Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon

Archdiocesan Pastoral Council

MINUTES

September 30, 2006

St. Cyril Parish, Wilsonville

Present: Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Jesus Bojorges, Thom Faller, Michelle Forster, Sr. Ruth Frank, Fr. Don Gutmann, Bruce Heldt, Eloisa Hernandez, F.J. Maloney, Eleanor Myers, Pat Ridenour, and Deacon An Vu

Staff Present: Todd Cooper and Fr. Chuck Lienert

Not Present: Clint Bentz (E), Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (E), Mother Francine Cardew, B.J. Finleybranch, Ray Houghton (E), Rick Nelson (E), Francisco Peña, Diane Peterson (E) & Fr. Dick Rossman (E). E = Excused

The twenty-second meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was called to order at 10:05am by the council chair, F.J. Maloney.

Michelle Forster led the opening prayer. The minutes from the April 22, 2006 meeting of the APC were approved. The meeting agenda was approved.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

F.J. Maloney reported. The agenda for the meeting was in large part pre-determined by the annual vicariate meetings of pastoral councils held last spring and by the upcoming pastoral assembly.

As the council chair, F.J. Sent a letter to Queen of Peace regarding their concerns about maintaining a viable prison ministry (See ATTACHMENT A).

BANKRUPTCY UPDATE

Fr. Dennis O’Donovan reported. It was two years ago as of July 6 that the Archdiocese of Portland declared bankruptcy. Resolving the sexual abuse claims has always been a goal for the archdiocese. The property issue took a great deal of time to address (about 18 months). Initial judgments in Spokane and then here in Portland went against the Church. However, the reversal of the Spokane judge’s property ruling has changed the climate. In addition, a ruling in favor of the Church that its endowment fund is indeed a fund held in trust has been a positive development. A gag order was put into effect.

On both sides now, there has been a good spirit of wanting to get the issues resolved. There has been success on two fronts – with the insurers and with the plaintiffs. The two mediators have been excellent. One has worked almost exclusively with the insurers. In order to get out of bankruptcy, half of the claims need to be settled and two thirds of the monetary issues resolved.

There have been two rounds of layoffs in the last three years in order to help pay legal fees and fund settlements. In the first round, twenty-five people were let go and in the second round, fourteen people were let go. Prior to the bankruptcy, the Archdiocese of Portland paid out about twenty-seven million dollars in settlements and insurance companies paid out an additional twenty-six million dollars.

The archdiocese is committed to an ongoing focus on child protection. The Office of Child Protection and Victims Assistance is now full time. An excellent lay Ministry Review Board also is in place and working well.

ANNUAL VICARIATE MEETINGS OF PASTORAL COUNCILS

The vicariate representatives who were present each gave reports on their Annual Vicariate Meeting of Pastoral Councils (AVMPC). Most of the meetings took place last spring. At those meetings, parishes from each vicariate were asked to report on some of their “best practices” as related to each of the top three pastoral priorities (faith formation at all levels, youth & young adult ministry, and multicultural ministry). In addition, vicariates were provided with a framework for discussion on “Moving beyond bankruptcy” (See ATTACHMENT B). The results of the best practices sharing at these meetings will be reported at the upcoming Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly. The archbishop remarked that these annual vicariate meetings are unique and important. These meetings are not envisioned as simply another vicariate meeting, which are sometimes attended only by pastors and parish staff persons. These annual meetings are envisioned as a gathering of all of the pastoral councils within a vicariate to help pastors with pastoral planning. Getting the pastoral councils together is the goal. This creates good cross-fertilization, collaboration, and greater involvement in pastoral planning.

Clint Bentz Albany-Corvallis/Santiam

Clint Bentz was away on a scheduled absence and did not make a report.

Thom Faller Beaverton Suburban

The vicariate met on June 17 at St. John Fisher Parish. Four of five parishes were represented. Each parish shared its implementation of the three pastoral priorities and what they regarded as their best practices. The parish council chairs were favorable toward a recommendation that they meet periodically for input and sharing of information.

Michelle Forster Columbia County/Middle Coast/North Coast

Michelle represents three different vicariates. A summary of their discussions is grouped under the headings of the three pastoral priorities. Faith Formation: Use education from the pulpit as a teaching tool. Have vicariate level retreats. Put family sharing questions in bulletins. Invite speakers. Use media to advertise RCIA classes. Have family potlucks. Multicultural Ministry: Share culture with food. Bilingual bulletins. Missions and retreats. Combine music. Combine communities. Integrate religious education & prayer groups. Youth & Young Adult Ministry: Youth retreats and camping. SVDP sponsors a free lunch for teens on Thursday afternoons that draws about eighty kids. Involve youth in Mass once a month – lectors, gift bearers. Increase parent involvement (i.e. lock-ins and trips). Highlight Confirmation classes & keep kids involved afterward. Have teens involved in social justice issues (i.e. soup kitchens or Habitat for Humanity).

F.J. Maloney Downtown/Southeast Portland

Downtown had its best meeting ever. Twenty-five people attended and all parishes were represented. Fr. Ron Raab spoke of some activities downtown. They have a Saturday morning faith formation radio program. They also have an “underwear Wednesday” Mass when they ask people to bring undergarments to donate since there is such a need for these clothing items. They involve kids in serving at the soup kitchen. The website is also a tool of evangelization and communication. There is a new pastor at St. Michael’s. It is an Italian parish. They have outreach to Muslims. The pastoral priorities set by the archdiocese are having an influence.

Southeast runs itself. They have monthly meetings with twenty-five people in attendance and they meet over lunch. Mostly parish staff attend, but some parishioners are there as well. Only seven of thirteen parishes were at this meeting. Youth ministry is a big focus. Communication & networking are excellent. An interactive diocesan website is desired.

Diane Peterson East Portland Suburban/South Ptld. Suburban

Diane was away on a scheduled vacation and did not report.

Bruce Heldt Metropolitan Eugene

Fr. Rossman volunteered to help with the meeting, even though Fr. Steve Clovis is the vicar. Collaboration is needed. Catholic education is strong in Eugene.

Francisco Peña Metropolitan Salem

Eloisa Hernandez reported. Four of five parishes were well represented. Each parish reported on their activities related to the pastoral priorities. Queen of Peace is concerned about child care and prison ministry. Young adult ministry and faith formation are going well, with monthly Theology on Tap meetings and an evolution from the Generations of Faith program, respectively. They are hoping to get the entire community together on a weekly basis for ongoing faith formation. St. Edwards is excited about its new perpetual adoration chapel which opened a couple of months ago. Everyone came together for the endeavor. They have an English Masses in the morning and a Spanish Mass at 12:30pm. They are working to blend the communities. Two people from the Spanish community serve on the pastoral council. Personal invitations are extended and once a month, name tags are worn & introduction by name happens at sign of peace and at breakfast following Mass. A parish picnic is planned after the Spanish Mass. There is an English/Spanish ladies “Bunco” night. Blended food activities are planned. They are planning to gather for a bi-lingual, bi-cultural class together. Volunteer recognition is once per year. St. Vincent’s is giving much focus to catechesis before Mass begins. They have adoration once per month for a few hours. Spanish children are integrated with English children for education. Sr. Guadalupe works with the adults at the same time. The Spanish liturgy is growing and going well. An English as a Second Language (ESL) program will begin in September. St. Joseph’s had a retreat for its pastoral council to evaluate the diocesan pastoral plan. They reflected on their progress in two years and on where they want to be by the end of the third year. Cultural diversity is a strength of the parish. To integrate the English, Spanish, and Vietnamese communities, they began a Multicultural Festival three years ago. It has been a great success, sharing food, art, conversations and relationships. The energy created lasted for months. The three communities come together for a beautiful, tri-lingual Holy Thursday Mass. Their Our Lady of Guadalupe Festival has grown to include all of Salem and Keizer. Many parishes contribute to the event. Grant money is being used for ESL. Catholics Come Home has gone well. It is hoped that the vicariate will give more emphasis to prison ministry. The vicariate may also want to look at sharing hospital ministry. A regional Serra club is active. Having monthly vicariate events for youth was discussed.

B.J. Finleybranch Northeast Portland

Parishes

Eleanor Myers South Coast

Fr. Don Gutmann wrote the meeting report. The annual meeting was held on May 13, 2006 at St. Monica Parish in Coos Bay. About thirty people attended from eight parishes/missions. Holy Trinity had a parish visioning process with Don Murray, PhD, out of which a spirituality committee and a community building committee developed. They have a Wednesday night community Mass and dinner and religious education program that is very highly attended. There is a youth Mass on Sunday evening that has a youth band and ministries are performed by youth. This is followed by a Life Night (youth group meeting). Port Orford, St. John has a publicity committee that puts articles in local newspapers often, especially effective with photos. Lots of good free P.R. that’s good for evangelism. An ecumenical cookbook was put together by all the Christian churches in town and also a weekly ecumenical bible study takes place. Next year, it will share a youth minister (25%) with Bandon. Gold Beach, St. Charles has a Little Rock Bible Study with about 30 participants. They have a series for “Rusty” Catholics, but attendance is poor. They encourage Cursillo weekends and Life in the Spirit seminars to help people to come to a personal experience of God. Brookings, Star of the Sea held a Friday/Saturday parish retreat, no charge, good attendance. They also did a two part video series w/discussion on John Paul and about 50 people attended. They are encouraging parents to attend children’s R.E. and it is working well. Reedsport, St. John has a Catholicism 101 biweekly class on Sunday mornings, beginning with talking about the parts of the Mass – good attendance. They have a home study R.E. for kids. They are encouraging participation in Liturgical Ministries and currently have 50 liturgical ministers from a 100 family parish. North Bend, Holy Redeemer, like Holy Trinity, has used Don Murray, PhD for a visioning process. He is Catholic, free to parishes, and effective. They have a Wednesday night Mass/potluck with religious education for children and adults. Emmaus Retreats: had 19 women attending evangelizing retreat. Smorgasbord with the Saints: seasonal ethnic celebrations that have included Native American, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, and Filipinos. Coos Bay, St. Monica has 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration with North Bend parish. They have 70+ people in small faith sharing groups, using parish-made materials. Catholic Chapter book club Reads & discusses one chapter out of a different inspirational book each week and has good attendance. Some participate without coming to the small group. It introduces people to a lot of good Catholic books. Hispanic ministry is expanding greatly with an Hispanic priest (Fr. Angel). Coquille, Holy Family has a spaghetti feed dinner once a year, that pulls in the community. They occasional have Aramaic Masses. Florence, St. Mary, Our Lady of the Dunes has Generations of Faith: Seasonal 3 hr teaching/meal/prayer session. Focuses have been Advent, Triduum, Mary, Pentecost and Joseph. Popular & good attendance. Religious Ed on Wednesday evenings for K-12, beginning with optional simple meal, gathering/prayer time with all together, then split into 3 groups (K-5, 6-8, 9-12), older kids become ministers to the younger kids. Youth Minister is going to public high schools with free pizza 1x/week to hangout with the kids at lunch, good tool for evangelism, especially for the marginal Catholics. Also starting LifeTeen/Edge program, impressed with the results so far.

In the context of a vicariate discussion about the bankruptcy, Lawrence from Bandon/Port Orford gave a detailed report on how they feel they could save a lot of money by finding their own insurance outside of the archdiocesan insurance. They recommend that the diocese tell parishes what amounts of insurance coverage they must carry and give parishes a list of recommended insurance companies, and then let the parishes shop for their best rates. There was a lot of discussion about this, quite a bit of support, but also some concerns. It was decided that parishes would study Lawrence’s report and reply by 9/1/06 if they wanted to sign on with the recommendation.

Rick Nelson Southern Oregon

On May 20th, 2006 the Southern Oregon Vicariate assembled various pastoral councils from participating parishes and held a meeting at St. Anne Church in Grants Pass. 1. General consensus is that much more could be done in the way of teaching via Sunday homilies. Many complained that controversial topics are avoided as these may offend people and thus a great teaching opportunity is lost. 2. Smaller parishes do not have many youth or young adults so Priority II is not as important to them. 3. We learned that the "Legion of Mary" has an extensive youth program that is apparently underutilized. What efforts can we make to spread the word about this organization and get parishes up to speed? 4. Sunday evening Mass, be it family or youth, was considered a great idea; too bad many parishes do not have this liturgy. 5. Require a way to strengthen high school ministry. Would it be possible to have a Neumann type club on campuses to help youth explore and live their faith? 6. Require all parishes to have Adoration at least two times a month to increase awareness of the Blessed Sacrament. 7. Boycott the movie "Da Vinci Code".

Jesús Bojorges Tualatin Valley

The Tualatin Valley Vicariate met on June 17, 2006. Six of seven parishes participated, with two to three people from each parish. Each parish shared its best practices as related to the pastoral priorities. St. Anthony has a youth Mass and a youth group. Their Hispanic ministry is doing very well. They have good programs such as Adelante Mujeres, Head Start, and ESL. They are trying to integrate the communities by making most events bi-lingual. Vacation bible school this year is called GIFT. A spring music liturgy workshop was very good. St. Edward does not see the need to have Mass in another language, however, they will consider offering one to find out how many Spanish speakers are in the community. In the spring, Bishop Steiner goes to the migrant camps to celebrate Mass for those who cannot attend regularly. The parish has Adoration once a month. They have a Christmas festival. St. Matthew has a five-year parish plan in place. Parents of second grade students in the catechetical program are required to attend a parent class four times during the year. It has been well-received. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has a youth Mass once per month. They have a strong music program and Hispanic programs. They have Spanish, Vietnamese, and English parishioners. They have Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays. They want to build a religious education facility. St. Alexander offers most services in English and Spanish. Parish committees are bi-lingual. The parish sponsored a letter-writing campaign in support of just and humane immigration laws – delivering 1500 letters to legislators. They are preparing for Generations of Faith this fall. They have a well-developed ministry to families with disabilities in Spanish. It includes Mass on the first Sunday of the month, sacramental preparation, annual retreat, and parent support. St. Francis of Assisi in Roy supports a school, which serves as the impetus for many of its community activities. They are not aware of any non-English speakers in their parish boundaries. St. Francis is an Eucharist-centered parish. They have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Wednesday and an organized ministry of taking the Eucharist to the sick and shut-ins. They have regular teaching homilies. The school kids help with the Mass ministries every Friday as well as once per month on Sunday. The parish has retreats and spiritual enrichment seminars. CYO is supported. Would CYO soccer be a way of helping English and Spanish speaking communities work together? Today’s young people are the key to uniting us.

Can Catholic education be part of the dialogue at the vicariate level? Regarding the immigration issue, there are still latent prejudices out there as evidenced by the “minutemen” group that is picketing day-laborer gathering sites so undocumented workers won’t be hired.

Ray Houghton West Portland Suburban

The annual vicariate meeting was held at Our Lady of the Lake Parish on Jun 21, 2006.

Best Practices – Archdiocesan Priorities

• St Francis

– Adult Faith Formation – Small teams to form “Our Lady Program”, small faith sharing groups – Disciples in Mission, Eucharistic Adoration

– YYA- Completed youth retreat, bring into parish the Sherwood community, need to find way to hire YYA Dir. Started Life Teen volunteer group.

– Multi Cultural – Looked into Hispanic ministry incorporation into Parish. Incorporated Feast into church activities.

• St Anthony

– Adult Faith Formation – added Korean Mass, started planning of Adult Faith Formation program under directors of Liturgy and Rel Ed.

– YYA- Student member on council reports from Youth Ministry. Record youth confirmation of 48.

– Multi Cultural Ministry- Hired full time Hispanic Minister/continued growth in Hispanic community.

• St Clare

– Adult Faith Formation – Adult Ed classes held on regular basis between the two main Sunday masses. The Lay Voice group of the Church have sponsored several information and discussion groups. Men’s Retreat’s held four times per year.. Women’s retreat gathered under the Emmaus model

– YYA- Hired Full time youth minister and that program is growing.

• St Cyril

– Adult Faith Formation – Held Guest Speaker programs, Women’s Emmaus program, Men’s Emmaus treats, Coffee Creek Prison Ministry.

– YYA- Hired HS Youth Minister, 25 kids attend youth group. Teen Habitat for Humanity formed with other Wilsonville Church., middle school youth group formed with 30-40 teens, Block Buster movies for bible study community service projects,

– Multi Cultural- Deaf Mass, Spanish incorporated into Mass, Spanish incorporated into bible study, Ethnic dinners held.

• Resurrection

– Adult Faith Formation – Formed Faith sharing groups, sacrament of sick after mass group formed, women’s bible study and committee for Peace and Social Justice formed.

– YYA- Confirmed 42 youth, youth group traveled to Mexico to build house.

– Multicultural – adopted Honduran Parish, Hired Hispanic Deacon, finishing shrine of Guadalupe

• Our Lady of the Lake

– YYA - Established Life Teen Program and established new Mass schedule with Sunday 6PM mass devoted to Life Teen. Established youth “Ropes Course” with daily Mass. 250 kids will attend.

Beyond Bankruptcy – Open Discussion & Recommendations

– St Elizabeth/Resurrection

Establish way to communicate Vicariate news in each parish bulletin or web site.

Join with other parishes that have thriving YYA program (ex. OLL) and develop joint programs

– St Francis

Use ministry sign up for identifying unidentified gifts

Have ministry chairs give short talk at mass about their ministry

Collaborate with other parishes to develop YYA

Faith Café – each Sherwood church feeds the hungry, why not do this at the Vicariate level.

– St Anthony

Concentrate on “fallen away Catholics” with hospital ministry, concentration on college age youth, group sessions to resolve old hurts, perceptions.

– St Cyril

Use church census to find out the “hidden gifts” of parishioners.

Share resources with other parishes ex: YYA OLL, Coffee Creek prison ministry.

Plan joint Vicariate YYA activities. Youth Ministers to get together this summer.

– Our Lady of the Lake

Take small steps in YYA at the Vicariate level. Hold social gathering one time per year

Get parishes together to talk about “Just Faith” program

Share purchasing power of the 7 parishes for maintenance contracts.

– St Clare

Get parish councils together to start process of sharing ideas and best practices on a regular basis.

Vicariate Priorities

Develop one youth event per year starting 2H06.

• Vicariate youth directors to start meeting regularly- priests to hold them accountable.

• Other parishes in Vicariate to leverage off OLL youth program.

• Fr. Sean Weeks and Fr. Bill Moisant to meet this summer to schedule youth event.

Vicariate Communications

• Pastoral Council chairs to meet quarterly – Jeff Wiren ( St Francis) to schedule

• Exchange ministry chairman list - on web sites

• Establish Vicariate web site and link each parish website, possibly establish BLOG site.

Social Justice

• Pastoral Council Chairs to meet this summer and establish/ report on priorities.

Pat Ridenour Yamhill County/Marion County

There was no Marion County meeting. The Yamhill County Vicariate meeting had representatives from all of its parishes. The Vicariate meets regularly once per month. St. Peter’s has bible studies, Hispanic ministries and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Friday. For the youth, they participate in the JOIN Immersion program. They had a viewing of the Passion of Christ, a middle school retreat by NET Ministries, RC Challenge, BBQ’s after Mass on Sundays, Our Lady of Guadalupe dinner and a Valentine’s Day dinner & dance.

LUNCH 12pm to 1pm

ARCHBISHOP’S REPORT

Priests’ Convocation: The Annual Priests’ Convocation is coming up next week and will be held in Newport. The agenda reflects some of the ongoing work of the Presbyteral Council. Confirmation policies have been reviewed with an eye toward providing comparable sacramental ministry from parish to parish. Another question being addressed is how to best support our Catholic schools. A financial formula is being discussed that would consider parish income.

Vocations: Ten or eleven new seminarians entered this fall, which brings the total number of seminarians at all levels to about thirty-five. Around nine of these are Hispanic vocations. Six deacons will be ordained on December 9, 2006.

Mt. Angel Seminary: Mt. Angel Seminary is doing well. It is the premier seminary on the West Coast. 180 seminarians are currently enrolled. A new academic center will be dedicated before Thanksgiving. The abbey is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

Annual Appeal: The Annual Appeal has been a big success. This year’s goal was to raise 3.15 million dollars. Almost four million dollars have been pledged. Cash receipts are already almost 3.15 million. There are 2500 more donors this year than last. The average donor gave ten dollars more this year. Many thanks to all of those who have been so generous in responding.

Oregon Catholic Conference: The archdiocese is currently without staff right now for the Oregon Catholic Conference (OCC). This is a concern during an election year. The OCC board will meet in December to discuss a strategy for the upcoming legislative year. While the Church cannot speak about candidates, it does want to speak to important issues.

Pastoral Center Reorganization: Summer was marked by the reorganization at the Pastoral Center. There are now fourteen fewer people. There were 1.9 million dollars in budget cuts. A meeting with pastors revealed that they do not want to let go of some of the administrative services offered by the Pastoral Center and so that meant that some of the pastoral priorities were cut. In the face of these challenges, we are doing our jobs and working through everything. Despite the difficulties, the archbishop still likes his job. He has been bishop here for nine years now.

Other Items of Note: Many may have heard that Cardinal George has cancer. He had major and invasive surgery in July. His recovery has had some frustrating setbacks. Please keep him in prayer.

The Archdiocese of Portland is celebrating 160 years as an archdiocese this fall. A major capital campaign will probably be needed within the next five years.

IMPLEMENTATION OF PASTORAL PRIORITIES

Todd Cooper reported. Retreat resources are being gathered to include with the information already posted on the diocesan website. The African American community is working to develop web pages to be part of a larger, multicultural web pages section on the diocesan website. The Hispanic Ministry Office is also gathering resources for web pages. Other ethnic groups will be invited to do the same.

ARCHDIOCESAN PASTORAL ASSEMBLY

Todd Cooper reported. A planning team of eleven people, including several members of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC), has been meeting since early August to make preparations for the upcoming pastoral assembly. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly will be held on November 10 & 11, 2006 at St. Pius X Catholic Church. The gathering will include the pastor and two pastoral council representatives from every parish. The assembly will focus on the theme of “hope”. The keynote speaker will be Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, who will speak about multicultural ministry. Archbishop Vlazny will give a pastoral address. A report will be given on the work of the APC. Vicariates will meet to discuss ways in which they can collaborate in pastoral ministry. Ministry success stories related to the top three pastoral priorities will be shared. Mass will be celebrated, and new members will be elected to sit on the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.

The meeting concluded with a prayer led by Bruce Heldt.

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, December 2, 2006

from 10am to 3pm

at the Griffin Center