Sts. Joseph & Paul Catholic Church

May 7, 2007

Meeting began at 6:33 p.m. in the Parish Office building.

Members present: Tony Kraus, John Little, Pete Johnson, Debbie Luedke, Ron Greene, Tom Hayden, Laura Baker, Mike Hagan, David Danhauer. Carol Alvey
Staff members present: Fr. Carl, Anne Higgins, Ken Caselden, Mark Baehl, Chris Gutierrez
Members absent: Connie Caceres, Juan Fernandez, John Wells

 1.  Opening prayer led by Tony Kraus

 2.  Minutes from March 5 meeting were approved. 

3. There will be a welcoming talk at each Mass on the weekend prior to the June 10 Parish Hall Dedication.  Those to speak are: Tony Kraus, Laura Baker, Tom Hayden, David Danhauer and Carol Alvey. 

4. David Danhauer presented information regarding running an effective meeting. Material came from the article Impoverished and Enriched Agendas and the website www.effectivemeetings.com. 

5.  Anne Higgins was welcomed as the new Administrator for Sts. Joseph & Paul.  

6.  Committee Reports: 

A.  Youth – Laura Baker 

• On May 20, there will be a social gathering for all youth in the parish. This will be the last formal event before the summer break.
• There will be a whitewater trip for youth on May 29-31.
• It has been a good year. There is a real sense that the youth are becoming more comfortable with each other, the program, and the parish. They really seem to “belong” now more than ever.

B.  Sacred Liturgy – Laura Baker and Mark Baehl  

• A final decision has not been made on the permanent placement of the baptismal font. A decision will soon be forthcoming, which will go to Fr. Carl and then to the Parish Council.
• There was an excellent response from the recent Stewardship drive. There are 30 new Ministers of Hospitality, 12 new Lectors, 19 new Eucharistic Ministers, and five new Sacristans.

C.  Art and Environment – Mark Baehl 

• The new mission statement of the committee was presented to, and approved by, the Council. The mission is to “create a church environment to inspire prayer and worship.”

D. Stewardship – Mike Hagan 

• There was a question regarding the term “post-mortem” in regards to the capital campaign that was mentioned in the committee minutes. Mike clarified that this meant the committee will evaluate how the previous campaign went.
• There is still a need to have something in place that will be given to new members of the parish. The committee and Anne Higgins will work on this project.

E.  Centro Latino – Carol Alvey 

• There was very little turnout from our parish at the recent educational event regarding immigration reform that was held at our parish.
• Fr. Carl said such events should be published in every bulletin in the deanery because Hispanic ministry is a deanery/diocesan issue.

F. Deanery – Carol Alvey 

• A survey was sent out to all Catholics in the diocese regarding support of various ministries/projects in the diocese. There was concern expressed that many people did not receive this survey in the mail.

G. Family Life – David Danhauer 

• The committee is working on developing a survey for our parish that will ask members what they see are the greatest needs in regards to family life.

H.  Social Justice – Pete Johnson 

• The solidarity dinner with Mary Danhauer was very successful. Approximately 60 people attended a presentation from Mary regarding her work in Mandeville. Nearly $500 was raised to help the clinic in Mandeville.
• There will be a door-to-door survey in the neighborhood asking people what they want to see and what they want offered at this year’s Block Party. This survey will take place in July.

7. Old Business 

• The parish hall will be dedicated on June 10. Plans are almost finalized, but a few details are still being worked on. Everyone is invited to the 3 p.m. event. Bishop McRaith will join us for the dedication and celebration.
• Discussion on the parish newsletter was tabled until the June meeting.

8. New Business 

A.  There was discussion regarding transportation for Hispanics in the area. The church bus drivers are going to specific addresses/areas and inviting Hispanics to attend the Sunday afternoon Mass. 

B.   Carol Alvey will be the new liaison for the Sacred Liturgy Committee. 

C.  The Lighthouse Recovery Program approached Fr. Carl in regards to possibly using the Fr. Tucker Center for educational opportunities for its members. All were in agreement that this would be a great outreach to those who are trying to make a new life for themselves. Issues regarding insurance liabilities, scheduling, etc. will be looked into before the center is made available to this program. It was felt that there should not be any major issues that would prevent us from offering the space for this worthy cause. 

D. Anne Higgins brought a draft of the Parish Hall rental agreement to the Council. Several suggestions were made. Anne and Fr. Carl will work on preparing a final contract. 

E.  There was extensive discussion regarding a “good problem” the parish is having in relation to the number of people who attend weekend Masses, the time it takes for worship, the lack of a prayerful atmosphere in church as one Mass lets out and people come in for the next liturgy, the inability for Fr. Carl and staff members to share hospitality with parishioners, and other related issues. No consensus was reached on how to solve some of these issues. The discussion will continue at our next meeting.  

F.  Due to the lateness of the meeting, discussion on better ways to communicate, specific discussion on the budget, and feedback on the last newsletter were all tabled until the next meeting. 

9.  Tom Hayden will lead opening prayer at the March meeting. 

10. Debbie Luedke will lead our continuing education discussion. Topic TBD. 

11.  We closed the meeting by praying the Our Father. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. 

12.  The next Council meeting will be held on Monday, June 4 in the Parish Office.

Respectfully submitted,
John Little – Council Secretary

sdrose@bellsouth.net
5-14-2007