February 1st, 2001

Members Present: Brad Hinker, Mary Eve Thomas, Ann Keeffe, Timm Douma, Joan Riebel, Claude Paradis, Gene Gagnon, Carol O'Toole and George Wertin

  1. Opening Prayer:
    Opening Prayer was led by Timm Douma follow by check-in by members.
  2. Mission Statement & Covenant were read.
  3. Minutes for both the Jan. 4 and the special Jan. 15 meetings were approved.
  4. Old Business
    1. Discussion of Norine's Challenges:
      • George's Successor: Joan Riebel drew from resources at the time George became pastor. She highlighted a process developed by George Moudry based on "What do we want for our parish?" She will pursue this with George Moudry and bring it to the next meeting.
      • It was also suggested that we pursue the question at the end of each meeting how the meeting benefits the poor and less fortunate.
    2. Staff Planning Retreat: Brad, Joan, Mary Eve and Claude, who were able to participate, all expressed very positive reactions to the retreat. They felt it helped give a comprehensive picture of parish life. They expressed appreciation for the work of the staff and the importance of affirming them. They indicated that there seemed to be a healthy sense of equality and respect among staff. The only regret was that Jim Cassidy could only participate in the luncheon.
    3. Visibility of Parish Council: Carol presented a calendar for members to be available between Masses on Sunday beginning March 4. Subs should be used as need and Gene is available to sub. The availability of Council members should be posted in the bulletin. It might be worth evaluating being available in the reception area of the Parish Center after we move in. It was also recommended that the names of Council members be included in the Parish Handbook and that some Council members still need to get their photos taken for the web site by Fred Vagle.
    4. Liaison Reports: Brief reports were given by Timm about Liturgy, Mary Eve about Adult Ed., and Claude about Social Justice.
  5. New Business
    1. Brad's report on follow up discussion with Jim Cassidy: Brad indicated he had a constructive conversation with Jim following up on the special meeting about maintaining our fundraising policies. Jim indicated that he understood that his South Africa fundraising is not an SJA project. Brad said he stressed that it was important that we all be 'on the same page' in the way we work together. He said he encouraged Jim that he keep the Council informed of projects that impinge on the parish in the future.
    2. Policies PC Minutes P. 2
      • Website Policy: George presented the draft policy written by Peter and Jeff Rholl's general positive reaction. It was emphasized that the web site must be recognized as representing the parish and who we are. There is room for opinion and discussion but in such a way that it reflects values consistent with SJA's mission statement and goals. It was recommended that we reflect on the web site policy and revisit it again next month.
      • Fundraising Policy: The current fundraising policy was reviewed. George suggested that now is a good time to rewrite the policy to make it more explicit and precise. Carol suggested that it is helpful to distinguish between our policy and the procedures that follow from it. A committee was formed to draft a revised fundraising policy. Committee members are Carol, Gene and Peter. This and other policies should be in the Parish Handbook.
    3. Goal Setting: The procedure for setting goals for 2001-02 was discussed. It is helpful to update previous goals. Council members should approach committee chairs in their liaison areas to get goal setting on their agendas and returned to them. Some time was spent examining this year's goal about financial stewardship and how people are being made aware of parish finances through the Finance Committee.
    4. Naming PC Rooms: After some preliminary discussion it was agreed to have a contest among parishioners to name the 9 conference/meetings rooms in the renovated Parish Center. A deadline and prize will be set and Parish Council members will select the winning names depending on the availability of Council members since we need to do this soon.
  6. Other Agenda Items:
    1. Archbishop's Pastoral Advisory Council: A meeting of representatives from all the parishes of the archdiocese to look at the APAC goals is scheduled for Mar. 10 in Woodbury. No one indicated a willingness to attend. This led to discussion about the upcoming Capital Campaign of the Archdiocese. Our goal has been set at $950,000. It was suggested that it might be helpful for the rep from the Capital Campaign Office meet with the SJA Parish Council and Finance Committee as the process moves forward. Also, it was suggested that it might be helpful for the Council to invite the Archbishop for dinner again.
    2. Impact of this meeting on the poor: Members expressed that through internal efforts such as fundraising policy we are impacting. Also issues of stewardship and affordable housing came up. VII. Closing Prayer and Evaluation: Ann led the closing prayer. The evaluation of the meeting was expressed in terms such as: working together, supportive, sensitive and very positive.
Next meeting is Thursday, March 1 - possibly in the Parish Center!

Respectfully submitted,

George Wertin