Members present: Matt Duffy, Teresa Hodgins, Jim Turner, Gregg Wallander
Members unable to be present: Mike Chisley, Nichelle Leavell
Also present: Father Tom Schliessmann, Pastor, Melinda Rivelli, Pastoral Associate, Andrea Cernich, Business Manager, Steve Sommer, Finance Council Representative
The members of the Parish Pastoral Council met Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 7 p.m. The Councilbegan in prayer, with a reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, 5:6-11. Fr. Tom then asked all Council members to share their reflections regarding the passage.
Approval of Minutes. The minutes of the May 24, 2023, Council meeting were approved for distribution in the parish Bulletin and posting on the website.
From the Pastor. Fr. Tom is planning on conducting a parish engagement initiative – essentially, a series of meetings with parishioners to provide context on where we are as a parish and school and to listen to parishioners’ perspectives on these topics.
Fr. Tom also provided a brief update on the replacement of the school roof. The news is good – the contractor is ahead of schedule, and it appears the total cost should come in under the original estimate primarily because the contractor will not need to build up the roof’s pitch as anticipated. In all events, the roof looks to be well on the way to completion ahead of the beginning of school and French Market.
Discussion of 3-5 Year Strategic Goals The Council next discussed the parish’s 3-5 year strategic goals focused on faith, service, and community.
Faith. Matt Duffy reported on the work of the Eucharistic Revival committee. The committee had its third meeting in early June, and there are now more than 20 people attending regularly. Matt reported that there has been a lot of enthusiasm and brainstorming and that people are committing to tasks and following up – all in anticipation of how best to prepare and position our parish for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024. The work of the Eucharistic Revival committee is in four focus areas:
Robust faith formation.
Reinvigorate worship.
Personal encounter.
Missionary sending
Matt reported that there will be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament beginning in “four corners of the country” and ending in Indianapolis in July 2024. A Year of Missionary Sending will follow the Congress.
Service. The Council next discussed our Service goal and noted that there is a linkage between this goal and the missionary sending of the Eucharistic Reviaval. Council members discussed St. Vincent DePaul and other ongoing service ministries. We need to at least informally survey what the church is already doing in this area to better understand what needs to be done. Nichelle Leavell and Jim Turner will work with Melinda Rivelli on this inventory of parish activity.
Community. The Council next discussed the Community goal. In addition to the engagement initiative that Fr. Tom earlier reported on, Teresa Hodgins noted that people miss the purely social things we used to do before Covid. Ideas for community engagement included PTO Sunday socials throughout the summer where people with children can meet up and feel more engaged in parish life. There was also discussion of the St. Joan marriage ministry.
Security Plan. Jim Turner next led a discussion of a parish safety and security operations plan. He shared several newspaper articles regarding recent attacks on churches nationally and highlighted a tool promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security called Faith-Based Community Self- Assessment, which helps churches assess their relative level of safety preparedness. Andrea Cernich noted that there is an existing safety and security operations plan but that it no doubt needs refreshing and updating. She committed to working with Jim and Deacon Mark Henry on this effort.
Council Constitution. Gregg Wallander and Jim Turner committed to distilling any possible edits or amendments to the existing Parish Council Constitution by the July meeting.
Finance Council Update. Steve Sommer presented an update from the Finance Council. He stated that the Finance Council is presenting a balanced budget for FY 2024. The budget will not include any retirement of our existing obligation to the Archdiocese – at least in 2024. A balanced budget depends heavily on assumptions related to school enrollment, school tuition, and Choice Scholarships.
The next meeting of the Parish Council is Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Following closing prayer (Prayer of St. Joan of Arc), the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.