Womens' Guild Minutes January 2016
St. Michael’s Women’s Guild
Meeting Minutes for January 4, 2016
Opening Prayer: Deacon Bob Sweeney led the group in opening prayer reflecting on Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton and the needs of the sick of our parish.
Call to Order: President, Margaret Willard, called the January Meeting of the Women’s Guild to order. She invited all present to partake of the pizza, wings and salad provided. Margaret thanked Caroline Martin and Marilyn Murdock for chairing the very successful Christmas dinner. Margaret informed the group that a picture from the dinner is on Facebook and reminded all present to send Guild pictures to Maureen Fogarty for posting on the St. Michael’s website. There were 27 members present.
Secretary’s Report: Joan Phillips noted that there was an error in the reported income from the October bake sale. The correct amount is $618.25. A motion to accept the November and December minutes was made by Pat Sweeney and seconded by Deb Toce.
Treasurer’s Report: Joan Phillips reported that the opening balance for November was $3,127.51 and the closing balance was $3,686.66. The opening balance for December was $3,686.66 with an ending balance of $3,572.41. A motion to accept the Treasurer’s report was made by Maureen Fogarty and seconded by Pat Allen.
Membership Coordinator Report: Carol Rosney reported that the Guild has 108 paid members.
Publicity Report: Nicole Mestoik reported that she is entering items into the bulletin as appropriate. As a follow-up from the November meeting, Margaret Willard discussed the bulletin with S. Kate. There is limited space in the bulletin. Flyers should be used for information that impacts a large number of people in the parish. S. Rita reminded all that copies of flyers provided must be copy ready. Maureen Fogarty mentioned that all flyers should also be sent to her to have them added to the parish website.
Altar Committee: In Jeanne Aurelia’s absence, Margaret Willard thanked all the members of the Altar Committee for their work in preparing the Church for the Christmas season. A request was made for additional volunteers to help water flowers for Christmas and Easter.
Sick and Vigil: Marilyn Murdock has mailed get well cards to Carolee Jasiewicz and Deacon Bob. Members requested that cards also be sent to Marilyn Wiegert, Anne Shields and Lou Ann Gramolini.
Military: Rosemary Burns reported that 8 boxes were sent to military personnel overseas. The postage paid by the Guild was $127.20. Eight additional boxes were delivered to the VA in Albany. Packages will be sent for Easter. Sharon Close will have cards made by children in the Religious Ed. Program. The VA has requested that no items containing alcohol, such as after shave, be included in future packages.
Garden Club: Teresa Murphy had nothing to report.
Hospitality: Margaret Willard had nothing to report.
St. Michael’s Mugs: 64 of the 100 mugs have been sold. Mugs will continue to be sold at the time of the 50/50 ticket sales.
Christmas Dinner: Caroline Martin reported that the Christmas Dinner has a success. Many gifts were brought to the Springs Nursing Home and $340.00 from the proceeds of the gift basket raffle was donated to St. Paul’s Center.
Chicken Barbeque: Maureen Fogarty and Ann Kowalczyk will chair the BBQ this year. Maureen will attempt to schedule the BBQ for Thursday, 9/22/16. There was support from the members present.
Albany Medical Center: Rosemary Burns proposed the Guild make a donation to the Children’s Chemo unit at Albany Medical Center for gift bags for the young patents. Caroline Martin made a motion to donate $100.00 for four bags. This was seconded by Maureen Fogarty.
Valentine’s Day: Margaret Willard suggested we consider making Valentine’s Day special for residents of the Springs Nursing Home, homebound parishioners or others. Kathy Moon suggested the Guild volunteer at the Regional Food Bank. Kathy will gather more information and we will discuss this idea and any others at the February meeting.
February Bake Sale: The February Bake Sale will be the weekend on February 6 and 7, 2016. Deb Toce passed around a sign-up sheet for bakers and women to help sell the baked goods.
Boston Bus Trip: Marie Celeste reported that Anne Shields has coordinated a bus trip to Boston on Saturday, 4/23/16. The cost will be $35.00 per person. The bus will be provided by parishioner-owned Hunter bus. The bus will leave St. Michael’s parking lot at 8 a.m. and depart from Boston at 6:30 p.m.
Announcements: Deacon Bob Sweeney announced that Donna Vaughn will be holding a genealogy class at St. Michael’s on 2/21/16 after the 10:00 a.m. Mass. The annual St. Michael’s Irish Night will be held on 3/11/16 and Bishop Scharfenberger is expected to attend.
50/50 Winner: Deb Streule is the winner of $42.50.
Springs Nursing Home: $28.00 was collected for the Springs Nursing Home.
Gift Card: Joan Phillips is the lucky winner of the Price Chopper gift card.
Refreshments for February: Kathy Moon, Sharon Close and Carol Rosney will provide refreshments.
Adjournment: Marilyn Murdock made the motion to adjourn and it was seconded by Maureen Fogarty.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Kowalczyk, Secretary