Parish Pastoral Council Highlights - Mar

These are highlights from the March 5, 2012 meeting of the PPC.
Present: Msgr. Mike Yarbrough, Fr. Martín Garcia, Craig Koett (Pastoral Administrator), Jan Owen, Trisha Sanguinetti, Yolanda Delgado, Cary Collins, Luis Lane, Sheila Rosario, Dorothy Morris, Brad Wakely, Lorenia Aguirre, Gary Gonzaba
Excused: Tony Goei, George Merkle,
Guests: Hector Islas & Rodolfo Caballero for Regnum Christi & Dr. Antonio Ramirez, from UIW, MACC and Pastoral Associate at St. Luke’s Catholic Church.
Opening Prayer: Prayer was led by Craig.
Guest: Hector Islas and Rodolfo Caballero spoke about Regnum Christi. Handouts about the group were provided to the PPC. They are currently meeting at Rolling Hills Academy. They petitioned the PPC to become part of HT since the majority of their members are from our parish. They are seeking space at our facility. It is a Spanish-speaking, but provides for English when needed, that emphasizes our Catholic life. They are encouraging the integration of those newly-arrived from Mexico. They have a commitment to their faith and to self. The space request is for the team members, about twelve (12). They have men and women’s groups but are gender-based. The Legionnaires of Christ is the group from which they get their materials. They have a weekly encounter. A members’ manual is provided. There is no financial commitment asked for from HT. They meet weekly for about two (2) hours and are requesting any evening from 7-9PM. They estimate that 90% are parishioners of HT…After some time in discussion, the PPC asked Craig to check on the availability of a room to accommodate their request. He will check with John.
Guest: Dr. Antonio Ramirez spoke on the upcoming multicultural workshop that the parish will be providing. This is a follow up to some of the concerns about how to integrate those coming into our parish from Mexico. And how we are to appreciate both cultures, our own and that of another. The accent is to integrate our faith and culture. Culture is a gift, not a threat. It is of note that the first wave gives way to the second generation who are bi-cultural and bi-lingual. He is using as one of his resources the USCCB document, “Welcoming the Stranger among Us: Unity in Diversity”. The schedule of the workshops is the following:

Monday, March 5^th: Speak to the PPC about the overall presentation.
Wednesday, March 7^th: Speak to the Staff for one (1) hour on the presentation
Thursday, March 29^th: 7-8:30PM, Banquet Hall: Speak to the parish leadership groups.
Saturday, March 31^st: 9AM-12Noon, FF Building: Speak to the Entire Parish with a workshop.

The workshop will be interactive. Our church is a mixture of cultures already. This workshop is to help everyone better understand
the diversity we are in the unity that we are…Brad and Cary will accent with That Man is You group to postpone their meeting that
day and come join the workshop.
February 2012 PPC Minutes: PPC approved these minutes.
25^th Anniversary Celebration Report: Brad reported that things are going well. They are expecting about 1500 for the Sunday celebration with the AB and Bishop Cantu. Casino Night tickets are now available for purchase - $50 per person. We have a limit of 500. We have lined up the various caterers for the three (3) events.
Pictorial Directory Report: Sheila reported they we needed to open an additional weekend, March 15-17th. Though this is the end of Spring Break, it seemed helpful. This will be the final weekend. It is estimated that 530 families have taken photos. Additional directories can be purchased. Sheila is requesting an open letter from Msgr. Mike for the directory as well. Those who want to have their own picture in the directory have one week for this to occur. It costs them $10.
PPC Nominations: PPC still needs some additional names for nomination. Msgr. Mike would like to have 4-5 men and 4-5 women nominees. We need to replace two (2) men and two (2) women on the council. Terms are for three (3) years. Send names to George no later than March 25^th. The election by the parish will be either April 28-29^th or May 5-6^th weekend at all Masses…Even those who have served previously on the PPC can be nominated again.
Blood Drive: Dorothy followed up with a handout to the PPC on this. Questions arose as to what are the procedures and benefits. We have 3-4 blood drives each year. Mike Garcia is responsible for this. HT Parishioners benefit from this whether you donate or not. But you need to be a registered parishioner of HT. There is a $10 credit per pint that is applied to the processing fee, not to use or to pay for the blood. There is no cost for the blood product. Most insurance plans pay for this but not all.
Expansion of Chapel: Msgr. Mike shared with the PPC that one parishioner recommended – now that we are debt-free – to consider the expansion of the chapel portion of the Church. Msgr. Mike responded to the email sender that it will be taken under advisement. This individual offered as well a donation of $1K for the project.
Open Discussion: Cary mentioned about a golf game coming up March 23-24^th…A question was asked about HT sponsoring a Mothers’ Day Out program.
Closing Prayer: Trish led this. Next Meeting: April 2, 2012, Conference Room, 7-8:30PM Prayer Leader for April: Msgr. Mike