September 19, 2013 – 7:00 P.M.
In Attendance: John Mitchell, Ann Mitchell, Fr. Arock, Jim Cloud, Sue Sopala, John Lamour, Carolyn Large, Becky Estep, Jeanne Singh, Joe Osteen, Ginger Osteen.
01. John called the meeting to order and lead us in singing “Open My Eyes Lord.”
02. John introduced a new, standardized prayer format, requested by Father Dan, to be used to open and close all meetings at Mary Queen. The monthly prayers are available on MQ’s website. (See “Monthly Parish Meeting Prayer” under the Submenu on the left hand side of the Home Page.)
03. John read the Introduction, everyone recited the Opening Prayer,
Jim read The Word of God (Luke 15:1-7), followed by the Response (Luke 15:1-7) by everyone. Individual intentions (Petitions) followed.
04. An in- depth discussion about John’s proposed questionnaire to be handed out to all parishioners resulted in a decision to ask only the following question: “What do you value most about coming to church?” John had suggested two questions: 1. Why are you here today? 2. Why do you come to church? John said, “The results are for Father Dan because he is interested in knowing what the parishioners feel and think.”
05. During the above discussion Jim shared the acronym, ACTS, for why people come to church: A – Adoration, C – Contrition, T – Thanksgiving and S – Supplication.
06. Father Arock expressed an interest in sending a questionnaire to those not coming to Mass. Sue suggested a post card perhaps. She also mentioned having a night at church where anyone could come and ask anything they ever wanted to know about our Catholic faith/church. Priests and deacons would need to be available to answer the questions.
07. Suggestion was made that Mary Queen might want to take advantage of free advertising under “Faith Notes” in the Lexington Herald Leader to announce events/meetings.
08. John passed out copies of “New Steps in Appreciating God’s Word,” which Father Dan would be explaining/ implementing on Sunday, September 22.
09. Regarding becoming a more welcoming parish, Joe suggested a prominent Welcome Sign be displayed somewhere in the gathering area. Also, Joan Bishop suggested (during a small group meeting) that we have Visitor Parking spaces. She mentioned that Pax Christi has four visitor spaces allocated.
10. Becky, Sue and others discussed how important Greeters are and the importance of their training. Everyone liked that it was a family ministry. There are three tiers of Greeters in some of Louisville’s Catholic churches and it was suggested that in addition to the “door person,” we might want to think about having more Greeters inside as well.
11. A suggestion was made to have an attendant at the Information Desk in the gathering area.
12. Guests, Sue Sopala and John Larmour, made brief introductions. Afterwards, John presented each of them blessed crucifixes and information on giving the pins to others. Ann Mitchell was also a guest at this meeting.
13. Joe gave Father Arock and others at the meeting a little pocket Prayer Book that he uses for daily prayer. Father Arock asked that we find out the discounted cost for an order of 1,000 to possibly be given (maybe donations asked to offset cost) to parishioners. Ginger will email the cost information to John after checking with Patrick at Benedictus.
14. Last month’s Evangelization Minutes were reviewed and approved.
15. There was more discussion about the book Rebuilt. John thinks the most important chapter is No. 8, “Making the Message Matter.” Others also brought up the need to increase the involvement of the Youth and the Elderly at MQ.
16. John emphasized the importance of having the overlaying theme of spirituality built into everything we do at Mary Queen.
17. Carolyn mentioned the October meeting/discussion of Rebuilt with Fr. Dan on October 9 at 7:00 in Room AB in the church.
18. Jim reminded everyone of the upcoming Evangelization Conference at Christ the King on October 19 from 8:00 – 2:30. The keynote speaker will be Fr. James Wehner, author of The Evangelization Equation.
19. Father Arock shared a few closing comments and said he would discuss the summary points from last month’s minutes with Father Dan and tell us the results at our next meeting.
20. The next Evangelization Meeting will be Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 P.M. in the ELC.
21. The Closing Prayer was read by all and the meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M.
Addendum 9/24/2013:
Received call from Benedictus today. The price points for bulk order of the little Pocket Prayer Book are as follows:
250 .85 each
500-1,000 .75 each
Individually .95 each
~ Ginger Osteen
last updated 09/25/2013 jm
