Pastoral Council Minutes

Oct. 2020 Minutes

Sherri Porterfield

Pastoral Council Meeting

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2020

Members Present:   Julie Harman, Steve Gregoire, Lou Angles, Kevin Nordhues, Dan Bacon, Hugo Mendoza.

Members Absent: Marla Neal, Arsenio Arciga, Libby Hernandez, Patrick Schaub,

Guests: Father Mike & Deacon Chuck

Opening prayer by Hugo, and then the meeting was opened. Minutes from the Sept. 2020 meeting were approved.

Father Mike’s Discussions:

 

  • Father started by mentioning that Katie K. put together new financial statements in last week’s online bulletin. Next Sunday, 10-18-20, marks the restart of a printed bulletin.
  • Mass Attendance:
    • 5 PM ~ 185
    • 8 AM ~ 225
    • 10:30 AM ~ 325
    • We briefly discussed restarting the 6 PM Sunday mass, but since the other 3 masses have not been full, it’s been difficult getting ministers, and it would require extra cleaning, it was decided NOT to restart.
  • James School Auction
    • Raised $116K
    • Cost ~ $16K
    • So, Profit ~ $100K
  • It was noted that there still have been NO COVID cases in the school.
  • Father mentioned that there is now a new method of cleaning inside the church to better protect the pews and not hurt the wood. After cleaning, the pews now must be “wiped down”, which adds about 33% more labor time.  More parishioner help is to be requested.
  • The church was shut down for 3 days (M-W) to polish the floors. Mass was held in the lower level during this time.

 

Deacon Chuck discussions:

 

  • 75 students in the Confirmation Class this year. It may be the biggest class yet.
  • 103 families in Religious Education this year.
  • Trunk or treat cancelled because of the pandemic.
  • Bishop Johnston’s birthday on Friday, Oct. 16th. He’s requested:
    • Spiritual Bouquet
    • Rosary
    • Spiritual Adoration
  • This coming Sunday, Oct. 18th – Mission Sunday
  • There has been discussion already about Christmas Masses and Cleaning
    • May need to arrange extra cleaning help from TMIY, etc.
  • We may have our new Live Stream equipment by then.
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass – Friday, Dec. 11th
  • K of C PUB (Pull-Up Burrito) Dinner set for Friday, Oct. 23rd – $10 per meal
    • Chipotle Burritos – Chicken, beans, rice, cheese & Pico de Gallo sauce
    • Sides – Tortilla Chips and Salsa
    • Dessert – Tootsie Rolls – Donations Requested (NOTE – We are still doing Tootsie Roll Drive at Masses)
  • Jim Newell’s Retirement Party – Friday, Nov. 13th from 4-7 pm (Set-up at 2:30 pm)
    • K of C making the food and the Pastoral Council is serving
    • Food
      • Hot dogs & Hamburgers
      • Chips
      • Cookies from Alter Society
      • Beer, Pop & bottled water

 

Dan Bacon discussion:

 

  • Brainstorming session on Advent Giving Tree this year
    • No tree w/tags this year because of pandemic
    • Last year – 1600 gifts @ ~ $20/gift
    • From a discussion w/Karen Swingler, indications were that online giving may not be possible
      • Shouldn’t go the K of C account
      • The church needs, but presently does not have, a checking account #, routing # and an authority (like Go Fund Me)
    • Father indicated that the church would address getting set up with a Venmo, Square, or similar account
  • Information on this year’s Advent Giving Tree will come out soon in the bulletin

 

New Business

  • Coat Drive
    • Usually start sometime in November – Kevin to contact Judy on this.
    • Like last year, we will have separate areas in the old Narthex for adult coats and children coats
    • Because of COVID, the plan will be to segregate coats for 4 days before taking them our St. James sister parish downtown
  • Discussed possibility of using our pull-down screens in the worship area to show readings, music, etc. during Mass. However, a number of issues makes this difficult and expensive…
    • Pull-down screens cover speakers
    • We don’t have proper formatting to easily show internet content on the screen.
  • Hearing Devices
    • We have some hearing devices to aid those with poor hearing.
    • These devices connect directly with the church’s sound system
    • Kevin Nordhues is hearing impaired and tried one of the devices and indicated that they perform very well.
    • Kevin to ask Danny Baker about how many of these devices we have and how/when to publicize

 

Next meeting – The next pastoral council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9th.  Kevin Nordhues will be doing the opening prayer.

Closing Prayer – Father Mike