St. James Pastoral Council Minutes
January 14, 2008

 

 

Opening and Closing Prayer:  Cathy Teague

 

Members Present:  Julia Alsobrook, John Alvey, Diane Dolak, Mary George, Dave McDonald, Lisa Richardson, Joe Ross, Cathy Teague, Jim Thornton, Ann Tucker, and Father Tom

 

Members Absent:  Father Matt

 

Also Attending:  Jim Newell

 

Old Business:

  1. Discerning God’s Call for the Parish Goal #5 (Parish Improvement Project)

Father Tom reported that there was a lot of voluntary help to clean up some of the remodeling mess over the Christmas break.  March 20th is the proposed date to complete the last leg of the project and that the total cost will be about $1.7

Million.

 

  1. Recording Secretary

Cathy Teague reported that she has obtained a list from Pam DeMasi of those who had expressed an interest in volunteering for a parish office assistant.  She is in the processing of contacting the names on the list.

 

  1. Diocese Family Rosary Initiative

Joe Ross reported that there would be an article in the spring newsletter asking for volunteers.  The date of the Rosary Rally is May 25th at Royals Stadium at 3 pm.  Joe and Father Tom are working on input for 1800 pamphlets to be handouts to ignite excitement of Catholic Faith.

 

  1. Parish Clean-up Day

Mary and Joey Lombardo cleaned inside the church on December 1st.  No suggestions were made by parishioners for things they noticed needing to be done on the inside of the church, but John received a suggestion for someone to trim the peonies.  A discussion will be held at the meeting next month to choose a cleanup day prior to Holy Week.

 

New Business

  1. Stewardship Committee Presentation

Dennis & Ann Valentine and Len Platt showed a power point presentation that they plan to take to small groups within the parish.  The presentation emphasized stewardship as a way of life, and included such points as communication, education and formation, recruiting, training, and recognizing gifts of time and talent, as well as the council’s mission statement and guidelines.  The goal of the group is to get more people involved in parish life and to view stewardship as a kind of spirituality.  The Stewardship Committee meets the 3rd Thursday of every month and encouraged pastoral council participation.         

 

  1. School Auction Report

The final report is not yet in, but Julia reported that the auction grossed about $110,000, with about $22,000 expenses.  Molly said that the tithe would go towards the ’08-’09 school year.  There were a few complaints about having an admission fee this year.

 

  1. Discernment For New Council Members

John reported that new members are looked for in even year numbers.  John, Dave, Mary, and Joe’s terms will expire this year.  John asked for them to let him know of their plans for the future and for present council members to begin in February to solicit names for possible replacements. John brought up the question whether we wanted to do a full-blown discernment process.  Mary and Dave offered to continue on the council for two more years.

 

  1. New Business Manager

Jim Newell was introduced as the new business manager for the parish.

 

Ministry Reports

 

Youth: Lisa Richardson

Lisa reported that the National Evangelization team of college kids talked to jr. high kids on January 13.  About 150 attended.  The youth is also working on raising money for the Souper Bowl for Caring, which will include a service blitz.

 

Activities: Mary George

Mary reported that about 125 people attended the Memorial event and that it went well.  The Glory Be Tea had a full turnout despite the weather.  Mary mentioned the need for a Spanish speaking Mass and that a representative would like to speak to the council regarding the needs of the Hispanic Catholics.

 

Groups: Ann Tucker

Ann reported that the Altar Society’s bingo was changed to April 5th due to construction.  They will be serving coffee and donuts on February 17th.  Cathy McCurry, Linda Strammel, and possibly, Linda Dodge, of the Respect Life Ministry are addressing the pro-life aspect of children with special needs and how expectant mothers are encouraged to abort a baby with developmental problems. A woman who is a parishioner has prepared a letter for people to pick up after the Masses sharing the horrible experience she had in choosing abortion when she was very young and the emotional stress she has experienced in the years since. The letter is intended for adults and teen aged youth to read in an effort to discourage anyone from having an abortion.  The Rosary group still meets in the Mallen Room. They have been praying for youth and praying the Divine Mercy chaplet and novenas to St.Anthony for reversal of stem cell research. 

 

Liturgy: Joe Ross

Joe reported that at the last meeting, the Christmas and New Year’s liturgies were discussed.  Lent will be the subject of the next meeting on January 21st. It was agreed at a past meeting to leave the holy water font as it is, and not add a font at each door leading into the worship area.

 

 

Education:  Julia Alsobrook & Diane Dolak

Julia reported that about 100 kids are expected to receive the 1st Holy Communion on Mother’s Day weekend and the weekend after at all of the Masses.  Father Joe is coming to religious ed classes to talk about vocations and will be doing a retreat with the 5th graders on April 20th in Independence.  Two faith formation/catechist training classes will be at Holy Family on Jan. 30th, from 7-9 pm, which are open to any adult parishioner

 

Diane reported that there are 14 candidates/catechumens for the Feb 10th Rite of election with the bishop.  Five people have inquired about the Christian Initiation program for adults.  This is a year round program that does not follow a calendar year.  Sponsors for the candidates are always needed.

 

Pastor’s Comments:

Father Tom reported that there have been two recent thefts from the parish with the cumulative loss to be $4400.00.  Insurance will cover the losses, but the parish is tightening security.  Father Tom encouraged stewardship to be a part of our church and for the council to support and help development stewardship to provide a united front to the parish.

 

February Agenda

  1. Discerning God’s Call for the Parish
  2. Parish Cleanup Day Prior to Holy Week

 

The next meeting will be February 11th, 2008.  Opening and closing prayer will be by Jim Thornton.

 

 

 

Meeting notes courtesy of Cathy Teague - Recording Secretary