information in Spanish that deals with emergencies. Contact will also be made with Mr. Michael Venafro about the radio announcements.

Deacon Don said that Nov. 13th would be the first Generations of Faith celebration. It will be from 6:00 pm to 9:00 p.m. On the weekends of 8/9 October and 15/16 October, registration forms would be handed out. Knowing the number of participants will facilitate duplicating materials and ordering the food. Various committees are working on the materials needed which will not be ordered until after the registration is completed. The next meeting for the GoF Team is 19 September.

The next Pastoral Council Meeting is scheduled for 17 October at 7:00 p.m. One important topic to be discussed is to verify the members of the Council who will be leaving office and who will have to be replaced.