Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish at 10 Austin Place, Staten Island, NY 10304 US - Home
Welcome to Our Parish!
This is the home of Our Lady of Good Counsel on the Internet. Here you will find a wealth of information at your fingertips. Get the latest news and information about the church, school and all the organizations within our community. View our weekly calendar. Take a look at our Mass schedule and Office hours. You can download the bulletin at your leisure. You may contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. You can even register online with the parish.
We hope you enjoy your visit and we encourage you to check back often for updates!
An Update on Your Parish Council
We have had an active term since my last update and I would like to share some immediate news.
We have started the Nomination Process for New Members of the Parish Council. The terms of five members will expire in June and we need to replace them with active members who represent a cross section of our community. The Council consists of eighteen parishioners, Fr. Bob and Fr. Liam. We seek to interact with the community as well as our many ministries to determine what makes OLGC such a unique community and how can we either expand or create services to meet the pastoral needs of OLGC. It’s extremely important that we get this feedback and share it with the staff for consideration and implementation.
The nomination process begins with you submitting a form that indicates your interest in being nominated for the Council. You may also submit a form nominating someone whom you feel has leadership qualities and can collaborate with others. These forms are in the rear of the Church or you can click here to fill one out online.
The entire council will review all applications and discuss the candidates at the May meeting. The candidates will be invited to a discernment meeting for sharing of information and be asked if they want to continue the process. The final candidates will be selected before the June meeting and then invited to attend. They will be installed in September.
The Council this year continues to develop our Pastoral Plan under the leadership of Greg Jaenicke. This is and will be the cornerstone of our Mission to strengthen and grow our parish.
The council is divided into four groups to focus on the following strategic goals:
1. Strengthen and expand our Youth Ministry, (Have you visited the OLGC website or Facebook page?),
2. Support Religious education and Faith Formation,
3. Increase and enliven Participation at our Masses, and Ministries,
4. Develop our Lay leadership and promote a spirit of service.
Group 1. Goal: Grow the spiritual, social and cultural lives of our Parish youth by engaging them through electronic means.
Group 2. Goal: Reach out to inactive parishioners and create a renewed spirit of welcoming and belonging.
Group 3. Goal: Increase attendance and enliven participation at all Masses and functions of OLGC by improving communication on activities and fostering a sense of welcome and inclusion.
Group 4. Goal: Develop Responsible Lay Leadership and Ministries by encouraging all parishioners to share their time and talents to increase the number of all ministers by 10% by the summer of 2012.
Our Parish members are rich with God given talents that can serve our community. If the Parish Council doesn’t interest you, have you explored the many other ministries and groups that are available to you at our Parish?
Consider these for a sampling of OLGC ministries: Lectors, Music, Stew Crew, Social Action, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Hospitality, Legion of Mary, Boys and Girl Scouts and our vibrant Youth Sports Organization.
Thanks for coming to Mass, visiting our website and reading our Bulletin. God Bless you, OLGC and the United States of America.
Regards,
Jim Cowan