St. Joseph Parish Council Meeting
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Attending: Jim Altmiller, John Benca, Susan Gearhart, Pete Konenkamp, Marty Ledenham, Dana Moody, Rosemary Risse, Todd Story, Evelyn Tejada, Margarita Tejeda, John Timmons. Excused: Father David and Maxine Guerrera.
Pete Konenkamp opened the meeting with a prayer.
Minutes of the October meeting were reviewed and approved by the Parish Council contingent on Father David’s approval.
Guest of the meeting was Frank Milward who addressed the timetable of the Capital Campaign. Frank reported that the Capital Campaign’s schedule has been deferred pending the final signatures to the contract of the land purchase. The signature delay has required rescheduling on the part of the Guidance and Giving Commission. Its plan for scheduling the interviews will be further affected by the upcoming holidays. This initial phase, initially referred to as the feasibility phase, will be called the planning phase. Before the Guidance and Giving can proceed the signed contract will be sent to the Archdiocese for their signatures. Frank said that a document that addresses ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQ’s) will be sent to the Steering Committee and to the Parish Council. He said that the Steering Committee is being expanded to reflect all groups of the parish and encourage closer relationships of all involved.
Pete thanked Frank and the Capital Campaign for their work and for their efforts to keep us informed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Together (Planning): John Timmons said that Father continues in his attempts to expand our base of architects and engineers.
Communications: Pete handed out and reviewed a document that addresses various aspects of the land purchase, the pledge drive and the future growth of the church and school. This will tentatively be used both as a bulletin insert after the pulpit announcements are made, and in the press releases after the parish has been informed. He invited suggestions for additions or changes in the content.
Latinos: Evelyn reported that the Hispanic group has planned a luncheon for the parish and are in charge of next month’s Second Sunday Social. She said that they are planning a celebration for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12th, with a 6AM procession and rosary and an evening mass and dance. There are now Spanish religious education classes on Saturdays prior to the Spanish mass.
School: Dana passed out the Focus, the Saint Joseph School newsletter, to all the members.
Finance: Jim reported that the Finance Committee is now chaired by Wade Bortle and that there are six members. One goal is to coordinate the school and church finances. They are complying with the Archdiocesan rules and regulations and plan to annually recognize donations by letter. They are also working on an annual report of the church’s finances for the parishioners.
Maintenance: Jim said that the storage room in the basement has been reorganized and that there is now room for storage for the various parish groups.
Religious Education: Pete said that Benedicte Milward is now coordinating all Religious Education. Erica Gil will assume the Middle School coordinator position after Christmas. The RE office has been moved to the church office.
Liturgy: Rosemary said that there are plans for two 6PM masses on Christmas Eve, one in the parish hall and one in the church. The committee is establishing policies for baptisms, weddings and funerals. The notice for a wedding coordinator continues to be posted in the bulletin. Rosemary’s wonderful article in the newsletter telling of the making and meaning of our church banners was acknowledged and applauded.
The amendments to the Bylaws were approved by vote.
The proposed Parish Council guest guidelines were presented by Pete and were approved by vote. The meeting was closed with a prayer.
The next Parish Council meeting will be Sunday, December 11th at 7:30 PM.