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Sts Joseph & Paul Catholic Church |
Parish Council Minutes | |
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June 4, 2007
Meeting began at 6:33 p.m. in the Parish Office building. 1. Opening prayer led by Martha Little 2. Minutes from May 7 meeting were approved. 3. Continuing Education: Debbie Luedke presented information from a magazine article titled: How Do Newcomers See Your Parish? Fr. Carl will give every parish committee a copy of this article for their education and consideration. 4. Committee Reports: The Council accepted each committee’s minutes as its report for this month with the following additions: A. The Parish Activities Committee will host an ice cream social for new members of the parish on June 24 at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall. All new families since the last social (late 2006) will receive an invitation; however, all parish members are invited. B. On July 15 at 2 p.m. – 5PM concluding with a Supper of Hotdogs and Burgers… the Social Justice Committee will canvas the neighborhood and get feedback regarding the upcoming Block Party. Volunteers are needed. The PPC’s help and leadership would be a blessing. C. The Education Committee stated that they are having a difficult time this year getting volunteers to run a full week Vacation Bible School. It was suggested that a one day event of fun, food, and prayer be held during the Summer Break, Fall Break, and Spring Break. Martha will take the idea to the Family Life Committee. 5. Old Business · The Parish Hall dedication will take place on June 10. The schedule is as follows: 3:00 to 3:15: Dedication and Blessing (with Bishop McRaith) 3:15 to 4:30: Meal 4:30 to 5:00: Witness Talk, Youth Spotlight, Music from Adult Choir, Hispanic Dancers 5:00: Closing
Having an outside consultant has been placed on hold for the time being; however, this option remains open. Many ideas were brought forth, including a listening session for the parish, a survey of the parish, and small group discussions. It was agreed that we need to address the issue regarding Masses and scheduling due to the growth of our parish. Chris brought up the fact that much of the world only sees a priest and can celebrate Mass once a month or even once a year. We are very blessed. There was not a general consensus on how to best approach the issue. It will probably take a multi-faceted plan. Everyone agreed that prayer is the essential key to this issue. Instead of a July meeting, all Council members will meet for a one hour prayer and Exposition in front of the Blessed Sacrament. This will take place July 2 from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. We will continue to ask God for guidance and the Holy Spirit for wisdom with this process of evaluation. 6. New Business A. Budget: The 2007-2008 budget was presented. The Council approved the budget with the stipulation that at the six month mark, there will be a re-evaluation of the budget. If income is exceeding expectations, some of the committees and programs will be able to see an increase in their budgets. Pat Able will present the budget to the parish on an upcoming weekend at all liturgies. B. How to Improve Communication among committees and leadership of the Parish Pastoral Council – tabled due to lack of time. It will be brought up at next Council meeting. C. Parish Newsletter: All comments that have come in are favorable. The next issue will be ready for printing on June 13. It should be distributed by the end of the month. D. Anne Higgins brought an updated Parish Hall rental agreement to the Council. If anyone has comments regarding the agreement, please contact Ann. E. Parish Hall name: There was a suggestion from a parishioner that we have a different name other than Parish Hall. At this time, the cornerstone has already been carved and the signs have been made. It was agreed that the name stay the same at this time. F. Staff attendance at committee meetings: There has been concerned raised by some about the Parish Staff going to committee meetings. Some on the committees feel things are being changed by staff members after things have been decided. (A few people have suggested that staff not attend meetings. They feel that it may hinder discussion.) Take out bracketed area… Fr. Carl has spoken to the staff and reiterated the role of the staff person at meetings. It was decided that staff continue to attend committee meetings. If problems occur in the future, the issue Fr. Carl will re-address the situation with the staff. 7. Tony summarized the meeting. 8. Closing prayer – everyone prayed the Our Father. 9. John Little will lead opening prayer at the September meeting. 10. Meeting concluded at 8:51 p.m. 11. The Continuing Education discussion and leader - TBD 12. The next Council meeting - TBD Respectfully submitted, John Little – Council Secretary
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