Let It Begin With Me

 

St. Charles Borromeo Church

Circle of Caring

Report On Meeting
November 16, 2005

 

In attendance: Pam Michalegko, Milton Werthmann, Eleanor Werthmann, Paul Steinmetz, Nora Lawson, Michelle Miller, Stacy Lucas, Peter Dirr

Opening Prayer And Reading: Peter Dirr opened the meeting with a prayer and a reading from Matthew 25.

Regrets: Peter reported that he had received regrets from several people who were unable to attend the meeting but who wanted to be kept informed of what is discussed.

Reports On Activities: These reports were truncated so the group could spend the major part of the meeting in a planning session. In brief:

• The care of the homebound continues on course
• Cards continue to be sent to the homebound and the grieving. Peter read four notes he had received from people expressing gratitude for the cards and all that the Circle of Caring is doing for them
• Regarding the funeral liturgy, a suggestion was made that we put a notice on the St. Charles Web site when someone dies, inviting the St. Charles community to support the family by attending the funeral
• The electronic and calling prayer trees continue on course, used about six or eight times each month.
• The group discussed two candidates for “Senior of the Month” to be honored in connection with the next Senior luncheons.

Current Needs: There are three persons who currently need help from a friendly visitor. A notice will be place in next month's Volunteer list, a message will be put out to Circle members, and individuals will be contacted directly.

The major part of the meeting was devoted to a planning session to identify specific steps the Circle can take to invite parishioners to use its services. This was a follow-up to preliminary discussions that had been held in previous meetings. The group identified the following steps:

1. Peter will send copies of the current Circle of Caring brochure to Michelle and Stacy for review and ideas about how to make it more attractive.
2. We will work at getting pulpit announcements about the Circle's services periodically; this will involve providing brief notes about the Circle to the celebrants. Some themes: the community cares about you; adopt a family member.
3. We need to think of an overarching theme or message. “The Circle of Caring” and “Let It Begin With Me” can probably be improved on. The idea of the Circle as strengthening the St. Charles “community” (parish as family; fellowship) seemed to appeal to most of the group. Others: “Don't Block the Blessing;” “Let Me Be Your Servant.”
4. We will plan to have a notice in the bulletin once every month. A theme for these might be, “Give a Gift of Giving.”
5. We will begin to compile testimonials about what the Circle means to the people of St. Charles ; will post them on the Web site.
6. We will keep an eye open for New Testament and Gospel readings in the Sunday liturgy that relate to Circle services and will prepare notes for the celebrant encouraging him to make that connection in the homily. (Nora Lawson volunteered to do this.)
7. “Tell The World” – we will develop a set of talking points so that we can all begin to tell the story of the Circle to more people.
8. Once a year, we will try to schedule a Mass where Circle members can be recognized and prayed over.
9. We will consult with the St. Charles volunteers coordinator (Patricia Buckley) to see if she has ideas about how we might better publicize the Circle.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for February 15, 2006 at 7:30PM.

Closing: The meeting ended at 9PM with a reading about Hugs (attached)

(Notes prepared by Peter Dirr)

 

Hugging

Hugging is healthy. It helps the body's immune system; it keeps you healthier; it cures depression; it reduces stress; it induces sleep; it's invigorating; it's rejuvenating; it has no unpleasant side effects. Hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.

Hugging is natural. It is organic, naturally sweet, has no pesticides, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, and is 100% wholesome.

Hugging is practically perfect! There are no moveable parts; no batteries to wear out; no periodic checkups; it has low energy consumption; high energy yield; it's inflation proof; non-fattening; has no monthly payments; no insurance requirements; it's theft-proof; non-taxable; non-polluting, and, of course, fully returnable.

(Source Unknown)