Meeting Minutes

A reception for the married couples who celebrated their special Wedding Anniversaries in 2019, will be held on Sunday December 29, 2019, after the 10:00 a.m. Mass.  There will be a catered luncheon.  Music will be provided by Gene Woodell. Married couples will receive a gift of remembrance in honor
of their wedding anniversaries.   We will also honor any parishioner who has had a baby in 2019. The families of these babies will also receive a suitable gift. This reception will be held in conjunction with the Married Couples Reception.

Suggestions for the renovation of restrooms of the church had a detailed discussion. Because of financial limitations we decided to review it again in the future.

Book Study: The book “Rediscover Saints” by Matthew Kelly, which will be given as a Christmas gift to the parishioners, is planned for a Book Study in the first part of 2020.

Meals on Wheels Project of our parish, that serves between 85 to 95 people of our community on one Saturday of every month, is being continued smoothly. 223 families in our community were served with Thanksgiving Baskets this year.

The council members were informed about the present status of Religious Education and Youth Ministry Programs, which are being continued effectively, with Josh Calhoun added as new High School Youth Minister.

Finance: The Finance Council Chairperson presented the current financial report for the church. St. Anthony KIDS School continues to be a concern because the 4-year-old program has substantially dropped due to the state offering free PreK for children.

Church Security: Serious discussions were made as a continuation of the last meetings’ discussions. It was reported to the members about a seminar at First Baptist Church, Bryan, attended by Deacon Mike Beauvais, Johnny Fazzino, Donnie Manry and Becky Scamardo to obtain information on how to maintain church security.  Some suggestions will be given to Finance Council for further action.

The Feast of St. Anthony on June 13, 2020, falls Saturday. It was decided to move our parish celebrations in 2020 to Monday, June 15, with 6:00 p.m. Mass will be followed by a procession and reception as we have had in the previous years.

It was reported that a letter has been sent to parishioners and an announcement made concerning the refurbishing of the stained-glass windows of St. Anthony Church. Parishioners have been encouraged to donate, if possible, to the enhancement of the windows. Memorial plaques will be used to honor
the families of donors.

Our next meeting is set for Thursday, February 20, at 6:30 PM in the Conference Room.

Honoring the Graduates: Discussions were made regarding the Mass and the reception to honor the High School Graduates of 2018, who belong to our parish. It will be on June 3, 2018 with 10:00 a.m. Mass. Pam Perrone from the Pastoral Council and Cody Ponzio, the High School Youth Minister will give leadership to the program with the assistance of other Pastoral Council Members and a group of parents.

The Feast of St. Anthony will be celebrated on June 13 at 6:00 p.m. with Mass and a procession. Details regarding the Mass, Procession, and meal was discussed and
finalized. Various Council Members were assigned with different responsibilities connected with the celebration.

Special Mass for Sick and Home Bound will be celebrated on September 8, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. There will be a brunch served after the Mass. The Pastoral Council will provide the meal.

Voting for new members to the Pastoral Council will occur on two weekends in June: June 16/17 and again on June 23/24. The ballots will be passed out at each weekend Mass. There will be 2 pastoral council members at each Mass
to help distribute and collect the ballots.

Evangelization and Spiritual Development Commission is currently discussing a summer video series. Catholicism will be the first DVD shown. This is the DVD that was given to the parishioners as Easter gift. Judy Comeaux will work on the details of the program.

Renting of St. Anthony Pavilion: Discussions were made about the renting of St. Anthony Pavilion. More discussions will be made in the next meeting.

The next meeting is set for Sunday, July 29, at 6:30 PM in the Conference Room.

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Anthony parish was held on April 5, 2018.
Discussions were made on how to make the church more secure from any kind of attacks. A community awareness program is under consideration, and we are waiting for the information from the diocese on this matter.

The youth of the parish who are graduating this year from high school will be honored and congratulated during a Mass at the end of May or the beginning of June, followed by a reception and meal.

The Feast of St. Anthony will be celebrated on June 13, with a Novena starting June 4. After the Mass on June 13, we plan to have a Solemn Procession with the statue and relic of St. Anthony, and finish everything with a light meal.
It was informed that our Meals on Wheels Program continue to function well, serving 93 meals to the needy in March.

It was reported that our parish will have a Parish Mission on the weekend of April 14-15.

Copies of the new brochure prepared to pass out to the people who are visiting, were distributed among members and all expressed their happiness in the brochure.

The Feast of St. Isidore will be celebrated with a special Mass at San Salvador Church on May 15, at 10:00 a.m.

Discussions were continued on the celebration of Wedding Anniversaries of the parishioners.

The election process for new Pastoral Council Members will start the beginning of June.

A meeting of the Pastoral Council of St. Anthony parish was held on January 11, 2018.

A short review of finances of the parish was made, and found that our church finances are doing well. It was reported that KIDS Program is going on pretty well with more kids in the register. It was also informed that the Building Fund is primarily used for emergency church upkeep items, not major repairs, such as replacing AC/Heating.

A report was given about the updates implemented to secure the church building and the rectory. More security cameras will be installed soon. There was a discussion on celebrating special wedding anniversaries. These would be those celebrating the following years of marriage: 1, 10, 25, 40, 50, and 55+. A committee was formed to work out details of this special celebration which will be occurring on August 18 after 5:00 p.m. Mass. Those who had/have their wedding anniversary in between January 1, 2017 and August 18, 2018 will be recognized and celebrated. Details will be finalized in the next meeting. It was reported that attendance at mid-night Mass in connection with Christmas 2017 was better than recent previous years.

It was reported that the Red-C Catholic Radio Family Retreat (January 5-7, 2018) which was held on the St. Anthony Church facility grounds had Twenty-four families participated from various Catholic parishes. In connection with social action it was reported that our church supplied 216 families with Thanksgiving baskets in connection with Thanksgiving Day 2017. The Advent Giving tree was another success and supplied 250 families with gifts. Meals on Wheels usually serve around 100 meals to needy folks every month.

Discussions were made regarding Church Security during Mass. A suggestion came up that we put together a safety awareness class for our church community. More discussion will follow in the next meeting.

Primary discussions were made on the celebration of the Feast of St. Anthony. More discussions will follow the next meeting.

Our next meeting is set for Thursday, April 5, at 6:30 in the SAY room.