Immaculate Conception Parish
Committees
Pastoral Council
The Parish Pastoral Council is a consultative body to the Pastor. It is the coordinating and unifying structure of the Parish Community. Its function is to develop a deep personal and communal commitment to and maximal participation in the total life of the parish by its members. The Parish Pastoral Council is a body of elected and appointed representatives of the whole parish community, and serves as a means of communication, cooperation, and growth. The Council's mission is to work in collaboration with the local pastor and his associate priests in planning, encouraging, guiding and directing all aspects of parish life. In living out this mission, the Council must discover and define the parish needs, formulate policy and goals based upon identified needs, monitor and evaluate programs to meet stated needs.

Members: Father Joe Piekarski, Father Stanislao Esposito, Ed Cole, Executive Officer; Rosalinda McWilliams, Recording Secretary; Linda Rowe, Corresponding Secretary; Bernadette Sniadowski, Dan Speakman, Tom Magner, Ed Banas, Narcy Zionkowski, Mike Venters and Bill Green.

Finance Council
The Parish Finance Council is a consultative body of lay persons established to advise the Pastor in matters pertaining to the financial affairs of the parish. The Council assists the Pastor in the prudent planning and administration of all parish financial matters and in the setting of policy and establishing procedures to provide effective management of parish assets.

Members: Connie Fairer, Executive Officer; Raymond "Chick" Hamm, Bill Green and Peg Callahan, Business Manager; Fr. Joseph Piekarski, Pastor.

Liturgy
The Liturgy Committee bears the responsibility for coordination of the liturgical life of the parish. The committee is guided by the liturgical documents of the Church and approved diocesan guidelines. Also the committee is responsible for determining long-range goals and specific objectives for the liturgical life of Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Jude's Mission Church. This committee consists of subcommittees: Music, Art & Environment, RCIA, Children's Liturgy of the Word.

The Liturgy Committee is responsible for:
• Coordinating the liturgical life of the parish.
• Promoting and developing the prayer life of the community through proper liturgical practice.
• Guiding and advising the parish on liturgical issues.
• Preparing Sunday and weekday celebrations of the Eucharist.
• Coordinating sacramental, liturgical and devotional celebrations scheduled by groups in the parish.
• Coordinating the parish mission.
• Ensuring the proper formation of all liturgical ministers in the parish.
• Evaluating the liturgical life and celebrations of the parish.
• Communicating liturgical information to the parish.
• Promoting liturgical awareness and formation in the parish so that the assembly is led to a full, conscious and active participation in the liturgy.

Members: Fr. Joseph Piekarski, Moderator; Narcy Zionkowski, Chair; Fr. Anthony Larry (Art & Environment), Fr. Francis Kenney, Cheryl Nickle; John Nickle, Deacon Joe Kosman (RCIA), Pat Kosman (RCIA), Steve Shine (Music); Mike Truman, Charles Conway and David Anguish (Youth Representative).

Social Concerns
The purpose of the Social Concerns Committee is to inform and involve the people and resources of Immaculate Conception and St. Jude Parish in service of one another and to the larger community.

The Committee's mission is: We are called to follow Jesus' command to love our neighbor as ourselves.

We accomplish this by:
• Promoting the sanctity of life and human dignity.
• Pastoral Care for the sick, the homebound, the caregiver, and the hospitalized.
• Meeting the needs of the bereaved.
• Meeting the socio-economic needs of the community.
• Informing the parish community on social justice issues, and encouraging their participation in promoting justice for all God's people.

We do this in response to the GOSPEL message.

Members: Dotty Fritz (Outreach); St. Mary Unger (Ministry to the Sick, Elderly and the Homebound); Pat Dacey (Lazarus Ministry); Mimi Szep (Respect Life), Tom Magner, Peggy Gilboyne, Susan Long, and a Youth Ministry Representative.

Parish and Family Life
The purpose of the Parish and Family Life Committee is to provide for the holistic growth and development of Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Jude's Mission Church and its many families.

The Committee is to promote Christian community and personal development and, in a practical way, to enrich family living within the parish community. The committee's concern includes all age groups and their varied needs.

The responsibilities of the Parish and Family Life Committee are:
• Assessing the needs of, and recommending programs for various age groups.
• Developing and coordinating a good parish social life program (includes: Parish Picnic, Seder Meal, Monthly Parish Coffees, fall hayrides, Christmas Caroling, etc.).

Members: Dottie Dhamer, Eric Schepers, Denise Cole, Mary Kennard, Eileen Noel, Eileen Czerwinski, Chris Tsiarkezos, Becky Stewart.

Christian Formation

The Christian Formation Committee (CFC)is concerned with the total Catholic education in our parish. Its function is to provide leadership, guidance, and policy formation which determine the total Catholic education programs for all of the children, youth, and adults of our parish. CFC meets monthly from September to June and is represented at the Parish Council meetings on a monthly basis.

Various parish sub-committees report to the CFC about their goals, related activities, and budget:

  • Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
  • Religious Education (Pre-K through Grade 12)
  • Immaculate Conception School (parish school)
  • Youth Ministry
  • Adult Education
  • Sacramental Programs (includes Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Marriage)

CFC has recently:

  • Completed the Self-Study for Diocesan Accreditation (required of a parish every five years) to meet the standards of the Diocese of Wilmington regarding the presence and activities of all Christian Formation sub-committees
  • Initiated an ad-hoc technology committee to study the technology needs of the parish center including desktop computing, databases, servers, peripherals, software, and parish website. Updated website organization and content is the most notable result from this. A need for new hardware and database consolidation also has been identified for future project work.
  • Revised and reissued the Guidelines for Use of Parish Facilities which enables various parish groups to use cooperatively the various classrooms and public spaces in the parish buildings.

CFC has intermediate and long-term goals which include:

  • Taking advantage of any local Catholic population growth due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
  • Upgrading the parish server and related databases
  • Organizing and promoting a building fund for a new Adult Education Center (seating +100)
  • Incorporating advances in technology to further the parish's education goals for all persons of Catholic faith

Members: Susan Kadell, Chair; Mary Kirkwood, Sr. Grace Andrew Jeffery, Ruthie Patterson, Lucy Knisley, and Barbara Broomall.

Building and Maintenance
These volunteers advise and assist in the necessary upkeep, repairs and maintenance of the parish buildings and grounds.

Willard Bryan, Chair

Faith Formation
The Faith Formation Committee is responsible to help the council remain rooted in Gospel values and to grow spiritually. It's duties would include arranging for an annual council retreat or day of recollection, and helping to prepare prayer services and / or other formation experiences for council members.