ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, Lanesville, IN
PASTORAL COUNCIL MINUTES – July 15, 2015
Council Members Present: Michael Clark, Lynn Harbeson, Meg Hiser, Barbara Murray
Regrets: Eileen Timberlake, Lisa Thomas, Charles Ringle, Melissa Schellenberger, David Henke
Others Present: Fr. Bob St. Martin, Deacon Rick Cooper
Opening Prayer
Lynn called the meeting to order at 7:05. Father Bob opened the meeting with a prayer and words about Saint Bonaventure whose feast day is today. He shared that learning and the art of charity go hand in hand.
Approval of Minutes
There were not enough members present to approve. The minutes were held open.
Committee Reports
Buildings and Grounds
Dan Schmeltz provided an update for Buildings and Grounds. Highlights were:
- Problems with the gutters on the church
- They are working on getting the chair racks out of the basement. They are evaluating whether new chair racks are needed.
- They need to get a tree down.
- They need to replace damaged wood on the church doors.
- They need to replace some church windows which are cracked and warped. In 2012 they had an estimate of
$11,000 to replace the windows. They need to get a new estimate and think the price will go up.
- The ice machine was broken and was fixed for $2,670.
Faith Formation
Terri Blackman provided an update for Faith Formation. Highlights were:
- Family Night was a great success. Turnout was good. Next time Michelle wants to have a day session to give
more time to complete projects and a night session for those who can't attend during the day. The budget
was great because they only had to supply food and supplies.
- The Heritage Committee will have a booth at Lanesville Heritage Weekend. One person from each the Youth
Committee, Faith Formation Committee and Archive Committee will come up with an idea for the booth.
- Terri gave everyone present a sample copy of a "Spotlight" information paper on the Faith Formation
Commission that will be inserted in the bulletin next month. She asked if we had any changes. Barbara ask about
whether people will understand about the "Nominations now being accepted" under First Year Members. Terri
and Barbara agreed that most people understand that current committee members nominate new members and Father Bob approves the nominations.
Finance Committee
Steve Smith provided an update for the Finance Committee. Steve went over the financial summary provided with the meeting agenda. Highlights were:
- $55,00 was moved from the June budget to the balance sheet for maintenance improvements. (This was
Fr. Ripperger's donation to the Parish from his estate.)
- June's numbers were also down because of chiller repair of $3,000 and ice machine repair of $2,670.
- Collections are down by $36,000 this year. They are running at 91% of budget, whereas previously they usually ran at 95% of budget.
- Rena is looking into direct deposit. She will present her findings in September.
Liturgy Committee
There was no representation from the Liturgy committee.
St. Anne’s
There was no representation from St. Anne’s.
Youth Committee
There was no representation from the Youth Committee.
Old Business
Summary of Pastoral Council actions for Fiscal 2014-2015
A summary of Pastoral Council actions for Fiscal 2014-2015 that were requested by the Stewardship Program were attached to the agenda. Lynn asked if there were any corrections. No corrections were given. A vote to approve the summary could not be taken because there was not a quarum.
New Business
No August Meeting
There is no meeting in August due to the picnic. Lynn asked if this was still ok. No one objected.
New member contact information
Lynn passed a sheet gathering phone number and email information from each member present. He said he may think about putting our minutes and agenda on the church website. He would not put on phone numbers, just our email addresses, on the church website.
Committee Chair Persons List
Lynn asked if anyone knows who the chairs for all of the committees are. Terri Blackman replied that all of the leadership is changing this fall with new members and new elections. Michael would like to get an email of each committee chair so they could be informed about this meeting. Lynn said he would reach out and find out who the new leaders will be and their contact information. Michael said he would find out who the Cemetery Committee rep is.
Other items from the floor
Michael asked if we're doing any more about Connected in the Spirit. Father Bob said that it would be addressed at a later date.
Terri Blackman stated that reminder emails are helpful. Many agreed.
Meg asked about the policy for turning in receipts for expenses. Father Bob said he will talk to Rena about the policy.
The meeting was adjourned by Lynn Harbeson.
Father Bob led a closing prayer.
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 pm.
1