Summary of St. Casimir Pastoral Parish Council Activities

January – June 2014

 

Members of the Pastoral Parish Council (PPC) meet monthly to work with the Pastor on developing the parish life of our members. Parish life includes activities, parishioner involvement and parish growth. Our parish ministry, and the overview of the PPC, extends to both the Lithuanian community as well as the neighborhood community that makes up our parish. We provide advice to the Pastor and the Finance Council, as necessary, regarding the financial health of the parish.

 

Recent activities of the PPC include:

·      Coordination of the forthcoming Parish Directory. The directory is planned for release later this year, in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the creation of St. Casimir Parish. The directory will document our parishioners, our activities and our parish staff.

·      Establishment of a parish website, highlighting our parish activities, Mass schedules & intentions, comments from the Pastor, etc. The website connects the parish and its activities with anyone wanting more information about parish life.

·      Coordinate and review parish functions. Parish functions serve to bring parishioners together, involve parishioners with each other, promote the spiritual life of the parish and raise funds for parish operations. Some of these events include:

o  Altar Society’s Soup for the Soul

o  St. Casimir’s Day celebration

o  Pancake breakfasts

o  Kavute

o  Lenten Devotions (Stations of the Cross, Tenebrae, Cluster Masses)

o  Flower Sale

·      Maintain awareness of major parish changes, such as the forthcoming opening of the Cleveland Breakthrough charter school on our campus, its effect on various parish

activities and organizations.

·      Work with the Pastor on strategic plans to increase our parishioner base, both in the

Lithuanian and local communities. If the parish is to remain vital it needs to grow in

numbers. The role of the parish in the lives of the faithful remains a challenge. The

·      PPC looks for ways to reach out to the community for involvement of those who are not

members of our parish.

·      Listen to the parish community. Members of the PPC try to engage parishioners about

parish life. We listen to what members of the parish see as strengths as well as weaknesses of our parish.

 

The list of activities is not complete; these are only highlights. The PPC works hard to connect the parish mission to the lives of its members. St. Casimir Parish is a beacon of faith to the local community and to the Lithuanian community in Cleveland. The PPC represents the

parishioners in that mission.

        If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please direct them to one of the members of the Council. We encourage your comments and constructive criticism.

 

Deacon Lou Pecek, Chair Rimvydas Cepulis, Vice-Chair Amanda Muliolis, Secretary

Anthony Bacevice Jackie Caruso-Taylor Lenny Kedys,Ted Kowalski Grace Kudukis Sue Milikas, Debbie Zeledonis