From
the Chairman of the
Parish
Pastoral Council
By
Frank Marcello
First, I'd like to say "thank you" to all those who have served on the
Parish Council but had to resign because of time restrictions or personal
reasons.
Second, I'd like to thank all of those who have continued to serve on the
Council for their commitment and dedication to Notre Dame Church.
Third, I'd like to thank all those who have stepped up to the plate and
accepted the responsibility for the positions that have become available
on the Council. Win or lose, thank you for at least taking the time to
try and get involved in our Church operations.
Every Sunday I see the same people coming to church regardless of the weather
conditions. It seems they are very dedicated in putting at least one hour
a week to celebrate Mass. How nice it would be if those same people would
volunteer one hour a month in helping to maintain our church grounds. It's
so easy to pick a small project of some kind like planting flowers, trimming
bushes, cleaning up the area or any kind of general maintenance to help
beautify our church property. There are no restrictions on time; you can
do it in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Remember, there are three
houses and our church building that constantly need some kind of maintenance.
Those who are retired and would like to seriously help can always join
the Tuesday morning crew who has done a marvelous job in renovating or
taking care of the bigger projects.
In closing, I would like to thank Fr. John for his spiritual leadership
and guidance at our Parish Pastoral Council meetings.
Parish
Cleaning Committee
By
Barbara Violette
Thank you to all the men and women who donated their time and talents with
the general cleaning of the church for Easter on March 13. Tasks included
shampooing rugs, washing the pews and floors, cleaning under the pews,
washing windows, vacuuming, and dusting. Without their help, it wouldn't
have been possible to get all this done in one day. Also thank you to the
women who clean the church every week. To assist, contact me at 639-0090.
Tuesday
Morning
Work
Crew
By Jack Siersma
Work has been progressing on our major project “renovation and rebuilding”
at the former Resource Center. The Center has become the Notre Dame parish
office building. The work crew has been converting the former garage area
into a combination classroom / meeting room. The project has been in the
works since last fall with completion expected shortly.
Volunteer participation has fallen off somewhat on this project; but we
have been fortunate to have continued support from Bob DeRuvo, John Flanagan,
and Tom Janaskie. A number of other volunteers have helped as their schedules
have permitted. Scott Fisher, Joe Giordano, Bill Hembrock, Jim Thompson,
and Greg English have all pitched in with valuable assistance when they
could find the time.
The project has taken more time than initially expected due to a number
of issues that required correction in the 50+ year old structure. The major
consequence of these delays has been our inability to move on to other
needed tasks. We hope, with help, we will be able to do that very soon.
Building
Committee Activity
By
Bud Noe
At the March meeting, we reviewed input received from our discussions with
parishioners at the Soup Supper and after the Masses the last week of February.
Next, Father John and I met with the Parish Finance Committee after getting
a second quote from a local architectural firm and reviewing our plan drawing
with the Greeneville Building Inspector.
After discussion with the Parish Finance Committee, we received their backing
to contact Johnson Architecture of Knoxville to have them quote the Schematic
Design Phase and the Design Development Phase of our program. I contacted
them in early April. When the quote is sent to Notre Dame, we will go to
the Diocese of Knoxville office to discuss our plans, which include meeting
with builders to get better-defined costs for the project. If all is approved,
we should be able to do this in or about the June time frame.