Parish Council

The STM Parish Council was re-established in the spring of 2021.  Our core mission is to work with the Pastor to build a vibrant parish community, centered in Christ.  We do this by connecting everyone in our parish, providing feedback and counsel to our Pastor, improving communication across the parish, and ensuring the continuity of various parish organizations and ministries.

There are seven pillars of our mission:

• Connect our community
• Support for our Pastor
• Foster an environment of encountering Christ at mass through prayer, inspiring liturgy, reflection, Eucharist, and our community
• Enhance communication between the laity and our pastor, as well as overall communication about the various activities within the parish and between the organizations and ministries
• Ensure opportunities for prayer and spiritual renewal
• Create opportunities for discipleship
• Encourage evangelization of our faith

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The parish council consists of seven members – four elected by the members of the parish, and three appointed by the Pastor.  The term is three years.  Council meets monthly with the Pastor.

 Our current members are:

Tom Garrity (elected) – chair
Dan Ulicny (elected) – vice chair
Christine Lynch (elected)
Caitlin Shutte (appointed)
Andrew Guman (appointed)
Paul Wirth (appointed)

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Some of the current initiatives
of the Parish Council include:

• Forming a committee to develop a long-range strategic plan for the parish.  This document will help guide allocation of resources, provide transparency to the parish, and give interested doners visibility into the use of financial gifts.
• Working with parish music director to enhance our programs and build continuity.
• Re-establishing the Parish weekend retreat during Lent
• Volunteer sign-ups for various parish organizations after mass during the month of September or October
• Working with Finance Committee for a monthly, high level financial report in the bulletin
• Continuing to build the parish database with email addresses and cell phone numbers in order to enhance communication.  If you haven’t registered your email and cell phone with the parish, please do so on the STM website:  https://stmchurchallentown.org (click contact in top tool bar, then click ‘parish email sign up’).

All parishioners are encouraged to provide suggestions for what they would like to see Parish Council address or questions they may have about the parish.  You can reach Tom Garrity at 610-533-4652 or tgarrity@compasspt.com.