
Parish Pastoral Council - Report from meeting of 17th July 2019
This was the first meeting of the new PPC after the recent elections.
Appointment of Officers:
Fr. Bill has announced the following appointments:
Chairperson of the PPC: Sue Moorehen
Secretary of the PPC: Kasia Bator
Parish Groups / Portfolios
Written reports were received from the following parish groups / portfolios: Choir (Isma Chiera), Communication (John Costa), Ecumenical & Inter-Faith (Merle Gilbo), Parish Facilities (Lucy Dal Pozzo), Korean Community (Chris Dixon), Liturgy Group (Merle Gilbo), Maintenance (Pia Boutsakis), Outreach (Eileen Mount & Sue Kelly), MI School (Veronica Antrim), SB School (Kathy Lowe), Yarra Deanery (Merle Gilbo). We hope to have these reports and photos of our new PPC on our parish website sometime over the next two weeks.
Patronal Festival
Mary Immaculate Church will celebrate its Patronal Festival on Monday 9th December with Mass at 7.30pm followed by a BBQ. This year we will be joined by the South Sudanese Catholic Choir and Liturgical Dancers and the Mass will be sung in Arabic. Save the date in your diary!
Parish Redevelopment Milestone
Our Project Manager, Pat Kelly, brought us up to date with progress so far. Recent activities have revolved around the refinement of the design of the buildings and the preparation of the planning drawings and consultants reports required by Banyule City Council for our planning permit. Preparation for the planning permit has involved not only working with our architects but with consultants for town planning, traffic management, arborists, landscaping and sustainability. We reached something of a milestone in that we were able to submit all our documentation to Banyule Council last Tuesday. We must now wait patiently for a response from the Council. You can see the latest plans for our redevelopment at the back of each church.
Office Transition Committee
A sub-committee of the PPC and Parish Finance Committee is now planning for the transition of our parish office to both a temporary home in the foyer of MOG church during the redevelopment of the MI site and its eventual relocation to our new parish centre.
St. Bernadette’s Convent Project
We are currently investigating a joint project with the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the restoration and use of the Old Convent at St. Bernadette’s for transitional accommodation for asylum seekers.
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The Pastoral Leadership Team Model
The consultative and collaborative model for Catholic Parish leadership in Ivanhoe has evolved through the progressive and innovative approach of our existing and earlier Parish Priests together with many supportive parishioners. It has emerged out of absolute need, faced by the alternative of serious Parish decline if left alone. The result so far has been encouraging.
Role
The Parish Leadership Team (PLT) has a dual role, firstly to manage the ongoing administrative affairs of the Parish, but even more importantly, in close consultation with Ivanhoe Catholics to guide and plan for the future of our Catholic community within this Parish. This is done with our underlying Parish values very much in mind - Inclusiveness, Hospitality, Mission and Service. The PLT is itself made up of representatives of the Parish, Parish Groups and Schools, and operates very openly.
The PLT role is challenging in the very rapidly changing world and church environment. Changes impact substantially on things such as availability of Priests, numbers of parishioners, age profile, declining income, rising expenses, and at the same time on recognition of our need to better serve all those in our midst, with new emphasis on young people and young families, who are potentially the future of our Church.
Change
Change has been a hallmark of the Church throughout history, and at the same time an instrument of growth and development. Given the opportunity that change brings to our Parish right now the Leadership Team is challenged to help develop a loving and serving community that builds on the new energy and signs of new life that are becoming evident amidst the necessity of sometimes uncomfortable change. The challenge is to remain humanly focused whilst also being aware of and responsive to the reality of change. It is a responsibility to survive. It is tapping into new opportunities, including many offered by new technology, through such means as multimedia, and interactive websites that reflect the life and vibrancy of our community. It is intended that interactivity and feedback will become hallmarks of the Parish Leadership Group for community life in the Parish and into the future.
There are many operational details that could be included here, but suffice it to say that the PLT actively supports the many parish Groups that are the life and blood of this Parish. They in turn are represented on this Leadership Team and there is also a General Parishioner Position to act on behalf of that constituency.
Your Views and Participation?
Your views and participation are always welcomed and you may contact the Parish Leadership Team at: [email protected] or via the General Parishioner representative or the Parish Office.
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Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 26 November 2014
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 23 July 2014
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 28 May 2014
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 26 March 2014
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 23 October 2013
• Pastoral duties at the Heidelberg medical precinct are continuing to increase.
• Finance Group is preparing to draft budget for 2014, including prioritizing maintenance needs across all properties.
• The presentation of the Gospel of St. John (courtesy of the Broken Bay Institute) was well attended and much appreciated.
• We welcomed two representatives from the Korean community.
• A sub-group has undertaken to develop a revised policy for our web site.
• The catechist group is preparing for First Eucharist on Sunday 24 November at Mother of God Church.
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 28 August 2013
• Feedback and/or contributions to the reflections in the weekly parish newsletter are always appreciated.
• There were the highest number of ‘hits’ ever on our website at the time of Fr. John’s death and funeral.
• The compilation of his life was much appreciated, both here and in Ireland.
• Fr. Thang recommended a book by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe O.P. The title: Why Go To Church?
• When the Outreach Group accumulates a little ‘cash’, it donates it to a worthy cause. Recently to Mental Illness Fellowship.
• The Finance/Maintenance Group is working towards a planned maintenance programme.
Brief notes on PLT Meeting on 24 July 2013:
Brief notes from the PLT Meeting on 26 June 2013
Brief notes from the PLT Meeting on 22 May 2013
Brief notes from the PLT Meeting on 20 March 2013
Brief notes from the PLT Meeting on 20 September 2012
Brief notes from the PLT meeting of 20 June 2012:
Brief summary from the PLT Meeting of 23 May 2012:
Brief Summary from PLT Meeting 29 February 2012:
Brief summary of Pastoral Leadership Team meeting, Wednesday 30 November 2011
Brief summary of Pastoral Leadership Team meeting, Wednesday 3 August 2011
Brief summary of Parish Leadership Team meeting , Wednesday 22 June 2011
Brief Summary of PLT Meeting, Thursday 10 February 2011
The first Pastoral Leadership Team (PLT) meeting for 2011 held last night at St Bernadette's Primary School was also the best attended in a long while. Fr Thang was welcomed to his first PLT meeting as was new member Brian Hoban (replacing Greg Lange who very sadly passed away recently). Parish Secretary Ruth Villani was also appreciatively welcomed and will invaluably record Minutes of meetings and ensure follow up. Other members agreed to stay on, as did the existing Executive. Chris Dixon agreed to remain as Chairperson. Fr Youn Marie Joseph also attended with other representatives of the Korean Catholic Community.
Reports from our Primary Schools were all upbeat. Reports from all of the Parish Groups reinforced that Parish activity is very much alive, and one might say thriving. However the finance report brought a sobering reminder of the Parish's precarious financial position. This was tempered with the good news that the Ford Street Development building permit had been approved, paving the way for a future new income stream. Money, however is not (or should not be) at the heart of a good parish. Another significant difference between this and previous PLT meetings was its deliberately greater focus on 'core' Catholic Parish issues, including the new Mass liturgy to be introduced during this year. There has been some adverse comment on elements of the new Liturgy and we will all shortly have the opportunity, and be strongly encouraged, to learn what it will really mean for us all.
Brief Summary of Parish Leadership Team Meeting, Monday 3 May 2010
The major issue discussed tonight was Parish Finances. Following the trend of well over 25 years the financial position of the Parish continues to decline at a concerning rate. Rising costs together with ever decreasing thanksgiving offerings and parishioner numbers now result in an even worse position than anticipated, despite many new and successful Parish initiatives, innovations and plans.
Various financial options are available and are being explored, but none of these by themselves appear likely to reverse the overall decline which is currently evident in other parishes also. An immediate response is further spending cut-backs, the first of which will unfortunately be the proposed new multimedia facility at St Bernadette's, which has now been put on hold.
The great irony of all of this is that Parish activity is actually on a high, with many new initiatives being introduced and valued by a wider range of people, but unfortunately with a diminishing number of paying parishioners. As the PLT now focuses further on this issue there are ironically at the same time many positive developments. Some of these and other discussed items include:
Brief Summary of Parish Leadership Team meeting, Monday 1 February 2010
As no new member nominations were received from within the Parish existing members were declared continuing members. Chris Dixon was appointed new PLT Chairperson and Pat Kelly warmly thanked for his excellent past chairpersonship.
Much discussion followed on the strong likelihood of a reduced number of priests in our Parish from this year, and other significant changes, most likely requiring greater dependence on retired priests and greater involvement by lay people.
On the positive side work was proceeding well on Stage 1 of the Parish Master Plan and excellent progress is being made on enhancements to our three Primary schools. To assist its future development the Parish now has the best financial model it has ever had, although until Phase 1 of the Master Plan comes into effect income is still declining and building repairs are urgently required.
The executive reported that following recent uncertainty it was now confirmed that the Korean community would remain at St Bernadette's.
The Liturgy Group continues its pivotal role within this Catholic community and amongst many other things is presently engaged on preparation for Lent and Easter.
The Outreach Group has been eminently successful in activities and fund-raising. Some of its overworked members are tiring however and need volunteers as they reduce involvement, but have planned various activities for the year ahead using their financed and already successful multimedia facilities.
Parish communication has improved with rapidly growing Website use, weekly email updates to parishioners requesting these, and "multimedia liturgy" in Masses, hopefully soon to be extended also to St Bernadette's if volunteers there are confirmed.
The Parish Young Peoples Group is thriving and at last now includes a parent member on its committee. If new youth leaders are confirmed it plans to split into "younger" and "older" youth groups.
Brief summary of Parish Leadership Team Meeting, Monday 30 November
This evening's PLT meeting focussed more on pastoral than administrative and financial issues. The Bishop's Ivanhoe visit was discussed (feedback from the Bishop is anticipated shortly). The outstanding program of activities by the Outreach Group was discussed, but also the fact that due to work overload their program for 2010 will be reduced unless new volunteers are forthcoming. The same applies to the possibility of another parish dinner next year, to be further considered if new volunteers can be found. Liturgy and favourable use of multimedia was discussed. No multimedia in St Bernadette's yet due to lack of volunteers to regularly operate a system there. Youth affairs were discussed, on one hand strong interest in our existing youth members, but apparent lack of response from Year 6 students this year from MOG and MI Schools. On the admin. side there is good progress on concept plan for stage 1 of the Parish Master Plan. Excellent progress with Parish financial modelling, with Pastoral modelling also being pursued. Important discussion also on declining availability of priests and Ivanhoe impacts.
Brief summary of PLT meeting on Tuesday 6 June 2009
Milestone for the Catholic Parish of IvanhoeAt the Parish Leadership Team meeting tonight and after a long period of deliberation, consultation, discussion and exhaustive analysis the decision was unanimously made to proceed with Stage one of the Parish Master Plan, that is the development of ten independent units and community building on the current Tennis Court site at St Bernadette’s.
Commenting on this Landmark decision PLT Chair Pat Kelly said “This unanimous decision tonight is a milestone in advancing towards the future Catholic Parish of Ivanhoe. The financial benefit derived from this project will enable us to draw our community closer together and provide greater confidence as we progress to the future against the challenges ahead. Most importantly it will nourish and help ensure the continuing development of Christian Faith for people of all ages in the new Catholic Parish of Ivanhoe”.
Other significant outcomes tonight (here).
Brief summary of PLT meeting on Tuesday 14 April 2009
Parish Master Plan Update - Easter 2009
Extract of letter from PLT Chair Part Kelly, Thursday 9 April 2009
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The implementation of the Master Plan will be considered at the April meeting of the PLT. In preparation for the meeting the Executive has developed a number of policy positions and undertaken the following actions....(more).
Master Plan Parish meeting on 12 March - brief summary
Thursday 12 March 2009 (8 - 9 pm)
Prior to the Opening Prayer Fr John said that his approach to facilitating Parish development, as he had been asked to pursue by the Archbishop eleven years ago, had been and would continue to be to allow parishioners to drive the process of change because the Church in Ivanhoe is very much its parishioners. Buildings and facilities serve a purpose but what comes first is faith in the words of Jesus, remembrance of his being and words through the Eucharist, and sharing all this as a unified community to better serve each other and the world, in ways that also accommodate young people. He also spoke of the enormous contribution within and outside the Parish by Fr Len, particularly in the area of mental health. In conclusion Fr John said that he has utmost faith that one way or another this open process of parishioner dialogue will bring about the changes that are necessary and that while decisions need to be made all views, however different, are equally important.
Chris Dixon spoke of the process for selecting an architect to draft the master Plan and the brief provided to the selected architect.
In the absence of the architect who unexpectedly didn't arrive at the meeting Geoff Crawford summarised the plan and compared phase one of the plan, the proposed housing development on St Bernadette's Tennis Courts, with other similar developments. @font-face { font-family: "PMingLiU"; }@font-face { font-family: "@PMingLiU"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Decisions on subsequent phases can be made progressively over time as we discover more about our circumstances as well as taking into account parishioners views and concerns. Whilst we now have a plan and a potential start there is no commitment to its future details at this stage, and as such there will be ongoing reviews, considerations and analysis.
Questions and discussion canvassed a range of issues. In conclusion Pat Kelly said that whilst we, like the Archdiocese, don't yet have all the answers there is no option to do nothing and that we must embark in good faith on a journey of change. Whilst the first stage of the development is least contentious, in terms of the single Parish Centre there is no certainty about the future or even the boundaries of the Parish, and especially of the certainty of priestly tenure in future. He was currently preparing a letter to the Archdiocese seeking advice on these issues since they will impact decisions on subsequent phases of the draft Master Plan. Pat reiterated that Parish is shared faith and community rather than buildings or facilities. Further inputs will be welcomed from Parishioners until 20 March after which some initial decisions will have to be made taking into account all of the very many views that have been expressed.
Draft Parish Facilities Master Plan summary available
At Masses on the weekend of 20-21 December 2008 Parish Leadership Team executives introduced the Draft Parish Facilities Master Plan and provided copies of a summary. This will be followed by a consultative process in the new year.
In introducing the Draft, PLT Chairperson Pat Kelly and fellow exec Geoff Crawford said that whatever the eventual outcome there is simply no option to do nothing. The draft plan has been discussed with the Archdiocese which responded encouragingly. The Heidellberg Council has so far responded similarly.
This summary document may be downloaded here. The separate cover page (in colour) includes an architects visual impression of part of the development. This larger electronic file (takes a little longer to download) may be downloaded here.
Members of the PLT have full copies of the draft and would be pleased to show them to anyone and to discuss viewpoints.
Public comments to the Parish Leadership Team (PLT) are invited and welcomed at any time via the "Your Views" section of the website, or if you prefer privately to the PLT, or both.
Parish Leadership Team meeting outcomes, Thursday 29 January 2009
Extract from brief notes of Parish Leadership Team meeting, Thursday 29 January 2009, 8:00 pm
Due to the sweltering heat in the non air-conditioned Parish Office the meeting was shortened, however some key outcomes emerged, the first of which follows:
Responses so far to Draft Master Plan
This and other items from this meeting are included in a one page summary here
Parish Leadership Team meeting outcomes, Wednesday 10 December 2008
The Executive introduced and distributed copies of the Draft Parish Facilities Master Plan. The draft will be introduced by executive members at Parish Masses on the weekend of 29-21 December and a summary report on the draft will be distributed at those Masses and also made available via the Website. Everyone is invited to share their views on the Draft via the "Your Views" page of this Website or by contacting the Paris Leadership Team. Each PLT member has a copy of the full report and will be pleased to show these to anyone and discuss the Draft. A consultation process will begin in the new year.
Parish Leadership Team meeting outcomes, Monday 10 November 2008
Summary.
Parish General:Parish Future and Survey:
Liturgy:
Maintenance:
Finance:
Communication:
Outreach:
Wellbeing:
School Community:
Korean Community:
Note: These are informal notes only for information purposes and not Minutes of the meeting. The next PLT meeting will be on Wednesday 10th December
Parish Leadership Team Meeting, Monday 1 September 2008
A summary report (not Minutes) may be downloaded here
The next PLT meeting will be on November 10th. Note that as the PLT Executive meet weekly the full PLT will now meet bi-monthly rather than monthly, at a slightly longer meeting.
Parish Leadership Team Meeting Outcomes, Monday 4 August 2008
Brief summary report (not Minutes) may be downloaded here.
Parish Leadership Team Meeting Outcomes, 12 May 2008
A report (not Minutes) on this meeting can be downloaded here
In much briefer dot point summary:This meeting reported and deliberated on a large number of issues, including:
1) Changes in the Church (forthcoming event with Fr Frank O'Lauchlan)
2) Parish Associate (Advertisement for position)
3) Facility Master-plan (as prelude to Parish Master-plan)
4) Parish Profile (agreement to establish this)
5) Liturgy (1. successful involvement of young people 2. Confirmation developments)
6) Maintenance (Unified Parish Maintenance Group_
7) No Parking (new signs behinds MI Church)
8) Financial Analysis (progressing work)
9) "Opt-In" (encouraging ALL Online Parishioners to "subscribe" to website. No cost)
10) Outreach (continues very active programme plus a new initiative for October)
11) Korean Community (Here for the long term. Both Korean and parish integrated)
12) World Youth Day (good outcome for Parish. Pilgrims and Parishioners to socialise)
13) Schools (continuing progress)
14) Young Peoples' Group (new Confirmation young people invited to join)
15) Burma Disaster (special fund-raising)
16) A little "Fr John Humour" (must read this directly!)
Parish Leadership Team Meeting Outcomes, 14 April 2008
For a more detailed report click here. In brief the meeting received reports and deliberated on several Parish developments and initiatives including Liturgy, new Finance Group, Improved Communication, the History Project, Outreach, Young people, and World Youth Day. Particular Attention was given to initiatives in our Parish Schools, and good news concerning their growth and future plans. Not so encouraging was progress at this stage towards a Pastoral Associate.
Fr John will invite renowned theologian and advocate for creative thinking and parish development Fr Frank O'Laughlin to meet with the PLT.
Parish Leadership Team Meeting Outcomes, 18 March 2008
Report on 1) Deferral of move to one Mass centre, and 2) Pastoral Development.
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To contact Parish Leadership Team
e-mail: [email protected]