On Thursday, October 4th,the newly reorganized Parish Pastoral Council will convene in the Spirituality Room—behind the Altar—at 7:30 pm. The members of the council are:
Peter Goggi
Rosemarie Graziano
Kathy Barisonek
Alex Kelly
Donna Perez Santalla
Carol Venes
Pat Debbie
Cornell Hess
Youth Representative (to be named)
Auditing of the 285 votes was done by the team of Arachi and Kinney (otherwise known at Fr. Grace Arachi and Marge Kinney).
Thank you for all who voted!
Upcoming Elections: posted September 14, 2007
To vote absentee: please email office@ollmountainside.org with the names of your choices (up to 6).
Please include PASTORAL COUNCIL ELECTION in the subject line, and be certain your name is include. Only registered members of the parish over 18 years of age may vote on line.
Statements of Candidates for Parish Pastoral Council
Kathleen Barisonek - My family which includes my husband and four children became members of this parish in 1977. Over the 30 years, I have been involved in numerous activities. When our children were young, I was active in Children’s Liturgy and served on the Liturgy committee. As our children grew, both my husband and I actively participated in the Renew Program, and the Emmaus and Cornerstone programs. We served as host couple for the Baptismal program and I have been a Eucharistic Minister for many years. I have also been involved in the Circle of Compassion, the Gathering of Women and the Sunday Collection counting team.
Over the past several years, I believe there has been a substantial improvement in our parish life and a stronger sense of community.
My objective would be to attract more active and non-active parishioners to the existing spiritual and social activities of the parish.
James R. (Rod) Dunne, DDS - I have been a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes since my marriage in 1974. I have been active in the parish community by participating in most of its social activities. In addition, I have worked on several committees including the 50th Anniversary Committee, the Golf Outing, Chairman of the New Energies Initiative Committee, appointed to one of the counting teams for weekly collections and I am an adorer weekly in the Adoration Chapel.
Teresa Evangelista - Immigrated to the U.S. in the late 80’s and now a naturalized American citizen, I was born and raised in the Philippines. I work in the field of Information Technology and have been on different roles depending on the needs of the project or client. My educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Philippines and Master of Engineering degree in Computer Applications from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand where I was on full scholarship grant from the Belgian Government.
The morning after I moved to Mountainside 6-1/2 years ago, I was greeted by parishioner Gloria Lopez after the weekday morning mass who welcomed me to OLL and invited me to the Adoration Chapel. With so many things to thank the Lord for, it was not difficult to sign up as an adorer. The 3-year Christian Foundation for Ministry program which I attended at Holy Trinity incited me to be a more responsible Christian, to not only grow in spiritual knowledge and constant in prayer but more importantly to see, treat and minister to each and every person the way Christ does.
We have a responsibility to urge others to be responsible Christians. As a team member of the first Women’s Cornerstone at OLL, we have tried to help each other to be strong in our faith. Let us try to live our faith better through prayer, study, reflection and action. It is for these reasons that I am willing to be a Parish Pastoral Council member.
Dave Ferrell - Member of parish since 1985, Dave has been involved in many activities of the parish, including Sunday Coffee, Adoration, Reader at Mass, Golf Committee, Picnic Committee and the Bible Study.
My goal for participating on the Pastoral Council would be to help the parish grow in its ministries.
Peter Goggi - I have been a member of the parish since moving to Mountainside in 1989. My involvement in the parish has been mainly through the music ministry – serving as leader of song for the 5pm and 7:30am masses for over 10 years. As Director for Supply management Ingredients and Teas Americas for Unilever, I have been called on to perform leadership roles. Team leadership and team membership are key skills in today’s workplace and I believe my skills would enhance the OLL Parish Pastoral Council. I have been married to my wife, Carol, since 1983 and we have two children, Peter, Jr. (13) and Giulia (6).
Rosemarie Graziano - Our family, my husband and two daughters have been members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish for 37 years. My professional career was in Human Resources. I have worked on various committees and currently am a member of the New Energies Initiative Committee.
As a member of the Parish Pastoral Council, I hope to assist in furthering the goals of the parish as developed by the team and the offices of the Archdiocese.
Alex Kelly - My wife, Robyn, and I have been members of the parish since 2004. We are the parents of five children (ages 11 months – 16 years.) The Adoration Chapel and the growing number of families in the Parish drew us to Our Lady of Lourdes.
In addition to participating in Eucharistic Adoration, I have been involved in several parish ministries. For the past two years, I have assisted in the Confirmation Preparation Program. I have also served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the past year. My wife and I are also a part of Baptismal Preparation Team.
As Catholics, we are blessed in so many ways and filled with the graces that come from Christ through the sacraments. My wish is for the members of our parish to gain an even deeper respect and appreciation for the sacraments and to see the wisdom of our Church’s teachings on life and family.
Vince Sarna - Vince and his wife Mary Lou have been members of Our Lady of Lourdes 7 years and been involved on many committees such as both Casino Nights, the first Picnic, Wine Tasting, The 50th Jubilee, Decorating the Church, Father John’s induction as Pastor and I’ve also helped usher when needed.
I am a Development Lab Specialist for a local pharmaceutical company for the past 39 years. I am on a couple of committees at work for cost savings dealing with vendors. I’ve volunteered my time with The Children’s Specialized Hospital, Special Olympics and the National Wheelchair Championship and also the Senior Olympics in Union Township.
I’ve also worked for a caterer on a part-time basis. I enjoy cooking. My willingness to serve on the Parish Pastoral Council comes from a growing appreciation for the parish and our parishioners coming together.
Carol Venes - My husband Carmine and I, along with our four daughters, moved to Mountainside approximately thirty years ago and joined the parish. Through the good times and the ‘not-so-good’ times we have remained active parishioners.
In the past years I have served as a Eucharistic Minister and utilized my experience in elementary school teaching in the Religious Education program. I am a member of the Rosary Altar Society and am an Adorer in the Adoration Chapel. I have especially enjoyed working with other parishioners in church decorating and planning the introductory celebration for the parish’s 50th Anniversary. One of my favorite celebrations is the blessing of foods on Holy Saturday.
In my professional life, I worked as a Learning Consultant on a high school Child Study Team for approximately 20 years. I have extensive experience in problem-solving utilizing a team approach, similar to what would be required of a Parish Pastoral Council member.
I will pledge to carry on the mission of our church and would like to work toward giving our youth opportunities to participate in this mission as well.
Gene Nagel - I have enjoyed being a resident of Mountainside for the past eighteen years. My wife Laurielle and I have two children who attend OLL and are in the Mountainside School system,Max (fifteen) who is a full-time sophomore at G.L. and part-time usher assistant at the nine-thirty and Lauren (eleven) a sixth grader at Deerfield.
As a member of the new energies Committee I think that experience would serve me well on the PPC, since that body will implement the plan.
The past four years I have represented the borough as a member of the Board of Education, where I also serve as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
It gives me great pride to be a member of the Parish and Borough; we residents of Mountainside get things done. It’s time to pass that along to our children and leave our children and future families a strong, vibrant parish community.
Cornell Hess - I have been a member of Our Lady of Lourdes since moving to Mountainside with my family in July 2005. My family consists of my wife Maureen and our three children, Sean age 8, Kyle age 6 and Nora age 3. We are active members of OLL and regularly attend the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. As a young family new to the town, we chose OLL as our parish as we immediately found in it a solid, faith based community. I accepted the nomination to join the Parish Pastoral Council with the goal to help build upon that foundation, yet strive to continuously improve the spiritual growth of the parish and the mission of the Church. Our children have begun to receive religious education instruction and my wife is a 2nd grade CCD teacher here at OLL. My wife and I have recently joined the Baptismal Prep team, and look forward to welcoming new members to the parish.
My career background is in Account Management, the last 8 years with MetLife. I have worked in the financial services industry for almost 17 years assisting large corporations achieve their goals. I can bring to the Parish Pastoral Council the skills of critically identifying key needs, developing action plans, implementing those plans, and ensuring the plans are executed effectively. Throughout my career I have helped guide these large organizations, many of which have as many or more members than our parish community make important decisions that impact many thousands of people. I consider myself to be committed, loyal, organized, focused and fair-minded. These skills and strengths have become an asset to my company, my family, and hopefully the Parish Pastoral Council.
I look forward to the opportunity to begin a new chapter in my life. One that fulfills a spiritual need in my life and aids in the well being of our parish both now and in the future. Thank you for considering me for the Parish Pastoral Council.
Donna Perez-Santalla - I was raised in Mountainside and received my sacraments at OLL. My husband of 25 years, Javier, and I have raised 5 children (23, 21,16,13,6 yrs of age) here. Our oldest son, Nicholas, is in the Army stationed in Italy and has served two tours of duty in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan. Our other children, Christopher, 21, attends St. Peter's college, Marianna, 16, 11th grader in Governor Livingston, Isabella, 13, 8th grader in Deerfield and Gabriella, 6, is a first grader in Beechwood school. I am a past president of Rosary Altar Society for 2 terms, served on parish council for 3 years under the guidance of Msgr. Pollard, mandated a Eucharistic Minister and have been a CCD teacher for 12 years. I currently teach in the 8th grade Confirmation program. I have served on the following committee's: Casino Night, Picnic, Wine Tasting, and Father John's 25th Anniversary celebration. Most recently I served on the New Energies Initiative Committee and it is because of that I would like to be part of the Parish Council. OLL is a great parish and with the implementation of the ideas and suggestions of New Energies our parish will grow in ministries and continue to be the wonderful parish I have spent all my life in. Thank you for your consideration.
Deadline for on line voting - Tuesday noon.
The following individuals have accepted the nomination of the parishioners to serve on the Parish Pastoral Council:
Kathy Barisonek
Pat Debbie
Rod Dunne
Teresa Evangelista
David Ferrell
Peter Goggi
Rosemarie Graziano
Cornell Hess
Alex Kelly
Gene Nagel
Donna Perez-Santalla
Vince Sarna
Carol Venes
Biographies and pictures of each of the candidates will be posted soon to the website and distributed at Masses September 15/16. Ballots will be distributed at the masses September 22/23. The new council will be installed on Thursday, October 4, 2007.
Goals and Operations
Purpose
The Pastoral Council is a leadership community rooted in prayer, open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, committed to patient listening and study, and working to recommend the plans and directions that will enable the parish to respond most fully to what Jesus asks of us in these times. It rests on the tripod of prayer, study and action.
Guidance
The Code of Cannon Law indicates that Parish Pastoral Councils are to governed by Norms determined by the Diocesan Bishop. The following guidelines are typical of those norms in this country:
Norms
1. The Pastoral Council is a consultative body, which makes recommendations to our Pastor.
As a consultative body, the recommendations of the Pastoral Council bear considerable weight. The Council is not a body, which neither makes binding decisions nor is it an advisory group, which gives advice that, can readily be ignored. While our pastor is not obliged to follow the recommendations of our Pastoral Council, it is understood that he would do so unless there is an extraordinary reason to do otherwise.
2. The Council's recommendations will deal with pastoral plans and policies.
Our Pastor will consult the Pastoral Council on major pastoral concerns which affect the life and mission of the parish; namely, to proclaim the Word, to build up the community, to celebrate liturgy, and to serve all God's people. The Council strives to achieve consensual agreement on recommendations, which affect future directions for spiritual growth and pastoral activity.
3. The Council will not deal with acts of administration.
Matters of administration are distinct from pastoral policies and plans. Acts of administration concern the daily operation of the parish, which includes the implementation of pastoral plans and policies, parish programming, budgeting and personnel matters. Decisions relating to these are the responsibility of the pastor, the Staff or other persons designated by the Pastor, such as the Finance Committee mandated by Canon Law. (#537)
4. The Pastor will preside over the Pastoral Council.
By virtue of his office, the Pastor presides over the Pastoral Council. As presider, he fully participates in the deliberations of the Council and is involved completely in the planning and policy development. He will be responsible for the final approval of Council recommendations concerning pastoral plans and policies as well as for the implementation by parish staff and other groups.
5. The purpose of the Pastoral Council is to promote the spiritual growth of the parish community and to plan ways for the parish to carry out the mission of the church.
The Pastoral Council is a consultative body, which unites laity and clergy in a community of prayer, leadership, service and pastoral planning. All work together as they seek to listen to the Holy Spirit in discerning what is best for the parish in the light of the Gospel, the Church's teaching, and the experiences and needs of parishioners and the surrounding community. The Council can fulfill its role by encouraging a climate in which people can feel free to speak the truth with openness and love.
Spiritual Growth
The primary concern of the Pastoral Council is the spiritual growth of the parish community. In order to contribute to this ongoing spiritual renewal, Council members need to commit themselves to regular times of prayer and study cantered on Jesus and the teachings of the Church. They should strive to build a Christian community with mutual trust and understanding among the members. Ideally they form a group, which serves as a model of prayer, cooperation, celebration and service.
Pastoral Planning
The Council is the pastoral planning body of the parish. It ensures ongoing collaboration in developing and renewing a pastoral plan for the ministries and life of the parish. This pastoral plan must promote the full mission of the Church: the priestly, prophetic and royal mission of Jesus. While other groups may focus on a specific area of the mission and ministry, the Pastoral Council is responsible for determing how the parish can be most effective in fulfilling its total mission. The Council discerns what needs to be supported, changed or developed to make the parish more faithful to the call of God.
Specific activities will include:
- Developing a parish mission statement
- Identifying key needs and concerns
- Synthesizing parish priorities into an ongoing pastoral plan.
- Recommending flexible strategies related to those priorities
- Evaluating progress in achieving the parish plan and goals
