St. James Pastoral
Council Minutes
December 13, 2004
OPENING PRAYER: Howard Norris
MEMBERS PRESENT: John Alvey, Joshua Barlett,
Mary George, Mike Jones, Chuck Koesterer, Dave McDonald, Len Platt, Bobbi
Roman, Joe Ross, Father Joe and Ken Oyen
MEMBERS ABSENT: Kimberly Lay, Larry Stanley, and John Talbot,
The
meeting was conducted by President of the Board, Chuck Koesterer. The November minutes were approved as
written, and the December agenda was approved.
St.
James eighth grade students, Meghan Doherty, Jessica Olson, Jessica Teson and
Alycen Fiegel presented a short video of their current studio and how they
produce the St. James School News every other morning on Channel 28. The students attended a journalist camp this
summer with News Anchor, Natalie Moultrie from
KMBC Channel 9, learning how to edit, film, and log. They also presented a proposal for a storage
building to serve as a News Studio for their project as well as much needed
storage for other ministries. They
state their equipment at the present time is in a shared storage room that
isn’t secured, and their current studio is in the hallway between the fourth
and fifth grades which makes it difficult to film without interruptions. They asked for the council’s support in
attaining their goal to have the storage unit built by May 1st. The cost of the 40’x60’x14’ metal storage
building is $16,594.00. Discussion was
held after the presentation, and council members recognize their need, and the
need for storage. The parish council
will make recommendations after assessment of the teacher’s lounge and storage
area to determine if better utilization of these areas and the music room which
was originally designed for storage could serve the needs of the News Studio
and provide more storage. The
Administration Committee, however, would make the decision on the building
proposal.
AGENDA:
1.
Discernment Committee
Update
Chuck Koesterer reported he had not had a chance to
meet with Doris Cadd who headed this committee last year. Discussion was held on whether the
discernment process was necessary this year when it had been suggested that the
council might change the number of members and term limits. A revision to the by-laws would be necessary
to do this. Chuck and John Alvey will
get some ideas together to present at the next council meeting.
2.
Fundraising Committee
Review
Discussion was held on review of the many
fundraisers held by the different ministries, and why they need to raise money
to offset their expenses which aren’t covered in the parish budget. It is felt by the council that too many
fundraisers hurts tithing, and how do we educate parishioners on importance of
tithing. Howard Norris said out of
approximately 40 ministries he had contacted not very many of them have fundraisers. The Fundraising Committee will meet to
review fundraiser guidelines, types of fundraisers, and if the purpose builds
community.
3.
Mission Statement
Father Joe presented a sample mission statement and
asked for volunteers to help him with it.
Mike Jones and Mary George volunteered to assist Father. Father Joe’s goal is to have it in each home
by January.
4.
Strategic Planning
Visioning Meetings
Chuck Koesterer asked council members to talk to
their ministry groups about attending the Strategic Planning Visioning
Meetings. He also asked for suggestions
for a clever name for the meeting. The
first meeting is planned after the 6 PM Mass on January 30th.
5.
Consolidation of Ministries
Len Platt, Father Joe, and Ken Oyen met to discuss
consolidation of ministries. They asked all council members to get a
report from each of their ministries to find out where they are to determine if
some can be combined.
MINISTRY REPORTS
Liturgy: Mike Jones reported Ann
Tucker has requested help in preparations for the Christmas liturgies. They will be decorating the church and
social hall December 23rd at 9 a.m.
Mike also said we need to give some thought to replacing our worship
hymnals. Many are in bad shape, and a
new issue would include songs from both hymnals eliminating the need for two
books.
Youth: Bobbi Roman reported about
50 attended the Youth Lockout November 19th and had a great
time. She also said they had been
helping out at some of the thrift stores.
They are recycling old cell phones and inkjet cartridges.
Communications: Len Platt asked the council for ideas on a new
parish pictorial directory. Mike Jones
suggested getting someone to take digital photos and to help organize the
directory rather than having a professional photographer. Mike said he will try to get some volunteers
to help determine feasibility in trying to do the directory without a
professional photographer.
Christian
Formation and Religious Ed: Update on Generations of Faith
Father Joe thought the Generations of Faith Advent
Gathering was successful. The parish
center was filled both nights with around 175 attending. There were many good comments from council
members attending. They plan to hold
the next one during Lent.
Catholic
Organizations: Chuck Koesterer said the
Knights will be holding their black-eyed pea dinner on New Year’s Day with
donations for the poor accepted.
School: Chuck Koesterer said the
school had received a request from a group working through William Jewel
College wanting to send Korean students to our school for one year. There would be three 6th grade
and two 7th grade students.
They are children of wealthy businessmen in Korea wanting to send their
children to a private US school. They
would be sponsored by The Language Company, and would pay full price. The teachers look at it as a good cultural
exchange experience. They are Christian
students, and Father Joe reported the diocese who wrote back supporting the
idea.
Parish and
Family Life: Joe
Ross had good reports from women attending the Glory Be Tea. Joe also reported there are some other
groups who might be able to pick up other weekends for Donut Sunday that are
not covered by the Knights.
Administration
and Stewardship: Chuck Koesterer said no
decisions have been made on the land use on King’s Highway or endowment for the
parish.
Pastor’s Comments: Father Joe asked the
council “How do we build community?” He
feels our parish is going so many directions, and his dream is for our parish
to work together as a family. Father
Joe announced that Ed Fierst, Principal, is going to retire at the end of the
school year. Molly Doherty will take
over as Principal, and we will be looking for an assistant principal.
January Agenda:
1)
Discernment
Committee update
2)
Use
of land on King’s Highway
3)
Pictorial
Directory
4)
Ministry
Consolidation
The
meeting was adjourned with a sending prayer by Mike Jones. The next business meeting will be Monday, January
10 at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting
notes courtesy of Dorothy Haynes - Recording Secretary