The following thoughts and comments have been submitted during Fall and Winter 2009 to our Suggestion Box.

Have more activities for children at the September Food Fest.

Something besides the wheel – It is important to engage our young people and acknowledge their presence at our community activities.  This suggestion has been passed on to the Food Fest committee for consideration for next Fall’s Festival.

Confirmation II students do not verbally participate in Mass.

Each of us grows individually in our Faith.  As adults we understand that communal prayer is part of our Liturgy.  While we acknowledge the seemingly reduced participation, we cannot judge what is present in the minds and hearts of our students and must pray and wait patiently for a more mature faith to develop.

Altar Flowers – (Advent decorations) Simplicity is so much better esthetically than clutter.  The draped cloths on the altar are overdone.  Some of us think the floral arrangements would look much better without them.  The three different arrangements in vases near the crucifix don’t seem to together.  The feathery ones or the flowers would each be OK alone.  The other one looks as if it’s dying.

The Liturgical enhancements to our prayer space are accomplished with a limited budget by a small group of volunteers in our parish.  Every effort is made to economize and make use of natural materials to create a setting that reflects the Liturgical Seasons.  The committee would welcome talents of additional volunteers who might have a different creative view. Please contact the Parish Center for further information about getting involved.

Please as those who are sick with Flu to stay home.

Announcements have been made at the beginning of cold and flu season to remind parishioners to exercise judgment as relates to Church attendance and sharing the sign of peace.   Additional reminders will be placed in the bulletin during the next few months.

I go to 10:30 Mass every Sunday and today there was only one parking space left because of parents picking up kids from Religious Education.  Do you think the teachers could announce to kids to have parents pick them up across the street from the school?

When the new Religious Education schedule was announced to school parents it was requested that drop off and pick up of students be made in the parking lots across from the school.  Because of limited space in those lots, the close proximity of Mass times and the fact that many parents attend Mass while their children are in class there is often overflow parking in the main lot.

A parishioner from another parish visiting here made this suggestion.  When a school class comes to a daily Mass, reserve the first three or four rows for them and their teacher.  Reader and spouse could use the two seats at the end of a row.  This should help all the kids to enjoy better and participate more.

Could our versatile music ministry offer Gregorian Chant sometime?

We will speak with our music director about this.

Cemetery employees deserve a raise!  Great job!

Thank you for the compliment to our staff.  We agree that they do their jobs well.

Let’s fix St. Boniface’s hand.

The Buildings and Grounds committee is researching the cost of repairing the statue.  Repair will require the services of professional stonecutters as there are additional flaws that need to be repaired.

Pot Luck Supper- A fun event where parishioner make a dish from an appetizer to main entrée to dessert, anything they feel comfortable with.  Doesn’t have to be fancy. Can take place after 4 PM Mass or Sunday late afternoon.  Parishioners can also invite family and friends.  This event may show non-parishioners that we are a fun loving parish.   I believe this was suggested in the past.

A community Pot Luck Supper is planned for early 2010. Stay tuned.

Penny Sunday – all of us have “loose change” in our car trays, pockets, women’s handbags, bureau drawers, penny jars.  We are always promising to take them to the bank but never do.  How about having a container at the entrance of the Church and collect this money for our Christmas Food Baskets?   Suppose we collected $50 - $100 by this Penny Collection.

Thank you for this suggestion.  The Parish Council will be discussing means to bring this to fruition.

Spanish choir to sing at some English Mass?

This presents some logistical difficulties. We will make some attempt to work this through.

Large sign directing people from the Church building to the Parish Center.

We will have the grounds committee look at this and make some recommendations.

Out reach through phone calls concerning why people are not attending Mass.

Staff will discuss this. Stewardship committee may want some input also.

Reconsider bulletin board space and vestibule arrangement.

Staff will discuss this, ask Stewardship committee for suggestions, talk with grounds and building committee and Spanish group. Some questions also arose for a job bank listing. Would this be for the bulletin board? Or maybe the website.

Bells at Consecration

During the renewal of the Liturgy following the Second Vatican Council it was felt that the bells were not necessary since Mass was in the language of the people (the vernacular). Many local parishes in the United States stopped using bells. In some very large churches and cathedrals the bells were used because people might not be able to see well or hear clearly. At this time we will not be using bells. We ask everyone to be attentive to the Eucharistic Prayer with proper reverence and devotion.

Can bulletin highlight families and be more personal?

Our bulleting is in the process of changing. This is needed because of our desire to have one bulletin for everyone. We also hope to maintain our present size without increasing the number of pages. We might try highlighting families on our website.

Mausoleum niches at our cemetery?

We have worked on a plan for converting some present space in the mausoleum into niches for cremains. This is in process, approval has been sought from the Archdiocese. We hope this will be approved by the end of 2009.

Spanish speaking office position with set hours.

This has been an on going concern. At the moment we do not have a plan for this but will keep it in mind when we do next year’s budget.

Can lights be installed on the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph statues?

We will have Paul Contrastano and the grounds committee look into this.

Is it possible to have extra chairs in church for Christmas?

This could be very difficult because of fire regulations.

Air conditioning?

Most people would agree that our church is uncomfortably hot in the summer. This would be a large expense to install and a significant cost to maintain. We are the only Catholic church in Bristol without air conditioning. We will have the staff discuss and the grounds and building committee talk about this.

More fans

As an alternative we will look into this. The ceiling fans are for heating and winter use only. Lower fans and an enhanced exhaust fans system may be the only solution at this point. Building committee may have some ideas.

Decorations and floral arrangements on the altar?

We have discussed with the Liturgical design team displays in the sanctuary and the back altar. While not everyone will like everything, we will keep in mind a simple and elegant style that we think most people would appreciate.

Less incense please

For some people even a little is too much. We appreciate those who have respiratory ailments and try to limit the use of incense to major feast days and funerals.

On-going concern about steps in the church.

This is a major issue that we will have our staff and building committee resolve.

Coughs, colds, flu.

The Archdiocese of Hartford has asked us to refrain from a physical sign of peace. We ask everyone to please use a nod, slight bow, verbal sign at this time. If you are sick, please stay at home. If you cough, please cover your mouth. Wash you hands frequently.

Ecology concerns.

Part of the stewardship of a Catholic and every Christian is to care for the earth. Pope Benedict has spoken of this often. Many have made this a political issue. It is much more than that. We are trying to be responsible stewards of the earth and we ask all parishioners to do the same.

More international food events.

This is a wonderful idea to get our various ethnic groups together and all of use to share in learning more about their backgrounds as well as sample food. Maybe a Mardi gras event.

More youth group activities for Spanish speaking youth.

We will discuss this with Kim and Fr. Israel.