St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church

14908 Main Street

Upper Marlboro, Maryland  20772

Minutes Dec. 2009

email:  rectory@stmarysum.org

Business Hours for the Rectory 10am - 5pm Monday through Friday  (301) 627-3255

PDF Copy Minutes

Pastoral Council

St. Mary of the Assumption

Minutes of December 17, 2009

I.       Opening Prayer / Introductions

Mr. Braswell called the meeting to order at approximately 7:05 p.m.  Fr. Foley led the opening prayer

II. Minutes of the November 19 Meeting

These minutes were posted on the parish website prior to the December meeting.  The minutes were also electronically distributed to the Council members. 

The members reviewed the minutes and were invited to make amendments.  There were no amendments noted.  Fr. Foley complemented Rob Braswell for writing the Pastoral Council Update, a monthly publication.  The objective of the newsletter was to communicate the dynamic activities within the parish. 

Lisa Huntley moved to approve the minutes as written and Noel A’Hearn seconded the motion.  All members unanimously approved that “the minutes of the November 19th meeting be accepted as written.”

III. Committee Reports

A.     Knights of Columbus

No report.  Andy Smith was out of town during this meeting.

B.     Liturgy Committee

There are numerous liturgical activities for the subsequent months starting in December:  Lessons and Carols will be held on December 20, 2009 and a        Mark Forrest Concert has been scheduled for March 19, 2010.  Aside from being the Feast of St. Joseph, Mr. Forrest will perform on meditations since it is a Lenten Friday.

There has been a lot of preparation for the Lessons and Carols.  Rehearsal has been scheduled for December 19, 2009 at 10 a.m.  Marketing was done through banner, flyers and word of mouth.  There would be costumed parishioners in Victorian fashion with hot cider being served.

St. Mary’s would be celebrating its first Lessons & Carols this Christmas.  Its history could be traced to the Anglican Church.  There were plans of recording the event as a way of connecting to the community.  A DVD production was also being considered.

C.     Capital Campaign Update

The campaign has brought in $3 million in total pledges to date.  The phon-a-thon produced three hundred sixty phone calls.  There would be a minor appeal this coming weekend to have pledge cards completed for those who were missed. 
There would be a follow-up for those who did not respond

D.    Principal’s Report

Ruth Long provided the report.  The annual Christmas program was held in the church, as the new venue.  The church was full and it appeared that the crowd was comfortable. 

Mr. Braswell opined that holding the program in the church, which has a seating capacity of 600, provided spiritual ambiance.  It was well done.  The program consisted of students from PK to the fifth grade, which was the first time for this grade to participate.

IV.  Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Leadership

      Fr. Foley clarified his vision of the CYO in an effort to dispel any misunderstanding.  He expressed that CYO involved more than sports.  He shared his experience in that there was a Board that oversaw everything dealing with the youth.  Fr. Cusick would serve as the spiritual moderator for CYO.

      CYO is not a school but a parish function.  The youth outside St. Mary’s School are welcome, which would include the parish youth groups.  The current concern is funding for CYO.  Suggested activities would be communion breakfasts for mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, the various sports teams.  The focus is to link the faith with family life.

      The Council supports the plan.  Mr. Braswell has attended the CYO meetings.  He intends to institutionalize the process in establishing the CYO leadership.  He commended Ida Belinky and Susan Billings for all their outstanding efforts in building and maintaining the current CYO.  Assistance is deeply needed in this area.

V.           Various Christmas Ministries Update

Lessons & Carols was already discussed under the Liturgy Committee report.

VI.        New Business

Pro-Life Efforts

The Council and the Pro-Life Committee are coordinating efforts.  The KOC are actively involved in pro-life.  Gary Sabel presented the KOC pro-life activities through a hand-out and requested funding and participation with the efforts that have been enumerated in the hand-out.

The Forty Days of Life is one of the pro-life activities that the parish has been involved in the past.  Mr. Braswell mentioned that this issue is apropos to the current agenda of the Obama administration wherein certain ethnic population is targeted for lack of practice in contraception.  Capital punishment is also included in pro-life, among euthanasia and natural family planning.  There will be a vigil Mass for Pro-Life in January.

The MD Catholic Conference holds a lobby night.  This evening is a good opportunity to get involved and be educated in the presence of Bishops in Annapolis.   The Council will deliberate on the pro-life activities and has expressed its willingness to support these activities.

A suggestion was made to have St. Mary’s pro-lifers wear a vest with a message on the back while praying in front of an abortion mill.  Mr. Sabel would pass the idea to KOC.

VII.     Closing Prayer and Adjournment

      Mr. Braswell thanked everyone for their presence.  The next meeting would be on January 21, 2010.  Ms. Huntley moved to adjourn, and Mr. A’Hearn seconded the motion.  Fr. Foley led the closing prayer.  The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:20 p.m.

Send mail to webmaster@stmarysum.org with questions or comments about this web site.