Staff Meeting Highlights - Oct

Present: Msgr. Mike Yarbrough, Fr. Martin Garcia, Joaquin B. Martinez, Gloria Barretto, Craig Koett, Rosa Becnel, Cecilia Greene, Doug Stolo, Lizzette Kranz, Veronica Santillan, Martha Sandoval, Kristin Casas, Eric Mejia

Excused: John Dulske, Debbie Gray, Ana Rosa Lane

Opening Prayer: Msgr. Mike led the staff in a reading of the upcoming gospel, Matthew22:15-21.

Msgr. Mike: Due to the fact that he had the 12:05PM Mass that day, he reported first.

Attendance at Staff Meetings: He accented that the Staff needs to be on time for the Staff meeting. And attendance is a mandatory. He understands emergencies. Plan your calendar accordingly.

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day): This commemoration is to take place on November 2^nd. Fr. Martin will have the 7PM Liturgy that accents a special commemoration for those family members who have died the previous calendar year. Veronica is also coordinating this with him. Adult Choir will be the music ministers at this celebration.

Tentative Confirmation Dates: We have three possible dates. The AB hopes to have the schedule
completed by the end of November. Our possible dates are all Saturdays at 11AM: April 28^th, May 19^th or June 9^th. We currently have 95 confirmandi for this celebration.

Catholic Charities Gala: The parish bought a table for October 29^th for this event. It is honoring their Refugee Program. It will be held at the Omni Hotel, I-10 West. If you are interested in attending, see Gloria.

Hispanic Leadership Initiative: Msgr. Mike spoke on meeting with seven (7) members of our Hispanic community. They offered him some suggestions and encouragements. He will pass these onto both the PPC and the Staff for their input…Staff suggested to include Spanish translation of the registration form rather than a different form. Subtitles in Spanish for the various items will be added.

Welcome New Parishioner Dinner: Our next scheduled dinner will be Wednesday, January 11^th, in the Banquet Hall, from 7:15PM-8:30PM.

RCIA for Adults and Children: The Rite of Acceptance and Welcome, which brings those interested
in becoming Catholic into the next level of the RCIA, the Catechumenate will take place on October 23^rd at the 9:30AM Mass. Those who are part of this process, along with their sponsors, need to be at this ritual and celebration. Both the adults and children will be together for this ceremony.

Christmas Decorations: Veronica accented that these will be placed in the sanctuary the afternoon of Friday, December 23^rd. Kevin and Cindie Albrecht will again head up the Art & Environment for the season. Poinsettias will be delivered that afternoon as well. Invitations to the parish to purchase some of these will be accented soon.

Assisted Hearing: We have the system in place but there are some missing pieces. Cecilia and John will follow up on this.

Couples Shared Prayer: Their retreat weekend is October 21-23^rd. They will be recognized the following weekend, October 30^th, at the 11:15AM with a round of applause.

Census Update: We are about midway through the updating of the census for the parish. The timeline is to have the process completed by December 2011. A follow-up letter to those who have not responded will be done in January 2012.

Annual Priests’ Convocation: Msgr. Mike and Fr. Martin will be attending the annual convocation for the priests of the Archdiocese from November 7-9^th. This takes place at the T Bar M Ranch near New Braunfels TX.

Advent Penitential Service: This is scheduled for Wednesday, November 30^th at 7:15PM in the Church. We are hoping to have 15-20 priests available for Individual Absolution.

Adult Educational Possibility: Staff suggested that perhaps a conversational English class could be started at HT. NEISD has some already. Issue would be space availability. John will need to let the Staff know about the facility need.

Kristin: She gave her report on the following: Enrollment: Total enrollment for Elementary Faith Formation as of Tuesday, October 11, 2011: Total = 796. We have added a Good Shepherd Level II class in Spanish on Monday at 6PM. It is for 7-9 years old and still has open places…Catechists: We currently have 90 Catechists/Assistants. There will be OVASE training for all catechists who have never been trained or need to renew their training on Sunday, October 16^th at 9AM in the Faith Formation Building…Meetings/Conferences: We hosted the North Central/Northeast Deanery Meeting in the St. Thomas/St. Matthew rooms on October 11^th from 11:30 am-2:30 pm. Kristin and Eric will be attending the Catholic Formation and Leadership Conference all day on October 28^th & 29^th…Sacramental Preparation: We have 182 children preparing for the sacrament of Penance and 183 children preparing for Eucharist. The second parent/child workshop will be held on November 14^th and 16^th during regular class times. At least one parent must attend this class with their child. Msgr. Mike will do the workshops on November 14^th and Fr. Martin on November 16^th…Annual Catechetical Report: The Annual Catechetical Report is due on November 7^th. I have completed the portion for elementary religious education, but we still need middle school, high school and adult information. Veronica and Debbie have the paper work and I will submit the report to the Archdiocese when all the information has been gathered…October Events: There will be no Faith Formation classes on October 10^th and 12^th in observance of the Columbus Day holiday…The Safe Environment materials will be presented to the children in class on October 17^th and 19^th…There will be no Faith Formation classes on October 31^st due to Halloween and November 2^nd due to the Feast of All Souls…The Faith Formation Office will be closed on November 1^st in observance of All Saints Day.

Craig: He passed out the holiday schedule to the Staff for the rest of 2011. At the November meeting, he will give out the 2012 holiday schedule. We follow the same calendar as the Pastoral Offices of the Archdiocese…We will have in our three (3) buildings – Faith Formation, Church and the Parish Offices (which includes the Banquet Hall) – will have an AED – Automatic External Defibrillator. It would be helpful for the staff to have training on this, though the newer ones are pretty self-explanatory. Dr. Tony is willing to help with this…We are ready to erect the cross on the Church. We received an anonymous donation for the cross and its installation.

Cecilia: She spoke about the change that is coming for payroll. More information after she attends a workshop on this in November…Also please use our tax exempt form when purchasing items…She also reported that through the Memo for Priests, a quarterly publication from the Archdiocese, the parish of HT, with the assistance of Gulf Coast Utility Services, were able to recover $6,180.36 from sales taxes billed and paid in error on our behalf. These moneys were placed in the general fund.

Lizzette: Payroll schedule was handed out. It is always processed two days prior to the date of the payroll in order to have your direct deposit in your account on the payroll date. If it is not sent in on a timely manner, we may have to issue a check instead of putting the funds through direct deposit… The Staff Christmas Gathering will be on December 10^th at 7PM. It is a pot luck affair.

Gloria: The Senior Luncheon is set for Wednesday, October 26^th at 11AM in the Banquet Hall. Letters have been sent out as invitations for this annual event. It will include Mass and the Anointing of the Sick, followed by the luncheon. We have a volunteer coordinator, Tina Zimmerman, who will assist…Robert Galvan will help with picture taking for the Staff for the upcoming Pictorial Directory… The final two batches of Census Update Letters will be sent out by October. As of this date, we sent out about 3800 letters. The purpose is to get a more accurate count of who is a member of HT. This has not been done since the inception of the parish.

Debbie: In her absence, Msgr. Mike gave her report. There will be Fall High School Retreat from November 4-6^th. She requests whatever presence Msgr. Mike and Fr. Martin could give for this weekend. The Sacrament of Penance will be offered in the morning and the hope is that we will have 4-5 priests available for this in the morning of November 5^th. It takes place at Deer Creek…She also is encouraging our clergy to come to Life Teen whenever that is possible.

Closing Prayer: Staff shared our Vision Statement as the closing prayer.

Next Meeting: November 16, 2011, 10AM-12PM, KC Room