January 14, 2010 St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2009
Members present: Father Cook, Mike McMahon, Dave Matheys, Pat Biebl, Kendra Arch, Julie Steiner, Dennis Olson, Jim Gillen, Terri Pedace and Dan Kotek. Absent: Karen Diehl, Marlene Norman, Special Guest: Angie Cina
1) Opening Prayer was led by Father Cook at 5PM
2) Minutes from the October 5, 2009 were approved with the only correction being Terri Pedace was present at the meeting.
3) Checking the spirit of the parish was discussed.
a. The Christmas decorations were well done thanks to the men’s club for taking this project on.
b. Snow removal has been done well this season and is done by the 8 am Mass but Father Cook has asked them to start using ice melt vs. rock salt to help protect the interior floors of the church.
c. The members of Bethel home have appreciated the extension of ministry.
d. It was also discussed the loss of some families due to having Wednesday night REP classes.
4) Reports:
a. Parish Clubs: Angie Cina reported on the recent activities of the Travel Club; Bible Club; Book club and the Zarephath Club.
b. Religious Education Program: Dennis Olson reported on the Christmas program held on Dec 20th and how the new time seems to be working better. Dennis also reported that there will be a 2nd Grade parents meeting on Feb 7th, Confirmation is March 7th, First Reconciliation is in March 6th, and First Communion will be held April 18th.
c. Parish Nurse Program: Terri Pedace reported on her Parish Nurses meeting from Nov and some of the new information she has gathered. Terri also reported that she just got a new client. Terri was asked what things a Parish Nurse is responsible for. Terri reported on her responsibilities and what things she can and cannot due. Father reported that very few Parishes have the luxury of having a Parish Nurse and that we are very fortunate to have such a quality person such as Terri Pedace.
d. PCCW Report: Pat Biebl reported they had increased the number of meetings from 2 to 4 in hope to increase the number of people at the meetings. The next PCCW meeting is January 27th. Joyce Unseth is the new secretary for the PCCW and they were able to find two new circle chairs: Lisa Kowalczyk and Tammy Scheckel. The PCCW is also considering Birthright as a possible new project. Pat also reported that there was a new seminarian, Taylor Flock, from the area that they had begun to provide him with financial support during his journey to be a Priest. With all the new groups we have in the Parish, Pat asked if there could be some guidelines for each of the groups to prevent multiple groups from doing the same activities. Pat also reported on the great response they got for the toys for tots program. Pat asked about the possibility of putting a small refrigerator in the kitchen to be able to have a small freezer in the kitchen area for ice. Father and the finance committee are going to look into the feasibility of adding the refrigerator.
e. Finance Council: Mike McMahon reported that the Rectory kitchen renovation has been completed and are looking at doing a couple of other Rectory projects as well. Mike also reported that they are hoping to get the sidewalk repaired this spring and are also looking at having some pew repair done. Father reported that there are 8 pews that need repair. The Diocesan Capital Campaign (We Belong to Christ) has a targeted amount of $246,000. The amount pledged is $385,941. The cash to date is $251,189. The targeted Diocesan Annual Appeal for this year is $35,864. The amount pledged to date is $33,982. The cash to date is $28,472. The Parish Endowment Trust Fund's market value ending 8/31/09 is $50,326. Parish savings is $152,253, the Capital Campaign Fund is $8,937, and the checking account is $5,000, for a total of $166,190.
f. Social Concern's Committee: Father Cook reported that the Fortney Hotel Ministry is going well and the guests of the hotel truly appreciate the Sunday meal. Pax Christi is continuing to hold regular meetings. The Community Garden had the property donated by the city and are waiting for spring to get to planting.
g. JOURNEY is going to Fort McCoy Jan 31st for a tubing party.
h. PATHWAYS doesn’t have much going on at this time.
5) Old business: No old business
6) New Business:
a. Father reported that there is some new art work in Marian Hall that was donated by Bill and Jane Falkers in memory of her parents, John Wayne and Mary Catherine Crawford and purchased from John Schneider an artist from St. Mary’s Parish. The print was framed by Ed Klos. John Schneider then donated the money back to the Parish to be used on Marian Hall.
b. Father was approached by Dick Hauser to see if St. Mary’s would be interested in hosting Rural Life Day which is the 3rd Wed in September. It was determined that we would be interested but would not be able to do it that date because it’s the week of the fair. Father was going to see if they would be able to switch the dates.
c. Father asked about doing a Parish directory in 2010. It was determined that this has been done every 5 years in the past and that we should look at doing it again this year. Father was going to ask Ann Graham if she was interested in chairing this task again.
d. Father reported on the Front Door Ministry in 2009. Father reported that he had 263 requests for assistance in 2009 and gave out $9425.33 worth of items. These items included gas, LP gas, diapers, insurance, mortgage/rent, prescriptions, utilities, clothing, food, telephone, taxi, Fortney Hotel supplies, motel, car registration and repair, bus, jail ministry, car payment, along with donations to Vietnam Vets, AA Deaf/Blind, and police association.
e. Father reported that the Parish council minutes are now posted on the website.
f. Father is going to put together a sign-up sheet in church for families to be hospitality ministers at weekend Eucharist.
g. The men’s club is in full swing. Don Tully is the president of the club. They took the lead this year in decorating the church for Christmas. They have met several times and are looking for different projects to be involved with. It was also determined that Don should be asked to be part of the Parish Council.
h. The topic of a Parish Forum was discussed for people to get a better idea of what each or organization does and ways for them to get involved with the Parish. It was getting late and it was determined to table this topic till the next meeting.
i. Father also reported that there would be a second collection this weekend for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
7) Next meeting will be held March 11th at 5 PM.
8) The meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm.
Respectively submitted,
James Gillen