05-13-24 Pastoral Council Meeting MInutes
ST. JAMES PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MONDAY, MAY 13, 2024
The May meeting of the St. James Pastoral Council was called to order by Chairman Kevin Casel at 7:00 p.m. The following council members were present: Fr. Mike Roach, Deacon Chuck Koesterer, Dan Bacon, Eddie Baker, Phil Baumert, Kevin Casel, Corrine Katzer, Joan Peluso and Sherri Porterfield. An opening inspirational reading from Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly was given by Dan Bacon.
Old Business:
Pastoral Council Discernment Results: Chairman Kevin Casel informed the Council that the discernment process was completed in late April and the two new members are Jeff Ridder and Chris Fullinwidder. Information about the new Council members will be in the church bulletin the first weekend of August and they will meet for the first time with other Council members at the annual retreat scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd. These new members replace Dan Bacon and Patrick Schaub who served the Council for the past 5 years. Chairman Casel thanked Dan and Patrick for their dedication and contribution in serving the Council.
Hillcrest Ministries Update: Chairman Casel told the Council via Yvette Lopez that many changes are occurring with Hillcrest Ministries through restructuring of their outreach program. Currently, everything regarding St. James and other sponsor participation in this program is on hold. Once we are informed of the procedure changes, we will be able to proceed. Yvette told Chairman Casel that the first order of business will be to re-paint the apartment St. James sponsors and that a team of volunteers is in place to do this.
Point of Contact Update: Dan Bacon informed the Council that there was a need for a few additional people at all the Masses except for Sunday at 8:00 a.m. The next step would be to designate section leaders for each area of the sanctuary who would guide that area of the congregation to safety in the event of an evacuation.
Connection with High School Grads and College Students: In April the Council briefly discussed the need to find ways to make a personal connection with those young adults graduating from high school and college students to let them know they are an important part of our St. James family. Joan Peluso talked with Ashlee Hand, the coordinator for the 40-Day Prayer Letter Ministry that occurs during Lent to get ideas. The Council discussed ways to contact these young adults, and all felt it was important to not only get their contact information but how they would like to receive the communication, i.e. letter, email, text, etc. It was discussed that the best time to connect with these young adults may be at Thanksgiving and again over the Christmas holidays. There was a suggestion made by Deacon Chuck and agreed by all members that we include those Catholic students attending William Jewell College. Specific plans on how to accomplish this were not made but this will become one of the goals for the Council for the upcoming year beginning in August.
New Business:
Election of 2024-25 Executive Committee Members: The Pastoral Council Executive Committee is comprised of the following members: Fr. Mike Roach, the Council Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary. The members, apart from Fr. Mike, are elected by secret ballot at the May meeting. Members elected for the 2024-25 year are: Joan Peluso, Chairperson; Kevin Casel, Vice-Chairperson; Sherri Porterfield, Secretary. These individuals will begin their term of office in August.
Topics for August Retreat: Jay Meacham will be leading the Council retreat to be held at the Precious Blood Center in August and wished to know of any topics that the Council may want to address. The members agreed that the results of the survey, particularly the comments written on the need to connect with Young Adults 18 and older and development of opportunities for Adult Faith Formation, be the primary focus for this retreat and the coming year.
Closing Prayer:
Fr Mike closed the meeting with a prayer and the Council members prayed the “Our Father” together. The meeting was adjourned for the summer at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherri Porterfield, Pastoral Council Secretary