Find creative ways to support our Welcoming Committee in reaching out to new and potential members.

§  Review and evaluate a standard protocol of welcome and invitation for all potential new members of the community

§  Invite new members to become an active part of the church community through membership in parish groups, ministries and activities

§  Work in support of creating, designing and promoting efforts to build a new parish hall that would allow for increased social and community activities

§  Greeters; Have one or two greeters outside church to welcome people as they walk through the door. (Lectures and Eucharistic ministers would still be in the back of the church but to the side so they don't appear to be a greeter or so people aren't coming to mass feeling like they are walking through a reception line).

§  At Mass; Acknowledge visitors at mass - perhaps ask visitors to stand at beginning of Mass so they can be welcomed and ask where they are from

§  Ushers should also greet, seat and move people in pews towards center or to the front of the church.

§  Table; Once a month the welcoming committee will have a table outside church after mass to allow parishioners to update their personal information and provide ministry opportunities.

§  On Time; Start Mass on time so people would arrive on time

§  Name Tags; Have a 'Name tag Sunday"

§  Outgoing; Step out of our comfort zone and take 3 to 5 minutes to talk with someone you don't know, especially those that look like they are visiting or are new to the parish.

§  NOTE: this is a parish effort, not just a welcoming committee effort.

§  Our hall is not very welcoming in itself.  A new hall would greatly enhance the welcoming efforts.

§  Discussion of the value of a personal phone call rather than a mailing to new parishioners.

§  Youth and singles need to be included.  Youth music, youth mass perhaps at the 11:30 mass.

§  A short bio and pictures of new parishioners and those new to a ministry sent out in a flyer.

§  Need to spread the word that information is available on our website.

§  The Welcoming Committee has a staff of 8 parishioners but is looking for more volunteers. Marie Bonilla from the Welcoming Committee was present at this gathering and was very available, enthusiastic, and welcomed new ideas and volunteers

Celebrate, promote and expand the awareness of the social gospel in order to move beyond charity to justice.

§  Demonstrate and promote the grace of “conversion” that comes through service and outreach

§  Our Needs; Develop and promote a system to identify and address the needs of members of our own parish community

§  Awareness; Raise social and political awareness through education

§  Move from Charity to Justice. The parish is already involved in a lot of charity work. It would be better to focus our attention on the root causes of why there is a need for charity. Are health care, minimum wages and immigration laws just? Working on these bigger social justice issues will result in less need for charity.

§  Address causes for the need for outreach
Health Care
Immigration Issues
Minimum Wage

§  Focus on the needs of the elderly in Lafayette.

§  Children getting involved with Agencies and Charities.

§  More opportunities for children to volunteer time to the needy.

§  System to identify needs of parishioners. i.e.: internet, calls etc.

§  Focus on the mentally ill.

§  Sick and homebound

§  Place basket for toiletry drop off in back of church and donate to charity.

Develop a process to discern and understand the obstacles to fuller participation in the life of the church and propose ways to address and overcome them.

§  Audit; Conduct an audit of parishioner occupation, skills and interests

§  Recruit; Develop annual recruitment calendar for various ministries: education, outreach, senior groups, social justice, women’s group, carnival, etc.

§  Support; Actively support and train volunteers

§  In Sunday’s bulletin a “ministries corner”. Recap any ministry’s/committee work and bullet point volunteer needs, skills, contact person.

§  One time each month follow homily with a 2-minute ministry report & volunteer needs perhaps coordinated to Homily, related social outreach.

§  Revive Stewardship committee:

o   Conduct an audit

o   Coordinate skills with needs

o   Arrange/provide support and training for volunteers

o   Manage Parish wide Ministry Calendar of Events.

§  Prevent overlap

§  Coordinate activities pertinent to special occasions i.e. Christmas,  Easter

§  Parish Picnic & Winter potluck:

o   Highlight ministries

o   Organize food by ministry, vote on best food i.e.: Knights of Columbus vs. Shelter Food Outreach group

§  Women’s Guild. Revive to include Stewardship role

Further develop and support volunteers and staff committed to building programs and activities that will engage and inspire our youth.

§  Youth Board; Create a Youth Board comprised of parents and program leaders

§  Middle & High School; Utilize Youth Board to address key issue of greater engagement of Middle School and High School age youth

§  Integrate; Develop strategy to better integrate all Parish Youth and their families

§   Youth Mass – This idea comes up time & again, but we don’t seem quite able to get it off the ground well at our Parish.  A suggestion was that the future Youth Board review Youth Masses at St. Monica & Santa Maria, as they are reportedly well attended.  There maybe “best practices” there re: format, linking to a social gathering, music, etc.  Music was viewed as a key component for drawing youth. 

§   Training - It was suggested that we investigate training opportunities for our Youth staff that support them in leading & guiding youth.  It was noted that leading teenagers is a unique challenge and that some type of training or sharing of “best practices” with other parishes might be very helpful.

§   Community Service – A key idea that arose was centering high school Youth gatherings on community service, noting that all high school students are required to perform community service hours.  It was felt that if our Youth group gatherings offered a way for students to meet those hour requirements, attendance would likely be much greater.  This would give another purpose to Youth group gatherings, making the time commitment a greater priority for busy high school students.

§   Spiritual, “Fun” & Alternate Social Outlet – It was also noted that the Youth group meetings do offer a needed spiritual opportunity for youth beyond the mass.  Many students enjoy/need this spiritual opportunity to better balance school, sports, etc. Coupled with this spiritual or service opportunity, is a need that the Youth events  also offer social “fun time”.  One suggestion was that after Youth Group students bonded through community service efforts, offer a “reward”-type social event for their accomplishments, i.e. a trip to Marine World for all who achieve x # of hours.  Lastly, it was noted that youth also enjoy Youth gatherings as an alternate social outlet for meeting with kids from other schools, for a break from their own particular school “scene”.

Develop a Communications Committee entrusted with the task of enhancing both the internal communications and external public relations of the St. Perpetua community.

§   Audit; Conduct a parish-wide communications audit and recommendation report

§   Mixer; Empower the Pastoral Council to promote the annual ministry mixer to facilitate communication, networking and understanding for mutual support

§   Tools; Create a more effective communications tool to share key calendar dates, events and happenings among committees, boards and ministries.

§   Website; Create a vital website with meaningful communication of the mission of the various committees and their accomplishments/needs throughout the year.

§   External Communication; Develop an active external communications program.

§   Calendar; Use the St. P. Web-Site as an interactive calendaring tool for all committees, councils, and ministries.

§   Tailor Correspondence; Survey parish membership to find out specific member’s specific areas of interest and tailor correspondence to those events that correspond to their interests

§   Publicize; Work with local publications (Lafayette Sun, Contra Costa Times, Catholic Voice) to publicize events/programs of broader local interest

§   Mailer; Develop a direct mailer (possibly a refrigerator magnet) to showcase dates of a key parish events of broad interest (include mass times, website and phone number) and mail to each parish family

§   Planning; Require every parish committee to have an April calendaring meeting to identify their key event dates and then send their designate to an Annual May Parish-Wide Calendaring event to create an annual calendar for the parish

§   Eight out of the ten members said the best way for them to find out about parish events and happenings is through personal e-mail. The other two said the bulletin was the best mechanism, but said an e-mail would be useful. There’s new technology that would allow St. P. to send personalized e-mail alerts (and even the full bulletin) at less than a penny a mailing. I suggest that this is a very viable way to take our communications into the 21^st Century.

§   Discussion about the value of a personal phone call of invitation to get people involved (this may better fit under Goal 3)

§   Discussion about the serious need to update the Parish database

§   Need to audit the skill set of the parish members to discern where we can better tap into resources (again, probably most appropriate for goal 3)

Form a Facilities Steering Committee to advise pastor and to provide vision and commitment to continuing new construction and improvements that support the attainment of our mission.

§  Communicate; The Facilities Steering Committee will provide background information to parishioners, including needs and plans, and elicit parish-wide support of a revised Phase II Capital Campaign

§  Prioritize; In consultation with the Finance Council and professional consultants, the Committee reviews available funds and funding resources to confirm and prioritize projects in light of Parish Survey and the Pastoral Council’s following recommendations

§  Focus; Parish Council strongly recommends that emphasis be placed on the construction of a new and significantly expanded church hall that would allow for multiple purpose use for all parish ministries, as well as the remodeling and refurbishing of the existing church.

§  Steering Committee; Facilities Steering Committee reevaluates and renews fund raising activities for the next phase of construction and renovation program

§  Build; Initiate construction or renovation

§  The cost of a new Community Center will range from $5 to $7 million of which the Parish has $1 million of seed money on hand from the first capital campaign.

§  The process will begin with a feasibility study during which an outside consultant will gauge the fundraising potential for this project.  If this study suggests it is possible for the church to raise the necessary funds, the project would move forward.

§  If a successful feasibility study is completed in the Fall of 2007, then a capital campaign could begin in early 2008.  Pledges would be solicited over a three month period, payable over three to five years, depending on the direction received from the feasibility study.

§  Following a successful capital campaign pledge campaign, needs assessments, design, permits, engineering studies and other design activities can commence.

§  At least half of the pledged funds must be collected before commencement of construction, perhaps more depending on the diocesan policies at that time.

§  Some of the initial concepts suggested include a courtyard for gathering and socializing, and a second story to the Community Center that would serve as a youth center.

§  If funds permit, a remodel of the worship space could occur simultaneously with that of the Community Center.