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ST. MARY CHURCH

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

JULY 13, 2010

Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will seek to formulate and initiate policies that set a vision and direction for parish life while building our parish community.

 

The meeting was opened with a prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Present: Stan Epple, Kent Peter, Audrey Wehr, Betty Jenkins, Bonnie Meadows, Ron Wagner, and Fr. Ron Kreilein

Last month's minutes were corrected and sent to Dianne for publication.

Long Term Planning – No report.

Financial Report – The finance committee will be meeting July 15 according liaison Audrey Wehr. Fr. Kreilein passed out the financial statement for June. Discussion followed. Collections for CPC are still short. It was decided to hold a second collection to offset the shortage. Notice of the collection will be in the bulletin and announced the weekend before. Kent Peter will be meeting with Holly Reckelhoff to discuss St. Mary Nursery School finances. Audrey Wehr stated that the Building and Grounds Committee and the Long Term Planning need to turn in project needs to the Finance Committee by July 30 in order to get them included in next year's budget.

Building & Grounds Committee – Ron Wagner reported that the members have begun touring the existing buildings in order to make a list of improvements and repairs needed. They will be e-mailing their minutes to Dianne for filing.

Discussion was held and it was decided that all minutes from all committees should be compiled on the parish computer and also a hard copy filed at the parish office.

Old Business - Kent Peter talked to Dianne about preschool tuition still owed. Connie Matheis, CRE, will cover the DRE position during the interim until someone is hired for this position. Due to her increased work time her additional hours will be compensated. The council reviewed the community meal/food bank report. It was decided that no food bank collections would be taken during July and August.

New Business – Stan Epple shared his thoughts on the differences between Strategic Planning and Long Term Planning. The parish needs to develop a mission (what we are) and a vision (what we want to become). The members' consensus was that Stan should continue working with the LTP on developing their mission/vision statements.

Staff Reports – Votive candles in church have been blown out several times. Babysitting on Sunday has been suspended until there are two volunteers each time. There have been problems with no shows. Due to liability, the parish cannot have only one babysitter.

Betty Jenkins and Bonnie Meadows reported positive comments and concerns on the Parish Party. Discussion followed. Members of the Parish Party Committee are looking for replacements. More volunteers are needed to put on this event and to clean up afterwards. The Parish Party is at risk for lack of volunteers. There was a suggestion to have this party on the Friday afternoon following VBS. The approximate cost of the Parish Party was $1500.

The council finalized the DRE job description and the formation of a hiring committee. There are four applicants so far. Applications are due by Aug. 2. The hiring committee consists of Fr. Ron and 3 committee members. Any interested parishioner will be given an interview. The committee will be responsible for deciding who to interview and how many interviews would be needed. The DRE's salary will be commensurate with experience. It was also suggested that each applicant be given a tour of the grounds before their interview.

Father Ron closed the meeting with a blessing.

Next meeting will be held Tuesday, August 17 following Mass.

Respectfully submitted by Barb Leinenbach

 

 

St. Mary Church

Parish Council Meeting

June 23, 2010

Present: Fr. Ron Kreilein, Kent Peter, Bonnie Meadows, Stan Epple, Audrey Wehr, Betty Jenkins

Absent: Ron Wagner

Father Kreilein opened the meeting with a prayer.

The minutes had been previously approved by e-mail.

Long Term Planning Committee Report: Stan Epple, Parish Council liaison for the LTPC reported that the LTPC committee were taking over the responsibility of the church building following the Arcee report. They are making suggestions to the budget, checking out the landscaping where water is leaking into the church, and developing a plan of action to clean and reseal the bell tower area. The members are also working on a mission statement. Stan Epple is working on developing a template for all committees to use while writing their commission statements.

Finance Report: Audrey Wehr, Parish Council liaison for the Finance Committee, reported that she, Steve Buechler, and Helen Giesler met to discuss the parish budget. Fifty percent of the budget involves salaries, wages, and benefits of employees. Gene Eckerle and Ron Wagner will be meeting to discuss the possible expenses of the Building and Grounds Committee. The parish council came to the consensus that extra activities within the parish that have expenses should be included in the total parish budget. It had been suggested that possibly a second collection, Fish Fry, etc. could be used to make up the Preschool deficit. It was also suggested meeting with Mrs. Reckelhoff to see if she had any suggestions. It was mentioned that a percentage of the tithing budget goes to help parents pay for Catholic School tuition. Applications are taken from parents and then the money is divided by the number of parents who apply. The Finance committee will also make a recommendation on how to pay for the CPC shortage. The whole Finance committee will meet on July 15 to work on the upcoming budget.

Building & Grounds Committee: Kent Peter reported due to the absence of Ron Wagner. The committee has met and is working on a mission statement, bylaws, responsibilities, and a plan for rotation of the membership. Pat Mendel will be the chairman and Ruth Meyer is secretary. The Parish Council liaison member will be Ron Wagner this year to be followed by one of the 2 nd year members of the Parish Council after that. Stan stated that the B&G committee needs to plan so items needed or improvements can be budgeted.

Father's shower is now working. Mehringers' Plumbing & Heating will cut the service charges. A lightning strike may have been the cause.

Staff Reports: Fr. Kreilein reported that DRE Mickie Paulin has resigned effective July 9. She has taken a similar position at St. Ferdinand Parish. Connie Matheis (CRE) will be asked to help in the interim if possible.

Old Business: Much discussion was held about what committees need to be formed first and what their roles should be. The LTPC and the B&G are already up and running. Kent Peter suggested LTPC discuss the planning of our spirituality formation. Part of the LTPC's mission statement includes to nurture the faith formation of our community. The LTPC does not rotate members on the committee. Stan Epple requested time at the next meeting to discuss with Parish Council members what was expected of the LTP and then meet with the LTP.

Other committees discussed were the possible formation of a Personnel Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, etc.

New Business: More discussion was held about a Personnel committee and what their role would be. Examples of mission statements were examined. Roles and responsibilities were discussed in light of the DRE position now being open. Betty Jenkins suggested having volunteers work in office, folding bulletins, etc. She quoted a $1300 price tag for a folder for the bulletins. She also suggested dividing the DRE responsibilities among committees and volunteers at least until a new DRE was hired. Members discussed what to do to cover the DRE responsibilities until a new DRE could be found. Also discussed was the tasks that were included in this job. Stan Epple asked that Mickie sit down with the current staff to share her plans for the next year at St. Mary.

Parish Council members worked on developing a mission statement for the council. All committees will be expected to have a mission statement.

Pastoral Remarks: Father suggested that the council members take a look at the diocese bylaws when developing bylaws for each of the committees. Weekly Mass times will change as of July 5. They are: Tues. 6:30 p.m., Wed. 6:30 p.m., Thurs. 7:30 a.m., Fri. 7:30 a.m.

The meeting was closed with a prayer by Stan Epple and a blessing from Father Kreilein.

Next meeting: July 13,2010 following 6:30 Mass

Submitted by Barb Leinenbach