Oct 2023

No Meetings in December

Pastoral Council Minutes, October 17, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m.
The mission of St. Mary Parish is to make Christ real in our Communities by  living the Gospel, worshiping together and serving others
 
Present:  Michell Even, Nathan Heitz, Val King, Elaine Lawler, Fr. Doug Wathier, Sandy Risvold, Joe Barber,
Call to order: Nathan Heitz at 7:02 p.m. 
Prayer: Fr. Doug
 
We noted in the minutes from the September 17 Pastoral Council that Elaine Lawler was not listed as present and she did attend that meeting.  Also updates to Parish Council Members: remove Kris Dunkin, Elizabeth Amsberry’s new address is 801 9th  St. NW, Waverly, Mary Jo Stromberg no longer resides at address listed. Minutes approved with these changes.
We then reviewed and approved the minutes from the September Finance Council. We reviewed the  Faith Formation Commission minutes from September 5 and October 3. These were approved after the addition of Chris Schneider as Vice President in the October minutes.
 
Finance Council:  The operating shortage has been noted and will be further investigated.
PHASE 2:

1. The Archdiocese Building Commission approved the architectural plans and recommends that we build all at once and not in stages.
2. Contractors must submit bids by November 1.
3. We will have parish meetings to provide updates as the project moves forward.

OTHER:

1. Attendance at the Fall Dinner was 350. Total dollars raised has yet to be determined after final expenses paid.
2. The Council members reviewed and discussed the Parish Statistics dated 10/13/23, including the number of parishioners that have setup recurring gifts versus envelope giving.

 
As there were no further items for discussion, we adjourned at 7:40.  The next meeting is November 21, 2023.  Minutes prepared by Val King
 
Finance Council and Building Committee Meeting – Nov 14, 2023
Special Building Meeting
 
Present: Fr Wathier, Joe Barber, Becky David, Katie Crouse, Kelly Flege, Todd Tatroe, Mary Jo Stromberg, Gabe Stauffer, Will Kurtt, Deacon Phil Paladino, Dixie Jacobs.
 
Building Bids received Nov 8. Lowest bid $1,793,700 including the classrooms with the (option #1) expanded classroom, breezeway, and covered drop-off.
Summary of Financials:
        Income received $1,111,814 plus outstanding pledge balance $451,913 = $1,563,727
        Expenses: Fundraising, Architecture, taxa expenses =  425,822
        Lowest Construction Bid = $1,793,700
        Shortfall =   $655,795
Breezeway Discussion: Are there options for reducing this cost?

1. Remove breezeway’s west wall; breezeway roof supported by pillars.
2. No drive through drop-off; breezeway with supports, no walls, end at sidewalk.

These do not address the drainage issues in the sidewalk/entryway area, which cause icy conditions and “flooding” of the vestibule and office entrance. The savings are not significant unless remove the changes to parking lot including moving handicap spaces closer, sidewalk redesigned, etc. This would still not make up the shortfall.
Shortfall: A small portion of the shortfall could be recouped with eliminating the expansion to the classroom ($117,000), changes to the breezeway/drive-through, and additional minor changes. However, this would not eliminate the shortfall completely. Parishioners divided on some seeing the classrooms as first priority, and others seeing the breezeway as the most important to them. Unsure how parishioners would feel about changes to the breezeway; would this affect the outstanding pledge gifts or regular offertory giving?
Loan: The parish approved for a $1M loan through the Archdiocese. It can be used to cover the (2-4yr)  gap between construction/billing and the pledges being paid. We can still take out the full loan to cover a shortfall in pledges, but we would have to submit a plan with the Archdiocese to repay the loan through additional fundraising or other means.
Consensus: This Sunday, Nov 19, is building update to parishioners. Need to get input and opinions on the project concerning cost reductions to project and additional fundraising to shrink the shortage.
Motion: Mary Jo made a motion to present bids to the parish asking for volunteers to form a Fundraising Committee to cover the shortfall. Gabe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Next Meeting: Combined finance and building committee on Tues, Nov 21, 6pm in classroom B and zoom.
 
Peace and  Justice Meeting Minutes, November 13, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m.
The Peace and Justice Committee seeks to mobilize the St. Mary community to care for
the  poor and marginalized in the name of Jesus through the lens of our Catholic faith.
 
Attendance: Lindsey Kuhlmann, Jan Kriener, Teresa Moerer, Phil Paladino, Val King
Opening Prayer :  Val @ 7:02
Lindsey:  Send September and October meeting minutes to Dixie for inclusion in the Pastoral Council packets for their meeting on November 21.
Peace and Justice education and parish survey:

1. Catholic Social Teaching
   1. Teresa will check with Dixie about the “Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching” article for the bulletin for the weekend of 11/18/23. Teresa did verify that this article will be in the bulletin the weekend of 11/18.
   2. All  review the draft for the bulletin on the “Life and Dignity of the Human Person” and get any revisions to Teresa by this Thursday, November 16.
   3. Teresa, Jan, Val, and Lindsey to meet on Tuesday, November 21 at 9:00 a.m. in Classroom B to finalize the rest of the articles on the Catholic Social Teaching Principles. We agreed, after discussion, that we need to write and submit all of the remaining articles at the same time to avoid duplication. Please submit all drafts and ideas to Teresa prior to the meeting and she will compile a summary for review and discussion.
2. Parish Survey
   1. Teresa and Lindsey: Go to Pastoral Council on Tuesday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. to present goals for survey (gather needs of parish and offer volunteer opportunities for those wishing to help others).
   2. Val: Notify Dixie to place on the November Pastoral Council Agenda the topic of a parish survey by Peace and Justice Committee.
   3. Recommend the survey be presented after the education on the Catholic Social Teaching Principles. This would also be right before Lent.
   4. On the weekend the survey is in the bulletin, we should plan to be at Coffee and Donuts to hand out surveys and ask parishioners to complete.
   5. Have someone from Peace and Justice go to the other committee meetings to gather ideas as we develop survey.
   6. Add reminder to announcements or have someone from Peace and Justice make an additional announcement about the survey the weekend it is in the bulletin.
   7. We promptly respond to feedback we receive so parishioners see that their feedback is important and heard.
3. Name of Committee – we decided to leave the name as Peace and Justice Committee.

 
Food Bank

• Saturday, December 9, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
• Lindsey:  This information needs to get to Dixie by the Thursday, November 16 to be in the bulletin on November 25th and December 3rd.  Also, website needs to be updated.

Tithing:
Local:                                Bremer County Food Pantries - $500
                                             Bremer County Holiday Shop (Giving Tree) - $500
                                             Butler County Visions of Well-Being “Christmas Cheer” - $500
State/National:          Camp Courageous - $500
                                             Clara White Mission - $500
International:             Self Help International - $1000
                                             Bread for the World - $1000
Closing: Our Father @ 7:55.  Next meeting is Dec 11 at 7:00 p.m.  Minutes prepared by: Val King
 
Peace and  Justice Meeting Minutes, September 18, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m.
Attendance: Lindsey Kuhlmann, Jan Kriener, Teresa Moerer, Phil Paladino, Wayne Green
Opening prayer - Wayne
Food bank follow up - Lindsey

• 8 people attended. Repackaged frozen meat from Tyson

Habitat for Humanity update - Wayne
"Walking with Moms in Need" - Phil

• Interest in doing this, but maybe wait until the beginning of next year / Spring?
• Needs someone to champion it

Continued discussion on incorporating our Peace and Justice ministry into parish life..

• Change name to Social Justice ministry
• Phill will talk to Father Doug to okay it
• How to help the parish become stronger
• Communicate with other groups in the church like Parish Life so we are not overlapping with what they are doing
• Create goals to accomplish
• Homebound ministry - talk to Gerri
• Jan & Theresa (& Lindsey?) will talk to Gerri. Set up a meeting for Wednesday Sept. 27 possibly

Rosary in Kohlman Park Sat. Oct. 14th at noon
Tithe – report not updated with last month's tithing. Lindsey will email Dixie to update this before we make any further additional tithes.
Closing prayer - Jan