Councils and Commissions

St. Julia Parish is blessed with many parishioners who give selflessly of their time and talent to enhance the spiritual lives of our faith community. Listed here are the councils and commissions that oversee the multitude of activities happening throughout the Parish. Many of these commissions have separate pages with more details about their particular projects, and you will find links to them within the description of the commission and in the Parish Life menu above. Please contact the individuals listed if you have any further questions.

Parish Pastoral Council

The PPC serves as the chief advisory body, working closely with the pastor, the parish staff and the Parish Finance Council in order to articulate the concerns and identify the unique vision of this parish. The PPC meets ordinarily on the first Sunday of the month from August through June. Adult members of the council are nominated from the parish community and are chosen by lot or appointment each spring for a term of three years. Two youth memberships are chosen annually. The Pastoral Associate, the Coordinator of Youth Ministry, and the Director of Religious Education serve ex-officio. Council meetings are public and all parishioners are welcome to attend them. Current members of the council are: Father George Evans, Chair, Susan Bayard, (Pastoral Associate), Win Baylies, Chantal Buchanan, Vice Chair, Marige Bursaw, Martin Dermady, Kelly Dunn, Michael Glynn, Christie Hedges, Michael Heinecke, Ray Helfer, Sr., Anna Pollock, Sister Marie LaBollita, SC, (Director, Religious Education), Jean Pelletier, (Coordinator of Youth Ministry), and Sister Mary Anne Doyle, CSJ (Business Manager).

Parish Finance Council

The PFC serves as a financial advisory body, working closely with the pastor, the parish staff and the Parish Pastoral Council as it provides advice, cousel and oversight concerning the parish property as well as the preparation of the annual parish budget. Members of the PFC are appointed for annual terms and they ordinarily meet monthly on the third Sunday. Current membership includes: John Connaughton, Michael Glynn, Christopher Knollmeyer, Terry Murphy, Mary Naphtal, Michael Sanders and Robert Stansky. Finance Council

Religious Education Commission

This commission nurtures and supports the faith formation needs of the parish children and adolescents who take part in the Religious Education program. Members advise and make recommendations to the Director of Religious Education, the Pastor and the Parish Pastoral Council in areas relating to catechetical ministry. Mary Gilberto is the chairperson. More information about the Religious Education program can be found here.

Evangelization Commission

The mission of the Evangelization Commission is to help St. Julia Parish strive to be an ever welcoming community, ready and able to share the Good News of our faith among members of our parish family and also with people of other faiths and Catholics who no longer participate in church life. This commission has developed a welcome packet for newcomers, married couples, divorced and separated Catholics, the homebound and the elderly. For more information, please email chairperson David Ayer.

Liturgy Commission

The mission of the Liturgy Commission is to help build the faith life of St. Julia Parish by serving as a resource for the Parish's liturgical life. Our goal is to encourage and facilitate the full and active participation of the parish community as we worship together. This commission supports the work of the various liturgical ministries in the parish, and supports ongoing liturgical education and formation of its own members and the members of the parish at large. The Liturgy Commission works to facilitate dialogue and communication among various ministries, the pastor, staff and community regarding issues affecting the liturgy. The Liturgy commission meets monthly from September to June. Current members are: Janice Carroll Hammond, Ann Keehn, Sylvia Kennedy, Anna Pollock, Joseph Sheehan, and Jean Pelletier (Coordinator of Liturgy).

Adult Faith Formation Commission

The Adult Faith Formation Commission is concerned with the ongoing faith life of adults. Kelly Dunn is the Chairperson. This newly formed commission includes Bruce Belason, Tom Bell, Jacob Kallupura, John Murray, Kathleen Logan Prince, Dee Schwartz, Janet Wohlers and Fr. Evans. See the separate Adult Faith Formation page for more information about specific programs.

Social Justice Commission

There are many ways in which the parishioners of St. Julia Parish embrace Christ's call to serve. The Social Justice Commission serves as an umbrella for the many parish outreach projects, a clearing house for new service opportunities, and as a source of education and communication of our mission as Church to live up to our call to be 'salt of the earth'. Details about the current projects can be seen on the Social Justice page of this site.

The members of the Social Justice Commission currently include: Sr. Mary Rita Grady (chair), Martha Shea Smith, Pat Dacey, Susan Boak, Gerri Scoll, Cheryl Kelly, Paul Karasch, and Susan Bayard. New members are always welcome. Please contact Sr. Mary Rita Grady.

Stewardship Commission

Newly formed, this commission seeks ways of involving all parishioners in the concept of stewardship - the giving of Time, Talent and Treasure to support the mission of our Parish. Win Baylies is the Chair of this commission.

Communications Commission

Chartered as a subcommittee of the Parish Pastoral Council, our initial mission was to create a listserve mechanism to facilitate informative and efficient communication to our parishioners. This feature has been incorporated in the new parish website. Our work over the last months has been to develop the information and organization of the site, and to gather the appropriate content. Our next task will be to review and update the parish logo, the parish registration form and other print materials. The chair of this committee is Chantal Buchanan.

Youth Ministry Commission

The mission of the Youth Ministry Commission is to nurture the faith development of our adolescent youth, as they live with their families as part of the larger family we call Church. We appreciate that this is a time of growth, gifts and challenges and that genuine faith must be profoundly social. This commission seeks to affirm, support, educate, and empower our young people in their maturing faith lives. We know that in an atmosphere that is welcoming, safe and comfortable, we all can experience the invitation to grow in greater wholeness as the People of God. Commission members are Bonnie Blanchfield, Joe Duffey, Mary Gilberto, Sally Helfer, Paul Karasch, Lisa Lanzillo, Carol Wells, Jean Pelletier (ex-officio), and Marcia Cormay (Chairperson). See the Youth Ministry page for information about current activities for the youth of our parish.