ST. MICHAEL PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

Minutes of the Regular Meeting

June 23, 2009

In  attendance:  Father Jim King, Deacon Merle Runck, Mike Gunkel, Mary Manchester, Richard Marks, John Metz, Sandi Miller, Joe Paris, Al Peterson, Marilyn Scherer

Absent: Evelyn Andrews, Sharon Bernard, Len Grantner, Mary Jager

The meeting was chaired by Mike Gunkel, and opened with a prayer.

The minutes of the May 26, 2009 meeting were reviewed and approved as written.

Election of Officers

Mary Manchester was elected to serve as Chair of the Council for the year 2009-2010 and John Metz was elected to serve as Vice Chair.

Old Business

---Mike stated that Richard suggested that outgoing council members explain the duties of their respective positions to the new board members.  Father Jim recommended that a workshop be held for that purpose.

--The Parish picnic was discussed.  Last year food was ordered for 325 and over 400 were served.  Father Jim said that the parish budget for the picnic is $1200 and we have to be responsible in our planning; that we have to pick a reasonable number and if we run out of food, people will understand.  Burger World charges per sandwich served, so their figures may not be the true number of people who attended.  Father recommended that we prepare for 400 and make a more careful head count this year.  Richard suggested that we check with alternate sources for cost. Al will contact City Market to price fried chicken.  Mary asked Richard to contact Honey regarding the cost of clowns and balloons.  Richard will contact Paul Masar and Rolly Kuhlmann regarding a truck and trailer to move chairs to the park. 

--Head count.  Father Jim stated that the head count conducted in May averaged 750 per weekend, and the June count was 100 less.

--Mary circulated a list of parish committees and asked that members volunteer for the committee of their choice to serve as liaison.

Pastoral Committee Reports

Administration – Father Jim reported that the budget report was reviewed for the 11th month through May.  Offertory is slightly ahead of last year and expenses are slightly behind the budgeted spending projections.  The fiscal year ends June 30.

Christian Formation – Committee met on June 17th.   – Discussion about youth not having class on the day of the Knights Sunday Breakfast.  Decision will be made at the next meeting.  Elementary will not be affected as much as the youth program.  – Three couples are preparing for marriage.  – Two teachers are needed For the First and Fourth grade classes. – Surveys will be sent to parents at the end of June and registration will be in July.

Parish Life -- Committee does not meet during the summer.

Evangelization -- Committee met on June 16th.   Plans are to have a booth at Fiddlers on the Arkansas at a cost of $22.   – Disciples in Mission responses received and meeting will be scheduled.   – Mary is to contact the Diocese to find out what programs are available for dialog with estranged Catholics.

Maintenance – Father Jim reported that we are still working on problems in the new church for lighting fixtures.  Two more failed and it was not the bulbs, but the fixtures that failed.  It is still unknown if we will be facing failure of 83 fixtures.   – The bronze statue has been installed.  The stone work will be done by the artist on July 7.  – New window coverings are being tried in Room 107.  – The sidewalk from 11th Street to College is being replaced.  The City is considering replacing the curb and gutter.  We pay one half of the cost of the sidewalk.  The sprinkler system that runs by the sidewalk will have to be replaced.  – The coolers on the east side of the gym were replaced last week.  There are questions about the distribution of pre-school supplies, come of which were obtained through a grant.  There are certain restrictions on how we can allocate them.

Worship – Four new Eucharistic Ministers will be scheduled in the fall.  – The Youth are on a mission trip to Gallup, NM and are working with a Navajo Medicine Man this week.  –Father Jim performed two Spanish Baptisms, and was asked to conduct a Spanish funeral in Alamosa during the past month. 

New Business

Fall Workshop –We have a need for the Parish Council to get together.  Father Jim will conduct a workshop which will consist of a review of each of the parish committees, brainstorm each committee’s purpose and efforts needed to accomplish them for the parish.  He prefers to do it at an offsite setting, and we will discuss it further in July to plan for August or September. 

Open Forum

Mike reported that they recently attended mass in Oakland, CA and was impressed by their mission statement, “To Know God Better.”

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. with a prayer.  Next meeting will be July 28th.

Respectfully Submitted,

Marilyn Scherer for Evelyn Andrews, Recording Secretary