Sts. Joseph & Paul Catholic Church

Parish Council Minutes
April 3, 2006 

Meeting began at 6:35 p.m. in the Parish Hall.   

Members present: Tony Kraus, Tom Hayden, John Little, Mike Hagan, Gene Hamilton, Carol Alvey, Ron Greene, John Wells, Pete Johnson, Hal Mischel. Staff members present: Rick Rhodes.
Members absent: Debbie Luedke, David Danhauer  

1.  Opening prayer led by Tom Hayden. 

2.  One correction to the Worship & Arts Committee minutes – Carol Alvey was present at the last meeting.
Minutes from the March 6 council meeting were approved.  

3.  An ad hoc committee was formed to look into the possibility of changing the nomination process for the parish council. Members of the committee are: Tony Kraus, Ron Greene, Pete Johnson, Mike Hagan. They, along with Fr. Brian, will gather information from other parishes and will bring several recommendations to the council for consideration.

4.  Rick gave an update on the capital campaign:

• To date, 221 families (out of 619 total families) have returned their pledge cards. So far, $298,830.50 has been pledged.
• There have been approximately 50 families who pledged this time who did not contribute to the initial drive.
• Phone calls to those who have not returned the pledge card will take place April 17-19.
• Painting in the church is going very well. Scaffolding should be out of the church by Holy Week.

5.  Ron provided an update on the Good Samaritan home. Everything is going very well. The house is now “in the ground.” The footers have been poured, and the framework should begin in the next couple of weeks. Ron is still waiting for bids to come in for the lumber.

6.  Initial discussion took place on short-term and long-term goal-setting.
There were three responses from parishioners (which were requested in the bulletin). These were read and discussed. They will be part of the goal-setting session next month.

Other ideas presented from council members:

If the parish hall is built, we might consider ways to make crossing the street safer. This may include a pedestrian crosswalk sign with lights (permission would have to come from the state).

A FAQ sheet regarding the construction and renovations should be compiled and published for all parishioners.

The parish should do as much as possible to make the youth more active. It is important to not only provide “fun and game” activities, but also activities of substance, such as fundraising for charitable causes, etc. It was noted that there are plans for the part-time youth minister job to be expanded from 10 hours per week to 20-25 hours.

Further discussion regarding goals will be held at upcoming council meetings. In the meantime, all committee liaisons were asked to make goal-setting a priority at their next meetings.

7.  Pete read a letter from the Social Justice committee. They have requested that the parish contribute five percent of the weekly collection (for a period of three years) to our sister diocese in Mandeville. This request will be sent to the Stewardship committee for consideration.

8. Carol reported from the diocesan deanery. She said Dr. Andrew Ward (local optometrist) is planning a trip to Paraguay in the near future. Eyeglasses are being collected so they can be given to the poor in Paraguay. Dr. Ward would like for each parish to collect glasses on a regular basis. This may be a good youth activity.

9. Rick closed the meeting with prayer at 8 p.m.

10. John Little will lead the opening prayer at the May meeting.

11.  Next meeting – Monday, May 1 at 6:30 in Fr. Tucker Center.  

Respectfully submitted,
John Little – Council Secretary

sdrose@bellsouth.net
6-07-2006