Pastoral Council Elections
Voting Begins June 22!
As summer begins, it is time for our annual elections to the Pastoral Council. The work of the Pastoral Council is important for supporting our Director, Father Rick Walsh, CSP and the Pastoral Staff in setting the direction for the Paulist Center’s ministries this coming year.
Thank you to the six members of our community who have stepped forward as candidates: Dean Hara, John Domino, Margaret MacNeil, Christopher O’Rourke, Peter Sliker, and Mike Voloninno. You can get to know them by reviewing their statements in the vestibule by the elevator or on our website at https://www.paulistcenter.org/pastoral-council-elections/.
Registered members of the Paulist Center Community may vote for five candidates to serve two-year terms on the Council. To vote virtually, click on this Pastoral Council Election 2025 link to vote online or scan the QR code to the right – between June 22-29. You are, also, most welcome to vote in-person after any of the weekend masses June 28 and 29.
What? You’re not a registered member? Fill out the form online here.
Pastoral Council Election 2025 – Candidate Statements
Pastoral Council Election 2025 – Candidate Statements
John Domino
I have served as a member of the Pastoral Council for the past two years and am asking for your support to serve another two-year term. It is an exciting and pivotal time at the Paulist Center as we work to rebuild after Covid and build energy around standing up and shouting out for our values and supportinux bc ha those who are being neglected and abused in our current political climate. I hope that you will allow me to continue to be part of the council throughout the process.
I feel lucky to have the Paulist Center as my spiritual home where I can be part of a community that celebrates, promotes, lives, and teaches Catholicism and Christianity in a way that aligns with my values. I am drawn to the Center’s openness and acceptance of all prophetic and am energized by its social justice mission and its many charitable endeavors supporting the greater needs of the local community.
I continue ooo to be inspired by the rich history of the Paulist Center in founding the Walk for Hunger, as well as its outreach to divorced Catholics and the LGBTQ+ community, its advocacy for immigrants, social and racial justice, and Care of our Common Home. The need for these efforts is as great today as it has ever been. While serving on the council, I hope to challenge us to not only continue this work, but to start new initiatives that will make a difference in the lives of ourc neighbors here in Boston and throughout the world for many years to come.
In addition to my time on the council, I have co-taught the Confirmation class for the past 3 classes I c served as Chairman of the Paulist Father’s Capital Campaign in 2022. I have served as a greeter at the 5pm Saturday Mass, as worked as Check-In Co-Chair for the Auction and at the Finance Table, and walked with the Paulist Center team at the Walk for Hunger.
I look forward to your support and another opportunity to serve on the council.
Thank you!
Dean Hara
It would be a profound honor to serve on the Paulist Center Pastoral Council and to offer my time and talents in service to our faith community. I am confident that the breadth of experience, professional insight, and life perspective I have cultivated over the years would meaningfully contribute to the Council’s mission and to the ongoing vitality of the Paulist Center. My journey has underscored the value of truly listening, fostering inclusive dialogue, weighing all perspectives, and nurturing consensus—principles I hold dear and would bring to this role.
The Paulist Center’s presence on the Boston Common is a remarkable gift—one that holds immense potential for outreach and impact. I believe we can further leverage this central location to connect more deeply with our extended Catholic family across the Boston area. From Beacon Hill and Back Bay to the heart of downtown, and across the Charles River to both undergraduate and graduate students, our proximity to such a dynamic and diverse population presents a powerful opportunity. It is through embracing that diversity and working to build unity among many voices that our community is both enriched and strengthened.
My husband, Mattheus Lian, and I joyfully chose the Paulist Center as our spiritual home in July 2024. I am currently privileged to serve on the Board of Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, as well as the Board of Advisors for Boston Harbor Now. My past nonprofit service includes the Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund Advisory Committee and board roles with the Boston Center for Adult Education, Jewish Vocational Services (JVS), the AIDS Housing Corporation, and the Provincetown Repertory Theatre.
Margaret MacNeil
I am so grateful to have found the Paulist Center over ten years ago. I still remember my first Mass with Fr. Rick and how warmly I was welcomed. I was drawn to the Paulist Center’s commitment to social justice, vibrant liturgies and warm spirit of welcome. At that first Mass, I felt like I had found someplace special and that feeling has only deepened with time. I feel closer to God because of this community and the way it lives out its faith every day.
I started volunteering at the Wednesday Night Supper Club in March of 2020. I enjoy being a regular volunteer and appreciate the wonderful friendships made through this ministry. I have also joined the Lenten small faith-sharing groups and helped with the annual auction, including co-chairing the dessert auction. Each of these experiences has helped me become more connected to our community.
Professionally, I have worked for the Quincy Public Schools for over thirty years, first as an elementary special education teacher and now as a school administrator. In my current position, I am the principal of the Parker Elementary School in Quincy. My background in education has influenced my commitment to service and inclusion. I hope to bring my commitment to service and inclusion as well as my background and experience to the Pastoral Council.
I would love the opportunity to serve on the Pastoral Council! I am eager to listen, learn, and serve our community. I believe we can do great things when we come together and I appreciate your support. Thank you for considering me for Pastoral Council
Christopher O’Rourke
I am running for a second term for the Paulist Center’s Pastoral Council. I have been a member of the Paulist Center since 1990. We continue to be in a time of transition with the departure of a long-time staff member, the commencement of the Pastoral Planning process, and with the work of implementing the recommendations made by the Paulist Leadership Team at their visitation to us in November of 2024. Having been on the Council as these events have occurred, I would value the opportunity to see this work to completion.
The Paulist Center is a unique place like no other in Boston: we are an intentional community, a place of welcome for many who have not felt welcomed in traditional parishes. We are also a community committed to listening to the needs of the time and of the Church. As I consider ways of deepening our life together, I believe that creating more opportunities for short retreats, on a weekday evening or a weekend morning could further deepen our prayer life. I also feel that doing more work in adult faith formation – reviving our adult education offerings – could further ground our lives in the richness of our Catholic tradition.
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Peter Sliker
Growing up in Brookline in the 70s, I was not raised in a religious household. My father’s family was Catholic, but he left the Church, and my mother valued spirituality but wasn’t religious. Around 1992, I started attending services at the Paulist Center and felt welcomed. A friend who knew us well recommended the Paulist Center to my wife, Sally, and me. We were married by Fr. Paul Lannan, who served here then. Since then, we have adopted two children who were baptized here and are now adults. I was confirmed here as an adult. We moved to East Boston in 1990 and love living here.
I have served on marriage prep, the FREP board, as a liturgical minister, and as part of the choir. I have also assisted with the supper club during the holidays and participated in the Walk for Hunger with Paulist Center families. My wife and I co-chaired the Auction before it was canceled due to the pandemic. Getting to know the Paulists and many members has been a treasure in my life. The Paulist Center is essential to my spiritual journey and commitment to service.
I am an attorney working for the labor department at our great State government. I have experience in teamwork, participation, engagement, and management. I can contribute to the Paulist Center and give back to the community, which has provided so much to my life. Serving on the Paulist Center Pastoral Council would allow me to deepen my connection to this community and use my skills to support the Paulist Center in its mission of evangelization, reconciliation, and ecumenism.
I am asking for your support in serving this two-year term. Thank you!
Mike Voloninno
Friends, I humbly ask your support for the Pastoral Council. The Paulist Center has been my spiritual home since moving to Boston in 2014. Over that time, I have participated in the Young Adult Ministry (when I still qualified!), served as a Lector at the 6 PM Mass, and worked on the Worship Committee, where I met my wife Rachel Rumely (during COVID!). Prior to moving to Boston, I was an active parishioner of St. Austin’s, which is also a Paulist community, when I was working on my Ph.D. at The University of Texas-Austin. The Paulist Fathers have strengthened my faith and offered a vision of a Church that truly welcomes all and strives for social justice. The Paulists have helped inspire my work as a Catholic educator – I have been the Principal of Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree for the past decade. I am also on the Board of EVKids, a non-profit that provides tutoring and mentoring for low income students in Boston, pairing them with undergrads from area colleges, including Harvard (my alma mater).
I owe the Paulists and this community so much and I want to do everything I can to see us grow and thrive. We are at a critical juncture in our history with a proud tradition but an uncertain future. I hope to bring fresh perspective and renewed energy to find ways for us to bring the Gospel of Christ to the people of Boston, meeting them where they are and inviting them into fellowship. I draw strength from my work at Archbishop Williams, where we’ve grown our enrollment by 200 students against a narrative of Catholic school decline. I am truly optimistic about what we can accomplish and excited to have this opportunity to work on behalf of the community that I care so deeply about.