Canadian Martyrs Church

Annual Report

Annual Report from Pastoral Council to the Parishioners of Canadian Martyrs Church

June 6-7, 2009

What is Pastoral Council?

The Pastoral Council of Canadian Martyrs Parish is a consultative body, made up of members of our congregation, whose role is to work with the Pastor and his team to plan and coordinate the overall policies and goals of our parish. Council liaises with the Pastoral Team (Fr. Robert, Jane & Kaye), with the various ministries of the parish and with bodies outside the parish with a priority goal of building on the rich sense of community that exists in the parish.

Who are we?

The members of the Pastoral Council of 2008-09 are Fr. Robert Smith OMI (President); John O'Keefe (Chair); Pamela Dixon (Co-chair); Joseph Mariasingham (Secretary); Alain Achkar; Pierre Beemans; Jennifer DaSilva; Colleen Hanley; Dan McCauley; Nick Masciantonio; Sandra McDonald; Damith Silva; Jane Staples; Elia Villamayor; Karen Webber.

This group met on a monthly basis in September, October, November, January, February, March, April, May, and will meet for the last time (with its current composition) in the third week of June. Between meetings, Pam Dixon, Jane Staples. Joseph Mariasingham and John O'Keefe met to devise meeting agendas and review draft minutes of meetings.

All meetings of the Council are open to parishioners. The meetings, which always begin and end with prayer are structured by decision-oriented agendas, with information sharing as a secondary consideration.

What have we accomplished since September 2008?

We have worked to get the input of the parishioners on the future of the Parish
The Parish Planning Team, a committee of the Pastoral Council carried out a survey of parishioners in February 2009. The results of this survey and their implications were subject of the retreat of Pastoral Council, Finance Committee and the Pastoral Team held on June 6. A report and recommendation from the Planning Team will be considered at the earliest opportunity by the Pastoral Council and future directions for the parish will be mapped out in consultation with the congregation and the Pastoral Team.

We have worked to make Canadian Martyrs a more welcoming church
Council is aware of the importance of making mass goers feel welcomed on arrival at the church. Because of this we agreed to increase efforts to make parishioners and visitors to our church feel especially welcome upon arrival for mass. In the past year, we created a roster of greeters to welcome mass goers. We are finalizing a memento that will be given to visitors as a reminder of their visit to Canadian Martyrs Church. We have reintroduced envelopes for visitors at weekend masses.

We have worked to improve communication with current and potential parishioners
You may be aware that the parish has a website (URL - www.canadianmartrs.org) the publicly available version of which is in its first phase of development. Over the past year, a new upgraded version of the website has been developed and this is currently being tested for usability and usefulness. This new version will be launched very soon.

In order to make the website more interesting, Council decided that photos and descriptions of parish events needed to be included on the site. However, we wanted to ensure that the privacy of parishioners is respected completely for this initiative. In the past year Council created a consent form for parishioners to be used before images can appear on the website.

Because of the likely increase in importance of the website as a communication tool in future, Pastoral Council struck a committee to review the content mix, the production process and the format of content presentation of the parish bulletin.

We have worked to create a more vibrant parish social life
Pastoral Council was intimately involved with the organization of the 2008 Advent potluck event and with the event associated with the Feast of Canadian Martyrs. Council has approached the Tara Players for the purpose of organizing a Benefit Night during the Fall of 2009. The Tara Players have welcomed this approach and planning will continue once the next season of plays has been chosen.

Because of the range of social activities currently going on in the parish and because there may be new activities suggested through our parish planning process, Pastoral Council has begun to explore the need for setting up a Parish Social Committee. The role of such committee could be to coordinate social event organization in the parish. As a preliminary step, Council has devised a questionnaire and has initiated a consultation with the ministries of the parish currently organizing social events, in order to gather opinions about the necessity for and the potential role of a Social Committee.

We have worked to coordinate activities relating to parish life
In the past year, Pastoral Council has had liaison with the Finance Committee, the Liturgy Committee and with other ministries of the parish. We also had liaison with the Ottawa East Community Association, Centretown Churches for Social Action Committee, and Home-based Spiritual Care.

What next?

Pastoral Council is dedicated to being a truly representative and legitimate consultative body devoted to improving all aspects of our parish community life. Our parish has a beautiful vibrancy to it and making it more welcoming for more parishioners is a priority goal of Council.

For the work of Council to advance, we need to communicate on an ongoing basis with parishioners: to hear ideas, concerns and suggestions. We need to let you know regularly what Council is working on and what we decide on your behalf. The agenda of the parishioners is the agenda of Pastoral Council. We invite you to please engage with us to develop our spiritual home to its full potential.

Special thanks

Pastoral Council thanks all parishioners who devote time, talent and energy to making this a vibrant community through their involvement in the various ministries of the parish. The representatives of the congregation thank Fr. Robert Smith, Jane Staples and Kaye Boone for their hard work, dedication and leadership of our parish - they are the glue that holds us all together.

A number of members will be leaving Pastoral Council this year and we are all very appreciative of their participation, enthusiasm and talent. We look forward to welcoming new members on board. We promise them an enriching experience and a real sense of accomplishment in doing important work to advance a cause that is dear to all our hearts.

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