Feb 2026

Pastoral Council Minutes, Feb 17 @ 7 pm
Present Nathan Heitz , Elizabeth Amsberry, Mary Jo Stromberg, LuAnn Scallon, Ron Feusche, Theresa Buss, Becky David (finance), Chris Schneider via zoom (Faith Formation), Phil Paladino, and Fr Doug Wathier
1.   Call to order:  Nathan Heitz at 7 pm. Journey in Faith Prayer led by Father
2.   We reviewed and approved as written the Pastoral Council minutes from 1/20/25.   We also reviewed minutes from Finance Council  1/20/25,  Peace and Justice 1/12/2025, Parish Life minutes 1/12/25. 
3.   Becky reported on the latest finance council meeting, noting that offertory continues to run over budget.   Utility bills have been close to budget, even with the new addition.  
We approved to have 4% taken from the Endowment in April for the Education budget.   (which will be an estimated $22,000)    They have been letting it grow because the return has been so good, but it is meant to be used for education, so was discussed to take 4%.  
Parking lot was sealed and the hope is that it will last for 3 years.   Over this time the area will be monitored for changes, such as cracks and separation of the new wall and curb.    Worst case scenario will be to tear out the old asphalt and making improvements before laying new asphalt.   
4.   Journey in Faith – Feb 3rd the newest models were presented to all the priests.   The core team is working on the final Model which will be implemented on July 17th.     
Next Meeting- Tues March 17, 2026 at 7pm 


Finance Council, Feb 17, 2026
Present: Becky David, Tom Kuhlmann, Adam Losey , Regina Peters, John Holden, Fr Doug Wathier. Also present: Deacon Phil Paladino, Will Kurtt, Dixie Jacobs.
Meeting opened with Journey in Faith prayer.
Monthly Financials: Offertory is about $14,000 above budget; electronic giving and gifts from IRA’s continue to increase. The electric was higher last month, about $200-300. The addition HVAC system most likely the cause. The heat pump system in the addition has been more efficient than expected, and has only slightly effected utility costs. However, last month we had 2 weeks of extreme cold and the rooftop unit runs to supplement the heat pump during extreme cold. Adam made a motion to accept the financial report; Tome seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Savings Investments: General (unrestricted) savings are earning 3%. Withdrawals can be completed anytime during the year with 4-7 days notice. The endowment is considered a long-term investment, so withdrawals can only be requested in Nov and April. The endowment had annualized gain of 12.4% over the past 12 month period (Nov 2025-Nov 2024). The council discussed the $20,000 withdrawal was budgeted from unrestricted savings this year. A consensus was reached to withdraw the $20,000 from the endowment because, even though the endowment generates a higher return, it was created to provide ongoing funding for faith formation.
Religious Education Endowment:  Adam made a motion to withdraw 4% from the endowment as part of this fiscal year’s budget; John seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Parking Lot: Will Kurtt, building & grounds manager, presented an overview and history of the parking lot issues. The drainage improvements are completed, but the next couple years will determine if the drainage tile alleviates the water under the lot creating cracks. In a couple years, a 2” top coat and restriping of the lot will be completed for about $200-300,000. Worst case scenario, if the drainage under the lot is not successful to prevent cracking/breakup of the asphalt, the lot would need soil and compaction testing, removal of current asphalt and rock, and a new lot installed. Replacement would be in excess of million dollars. Building and grounds committee will meet this spring for budgeting, and will have crack filling as part of their proposed budget.
Update Nave Furnace & Stained Glass: Have not received the invoice for the nave furnace repair. The stained glass company returned an extra piece of glass and stated they just started work on the stained glass for the vestibule.
Journey in Faith: Final pastorate models have been determined and will be released beginning of April. Shortly after the priest assignments will be released.
Staff Update: The full-time coordinator of faith formation position has been filled. Calli Bossom has accepted the position and will begin July 1. We thank Carolyn White, interim middle school assistant, who has done  a great job during this transition. Carolyn will leave our employ in May.
Agenda for Tues, Mar 17. Monthly financials, Journey in Faith, update on nave furnace and stained glass, and preliminary 2026 budget discussion.
 
 
St. Mary Building & Grounds Minutes: Wednesday, October 29th, 2025
Facility walk through – outside and inside the building
Committee members present: Matt Steuer, Janet McCullough, Will Kurtt, Doug Mraz,
Fr. Doug Wathier, Todd Tatroe, and Norm Bruns (future grounds project) absent: Sandy Schutz
Will Kurtt started the meeting with an opening prayer at 6:05 p.m. and the list of meeting topics was reviewed prior to going outside while there was still daylight:
1.      Parking lot improvements- tile repairs (part of the water drainage project by the road)
2.      Parking lot ongoing maintenance – overlay and striping. The lot is on track to be paved in 2026 (finances and approval tbd)
3.      Flower garden project for Mary Mother statue. Norm has been mowing at the church this year and has volunteered to do the work on the flower garden with input by Gerri and the staff.  Todd made a suggestion to include a new light for the statue. Further discussion led to a motion (Todd) that was passed to start fresh with the flower garden as the top soil is too clayey to support a successful garden.
4.      Bats finding their way into the building will be addressed by hiring a repairman
(the bat guy) to seal off (and clean up) any gaps where the bats are getting in. Todd suggested adding a bat box in the church prairie to encourage bats to roost there instead of the building
5.      Signage will be installed on the new canopy; Caution of low clearance for delivery trucks, etc.
6.      Additional lighting for the parking lot at the front, west end is needed since the light
gets low closer to the road
7.      Future planning for the playground will be addressed (gift was received for swing set)
8.      Lighting of playground (and potentially the firepit area, toward the volleyball courts) will be done by repurposing the light poles that used to be located in the front of the building
9.      Tuck pointing quote came in at $7,000.00 for the entire church. The Finance Council knows this expense is coming
10.   Partition wall in new classrooms is not working well and solutions are being pursued
11.   Handicap door has been damaged by wind and a solution is in progress to prevent this from occurring again via a bollard
12.   Stained glass (from old church) will be placed in the side door entrance of the foyer (west side) which is no longer in use. This will be the final piece of the Phase 2 building project.
13.   The HVAC for the building is in need of attention; the building is not warming up as it should. Todd provided a few solutions such as installing a new VFD (variable frequency drive) to ramp up the power to the motor for the air handler. He will do this task in the next week or two. Todd also suggested jet fans to circulate the air from top to bottom.
Plumb Tech is working on this new energy efficient system for the church and it was reported that the new schools in Waverly are also experiencing similar issues.
14.   There is a bulb out on one of the lights along the road (entrance/exit of parking)
The next B&G meeting will be next spring, prior to the Finance Council budget mtg.
Building & Grounds’ Notes Mar 2026: 
1.      Stained Glass company contacted office and they just began work on stained glass in Feb 2026. Stained glass in the process of cleaning, re-leaded, and set into new frame. Installation date not set yet.
2.      Room Mathew Partition Wall has been adjusted and exercised to assure ease of operation.
 
 Faith Formation Commission minutes  3-3-26
2 Lenten Activities

• Ash Wed Supper 5 or 6 high schoolers and several adult volunteers
• Served about 150 people

3 Budget

• Similar budget expenses to date compared to last year
• New Faith leader in July

4 Calendar Date for VBS July 11 to July 16

• Other dates waiting to be discussed in July with Kalli
• St Paul to host and St Mary to help

Extra:
Welcoming for Kalli?
How to promote education and collaboration for faith roles at St. Mary.
Faith Leader may not report to Pastor with Journey in Faith

• How to support Kalli to start
• June 2026 timeline to have a meet and greet

April 11th all will be notified of Journey changes and pastorates
Our May 2026 meeting will be a good time to discuss Journey in Faith changes
 
 
Peace and Justice Minutes for March 9, 2026
Opening Prayer: Wayne gave information about patron saint for today, St. Frances of Rome, along with her prayer.
Sister Water Project: Lindsey will ask Dixie to keep her informed as to amount of donations so appropriate article will be in bulletin each week. Lindsey will also talk to Mollie regarding what should be in the announcements each week. Committee will wait to donate to project to see how much is needed to meet our parish goal.
Habitat: Directors of Habitat spoke to Congressmen promoting housing to encourage grant money. Four houses are under construction in Waterloo at this time.
Food Bank: There were 12 volunteers. Lindsey will contact Food bank and cancel work day in April since it is Easter weekend. Next volunteer day will be Saturday, May 2nd.
Tithing: Local: $750 to Bremer County  Food Bank
              National: $1,000 to NAMI
We will wait until next month to give International donation when we know how much Sister Water Project needs to meet our parish goal. If there is enough money, we plan to give to CRS also.
Closing Prayer: Hail Mary
Next meeting: April 13, 2026.     Minutes written: Jan Kriener
 
 
Parish Life Minutes, Monday, February 9, 2026
Present: , Father Wathier,  Cindy Franzen, Helen Melichar, Gerri Dix, Mary Lou Ungs, Rita Indresano                                Meeting called to order by Co-Chair Mary Lou
Opening Prayer: Mary Lou led  the “Journey in Faith Prayer”
Added to the Agenda:  Ash Wed added to New Business
Old Business:

• Mardi Gras Supper:   February 6 . Served 254 which does not include those under 5.  Ten kids participated in the games and activities.  Possibly just have a coloring table next year.  Extra sauce with meat was donated to the Veterans Post and sauce without meat was put in the freezer.
  
• Souper Bowl Bingo:  February 7.  Served: four crockpots of soup, leftover lettuce from KC’s supper, and leftover buns made into garlic toast (this went over quite well).  Around 60 people were served.
  
• Spring Tea Update:  Committee (Mindy, Liz Poock, Mary Lou , and Kris Albers) met on January 24.  Initial planning of:  entertainment possibilities, identification of duties, and a possible menu.
  

New Business:

• Spring Tea: April 25, Saturday at 1:00 PM.  Gerri will put out sign-up sheets the weekend after Easter.
  
• Easter Egg Hunt:  March 21  Karen Kuhlman in charge.  Liz and Mary Lou will work the kitchen.  Karen will need to do an inventory of supplies in order to see what might be needed.
  
• March Bingo:  St. Patrick's Day theme.  Pizza Ranch Pizza with chips and bars. Steve Phyfe will be the caller.
• Welcome for Transferring Catholics to St. Mary Parish:  This will be on the March agenda.
• Ash Wednesday:  February 18.  Very simple supper will be served after evening Mass. Grilled cheese and tomato soup with crackers.  Planning for 200.  200 sandwiches will be made at 4:00 on Wednesday.
  
• Other: Father was asked for input on his retirement recognition. His last weekend to say Mass will be the weekend of July 11-12.  Possibly have a meal?  Grilled hot dogs, chips and pie??

Looking Ahead: Treats for Wartburg finals week will be given out April 11-12.
Gerri will not be at the May PL meeting.
Closing Prayer:   Father Wathier led “Hail Mary”
Next Meeting:  March 9, 2026 at 7PM     
Respectfully submitted,      Helen Melichar
 
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