St. Joseph the Worker - Current News and Events





		Pastoral Council St Joseph the Worker Parish--Pastoral Council Minutes May 27, 2008 *Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a welcoming Catholic community by building faith together through worship, faith formation and service* Present: Olk, Henschel, Pechous, Weber, Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Zeckser, , Hunt, Wetjen, Bellaver Absent: Schnee, Zelinskas, Duster, Gonner, Uhlik Opening Prayer led by Bryan The April minutes were approved. New Business Finance Report: Deanery Council/Pastoral Council: -Tom Henschel has volunteered to be our parish representative and Peter Bellaver has volunteered to serve as alternate representative. -Currently looking for a president/chair -New members of the pastoral council are: Brian Kallback, Gil Spence and Vicki Voellinger. Father will appoint a 4th member, a discussion was had regarding a woman parishioner in her 20's to 30's that might be an asset to the council. Committee Reports: -Written reports were available for the Finance and Buildings & Grounds Committees. -The following committees have a report on the website: Education & Faith Formation, Vocation " Stewardship: Volunteer appreciation dinner will be August 15 " Liturgy: reviewed the Easter celebration " Parish Life: voted for the top 3 organizations to donate the Lenten Buffet charity to (Albrecht Acres, St. Vincent de Paul, Aquila) Each will receive $300. Bus trip to a Kernels game in August " Technology: they now have a budget to work with, it will be used to make the website user-friendly " Health: improving the prayer chain, making programs available on the website or videotape " Service & Justice :looking for new members Old Business Pastoral Planning: Goals " The following are the proposed goals and discussion points for each element of the parish as it relates to the Vision Statement ADMINISTRATION St. Joseph the Worker will develop and maintain responsible lay leadership that focuses on the long-term viability of the parish and encourages all members to share their gifts. " Too much emphasis on "fiscal", fiscal viability is inferred " Getting people to recognize their gifts and share them COMMMUNITY LIFE St. Joseph the Worker will develop and strengthen parish life by promoting an all inclusive faith-filled community. " Do we want to limit this to activities? " Community life is a core value " Health ministry will need to be considered in the objectives/strategies with this goal EVANGELIZATION AND FAITH FORMATION St. Joseph the Worker will encourage all to engage in life-long catechesis as an integral part of the baptismal call. " Should it be more engaging and directive than "recognize"? " Catechesis-do people understand this? " Is "faith education" equivalent to catechesis or is it too narrowing? " Operative word - "life long" PRAYER AND LITURGY St. Joseph the Worker will intentionally build faith together by embracing full, active and conscious participation in the liturgical life of our parish. " Original goal is too long SERVICE AND JUSTICE St. Joseph the Worker will identify and provide compassionate care for God's people. " God's people includes local, national and international levels " There should be an emphasis on compassion from the vision statement STEWARDSHIP St. Joseph the Worker will encourage active participation in accepting, caring for and returning the gifts God has given us. Next Steps " Are we happy with the goals? " Email responses to the entire pastoral council by Tuesday June 3rd " If there are issues with the goals, there may need to be an additional meeting " The next steps will include finding a way to involve advisory committees and staff " Pastoral council members will eventually discuss goals with their various advisory committees and the staff will divide as follows… Administration - Nancy Community Life - Mark B Stewardship - Fr. Mark Agenda - June 24th " Elect vice chair " The June meeting will be a social at 6:30pm to meet new members. Bring own drinks. Spouses/family welcome. Current members to bring food Respectfully submitted by Crista Weber Pastoral Council Meeting April 22, 2008 Call to order by the President at 7:06 PM Present: Ehrlich, Ressler, Wetjen, Zelinskas, Henschel, Pechous, Hunt, Bellaver, Zeckser Opening prayer: prepared by Weber Approval of minutes: Unanimous 1. New Business 2. Financial Report (Ehrlich) a. Review of report by Nancy of March 2008 i. Income/expenses statement for regular operations 1. Expenses exceed income by $52,902.89 3. Committee Reports a. Finance i. Needs to follow a new constitution by the Archdiocese b. Vocation i. Met on April 21 ii. Plans for meeting with the vocation director and meetings with youth in the fall. c. COMMITTEE MINUTES SHOULD BE ON THE WEB SITE. 4. Old Business a. Vision and Mission Statements i. Approval of both statements (unanimous) b. Development of goals i. Six area of goals and Committee Assignments 1. Administration a. Finance b. Development and Endowment c. Technology d. Buildings and Grounds 2. Community Life a. Parish Life b. Health 3. Evangelization and Faith Formation a. EFFC 4. Prayer and worship a. Liturgy b. Vocations 5. Service and Justice a. Social Concerns 6. Stewardship a. Stewardship c. Objectives and strategies i. Minimum of one and maximum of three d. Goals i. Developed by Council and subjected to critique by the committees. 1. Based on the Vision Statement a. Method i. Administration 1. Ressler 2. Gonner 3. Tranel 4. D. Olk 5. Ehrlich 6. Duster ii. Community 1. Henschel 2. Weber 3. Pechous 4. Crawford iii. Evangelization 1. Olk 2. Bellaver 3. Breen 4. Pfiffner 5. Bodensteiner iv. Prayer and Worship 1. Tschiggfrie 2. Zeckser 3. Beaves 4. Scherner 5. Wetjen v. Service and Justice 1. Zelinskas 2. McClain 3. Turnis 4. Radke 5. Schnee vi. Stewardship 1. Hunt 2. Asmussen 3. Thill 4. B. Anderson b. Each group will come to the May 27 meeting with one goal. Demonstrate how the goal is related to the vision statement. Share by e-mail before the May meeting. Send to Nancy. e. Objectives and goals to be developed by each of the six groups listed above. 5. Elections a. Olk i. Jim Kieffer and Joe Jenkins (needs form) b. Weber i. Brian Kallback c. Zeckser i. Gill Spence d. Ehrlich i. Jack Schmid 6. Agenda for May 27 Election results a. Donna and Nancy will do ballots b. Counting i. Zeckser ii. Pechous iii. Wetjen 8. Goals discussion 9. PC Draft Guidelines suggestions 10. Adjournment 11. At 8:30 PM Respectfully submitted by Mark A. Ressler Pastoral Council Minutes March 25, 2008 Present: Olk, Henschel, Schnee, Pechous, Weber, Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Zeckser, Zelinskas, Hunt Duster, Wetjen, Bellaver Absent: Crawford, ,Gonner, Uhlik Opening Prayer led by Ellen Hunt The February minutes were approved. New Business Finance Report: Budget: Bryan presented the 2008/2009 budget that has already been approved by the finance committee. Pastoral Council was asked to review and approve the budget. Motion to approve-Karen Zeckser Seconded-Marilyn Olk. Election Planning: -Outgoing members include Bryan, Paul, Lisa and Karen -Three positions are open for election, one for appointment -Beginning April 6-a two week period in which persons can nominate themselves or others (with permission). -This will be announced at the upcoming masses -Nominations forms and Roles/Responsibilities of the Pastoral Council will be emailed to all current members -A discussion of potential nominations took place. Current members have volunteered to recruit potential nominations -May 5 nomination forms need to be returned to the office with a photo -May 10/11 inserts will be put in the bulletin to give background, etc of each candidate -May 17/18 elections Committee Reports: -Written reports were available for the Stewardship and Finance Committees. -The following committees did not meet or had no report: Buildings and Grounds, Social Concerns, Vocation, Endowment Health, Technology and Deanery Council " Education and Faith Formation Committee: (Marilyn) discussed goals and budget. Reviewed the religious education needs assessment. Looking for new members " Liturgy: (Karen) Will discuss Holy Week at next weeks meeting " Parish Life: (Tom) Happy with Lenten Buffet turnout. Looking for new members Old Business Pastoral Planning: " Vision & Mission Statement Follow-up - Karen provided a written summary of the 17 responses from committee members - Marilyn provided a summary of responses from EFCC members - Recommendations include a shorter version of the mission statement, and revision of the vision statement to capture our uniqueness as a parish - Members of the vision and mission committees will meet prior to the next SPP session to discuss possible revisions - Jackie Witter will be asked to provide feedback on the vision and mission statements at the next SPP session " Final Pastoral Planning Session with Jackie Witter is March 28/29th - Meeting will take place in Martin Hall " Agenda for April 22nd meeting -Elections -Feedback from final Jackie Witter session Respectfully submitted by Crista Weber Pastoral Council Minutes February 26, 2008 Present: Olk, Henschel, Schnee, Pechous, Weber, Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Zeckser, Zelinskas, Hunt Duster, Crawford Absent: Wetjen, Bellaver, Gonner, Uhlik Opening Prayer led by Bryan Pechous The January minutes were approved. New Business Finance Report: Committee Reports: Written reports were available for the Buildings & Grounds, and Finance Committees. The following committees did not meet or had no report: Liturgy, Social Concerns, Vocations, Endowment, Health, Deanery Council. Education and Faith Formation Committee: report on webpage Technology Committee: there is money in the budget to update the webpage Stewardship Committee: Continued discussion on greening. Looking for a new Chair Parish Life: logistics of the Lenten Buffet, first one is to be held Feb 29th. Old Business Pastoral Planning: Vision & Mission Statement Follow-up -6 responses from mass presentation (4 positive, 2 negative) -Will add "Catholic" to both statements -Karen read a letter from a parishioner, discussion on the artistic elements of the vision statement -Discussion on adding more active verbs to the mission statement. What's Next? - Discussion on whether we give the parish another avenue to respond to the Vision and Mission statements. There has been limited response per mailings in the past - If parishioners question the background and rationale for the Vision and Mission statements, it was suggested that we direct them to the website where notes from each pastoral planning session are available - Lisa will email Jackie Witter the statements and ask for a response and agenda for the final session - Many members were opposed to another presentation of the statements after mass - Response questionnaires will be available in the back of church for members to pick up after the next mass. Karen will put together an announcement to be made at the end of mass to encourage parishioners to read the statements and respond to the questionnaire. Nancy will make double-sided copies of the questionnaire - Each pastoral council member will make copies of the response questionnaire and bring them to their sub-committees for comments and discussion. Final Pastoral Planning Session with Jackie Witter is March 28/29th Agenda for March 25th meeting -Gift/card for Jackie Witter -Budget approval -New candidates Respectfully submitted by Crista Weber Pastoral Council Meeting 22 January 2008 Called to order by the Pechous at 7:02 PM Opening prayer - Olk Present: Pechous, Crawford, Duster, Henschel, Zeckser, Hunt, Bellaver Absent: Gonner, Weber, Uhlik, Zelinskas, Wetjen, Approval of minutes: OK New Business Financial report - Ehrlich Operating income is up from last year at this time. o Operating expenses are down from this time last year. o $14,826.85 more in income over expenses to date for operations. Committee Reports Liturgy Had Christmas party Evaluated Christmas liturgies Planning for Lent Social Concerns Doing budget Parish life Lenten Buffets - Feb. 29 and March 14 Process of getting new members Technology Constructed their budget New business Duster - "Greening Program" for the deanery Event planning Start on parish level first and then grow. Gathering at Resurrection with booths from parishes in March or April. Old Business Hunt - publicity Will contact Donna about the bulletin. Website also. Power point presentation - Paul will help put it together Have your input to Paul by Feb. 16th Process - Pechous will do time line. What's next? Invitation to Jackie's presentation March 28/29. Other? Announcements the week before at mass Olk - 5 PM, Zecker - 8:30 PM, Duster - 11:00 PM Greeters on the weekend: 5:00pm - Olk, 8:30 am - Crawford, Zeckser - 11:00 am Agenda for February 26 o Results of February 23/24 o Tentative budget " Adjournment 8:20 PM Pastoral Council Minutes December 18, 2007 Present: Marilyn Olk, Ron Wetjen, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Bryan Pechous, Crista Weber, Nancy Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Karen Zeckser, Pat Zelinskas, Peter Bellaver Absent: Lisa Crawford, Paul Duster, Ellen Hunt This meeting took place at the home of Marilyn Olk. Opening Prayer led by Tom Henschel The November minutes were approved. New Business None due to Christmas Party Old Business Pastoral Planning: " How to handle the "Pastoral Planning Communication Plan: Suggested Strategies" -One of the next steps will involve presenting our work thus far to the parish -We may need a Publicity Committee to discuss successful communication strategies for presenting "Who We Are" to the parish through our vision and mission statements -We will then need to formulate goals and objectives " Vision Committee (Karen, Ellen, Dave Tschiggfrie) - The purpose of our vision statement is to give our parish direction and to describe who we want to be as a faith community -Karen handed out a draft vision statement in two formats for all to review. The paragraph format was easier to read. -The vision statement includes major themes from surveys completed so far including stewardship, faith formation, diversity of age, music, hospitality and generosity -Nancy will have the vision statement forwarded to parish members who have attended previous SPP sessions " Mission Committee (Pat, Bryan, Marilyn, Ruth T.) -The purpose of the mission statement will be to describe what we are doing to realize our vision. It will be more concrete. -This committee plans to meet prior to January 8th to create a draft mission statement " January 8th - Pastoral council members will plan to meet on this night to review the vision and mission statements. -Fr. Mark will work on the agenda for the evening " Next meeting with Jackie Witter? -May meet with Jackie in February or March. No tentative date has yet to be set. -This session may focus on creating goals and objectives for the parish Next Meeting: January 22nd Respectfully submitted by Crista Weber Pastoral Council Minutes September 25, 2007 Present: Marilyn Olk, Ron Wetjen, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Paul Duster, Bryan Pechous, Ellen Hunt, Crista Weber, Nancy Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Karen Zeckser, Pat Zelinskas, Peter Bellaver, Lisa Crawford Opening Prayer led by Karen Zeckser. The August minutes were approved. New Business Finance Report: Sunday contributions ($165,524.09) have exceeded the Sunday budget by $17,397. All income year to date is $191,184.72. Expenses year to date are ($203,048.35) exceeding the income by $11,863.63. Committee Reports: Written reports were available for the Finance, and Social Concerns Committees. " Buildings and Grounds Committee: (Paul) The cafeteria will need repairs done to water damaged areas, bidding is in process. Heating options separate from the school are being looked into. Cummer's Masonary, who is working on UD construction, has asked to use the far corner of the parking lot for employees to be shuttled to the campus. There will be approximately 15 cars in the lot. Nancy is to look into liability or have the company sign a disclaimer " Education and Faith Formation Committee: (Peter/Marilyn) The committee is looking for direction from Pastoral Council with regard to expectations and mission. An endowment subcommittee was formed to decipher how endowment monies should be spent. The application form for endowment funds is being modified. " Health Committee: Did not meet " Vocation Committee: (Ron) Will meet in October. " Liturgy Committee: Did not meet " Deanery Council: Did not meet " Stewardship Committee: Did not meet " Parish Life Committee: (Lisa) Currently having difficulty with volunteering to be the new chair. Lisa Crawford has volunteered to be the contact person, and each member will take turns each month leading the meetings and opening prayer. Currently planning a summer bus trip to a Kernel's game. Continue to look for new members. " Technology Committee: Did not meet Octoberfest: " Karen purchased kitchen items and Crista designed the basket that will be auctioned off at Octoberfest. The items cost $58. Each member contributed $5 toward the cost. " An updated picture for the Pastoral Council poster was taken by Doug Olk " Marilyn presented the new Pastoral Council poster with easel, it will be displayed at Octoberfest Other New Business: " A suggestion was made to move future meetings to the new "Parish Center". Nancy will check the availability of meeting rooms " A service trip to St. John Neumann in Europa, Mississippi will take place November 10-15th. Current volunteers include Tania & Mike McClain, Sandy Radke and Fr. Mark. Service will include upgrading the parish worship space. " 2008 Octoberfest: one parishioner has volunteered to chair next year's Octoberfest, Fr. Mark is still looking for one more volunteer. Old Business Pastoral Planning: " Progress of focus group interviews Stakeholders (Fr. Mark): Sent letters with 4 questions to the top 25 givers of the parish as well as the Archbishop Jerome Hanus, Msgr. James Barta and Steve Cornelius. CEW Women (Ellen Hunt): 10 out of 12 responses to the 4 questions have been received by email CEW Men (Mark Schnee): Nothing has been sent to the men yet Charter members (Bryan Pechous): A cover letter, Jackie Witter's questions and a self-address stamped envelope was sent to 54 members, there have been 9 responses New members (Marilyn Olk): The 4 questions were sent to 37 new members, 5 email responses have been received, there was little participation per phone interview. Holy Family (Tom Henschel, Karen Zeckser): Not done until persons are cross- referenced with the CEW member list in order to avoid duplication to certain members Religious Education (Lisa Crawford/Peter Bellaver): 89 letters were sent out with the religious education packets, only 2 responses thus far. Parish Statistics and Community Information (Paul Duster / Ron Wejten): reviewed and compiled an extensive packet with data on the history, demographics, finances and community make-up of our parish community. Each pastoral council member was given a packet to review. Paul and Ron plan to do trends/tables for 2006/2007 Sacraments, Endowment data, and % of automatic transfers Fr. Mark explained that 15% response was considered "good". " The 2nd SPP session will take place on October 12/13th. The focus of this session will be "Assess and Envision". Current focus group data will be shared and data collection methods will continue with future recommendations from Jackie Witter. " Plan for Octoberfest: Crista will use the 4 pastoral council questions and place them on poster boards in the cafeteria as well as the hallway between the gym and cafeteria. Pat, Fr. Mark, Mark, Lisa and Crista will be present to facilitate/encourage attendees to comment on the posters using markers provided. They will have name tags to identify themselves as pastoral council members. " Plan for large group survey: Karen, Marilyn, Pat, Ellen and Peter have volunteered to meet September 26th to narrow down Jackie Witter's written survey to 2-3 pages and modify the introductory statement. They will email a draft to Jackie for response prior to the second SPP session on Oct 12/13th. Next Meeting: October 23rd. Respectfully submitted, Crista Weber Pastoral Council Minutes August 28th, 2007 Present: Marilyn Olk, Ron Wetjen, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Paul Duster, Bryan Pechous, Ellen Hunt, Crista Weber, Nancy Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Karen Zeckser Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Peter Bellaver, Lisa Crawford Opening Prayer was lead by Paul Duster The July minutes were approved. Finance Report: Income for the month of July was $103,580.07 ($6,532.95) more than expenses of $97,047.12. Committee Reports: Written reports were available for the Finance, Education & Faith Formation, Health, and Liturgy committees. Buildings and Grounds Committee: Paul Duster briefly reported the youth center is moving to the first floor. Windows will be done by early November. There are plans to paint the music room September 8th and painting volunteers would be appreciated. Social Concerns Committee: Mark Schnee reported that an adult service trip to Mississippi is being planned for November 9th-15th. Service will include painting and dry-walling. Health Committee: Fr. Mark reported the committee recently toured the Babka Diabetes Center. Vocation Committee: Did not meet, however Ron Wetjen reported there were cards for recommending persons who may have a vocation. Deanery Council: Fr. Mark reported that the council met August 27th and gave a brief overview of the responsibilities of the Deanery Council. Currently they are working to redefine the mission of Catholic Charities as an agency known for more than adoption services. The archdiocese is also coming up with a brochure to define what they do. Development and Endowment Committee: A subcommittee is being formed to work to improve the current application forms Stewardship Committee: Did not meet Parish Life Committee: Did not meet Technology Committee: No update Octoberfest: Marilyn Olk volunteered to put together a poster-size advertisement describing the Pastoral Council, including names, updated photo, mission statement and nomination forms. An updated photo of all pastoral council members will be taken at the next meeting by Paul. Karen Zeckser volunteered to purchase items for a basket worth $25 to be sold at Octoberfest; Crista Weber will design the basket after the items are purchased. Money will be collected at the September meeting. Pastoral Planning: The first SPP session was held Aug 24th and 25th and focused on "Prepare and Assess". There was good participation. Father reminded us that as we move to the next step of assessment we want to be able to answer the first of the three questions posed by Jackie Witter which is "Who Are We?" and that we need data collected and available prior to the second session which focuses on "Assess and Envision" to be held October 12th and 13th. A sub-committee of Ellen Hunt, Marilyn Olk and Fr. Mark provided us with a parish survey that incorporates questions on Evangelization, Worship, Word, Community, Service, Stewardship and Leadership. Sr. Marilyn reviewed this short version survey after SPP Session I and it was decided that it does not correlate with "The Ministries of the Church" provided by Jackie Witter. Data collection will focus on assessing what is valued about church and parish in order to answer the question "Who Are We?" Each council member accepted various data collection responsibilities and formed subcommittees including: Stakeholders- Fr. Mark Large written survey- Ellen Hunt Octoberfest- Crista Weber Small focus groups CEW members- Mark Schnee Charter members- Bryan Pechous, Pat Zelinskas New members- Religious Education- Lisa Crawford, Marilyn Olk Holy Family- Tom Henschel, Karen Zeckser Demographics- Nancy Ehrlich, Donna Goedert, Sr. Marilyn Hard Data- Paul Duster, Ron Wetjen (will ask Dan Radke to assist) Nancy Ehrlich will be able to provide contact information for the various small focus groups. The following questions were formulated for interviews with stakeholders, interviews with small focus groups and the Octoberfest large group survey: 1. What attracts you to the Catholic Church? 2. What does belonging to a parish mean to you? 3. Why did you join St. Joseph the Worker Parish? 4. Why have you stayed at St. Joseph the Worker Parish? Data will be collected and shared at the September 25th meeting with the exception of the Octoberfest data which will occur on October 7th. Volunteers are needed to speak at upcoming masses to make the parish aware of the Strategic Pastoral Planning process. Bryan Pechous volunteered to come up with a few sentences that will explain the process. The following have volunteered to speak at mass the weekend of September 8-9th: 5pm: Marilyn Olk 8:30am: Bryan Pechous 11am: Paul Duster Nancy will email all members an updated list of pastoral council members contact information. Next Meeting: September 25th (Photo to be taken, focus group updates will take place) Respectfully submitted, Crista Weber Pastoral Council Minutes July 24, 2007 Present: Marilyn Olk, Ron Wetjen, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Paul Duster, Crista Weber, Ellen Hunt, Lisa Crawford, Nancy Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Peter Bellaver, and Karen Zeckser Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Bryan Pechous The May minutes were approved. Nancy gave a comprehensive overview of the Parish Financial Yearly Report. All assets and debits were examined. Questions were clarified. The good news: offertory income is increasing; the challenging news: we still spend more than we take in. This year (2007-2008), expenses are projected to exceed income by approximately $300,000. Each Council person accepted additional responsibilities: Council President: Bryan Pechous Council Vice President: Mark Schnee Council Secretary: Crista Weber Education and Faith Formation Committee: Pete Bellaver and Marilyn Olk Liturgy and spiritual Growth Committee: Karen Zeckser Buildings and Grounds Committee: Paul Duster Social Concerns committee: Mark Schnee Parish Life Committee: Lisa Crawford and Tom Henschel Vocation Committee: Ron Wetjen Finance committee: Bryan Pechous Stewardship Committee: Ellen Hunt Health committee: Crista Weber Technology Committee: Paul duster Development and Endowment committee: None Deanery Council: Char Halverson (Sub: Karen Zeckser) Each of us has taken a month to prepare beginning prayer for the Council Meeting. August: Paul Duster February: Marilyn Olk September: Karen Zeckser March: Ellen Hunt October: Lisa Crawford April: Crista Weber November: Mark Schnee May: Bryan Pechous December: Tom Henschel June: Peter Bellaver January: Ron Wetjen July: Pat Zelinskas This December, we will meet on December 18th instead of the 4th Tuesday, Dec. 25th. Parish Planning: A subcommittee of Ellen Hunt, Marilyn Olk and Fr. Mark will meet to create a survey and plan our next steps for engaging /inviting the parish in our process for pastoral planning. They will meet in August; the Parish will gather data in September. Father reminded us that setting goals in only one step in building parish life; implementing the plan is key. August 16th our parish will host a volunteer appreciation dinner for all parish volunteers. Invitations will be sent out in the next week or so. Respectfully submitted, Karen Zeckser Pastoral Council Minutes July 24, 2007 Present: Marilyn Olk, Ron Wetjen, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Paul Duster, Crista Weber, Ellen Hunt, Lisa Crawford, Nancy Ehrlich, Fr. Mark, Peter Bellaver, and Karen Zeckser Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Bryan Pechous The May minutes were approved. Nancy gave a comprehensive overview of the Parish Financial Yearly Report. All assets and debits were examined. Questions were clarified. The good news: offertory income is increasing; the challenging news: we still spend more than we take in. This year (2007-2008), expenses are projected to exceed income by approximately $300,000. Each Council person accepted additional responsibilities: Council President: Bryan Pechous Council Vice President: Mark Schnee Council Secretary: Crista Weber Education and Faith Formation Committee: Pete Bellaver and Marilyn Olk Liturgy and spiritual Growth Committee: Karen Zeckser Buildings and Grounds Committee: Paul Duster Social Concerns committee: Mark Schnee Parish Life Committee: Lisa Crawford and Tom Henschel Vocation Committee: Ron Wetjen Finance committee: Bryan Pechous Stewardship Committee: Ellen Hunt Health committee: Crista Weber Technology Committee: Paul duster Development and Endowment committee: None Deanery Council: Char Halverson (Sub: Karen Zeckser) Each of us has taken a month to prepare beginning prayer for the Council Meeting. August: Paul Duster February: Marilyn Olk September: Karen Zeckser March: Ellen Hunt October: Lisa Crawford April: Crista Weber November: Mark Schnee May: Bryan Pechous December: Tom Henschel June: Peter Bellaver January: Ron Wetjen July: Pat Zelinskas This December, we will meet on December 18th instead of the 4th Tuesday, Dec. 25th. Parish Planning: A subcommittee of Ellen Hunt, Marilyn Olk and Fr. Mark will meet to create a survey and plan our next steps for engaging /inviting the parish in our process for pastoral planning. They will meet in August; the Parish will gather data in September. Father reminded us that setting goals in only one step in building parish life; implementing the plan is key. August 16th our parish will host a volunteer appreciation dinner for all parish volunteers. Invitations will be sent out in the next week or so. Respectfully submitted, Karen Zeckser Parish Council Minutes May 22, 2007 Present: Steve Hill, Dan Radke, Jim Rhomberg, Father Mark, Del Uhlik, Mark Schnee, Diane Asmussen, Ron Wetjen, Paul Duster, Brian Pechous, Pat Zelinskas, and Karen Zeckser Absent: Tom Henschel, Lisa Crawford Minutes approved as written: First-Steve Hill; Second-Dan Radke. Finance Report: Nancy reported that the ending balance in April showed that Sunday contributions received were received $36,000 over last year's income; however, checks were written for expenses over $113,800. Even though the income is more than the budget we're still not catching up, because expenses continue to be more than we bring in. Easter income came in as projected. Rentals have been about what we expect. Expenses have been somewhat less than the anticipated budget. Currently, expenses exceed income by $122,000. This is an improvement over prior years. The Sloan family gave the parish $3,000. for repairs to the bell tower. School projections: The Middle School is at or near capacity and over anticipated enrollment as is the high school. All elementary grades are running about at the expected enrollment except for kindergarten. This is a concern because kindergarten sets the bar for later years. Jim Rhomberg recommended that we offer the parish a communication on the state of the parish once each year, at year's end (around June.) We could do this in conjunction with the Finance committee just to let people know what the financial health of the parish is. We could also encourage people to become involved with the envisioning process that will be taking place in the fall to sets future goals for our community. Nothing was decided but many agreed that this was a good idea. The DRA Grant that we applied for came through at least in part. We received $2,000. for replacement of the windows in the youth center. Committee Reports: These were brief as most committees did not meet this past month. Fr. Mark reported that Julie Neebel will replace Erin Kennedy on the Holy Family Board. A committee of volunteers has been gathered to help with different projects for the EFFC. Next year this committee will sponsor at least two meetings of an Intergenerational Learning Model. The meetings will include family dinner, prayer and catechesis in combination. It is important to continue to teach our parents as they are the primary educators of their children. Mark Bodensteiner has been hired as our new Youth Coordinator. Mark is married, is 34 years old, has one child and comes to us from Michigan. He is from this area and attended Loras. Liturgy and spiritual growth committee, Steve reported, will have a June picnic and evaluate Easter season and set goals for next year. Building and Grounds: is looking at a purchase in the not too distant future of a truck for maintenance, but it is not in the current budget. Social Concerns did not meet. Parish Life will distribute the proceeds from the Fish Fridays ($900.) to three organizations: the Honduras trip, Eupora, and to purchasing a bench for the parish campus. The Vocation Committee: no report. Will have a new vocation director starting in July. Development and Endowment: no meeting. Technology: no report Deanery Council meets but doesn't really have a driving purpose. Much information gathering and recommending to the archdiocese…currently data is being gathered from many Dubuque parishes to compare what is happening and what is needed where. New Business: New members will be: Ellen Hunt, Marilyn Olk and Pete Bellaver. A fourth person will be asked to consider joining. We brainstormed for someone younger to get the youth perspective. Greening the Parish will continue through one or two visible projects; maybe a garden - food garden and possibly working on improving one of our buildings. We also need to continue educating the parish on "Green" steps in homes, workplaces etc. Pastoral Planning: everyone needs to have these dates: August 24-25; October 12-13 and November 2-3. We increased the travel stipend to $4,000 because of the increase in gas prices. We all need to read the booklet we were given. All current members will continue on this committee for envisioning. We need to encourage, push SCRIP. We need a commitment from everyone on behalf of our parish. June 26 will be the picnic at the rectory. Dan - potatoes Fr. - beverages Meats: Mark and Jim Salads: Karen and Diane Desserts: Ron and Steve Pat Z and Lisa C. ?? Respectfully Submitted, Karen Zeckser Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Present: Fr. Mark, Jim Rhomberg, Ron Wetjen, Diane Asmussen, Lisa Crawford, Paul Duster, Bryan Pechous, Tom Henschel, Pat Zelinskas, Steve Hill, Dan Radke, Karen Zeckser, Nancy Ehrlich Absent: Jeff Gonner, Mark Schnee Bryan Pechous led the Council in (spontaneous) Easter prayers of thanksgiving. Minutes were accepted as written. Finance Report: Nancy updated the Pastoral Council on the state of finances. During March, $20,000 was transferred from the Education dividend account to help in the cash flow. Social Concerns has spent most of its savings to date - very active committee. March was a positive month; we realized $15,000 over Sunday's contribution budget. 126 parishioners contribute by EFT. Scrip donations in March were $2,328. . Expenses: The Parish Life Lenten Buffets will net approximately $900. It is recommended that Parish Life determine how they will spend their profits before the buffets and advertise same. They are just now determining how they will allocate their profits from this year. At this time, expenses exceed income by $117,000. Our Endowment fund paid $500 toward registration fees for 10 SJTW students. We have purchased a new lawn tractor. Cost = $8,200. 2007-2008 budgets will come in at a negative ($313,000). Greening Workshop: Paul Duster reported on his day at Luther College. There are many ways we can begin to inform the parish of our stewardship responsibility to forming a green campus. Michaela and Mike Freiburger, Nick Wahlert, and Paul attended this informative conference. We can ask for a carbon footprint of our facilities. We can use florescent light bulbs, recycle more, promote green spaces and do away with Styrofoam (when our supply is gone.) One goal is to push this information out to committees and parishioners. Next steps include: highlighting this effort before the public: different committees and encourage "energy audits". They are free through Aquila. Social Concerns: Our sister parish, St. John Neumann will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary as a mission parish. We are planning a service trip to Eupora, Ms this summer to continue our relationship with them in a meaningful way. We have sent numerous packages and some money, but we should be doing more than giving handouts. A work project is meaningful and fits our purposes. Parish Life - proceeds from Lenten Buffet (about $900) are going to be given to a worthy cause. It has been recommended that next year they will choose their "cause" Before the buffets and include those purposes in their advertising. Vocation - For World Day for Vocations, we will have cards in the pews - either next week or the following week. The vocation director will follow up on any names. Stewardship: Sara Eisbach is working on creating a volunteer tree. Those participating in the "Called and Gifted" workshop have begun training. This education will continue and expand throughout the parish. New Business: The pastors and Deanery Council met and determined that, to better collaborate, they would gather parish data from everyone so an overall picture of the health of parishes was available to everyone. Then we might be able to respond in some practical or convincing way to what the diocese will look like in the future. The north end will cluster this next year. Three parishes- (Holy Ghost, Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity) combined will have 3, 000 families. Char Halverson is the chair of the Deanery Council. We need someone to volunteer to be the Holy Family representative for our parish. Tuesday, May 1, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. is the dedication of the St. Joseph the Worker statue. We will have evening prayer followed by a blessing and dinner. Old Business: Council elections. We have four candidates: Pete Bellaver, Ellen Hunt, Darrin White, Steve Hardie. We need a couple more. Inserts in the bulletin will be May 12-13. Pastoral Planning: Jackie Witter is still working with on a schedule. We will have a minimum of four meetings, meetings, possibly five, at 6 week intervals in the fall. Projected dates at this time are: August 24-25; September 28-29; November 2-3 and Nov. 30, Dec. 1. If another meeting is needed, we will have one the 1st or 2nd weekend of January. Agenda Items for May: Jackie Witter follow-up; confirm dates. New council member up date Planning and election follow-up May: end of year party planning June meeting: June 26 Moved to adjourn. Respectfully Submitted, Karen Zeckser Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday, March 27, 2007 Present: Jim Rhomberg, Ron Wetjen, Diane Asmussen, Lisa Crawford, Paul Duster, Bryan Pechous, Tom Henschel, Pat Zelinskas, Karen Zeckser, Nancy Ehrlich Absent: Jeff Gonner, Del Uhlik, Mark Schnee, Dan Radke, Steve Hill Minutes were accepted: 1st Pat Z. 2nd. Paul D. Finance Report: Nancy updated the Pastoral Council on the state of finances. To date the income is $774,456.10 with expenses of $867,846.35. Expenses exceed income by $93,390.25. The council reached consensus on approving the budget for the 2007-08 year. The final number is a negative ($313,000). This number represents expenses of $1,538,377 exceeding income of $1,225,288. The largest expense is the Holy Family assessment of $889,915. Script program has considerable challenges, the primary one being Mary Carew's resignation. Everyone thanks Mary for her many years of outstanding and dedicated service to the success of this program. Mary has agreed to assist a new coordinator, however she will not continue as its director. We brainstormed some names and options for moving forward with this program. We set up a committee to help organize new individuals - leader and volunteers. We will also use current workers to help find additional workers. Lisa and Jim will spearhead a meeting with the current workforce. A meeting will be conducted on "Parish Greening." Paul Duster has an interest in this and will attend with a group from the parish. The Lenten buffets were very successful gatherings and community building events. We will net about $500.00 on these events. All agreed to continue with two dinners next Lent. April 29th is a World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Ron will be working with this. Stewardship: St. Joseph the Worker hosted a meeting of folks in this area. Health Committee has purchased a defibrillator. Two sessions will be offered by Tania to train individuals in the use of these. New Business: We will continue reading Parish Today and continue envisioning our Parish's future. Old Business: elections will be upon us next month. Jim has an initial list of names available from prior years. The new directory is available. We might surface some individuals who would be good from that resource. We will aim to have the election May 19-20 weekend. An effort needs to be continued to include younger parishioners. Pastoral Planning: Lisa reported that she has reached Jackie Witter. They discussed possible weekends when Jackie could meet with the PC. We recommend 4/27-28 and 8/24/25. Lisa will convey that information back to Jackie. Archdiocesan data summaries indicate that the archdiocese in general is experiencing similar concerns across the board. No growth in parishes (except at Resurrection). Many parishes are "flat" - not losing, not gaining in numbers. Many have become non-regular Mass attendees. Some may be going to other parishes but we have no record of that. Nationally, 1 in 10 attends weekly church. We are doing better than that. Survey (Dan Radke) of people who don't contribute: 210 questionnaires 14% were returned (29 of 210). Of those, 48% don't go to church. Discussion on the Intergenerational Faith practice - p.24 in Today's Parish - will be moved to next month's agenda. The focus here is that we use adults whose faith is well formed and lively to effectively pass on the faith to the next generation. There is shared responsibility for faith's growth and distribution - it belongs to everyone, not just the parish staff. Agenda items for next month: Sr. Jackie's visit, elections, read "Parish Ministry with RCIA" in March issue, pg. 10-11. Motion to adjourn: Lisa; 2nd: Ron. All agreed. Respectfully Submitted, Karen Zeckser Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Present: Jim Rhomberg, Bryan Pechous, Tom Henschel, Ron Wetjen, Dan Radke, Fr. Mark, Lisa Crawford, Pat Zelinskas, Diane Asmussen, Paul Duster, Steve Hill and Nancy. Absent: Mark Schnee, Karen Zeckser Ron led the opening prayer and discussion. Motion to approve January minutes was made by Tom, second Dan. All approved. Nancy gave the financial picture for the January income and expenses. Sunday contributions for seven months of fiscal 2006-2007 have exceeded the same time frame from last year by $51,857.06. EFT contribution members (117) contributed $14,565 in January. Year to date expenses of $760,093.66 exceed income of $709,037.23 by ($51,056.43). The DRA grant of $7,500 from the 2006 awards was received and applied to improvements. The final payment for the new chiller for the church was paid bringing the cost to $44,550.00. The budget was presented for 2007-2008 fiscal years. Finance will review the final numbers with any recommendations for change on March 16. Final approval will come from the Pastoral Council on March 27. ACTION: Pastoral Council elections will be conducted in May. Fr. Mark gave a timeline for elections. Pat, Bryon and Jim will form a committee to come up with any names of candidates. Steve, Jim, Dan and Diane will be completing their three year terms. Fr. Mark reported that the Deanery Council noted that the youth would like to see more technology used in planning events for the diocese. ACTION: Mark Molo has volunteered to be part of the development committee. ACTION: A defibrillator has been purchased for use in the church. This was made possible with donations from a health memorial gift. Tania McClain will be doing training on this in the upcoming months ACTION: The stewardship committee is working on putting together a list of action needs that can get more parishioners participating in parish programs. True stewardship involves marketing through education, prayer; building a relationship with God. What is the next move to spiritual motivation? Paul referred this to this as adult education, starting with all committees. Ron recommended that a "core" agenda of information be developed. People need the skills to develop the process resulting in a perception or believing it is "our" church, not just a building that we come to once a week. Lisa presented Jackie Witter's response to questions concerning pastoral planning. Bryon, Lisa, Mark, and Ron have volunteered to start working with Jackie Witter on pastoral planning for the next year. Mark Schneider will be asked to participate as a chair person for this core group. Dan, Paul and Fr. Mark will gather data from the Archdiocese, City of Dubuque, and the parishioners to start the planning process. Concrete data based on the history of the parish, and profiles of the parish are easy to gather. It is the vision of the parish that will be the difficult piece. Pat has been approached by some parishioners about softening the dark area behind the altar. People have suggested tapestries by the crucifix. Dick Beaves has made some inquires into the cost of having tapestries made that fit the integrity of the church. These would cost around $17,000 apiece. At this time this is not part of the budget. Action: Fr. Mark, Pat and Paul will be attending a "green church environment" seminar at Luther College on April 21. Saving the environment is a moral issue that parishes are participating in. Less consumerism, no styrofoam cups and plates, less plastic products and recycling bins for plastic and paper will be set up throughout the church and office buildings. Committee Reports: All as submitted. ACTION: All committees are asked to e-mail their minutes to Sr. Marilyn (dbq062RE@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us) to put on the Web page. March Agenda: Election-Jim Rhomberg Data: Survey Letter, Dan Radke Data on Dubuque, Paul Data on Archdiocese, Fr. Mark Jackie Witter: Lisa Budget Approval Respectfully Submitted, Nancy Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Present: Jim Rhomberg, Bryan Pechous, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Ron Wetjen, Dan Radke, Fr. Mark, Lisa Crawford, Karen Zeckser and Nancy. Deb Tschiggfrie-representing EFFC Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Diane Asmussen, Paul Duster, Steve Hill Bryan led the opening prayer and discussion. Minutes from November had a correction Karen was absent not present. Motion to approve made by Fr. Mark, second Dan. All approved. Nancy gave the financial picture for December contributions. Sunday contributions for the past six months of fiscal 2006-2007 have exceeded the same time frame from last year by $66,737.05. During the month of December parishioners made year end contributions as well as gave $33,717 to Christmas. For the first six months of the fiscal year expenses of $655,520.80 exceed income of $639,848.81 by $15,671.99. Heartland stock paid a dividend of .09 cents a share for the quarter. This was deposited into the endowment dividend account at American Trust. The bell tower was repaired at a cost of $3,191.13. The handicap restroom final cost was $14,129.99. EFT contribution members are 117 contributing $14,565 per month. The year end contribution statements were mailed on January 16 included a letter from Fr. Mark, a pledge card and a new EFT form. As of today 15 pledge forms have been returned to the office. Fr. Mark, Sr. Marilyn and Tim Tranel are meeting with Steve Cornelius, Administrator of Holy Family School system and Todd Wessels during the next couple of days to discuss the changes being conducted at the St. Joseph the Worker school site. ACTION: Social Concerns is planning a parish potluck for Sister Alies on Saturday, February 24 after the 5:00PM Mass. Sister Alies is the pastoral administrator of our Adopt-a-Mission in Eupora, Mississippi. Lisa reported that Parish Life is working on the two Lenten Buffets that will be held on March 2 and March 16. Ruth Turnis as part of Parish Life is working on setting up a prayer chain in the parish. The vocations committee worked with Fr.Vu and Fr. Mark on vocation Sunday mass. ACTION: The staff is planning a thank you picnic for to all volunteers in the parish during the month of August. Fr. Mark reported that the Deanery is working on the city wide issue of collaboration and parish issues. A committee consisting of Msgr. Barta, JC Otto, Tom Zinkula, Nancy Van Milligan, Sister Helen Heuwe, Fr. Mark and Steve Cornelius will meet to brainstorm ideas as to where the Dubuque parishes need to be in terms of growth. These ideas will be presented to the pastors and pastoral councils during the upcoming months. Dan would like to see the website grow in what it supplies to the community. A budget was submitted to Nancy for inclusion in 2007-2008 fiscal years. Bryan, Lisa, Mark, and Ron have volunteered to start working with Jackie Witter on pastoral planning. The consensus of the pastoral council is that Jackie Witter should be hired as a facilitator at a cost of $5,000 plus expenses to assist the pastoral council in putting together a pastoral plan. Committee Reports: All as submitted. ACTION: All committees are asked to e-mail their minutes to Sr. Marilyn (dbq062RE@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us) to put on the Web page. February Agenda: Jackie Witter Response-Lisa, Ron, Mark Election-Jim Rhomberg Survey Letter of Dan Radke Kevin, Jim, Art Gilloon and Fr. Mark planning meeting. Respectfully Submitted, Nancy Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday November, 2006 A Catholic community that invites and encourages all to live the faith-filled journey of Jesus Christ Present: Jim Rhomberg, Paul Duster, Bryan Pechous, Steve Hill, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Ron Wetjen, Dan Radke, Fr. Mark, Karen Zeckser, Lisa Crawford and Nancy. Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Del Uhlik, Karen Zeckser and Diane Asmussen Fr. Mark led the opening prayer and discussion. Minutes from October were approved as written Minutes were approved: first Dan; second-Ron. All approved. Nancy gave the financial picture for October contributions. Sunday contributions for the past four months of fiscal 2006-2007 have exceeded the same time frame from last year by $17,021.10. However, the expenses still exceed the income by $52,732.42 year to date. EFT contribution members are 109 contributing $13,530 per month. Dan Radke is working on the pledge form and accompanying letter to send out some time in December. Dan reported on the survey response sent out last month to parishioners. He has received 25 responses about 12% of the mailing. Dan felt that some of the responses showed hurt and anger for various reasons. There are areas that need to be address to begin the healing process within the St. Joseph the Worker community. Thank you Dan for all your hard work on this important piece of data. Fr. Mark presented the assessment proposal made by the Holy Family Finance committee. This formula is being based on 60% Income and 40% usage, a five year average and a 71% upper cap for calculation. Next fiscal year St. Joseph the Worker assessment will go down by $17,472. Overall the parishes contribute $5,918,128 toward the Holy Family $12.5 million budget process. The Archdiocesan Education Board will meet Saturday, December 2nd to vote on approval of the Holy Family strategic planning committee plan for the upcoming school year. Jeff Weber and Becky Conlon are planning on attending with additional questions. ACTION: There will not be Pastoral Council meeting in December. The pastoral council committee will meet at 6:30 on December 18 at the rectory. Paul, Steve, Ron and Lisa volunteered to do the desserts. Fr. Mark will supply the drinks and everyone else should being a snack to share. Pastoral Planning ideas were discussed using articles from Today's Parish. Tom commented on an article on page 7, educating parishioners and getting them involved are like a box of puzzle pieces, 'where do you start?' People don't become involved in the process until something affects them. Part of pastoral planning is direction. Direction will help the parish focus on a criteria of evangelizing, community, worship, word and service. Paul suggested that the parish zero in on areas that are attainable. Ron wanted to know 'how do you get input from the parishioners?' Dan's recent survey is a start on that data. Lisa brought up the issue of the parish mission statement. Does it convene the message of the parish ministry? What sets the tone for the parish? Fr. Pat Brennen told us that St. Joseph the Worker is a good parish; what we need to do to make it a great parish? Ideas are like the giving tree, if you put it out there, someone can handle them. Sandy Radke made a guest presentation about St. John Neumann our twin parish. The agreements have been signed between St. Joseph the Worker and the Glemary missions. $750 was sent to St. John Neumann for the purchase of a new computer, as well as $900 to Glemary as part of the contract for support. The Giving Tree will include stars for St. John Neumann and all items will be delivered by Flexsteel Industries during the week of December 15, 2006. Sister Inez will travel to Dubuque sometime around February 20 thru February 26. The parish secretary may be accompanying her. St. John Newman will be celebrating 30years as a mission parish in 2007, they would like to include St. Joseph the Worker in their celebrations. ACTION: The pastoral council agreed that St. Joseph the Worker parish give $2,000 to help Fr. John Walsh celebrate his 50th anniversary as a priest next June 3rd. Fr. Mark will advise him of this decision. Committee Reports: All as submitted. ACTION: All committees are asked to e-mail their minutes to Sr. Marilyn (dbq062RE@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us) to put on the Web page. December Agenda: Update on Schools/Strategic Plan Survey Letter of Dan Radke Kevin, Jim, Art Gilloon and Fr. Mark planning meeting. Respectfully Submitted, Nancy Pastoral Council Minutes Tuesday October 24, 2006 A Catholic community that invites and encourages all to live the faith-filled journey of Jesus Christ Present: Jim Rhomberg, Paul Duster, Bryan pechous, Steve Hill, Tom Henschel, Mark Schnee, Ron Wetjen, Dan Radke, Del Uhlik, Fr. Mark, Karen Zeckser, Lisa Crawford, Diane Asmussen, Lynn DeBord, Linda Manternach and Nancy. Absent: Pat Zelinskas, Dean Manternach Lisa Crawford led the opening prayer and discussion. Minutes from September were approved with two corrections. Art Gilloon is not becoming a member of the finance committee but will assist in offering direction to the parish in making charitable contributions. The Liturgy Committee recommended that everyone be invited to the altar at communion either to receive Eucharist or receive a blessing. This was discussed but no decision was made relative to initiating this practice. Many felt that families already do this and ministers (some) do bless children. Minutes were approved: first-Steve; second-Lisa. All approved. Linda Manternach reported on the stewardship findings that resulted from the assessment we were given. Stewardship extends to everyone, not just leadership body. Each committee needs to ask its members to discern: how does stewardship fit with our committee? She reported her observations from our results and handed out a summary of same. We had 58 responses. A clear definition of stewardship is necessary. It is one who cherishes everything as gift: regards, develops, and distributes God's gifts and returns those gifts to the community. Essentially, we tend what we have been given. The survey suggests our "starting point." This is 'information.' Now, what do we do with it? From her observations, the spirituality of the parish ranked low. We need to build on this area. We need to be aware of an attitude of scarcity vs. an attitude of abundance. We need to be formed into good and careful stewards. Three areas need attention: prayer, formation (education) and organization. Stewardship is looking into another Gifts Workshop and has talked to Annie Wertz who might assist in facilitating that workshop. The Council is called upon to continue to ask pertinent questions. Who are we as parish? What is our mission? Who are we relative to the larger church? Does the risk of the unknown become greater than the risk of staying put? We need to challenge ourselves to truly tithe 10% and care for the poor. We might want to consider an annual report that celebrates our gifting - all the volunteer hours, committees, service groups, etc. Celebrate the good we do Stewardship is tied to spirituality. Survey results need to go to every committee. St. Joseph the Worker School issues: Several visitors came to represent their interest in our school and Holy Family's plan for our future. Jeff Weber made a brief presentation asking that our board support his findings that we have 17 classrooms in the main building and would need only 1 more to be a 3 section school. He wants to make a presentation to Holy Family offering the updated information - so that the process of selecting a school to close is fair and equitable. He basically asked the board for their approval that, should it become necessary, St. Joseph the Worker would relinquish the space taken by the Youth at the Algona site, in order to add the additional classroom space. Considerable discussion surrounded the pros and cons of such a decision. Lynn DeBord spoke on the need for the youth to continue to have their space if we are really committed to developing the faith of our youth. We also have to be concerned about Virtus obligations, which require that all group meetings be located in places accessible to more than one adult's presence. With the offices nearby, many adults are available and safety is assured. Having any other site would increase the difficulty of getting sufficient volunteers to have meetings let alone allow any drop in traffic among the students. The availability of food - that is so central to relaxation and community building would also be hampered in any other viable site. Current numbers: Resurrection=270; SJW=220; Col=170; St Anthony=176 and HG=134 Del Uhlik expressed concern that should SJW become a preschool entirely, there would be no place suitable for Religious Education for older students. While it was expressed that many changes are coming and we might offer to be the courageous ones to begin the paradigm shift, most of the Board and guests felt that it would benefit the parish to keep the school open as a K-5. The Board agreed to let Jeff make his presentation and accept HF's decision beyond that. Financial Report: Nancy gave a brief financial report. We continue to run behind although September was a better giving month than September of 05. YTD we are $59,000 short of meeting expenses. Families in the school system who give nothing or less than $100.00 a year are about one third. We need to address this. Father commented that very few families asked for assistance this year. Octoberfest gross income = approx $44,000. Net will be right around $35,000. This is approximately what we earned last year. Committee Reports: All as submitted. . Pastoral Planning: Jackie Witter is coming to assist us with envisioning. She will come Dec. 1 and 2. We will address the "Mission Statement" with her as well as our Parish Plan for 5-10 years. We will also address some of the questions raised by the recent assessment. November Agenda: Parish Twinning Update on Schools Fr. Walsh event Survey Letter of Dan Radke Christmas Party Respectfully Submitted, Karen Pastoral Council Highlights Discussion of our parish mission statement. Our mission statement should reflect what we do as a parish. "what is truly unique about St. Joseph the Worker?" Request of Fr. Barta to consider important priorites in long term archdiocesan planning (ten years). St. Joseph the Worker to host Fr. John Walsh 50th anniversary reception. Jackie Witter to assist in Pastoral Planning. Dan Radke presented a report on Electronic Fund contributions. Pastoral Council Highlights August 23, 2006 Sr. Marilyn summarized the EFFC assessments conducted during July. The goal of this effort is to develop a Catechetical Plan for theparish. Jackie Witter, a lay woman with leadership experience in working with Pastoral Councils in regard to pastoral planning will be contacted about a work session. Dan Radke detailed the "Commission" outline to process a survey to improve communication with parishioners and their concerns. One of the goals is to increase stewardship giving by 5%. Tania McClain and Sandy Radke gave a presentation on their trip to Eupora Mississippi. The purpose of this visit was to establish a relationship with another parish to twin with through Glemary Missionaries. Pastoral Council July Highlights All suggestions from Fr. Pat Brennan to form a great parish call for a plan of action. A facilitator will be needed to coordinate and bring a plan into action. Gather all parish committees together once a year for discussion of goals and evaluations. Commissioning of all committee members at Sunday mass in August. Pastoral Council Highlights - April 2006 1, Tim Thill, chairperson of Parish Life Committee summarize the objectives of this committee. The goal is to promote Christian Community through family-oriented events such as Donut Sunday, Lenten Buffet and Roller Skating parties. The committee meets the second Wednesday of the month. Consider joining contact Tim Thill or the office. 2. A parishioner addressed the Council with a request for approval to refinish the pews and purchased new kneelers at no cost to the parish. Anonymous donations have been given for this project This project will need Archdiocese approval. There was some discussion on how to handle special projects and a policy will need to be developed by the Pastoral Council. 3. The Pastoral Council agreed that Parish Planning is necessary to form short term goals and implement them accordingly. 4. There is still a need for Pastoral Council and Education Faith Formation Committee election candidates. March 3, 2006 Al Sampson - Endowment and Development committee representative addressed the history, membership and guidelines of the Educational Endowment. The Endowment is a restricted fund established to assist in the education of St. Joseph the Worker students and parishioners. Jeff Gonner, finance chairperson presented a chart showing the correlation between revenue, expenditures and church attendance over the past five years. Pastoral Council members will give presentations at Mass on 4/01 and 4/2 pertaining to a self selection process for the Pastoral Council committee SJTW Pastoral Council have set a goal to establish parish planning for the next 18 months. This plan will connect "stewardship" and align with the Archdiocesan 5 year vision. Steve presented a calendar where parishioners could pray and show support of vocations. Parishioners are invited to commit to pray on day/month for one year for vocations. Bob told the Pastoral Council that the Socials Concerns committee will be actively supporting the Teresa House. Highlights from the February pastoral Council meeting 1. Deb Anderson presented the history of the Stewardship and the concept of "Stewardship". 2. Linda Manternach did an assessment of the Pastoral Council's perception of Stewardship in SJTW parish. 3. Fr. Pat Brennan will conduct a on mission on Stewardship and Evangelization June 3 to June 6th. 4. Nancy reported that the finances are still in a deficit for fiscal 2005-06. The budget is being prepared for fiscal 2006-07. 5. Parish Life is planning the Lenten Buffet for March 3rd and March 31. Pastoral Council January 24, 2006 Dean Manternach - Education, Faith and Formation committee representative addressed membership, functions and highlights of the EFFC. Adult catechesis promotes mature adult faith. Pastoral Council member selection process. "The Welcoming Parish-Setting Up a Pastoral Council." Mass attendance and contributions over the last 4-5 years show decline in the parish. How do we change this situation? Buildings and Grounds provided a list of projects for maintenance of the church. Lenten Buffet volunteers needed for March 3 and March 31, 2006 Prime Rib Dinner fundraiser for Youth Ministry April 21, 2006 PASTORAL COUNCIL November 2005* 1. Lois Leytem, representing the Liturgy Committee, reported to the Council. Liturgy Committee is very active, providing many functions in support of the liturgy. They have many members but welcome new members. Their meetings are flexible; their needs diverse. 2. Fr. Mark facilitated an educational discussion on Hispanic Ministry. 3. Nancy presented the financial report. Weekly income remains $4,000 below budget. Scrip sales are down $18,000 from last year. 4. Council members expressed their feelings about the decision to not proceed with the renovation. Concerns were voiced about use of the money donated, about the abrupt conclusion of the project, about restoring the church. It was the decision of the Council to send the issue of church restoration back to the Buildings and Grounds Committee for plan/design.. Highlights from the October Pastoral Council Meeting October 25, 2005 1. Social Concerns (SCC) representative, Kris Rodham, met with the Council to explain their mission, services provided, issues of concern. She handed out a brochure on the Social Concerns Committee, explaining the purpose, activities. Kris indicated that one of the SCC needs is that of new members. 2. An article from the magazine Today's Parish called " The Evangelizing Parish" lead to a discussion of how to engage more parishioners in parish activities, other than the same few individuals that perform most of the parish functions. 3. Parish Council approved accepting the Conlon bid/plans as presented for the church renovation. Archdiocesan approval remains. Parishioners will get a letter indicating the changes that accompany the renovation schedule. Highlights of August Pastoral Meeting 1. Long Range Planning Goals: Word, Collaboration, Stewardship, Evangelization: Objectives of each area were review and discussed. 2. Parish Committees/Invitation to share their goals, objectives, membership and other issues. 3. Renovation status - Meeting Wednesday 8/31/05 - Conlon Construction, Architect and Renovation Committee June 28, 2005 Call to order: The Pastoral Council convened on June 28, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. for a social/business gathering at the parish rectory. Members present: Fr. Mark Ressler, Mike McClain - Vice President, Nancy Ehrlich - Operations Manager, Sue Wiezorek, Jim Rhomberg, Mark Eisbach, Ruth Turnis, Janet Hefel, Diane Asmussen, Steve Hill, Bob Timmerman, Dan Radke, Paul Duster, Brian Pechous, Dean Manternach, Lisa Crawford Following a social welcoming incoming pastoral council members and thanking outgoing members for their years of service, the pastoral council meeting was opened and prayer was led by vice president, Mike McClain. Minutes from the May 24, 2005 meeting were reviewed and approved. Old Business: Formation of sub-committee to increase financial giving - Dan Radke reported on an action plan to put a committee into place to look for ways to increase parish financial support from free-will (stewardship) giving. This will alleviate looking for ways to do fundraising to provide an increase in parish financial support. He is looking for a cross-section of volunteers to help on this committee. Council members are asked to submit names to Dan. New Business: Election of VP and Secretary - Jim Rhomberg will be the pastoral council vice president and Janet Hefel will be the council's secretary. Assignment of Council Representatives to parish committees - EFFC - Dean Manternach Liturgy and Spiritual Growth - Karen Zeckser Social Concerns - Bob Timmerman Parish Life - Lisa Crawford Vocation - Steve Hill Finance - Mike McClain Buildings and Grounds - Paul Duster Development and Endowment - Jim Rhomberg Stewardship - Diane Asmussen Renovation update - Fr. Mark reported that a parish newsletter will be coming out to keep parishioners updated on the renovation. Parishioners will also continue to be encouraged to worship with their parish family at Nativity Church during the renovation process. It was reported that Octoberfest will be held at the St. Joseph site. Periodic open houses will also be held throughout the renovation period at the site so parishioners can stay updated on the project. Jim Shaffer will also be taking photos during the renovation process for historical as well as liability reasons. Opening of construction bids will be held on July 12 with a special council/renovation meeting to be held at a date soon following the July 12 meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 Minutes submitted by Sue Wiezorek April 26, 2005 Pastoral Council long-range planning goals in place 2005-2006 budget reviewed Renovation update - Bids to be sent to contractors by June 1st. Break ground in July Youth Group to be moved to the current kindergarten location. March 22, 2005 Our Lady of Guadalupe Program will be housed in SJTW school building this fall Preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1-6 also housed at SJTW. Thus far only grade 2 will have two sections. Discussed upcoming pastoral council elections/orientation. Discussed possibilities of where to house the parish youth program. December 28, 2004 January 25, 2005 February 22, 2005







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