Agenda
Call To Order-Johanna Lehane
Opening Prayer-Fr. Adam Roberts
– REPORTS
Choir-Kris Walters
In 2021 the choir was able to provide music for all Sunday Masses and most of the major feasts. Everyone was very happy to get back to full participation after a difficult 2020.
In order to facilitate more musical participation from the congregation, as well as to reduce paper waste and unnecessary work, we ordered 40 additional copies of the St. Ambrose Hymnal to add to the 20 already in the church’s possession. We will use these hymnals for most of the congregational hymns and Mass Ordinary settings throughout the year. We would like to obtain a hymn board so that the hymn numbers can be posted easily and clearly for all to see.
The choir began meeting on Zoom for Wednesday night practices. We spent this time mostly rehearsing the Propers for each Sunday using authentic Gregorian plainchant, simplified chants, and some simple choral settings of the texts. We will continue this for at least a portion of 2022, and we hope to add more ‘in-person’ rehearsals at the church as schedules allow.
In 2022, we hope to welcome more singers into the choir, which will open new possibilities in terms of repertoire.
Sunday School-Summar Kinard
In October 2021, Summer Kinard took over as Christian Ed director from Amy Irwin.
- Registered 28 students
- 6 Teachers and 2 assistants
- Meeting sporadically in classrooms starting in October 2021 with some time off due to
pandemic - Sunday student attendance varies between 8 and 20 children and youth. We expect that
attendance will regularize as the pandemic settles down.
Holy Heritage Days - Once/month intergenerational learning events
- Focus on Western Rite traditions and saints
- HHD so far: September 2021: Michaelmas; October 2021: All Saints 2021; November 2021:
Advent Workshop; December 2021: none because St. Nicholas Day; January 2022: Epiphany
workshop
Wednesday Night Saint Stories - We trialed a Wednesday night series for children 12 and under, but most families with younger
children had scheduling conflicts. We’ll re-evaluate this program as needs develop. For now, it’s
on hold.
Pandemic Safety Measures - HEPA&UV filters for every classroom and the nursery
- Child-sized masks available
Budget - We did not have a budget for 2021 due to pandemic regulations. Events were funded by
volunteers. - The current budget of $3500 for 2022 includes resources for classroom and event supplies,
additional teacher training, and special Saturday learning events in the summer months.
Needs - We would love to have two or three additional part-time teachers to help out the regular
teachers. Interested candidates should talk with Summer Kinard and/or Father Adam. Everyone
who works with the youth of our parish must submit to a background check.
Contact: Summer Kinard, smkinard@gmail.com (919)641-0383 (text or call)
Chairman-Johanna Lehane
Johanna is giving a verbal report.
Finances-Fr. Adam Roberts
Click HERE for the 2022 budget.
Priest-Fr. Adam Roberts
Since my arrival in October, I have been repeatedly thankful that the bishop asked me to come here. Our bishop has proven to me that he loves and cares for St. Paul. He cares about our future, our well-being, all in all, our salvation. I am here as the representative of Bishop John and I pray that everything I do honors him and our Lord.
On my first Sunday here I presented three items on my agenda: Vespers, Confession, and Tithing. All three items are gifts from God to help us achieve salvation. Saturday Vespers prepares our mindset to partake of the Eucharist on Sunday. Confession returns the grace of baptism to our souls. Tithing reminds us that the root of all evil is the love of money. We are stewards of God’s money. I pray that none of us are kept from the spiritual benefits of tithing (giving 10% of our income back to God). I continue to keep these three items on my agenda for the purpose of saving souls.
We are also in the midst of launching a Ministry Council. This Ministry Council is a collective of leaders from various ministries in the parish: Women, Men, Youth, Altar Guild, Evangelism & Outreach, etc. If you have an interest in the Ministry Council, please let me know.
2022 brings unusual challenges for our parish. I hope we do not let any challenges diminish our hope. When Christ approached the grave of Lazarus, He grieved. However, He maintained the joy of the resurrection in His grief. No matter what challenges come our way, let us always remember the joy of the resurrection. Let us never forget that God died on the cross so that we may be born again into His resurrection and join Him in heaven. Let us always remember that death has been conquered. Our God is a good God. He loves us and wants us with Him forever. May the love of Our Maker reclaim our hearts.
Elections
We have three open positions on the parish council. Each position is to be filled by an election. Thank you, Roger, Yarnell, and Geyer for serving.