SSJC-WR COMMITTEE MEETING– Minutes 2019 06 01
University of St. Katherine
1637 Capalina Rd. San Marcos, CA 92069
Present: Fr. George Morelli, Diane Alves, Lynda L Grasser, Mark Hartman, Anthony Porrello, Sally Provencio, Jim Trageser, Fr. James Babcock, Fr. James Bankston, Pastor Paul Bieber
The meeting opened at 10:38 AM. Opening prayer was given by Fr. James Babcock.
Chairman’s Report: Fr. George Morelli opened the meeting telling us that when he asked Frank Papatheofanis about USK possibly hosting our conference they also talked about a long time ago when they were both participants in OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion).
There followed a discussion of handicapped participants at our conference because the large meeting room is upstairs and there is no elevator, but there is WIFI and a screen downstairs, so the handicapped will be able to watch/listen from downstairs. There is an identical setup in the conference room, so speakers can use the overhead projector.
Vice Chairman’s Report: Fr. James Bankston was downstairs investigating the setup for the handicapped.
Secretary’s Report: Diane Alves asked if there were any problems with the previous meeting’s minutes which Fr. George had emailed together with the agenda. After a pause, Mark suggested and Fr. George repeated that since there were no objections, the minutes stand approved.
Fr. James Bankston discussion of the handicapped setup downstairs resumed. Those knowledgeable said it wouldn’t be a problem. A laptop or Apple TV could be hooked up. Then Diane mentioned the speakers might need a projector to displaysomething on a screen (Example: Power Point slides or the Apple equivalent). The tech peopledecided it would be best for the speakers to bring their presentations on thumb drives to use ourcomputers instead of theirs. Fr. James also mentioned that when he was downstairs, Marina, theUSK employee, told him that she wants Fr. George to email her about with the exact date, so shecan contact the cleaning crew about adjusting their limited (summer) schedule, to be sure theplace will be clean.
Treasurer’s Report: Bob Greenwell wasn’t present. He had provided the new bank balance of$2,382.97.
Light of the East Newsletter: Jim Trageser said that the newsletter is almost ready. He had held up the newsletter because he was waiting for the details of the conference (being finalized at today’s meeting), and for Fr. George’s message. He also needed the SSJC-WR committee to agree on which Eastern and Western churches would be featured and photographed in this issue.
We then decided on St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in coastal North County and its nearest Roman Catholic parish.
Website Team Report: Fr. Bankston mentioned the new version of WordPress which he still hasn’t installed. He is researching the known bug. When Fr. George asked, Diane mentioned that she has posted maybe three articles recently that were provided by others. Also, Anne just sent one about renovation of the Holy Sepulchre (not yet posted). An article from National Catholic Register entitled “What Can a Monastery Offer the Lay Faithful?” which was sent out by email to the committee should also be posted.
Old Business:
Conference Schedule:
8-9 Registration, Coffee, Bagels and Donuts – Diane volunteered to bring Bagels, cream cheeseand coffee cups. Jim will borrow a coffee maker and make the coffee. He will be at the sign in
table 8 to 10 am. He will have restaurant lists for those who want to go out for lunch. Who volunteered to bring donuts? Was it Jim or Lynda or ? Someone mentioned Foster Family Donuts.
9-10 Speaker – Chris O’Donnell
10-11 (or maybe 10:15-11:15) Speaker – Mother Melania
11:30-Noon Prayer Service – Fr. George will get advice from Fr. Steve of St. Paul’s, Irvine. We should include the Troparian of Saints Peter and Paul. Fr. Bankston and Fr. Babcock will officiate at the service.
12-1:30 Lunch – Pastor Paul will bless the food. People can go out to local restaurants or brown bag. Lynda will sell lunches: sandwiches (roast beef, turkey, or veggie), fruit, and chips for $10
1:30-2:30 Speaker – Fr. George Morelli
3-4 Panel – There will be a panel consisting of all the speakers answering questions from attendees.
When preparing food/supplies, we should plan on 50 people attending. Those of us who spend money can get reimbursement from Bob.
Fr. James Babcock will print out fliers and Membership brochures for free. Can someone tell him how many and who to provide them to?
Advance registration will be by mail to Bob Greenwell using the new Membership brochures. Registration will also be at the door using Square software. Who is setting up Square? That person will have to get the account information from Bob Greenwell. Jim should also get some cash from Bob since he will be manning registration and might need change if people pay in cash.
Fr. George will contact the speakers asking them to bring slides, if any, on a thumb drive. If they intend to use handouts, they should mail or email the handouts to him. He will get them reproduced by Fr. James Babcock. Also, he will contact Orthodox Clergy and provide printable flyers (or point them out on our website. Diane has already put them on the website).
Who will be videotaping the speakers? In the past it was Victor Vallejo (who has now moved to Spain). Victor used to put the videos (one for each speaker) on YouTube and then provide Diane with the links. Then Diane would post the links in the Links section of the main menu on the website. This was not discussed at the meeting.
Lynda volunteered to bring flyers to the Coptics whose parish is in Carmel Valley. Can Fr.Babcock provide fliers to her? And who is contacting Roman Catholic clergy? Eastern Catholic clergy?
Diane will bring pencils, index cards, old issues of our newsletter, name tags and marker, pen, and sign in sheet consisting of name, address, email, phone. The index cards will be for people to write down their questions for the panel. Then Fr. George and Pastor Paul will sort the cards and provide them to the speakers.
Someone mentioned that the University of St. Katherine probably has a bookstore. Maybe Fr. George can check whether it might be open at the conference.
Diane is wondering if someone might contact faculty and students about our conference. We should give them a discount (This was not discussed, so shouldn’t be in the final minutes of the meeting).
The local speaker, Chris O’Donnell will receive a $75 stipend. For Mother Melania who is driving down from north of San Francisco it will be $350. Speakers will receive a certificate of appreciation created by Jim Trageser.
Motion to adjourn: Fr. James Babcock, Second Jim Trageser
Closing prayer at 12:09 by Fr. James Bankston
Respectfully submitted by Secretary, Diane Alves
Note: Diane received a good MailChimp email test from Anne yesterday. She is now
correcting the URL of USK, the only problem.