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SAVE ST BRIGID’S BULLETIN #6
May 31st. 2006
- Father opened the meeting with a prayer and blessing for the Archbishop, and blessings for a successful meeting. .
- The meeting was chaired this week by Art Cuenco Vice Chair of the Pastoral Committee who invited Marilyn Donoghue to make
her remarks. The tarpaulin will be installed sometime next week, and a banner will be made to lay on top of it. The Santacruzan
was a good display of solidarity within the parish, and was also televised on the televison CTV. A camera man was also at
the meeting from CTV. .
- Reporting
Legal- Patrick Murray, our lawyer outlined work to this point. The number one criteria is based on broadbased
community support , and at present there is just 165 signatures. It is important that our organization and the task force
is legitimate, so he urged the parishioners to get on the web and put their name to the petition. The soft kind gentle approach
is not an option. We must be more aggressive legally. The archdiocese needs to hear and respect us, and will do so shortly
The parish is one hundred years old and the church and we will grow into the future together. There were many concerns from
the parishioners, as there are many sheets of signatures from the back of the church, from nursing homes that Father gives
mass to, and senior citizens who do not have computers. We must not negate these signatures and methods will be researched
as to how we can transfer these to the web site without the need to call them and seek approval. Queries were raised as to
why the Archbishop has not taken the time to visit St. Brigids, nor to dialog with us regarding the decisions he has made.
One parishioner stated that the on line petition was very empowering, and it should be broadened. We should have a banner
on the exterior urging everyone to sign, as well as to have a computer set up which one could sign the petition at during
Doors Open. Testimonials should be included from other parishes, as well as to encourage those who phone into the Lowell Green
show to participate in the on line petition. The architectural heritage groups will also be encouraged.
Petitions have been reasonably well covered with the the legal discussion. Margaret stated that all the
authorized signatures are legitimate, and the one petition had been approved by the task force. It is necessary to have a
single responsible person who speaks for petitions. The group volunteered Margaret Meurant, and Emie Fairweather.
Prayers and Vigils
Matt Wuhr spoke on the need for prayer, and praying to the Lord. The church is open on Tuesdays after
noon mass, and each Friday from 8:00 to 10:30. This Friday is 1st Friday and as such the church wil.l be open
for the entire evening ending in the 7:00 mass on Saturday morning. The garage sale will not effect the mass. He went on to
say that if we were given a reprieve, we need to give more of ourselves to the business of the church. The turnout for the
candle vigil was limited. We must challenge ourselves to look after the church. "God asked why we look after our houses when
the temple is in ruin". We must contribute an hour to cut the grass, to shovel snow, to look after each other, and to support
it financially. We must rid the church of the bad spirits, and pray for the doors to open to peace.
The Nevins funeral will be at 10:00 on Friday June 1, 2006. It is hoped that many of the parishioners and
friends will be there to support the family. .
Communications and Public Relations
The group have been collecting statements from the community, but not enough of them. It is really up to
the parishioners to make this venture a success, and we must get more people to participate. Some may be read as well. The
video statements will be ready for Doors Open. Videos will again be at 10:00 on Saturday morning.
Teresa has sent faxes out again regarding the Doors Open, the garage sale and the bbq. The number to call
for the phone in radio is 830 TALK. It was recorded wrongly last week. Arrangements have been made for the cheques
to be made out to ‘St Brigid’s Restoration in Trust’ and mailed or forwarded to St. Brigid’s
. 179 Murray Street K1N 5M7. Placing them in trust assures the donor, that if we do not stay/proceed with the restoration,
they can be returned to the donor. Arrangements have also been made to drop them off at the National Bank at 242 Rideau
Street Ottawa, ON K1N 5Y3. Attention: Suzanne Sequin. Tax receipts will be given when it is known that we will
stay and commence the restoration. The first target is $200,000 for repair of the roof and a new furnace..
(Subsequent discussions with the station determines people will be referred to our website where they
may obtain the information as well.)
Benefit Concert to be held June 7th 7:30 in the church. It will be a free will offering .
Heritage
Elizabeth Krug reiterated that the province had given this heritage designation and that the future buyers would find it
difficult to make any changes. Richard Fairweather raised the issue of someone in the Mayor’s office giving real estate
services by bringing prospective buyers over to St. Brigids. We will look into this and report back. The City of Ottawa should
be supportive and we should ensure that they want to keep St. Brigids in its present form and the should "stick to their guns"
Fund Raising
There was no report from Fund Raising as Ann Young has been in the hospital. It was however suggested that we endeavour
to get a Visa or Mastercharge capability, so that items for St. Brigid’s.
The meeting closed at 9:20 pm with a prayer from Father. Coffee and cookies were available for further discussion.
The next meeting will be June 8th , at 7:30pm in the Church Hall.
This meeting is not on Wednedsay due to the Benefit Concert. .
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