Reflection: Jack found it very uplifting to see the parish supporting Father Graney, Ruth, and Debbie, and that the Pastoral Council should dedicate its work to those parishioners. Dick agreed that was good to see everyone rally around the three of them. Sharon noted that the prayer service was wonderful, and Maritza commented on the resilience of the parish community. Al stated that the parish’s response is a tribute to Father Graney’s pastoral care of the community.
Members Present: George Brown, Jane Hanson for Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Mary Beth Coté, Cheryl Christiansen for Anita Delaney, Deacon John Falkowski, Sharon Gidumal, Father Corrigan for Father Graney, JoAnn Hedrick, Jody Maliga, Ed Baum for Rich Mayes, Al Mercatante, Mike Mitchell, Maritza Poza-Grise, Joe Quinn, Jack Sanders, Dick Schwer, Susan Sheahan, Kathy Swain.
Ex Officio Member Present: Mike Reis
Guests: Linda Malm, Nancy Maloney.
Minutes Approved: Dick corrected Mike Reis’s status in the July minutes as
ex officio member, rather than guest. Joe asked for clarification of the availability of the online photo directory of the parish. Dick moved to approve the July minutes, pending the corrections. Sharon seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Update on Father Graney: Father Corrigan provided an update on Father Graney’s condition. He noted that there was damage to the retina in one eye. He also mentioned that there was no traumatic brain injury. Father Graney’s broken fingers were corrected through surgery, and he is continuing to look well and get better.
Old Business:
Sign up sheet for opening reading and reflection: The sheet was passed around for the 2018-2019 term. All months are now covered.
Confirm PC roster contact information: The contact information list was passed around, with people making corrections as necessary.
Parish 50
th anniversary celebration update: Sharon reported that an initial meeting would be held Wednesday, August 15 after the 7:00 PM Mass. 6-8 people showed interest. Ruth had volunteered to convene the meeting, although Maritza noted Ruth didn’t want to head up the committee. Dick added that a committee chair would be needed to be effective. The conversation shifted to discussion of starting time for upcoming Pastoral Council meetings. Father Corrigan noted that timing of the meeting had been based off the fact that there was a 5:30 PM Mass on Sunday evenings. Mary Beth commented that when weather is bad, it would be nice to have an earlier meeting time.
Stewards’ update: It was noted that there would be a meeting for stewards after the Pastoral Council meeting tonight.
Pastoral Administrator Search Team Update: Maritza said that a lot has happened. Tim’s visit went very well, but he took a position with
a parish in the Diocese of Houston. Eileen
Goss Gaus visited on the Friday before the incident; the visit also went
had gone very well
, too. After the incident, the decision was made to hold on filling the pastoral administrator position- Maritza noted that the diocese stated that Father Graney would need to return before a pastoral administrator could be hired. Eileen was informed of this and was understanding. Father Corrigan added that Eileen had stopped by this past Friday to see how Father Graney was doing.
Pastoral Council 2017-2018 Objectives and Goals Team Update Reports: no updates were given. Al asked the teams to come up with objectives for the 2018-2019 year for next month’s meeting. He also asked the Council if it would be helpful to bring back Bill Reynolds to help reformulate goals- people said yes!
Finance Council Update:
Kitchen renovation: Mike R. noted his concern that the plans for the kitchen renovation have changed over time. Sharon asked if we have an increase in kitchen functionality for the amount of money we are proposing to spend. Mike R. mentioned that he asked for three estimates, which is a requirement for any project costing more than $25,000, but that we only have one estimate so far. Maritza and Father Corrigan both stated that we need to proceed with getting two more bids for the kitchen renovation. Al suggested that the Finance Council could go after these bids.
Father Corrigan shared that the Diocesan Building Commission could be contacted to get an estimate. George asked if the parish had an agreed-upon plan for the renovation, and volunteered to help with some contact.
Father Corrigan asked if warmers could be replaced with a stove, noting that St. Elizabeth’s kitchen was a very nice one, without needing to be a commercial kitchen.
Al asked who would be the project manager for this- George said he could take the current renovation plans to Kitchen and Bath to request an estimate, and take the lead on getting estimates.
It was noted that the additional estimates are expected to come in higher than Rich’s estimate, particularly since Rich’s estimate includes the generous donation of his and other volunteers’ time. However, these estimates are still needed, if only to confirm how good Rich’s estimate is and to meet the requirements for big-money projects.
Parish Audit: Mike R. mentioned that there would be a “forward looking review” of books and the new system. A big “Thank you!” to Tina for all her work!
Flocknote update and discussion: Al asked people to provide their thoughts on Flocknote. Sharon and Susan both indicated they would prefer to get remedial training before commenting. Dick stated that he feels it’s an awkward program to work with. Maritza commented that Flocknote works well, although goofy things happen with the viewing of attachments. Mary Beth said she likes how Flocknote updates responses to surveys real-time. Cheryl added that MailChimp is better for one-way communication (sending a message out) while Flocknote is better for two-way communication (tracking replies and responses.) A question was asked about the cost of using MailChimp, and Joe noted that it was free. We are currently using a free trial for Flocknote, which will end around November of this year.
New Business:
Preparation for September elections, goal setting, and change of meeting time: Al noted that the September 9
th meeting would start at 7 PM, and that elections and goal setting would take place during this meeting.
October annual PC retreat: Father Corrigan offered to take the lead on organizing this.
Pastoral Council Group photo: The group photo will be taken at the September group meeting.
Parish Census: It was noted that the photo directory work should help with updating info for parishioners. Deacon John added that a lot of information was cleaned up 2-3 years ago. Father Corrigan was happy about the directory being done on a more regular basis. It was brought up that the Stewardship Drive in the fall could be combined with the Parish Census.
Donut Counter request for PC assistance: Al shared that Ellen Pringle and Doug Keilman would like the Pastoral Council to cover the donut counter for 1 Sunday each month. Father Corrigan commented that the need for volunteers is both on the board and on the computer, so that it should be well-published. Dick added that the Pastoral Council used to be in charge of the donut counter.
Father Corrigan, for the closing prayer, played a cassette from the Center for Action and Contemplation, in which a female Episcopalian minister answered questions, and touched on the theme of individual enlightenment leading to corporate transformation.
Dick moved to close the meeting, with Sharon seconding. The motion passed unanimously at 5:40 PM.