Pastoral Council – St Brendan the Navigator Catholic Church

Pastoral Council Corner

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Pastoral Council Chair:

Ginny Grant – She moved here 20 years ago. She is active in a lot of church activities and is a hospice volunteer. She started the Ladies Tea which raised money for a scholarship fund for girls in the parish. She was also the past president of the Columbiettes.

Finance Council Chair:

Jack Semanko – He moved here Dec 15, 2001 and has been a member of our parish for 20 years. He was a hospital administrator until retirement. He is the Finance Council Chair and said the Finance Council did an exceptional job in the planning and building of the new building and Columbarium. He is a certified marriage mentor but there are not too many marriages here! Mostly funerals!

Bob Blanchette – also known as “Boston Bob”! He is originally from Massachusetts and moved here 17 years ago from New Jersey. Bob is the Grand Knight here at St. Brendan’s. He also helped build a church in New Jersey.

Dee Bumbera – Originally from Maryland, Dee moved to Ocean Isle Beach, NC, and joined St. Brendan’s in summer 2017 with her husband, Bill. Together, they have two grown daughters.
Dee spent 36 years working in the Department of Defense as an Intelligence Officer, with the first five years on active duty in the U.S. Army.
Dee has always been active in parish life, serving as both a Eucharistic Minister and Reader. She was a member of the liturgy committee for 20 years in her previous parish. Currently, Dee is an active member of the Columbiettes and is serving as President in 2022-2023.

Madeline Dubas – Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, my husband, Ron, and I moved to Sunset Beach in 2005 and became members of St. Brendan. Working as a receptionist in the Parish Office was a good introduction into the behind-the-scenes activities of our parish. Also being a Eucharistic Minister is both a privilege and a joy.
It is my hope that my background in Human Resources which included payroll, pension, group insurance and workers compensation, as well as my many years of working with children as a CCD instructor, a ceramics instructor and as a high school band mom, will assist me in becoming a productive member of the Pastoral Council. With our son, Tom, in Iraq with the first invasion, I started Families United, a support group for families of deployed military. Through it I learned much about hope, compassion, and human suffering, as well as how strangers can come together to share their fears and offer support.
With the grace of Our Lord, hopefully my life experiences will help me to become a valuable asset to the Council.

Ada Flores – Also from Porto Rico. Has been here for 5 years. Lives in Cardinal Pointe. She will be coordinating the John the 23rd retreat. And she loves the Yankees!

Bob McGahran – Lives in Carolina Shores. He was ordained a Deacon 40 years ago. He is officially retired so he can serve in any parish with the Pastors permission! He does whatever he can for Father Mark. He also likes soccer and football.

Pat McLaughlin

Charlie McShane – Charlie is originally from Philadelphia and grew up on the Northshore of Boston where he graduated from St. John’s Prep and continued his education at Florida Tech. His career of 44 years was entirely in the Property and Casualty Insurance field working for major insurance companies. Charlie served on the Board of Homeport in Columbus, OH, an organization devoted to affordable housing. In Baltimore he served on the Board of Baltimore Ballet. Vacationers at OIB since 1995 Charlie and Sherry purchased property at Rivers Edge in 2003 and built a home in 2014. They have lived in Shallotte since 2015. He currently serves as a lector and extraordinary minister at St Brendan, a role he had at several prior parishes; in IA, OH, MA & MD.

Sandra Nelson – She is a retired high school principal. She has lived in Rivers Edge for the past 14 years. She sings in the choir and is also a Columbiette. She is also the chairperson for the Christmas Enhancement Committee which handles Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the weekly Altar flowers. They make every effort to enhance the parishioners’ appreciation and understanding of the gospel.

Maury Paslick worked as a registered electrical, mechanical, and plumbing Engineer for over four decades, over two decades in his own company, before semi-retiring to North Carolina. He was also a Rotarian and soccer coach during that time. He now contributes his engin-eering expertise to the Knights of Columbus in designing handicap ramps and serves on the Building and Grounds Committee having worked on projects such as the Columbarium, CCTV system, automatic front entry doors, and currently, the Parish Office Building.