Saint John Fisher Pastoral Council Meeting: February 3, 2010

Members present: John Barbieri (Chair), Christina Britt (Vice Chair), Wally Castelo, Lisa Hills, Kyle Felsman, Michael O'Brien, Flo McTaggart, Jay de Miranda, Kathy Keller, Viktor Rzeteljski, J.L. Garcia, and Ann Armstrong.

Others present: Monsignor Sork (Pastor), Mia Counts (Youth Alternate), Grant Hungerford (Director of Music), Allison Graff and John Rusnak.

Members absent: Dave Kurt.

The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by Pastoral Council Chair John Barbieri.

The First Fifteen was led by Ann Armstrong. Sharing followed.

Minutes from the January meeting were reviewed. Ann Armstrong moved and JL Garcia seconded that the minutes be approved, as amended. The motion passed unanimously.

Pastor's Report:

New Church update: It had been given at the Saturday joint session with staff. The SFJ.org website has been updated with new information and graphics from the architect. The website will have up-to-date information on the progress of the new church building plan.

Joint Pastoral Staff/Pastoral Council Meeting:

Msgr. Sork: The Council now knows the staff better because of this type of interaction.

John: It was the most productive meeting he had experienced since being on the Council. He thanked Katherine Coolidge for the exercise from Living Your Strengths. Most people said they were comfortable with the outcome of their tests.

Flo agreed and said Bill Bryan's talk was very illuminating. She was glad to hear that the old church was not simply going to be a gym but also would contain meeting rooms, a library and bookstore.

J.L.: Joint meeting was a good meeting of the minds and thought it good to get two viewpoints on the parish.

John: Would have asked Celeste questions about the school web site and the status of the Parish website if she had been present.

Christ Renews His Parish: Originally initiated at the PC by Viktor, it has been a big success. Msgr. encouraged all of the Pastoral Council to make the weekend retreat. He said it energizes participants and encourages them to take action in the parish.

Pastoral Staff Report:

Grant brought two co-workers: John Rusnak, who is pianist for both the teen and adult choirs. He brings great skill and a sense of humor. He also brought Allison Graff, who has been in the parish for 14 years, also in the music ministry.

Grant's main topic was music in the new church. Having been in the church for 15 years he had experienced the renovation of our current church. In the old church the sound system was only two large amplifiers mounted on the side of the church. When the church was renovated, computer simulators were used to try to simulate the sound. It did not work, and the church had to have its sound system revamped a few years later. Although not perfect it is now much improved over the original renovation attempt.

He said the new church building will give us an opportunity to get the sound right. He gave an update on the current state of sound engineering in the new church. We have retained a sound technician recommended by our architect. We have also retained AMT, a company that does sound for other churches in the Archdiocese. We have also retained an organ consultant at Monsignor Sork's suggestion to discern if it is possible to retain the old organ or any of its parts. Manuel, the organ consultant, has been going through the organ and its pipes to see what might be useable. The current organ has two keyboards which are not considered enough by today's standards. It would not give us enough "color." Our current organ has enough amps for the new church and will be okay for hymns but not for concerts. We do not need more sound but more color; more orchestration, according to Grant.

John Rusnak: Electronic organs are a possibility. He knows of a church in Burbank that has installed a new one. He does not like the sound and says it does not sound like a pipe organ. Some have tried to combine the electronic organ with pipes.

Jay asked about the possibility of purchasing a used organ. Grant: They have considered that and so far have not had much luck. They found a 1917 Skinner organ which was basically good but would have to be re-built at great expense. He said it would cost $750,000 to move the old organ to the new church. A new one could cost $1,000,000. An electronic organ would cost $250,000. John R.. said there is much maintenance cost with a used organ. It would have to be tuned several times a year. He said a new one is a good investment for the parish because it will be good for many years to come. It would only need to be tuned twice a year. He said there is an electronic organ in Bel Air that is not very good because its computer is old. He said we need the colors of a new organ which will give us the full concert range such as gospel or strings. To hear an electronic organ we can go to St. Lawrence Martyr in Redondo Beach.

Grant said we are looking at a pipe display like the one in the architects rendering. (He showed the rendering). All three agreed it should sound like a traditional church sound. He also said a round church created unique sound problems to be solved and there was always the conflict between the spoken word and the music.

Allison Graff teaches music in the classroom and each class receives 45 minutes a week of instruction. It includes music appreciation and music history. Concerts are very important because they integrate the youngest singers and the oldest. The children appreciate the sound of the older singers and she feels it enriches both groups. She also participates with the Parish, so is a rare person who interfaces with both the SJF School and the Parish.

John B. thanked all three for attending and congratulated the Music Ministry for their contribution to Parish life.

Parish Input Project:

Viktor initiated the PIP at the Council and chaired the subcommittee charged with developing recommendations to Msgr. Sork. The subcommittee met and considered all the information gathered from the PIP. The members were Victor, John, Kathy and J.L. They came up with seven recommendations drawn from the seven most frequently mentioned themes.

One obvious result of the PIP was that the Parish data base needed to be updated. There was discussion about the next phase of the PIP, and how often a PIP should take place. There was discussion, but no conclusion.

The Council voted on the seven recommendations. Viktor said he had contacted the Council prior to the meeting to gauge the mood of the PC.

The top ranking issue of the PIP had to do with parishioner desire to eliminate the "Stewardship Reflection," the announcement that takes place before weekly collections at Mass. The Council, like the parishioners surveyed, supported the elimination of the Reflection. Monsignor Sork asked that the issue be referred to the Stewardship Council. Other PIP issues dealt with the new church project (better educating parishioners on its need), providing a more welcoming environment, orientation for new parishioners, and Parish priests with language barriers.

Other Business:

There was a discussion of having Parish-wide events during Year of the Priest and beyond. There was also discussion about a 50th Anniversary/Jubilee year special event or events. It was suggested that we might invite our priests to talk about their lives during the Jubilee in light of our emphasis on vocations. John suggested a committee be considered to plan events.

Kyle gave an update on World Youth Day.

Together in Mission: John encouraged everyone on the committee was encouraged to participate in order to help less fortunate Parishes in the Archdiocese.

John led the Closing Prayer of St. John Fisher and the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.