Sept 21, 2021

Pastoral Council Minutes, September 21st, 2021:
Present: Elizabeth Amsberry, Joe Barber, Nathan Heitz, Phil Paladino, Father Doug Wathier, Wayne Green.  Zoom: Elaine Lawler, Jenne Seward.  Not present: Kris Dunkin, Trent Lockard 

• Meeting called to order by Father
• Father Doug started with prayer.
• Introductions were done.
• Election of officers:
  • Wayne offered to be secretary. It seconded by Jenne and approved by Council.
  • Elaine volunteered to be vice-chair. It was seconded by Wayne and approved by Council.
  • Nathan volunteered to be chair. It was seconded by Elizabeth and approved by Council.

 

• The May 18th minutes were reviewed. Jenne noted that in the minutes the next Council meeting was stated as Tuesday, August May 17th. The next Council meeting should have been stated as Tuesday, August 17th. Elaine moved to accept the minutes with the above correction, Jenne seconded, and the Council approved.


• Joe gave the financial report
  • Giving has been strong and is ahead of budget
  • The Church received a bequest of an estate that includes property and other holdings. Currently waiting to hear back from the lawyers of both sides.
  • The Finance committee recommended that unrestricted gifts be placed in the Building fund. After some discussion, Nathan moved to approve the recommendation, seconded by Jenne, and approved by the Council.

 

• Phase 2 Committee Update
  • Two subcommittees have been formed. A Building committee lead by Tab Ray, that will be working with the architects and a Capital Campaign committee lead by Phil, that will be working with the Capital Campaign consultants.
  •   About 120 of the top givers will be contacted first.
  • A survey will be going out to gather feedback from parishioners.
  • Initial scope of project is 12,000 – 14,000 sq/ft with budget of 1.7 – 2.5 million.

 

• It was requested that the Council have a member be a liaison to the Phase 2 committee. Elizabeth volunteered.

 

• Covid concerns
  • There was discussion about the signs on the doors of the Church mentioning that masks are recommended. It was decided the signs stay up but with some kind of message of welcome.
  • As of now, there are no plans to have Mass servers or to have the Gifts brought up to the altar or to include wine at Communion.

 

• There was discussion on NCYC. Father mentioned that stronger recommendations from the NCYC organization about covid were put in place which resulted in a few candidates dropping out.
• A suggestion was made that the Faith Formation schedules be communicated earlier in order to help families plan their own schedules. Father will forward the suggestion on to Angie.
• Wayne moved that the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Joe, and approved by Council.
• The meeting ended with the Hail Mary.
• Next Council meeting will be Tuesday, October 19th at 7:00pm - Submitted by Wayne Green

 
Finance Council – Sept 21, 2021
Present: Kelly Flege, Scott Danner, Joe Barber, Steve Phyfe, Fr Doug Wathier. Also present: Deacon Phil Paladino, Dixie Jacobs.
Monthly Financials: Offertory is doing well. More households are choosing to do larger gifts every few week. Approximately 40-45% of giving is through our auto-deposit or on-line option. This is up from 25% pre-pandemic. This has reduced the seasonal fluctuations. Scott made a motion to approve the financials; Kelly seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Bequest:  St Mary is the sole beneficiary of the bequest.  An email will be sent out to finance members when we have an update.
Faith Formation Update: Registration is going well and numbers are only slightly below pre-pandemic levels. The first sessions had good attendance and participation. Registrations are still coming into the office.
NCYC will be this Nov. Due to the continued covid numbers, in addition to the required masks stated at the time of registration, participants who are not vaccinated will need to provide a negative test before departure, quarantine if they come into contact with someone with symptoms, or have symptoms themselves. Vaccinated participants will need to quarantine if they have symptoms during the event. Quarantined participants will need parents to pick them up as soon as possible. Partial refunds are available before the end of September; we have had several withdrawals. An update will be provided next month on the financial effect of this.
Phase 2 Building Update: The committee will meet with the architect by zoom on the 2nd Tues of each month at noon, and in-person on the 4th Tues of each month in the evening. A liaison from the finance council is needed for the phase 2 committee. Dixie will email out a request for a volunteer from the finance members. The fundraising feasibility letters are being reviewed.
Motion – Unrestricted Gifts: During the original building project for the current facility, the councils designated unrestricted gifts (memorials, bequests, etc) be applied to the building project/loan. The council discussed this for the current project. Kelly made a motion to apply all undesignated gifts to the building fund; subject to an annual review at the Aug meetings. Steve seconded the motion; the motion passed unanimously.
Agenda Oct: monthly financials, phase 2 update, bequest update, budgeted endowment withdrawal. Next meeting is Oct 19. Meeting adjourned.