ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, Lanesville, IN
PASTORAL COUNCIL MINUTES – September 16, 2015 at 7:00 PM
Council Members Present: Eileen Timberlake, Lisa Thomas, Lynn Harbeson, Michael Clark, Charles
Ringle, Melissa Schellenberger, David Henke, Meg Hiser
Regrets: Barbara Murray
Others Present: Fr. Bob St. Martin, Deacon Rick Cooper, Lisa Reed, Steve Smith, Angela DeKriger
Opening Prayer: Father’s opening prayer was a reflection upon the Exultation of the Holy Cross
Approval of Minutes:
A quorum was not reached at July’s Pastoral Council Meeting, so the council voted to approve the
minutes from both June’s and July’s Pastoral Council meeting. Due to the Church Picnic in August, there
was no council meeting.
Lynn requested that the council review the minutes from the previous two meetings.
Michael Clark made a motion to approve the minutes from June, seconded by Melissa Schellenberger.
The June minutes were approved by a unanimous vote.
A mistake was noted in the July minutes on the amount of money moved to GL was incorrect and should
have read $33,000. With the understanding that the amount would be corrected, Charlie Ringle made a
motion to approve the July minutes. The motion to approve July’s minutes was seconded by Lisa
Thomas. The motion to approve the minutes for July passed by unanimous consent.
Committee Reports:
Building and Ground: No Representative
Faith Formation: Lisa Reed was present to deliver the report from Faith Formation.
In August Faith Formation elected new officers. Chairperson – Pam Conrad, Vice-Chairperson – Lisa
Abell, Secretary – Teri Blackman, Lisa Reed has been assigned to report on the Parish Council Meetings.
Due to a training session being held at Saint Mary’s of the Knobs on September 9th, Faith formation did
not meet in September.
At the August meeting, it was discussed that Faith Formation was in need of new members. The
vacancies in faith formation have since been filled. Faith Formation’s new members are Anne Hudgins,
Louis Richmer, and Tara Dye.
Sacrament Guidelines were distributed for review by Michelle Fessel with commentary due by Thursday
August 27th.
Finance Committee: Steve Smith delivered the report from the Finance Committee.
The fiscal year ended in June 2015.
The Finance Committee did not meet in August, so at their last meeting they discussed both July and
August.
Net Income for August YTD is $59,163 with the caveat that there are still expenses that have not yet
been accounted for; however, things look pretty good.
Collections are low but are starting to pick up. Currently collections are running at 82% budgeted, which
is ahead of last year. Collections were at 80% same time last year with the year ending at 90%.
The annual report has been compiled and submitted to the Archdiocese to comply with the September
15th due date.
Meg brought up the discussion from July, on how reimbursements are handled and the need to
formalize the process. New procedures for reimbursement have been put in place.
Liturgy Committee: No Representative
Saint Anne’s Society: Jane Stewart prepared lunch for picnic workers, providing around 250 meals for
the week. Meals were priced at $5, which raised about $920 and was donated to Relay for Life.
Chicken and Dumplings at Heritage Weekend served about 800 meals and recorded deposits of around
$6,000. They now have a balance of about $11,000
In October the Saint Anne’s Society will prepare the Knights of Columbus appreciation dinner.
The Saint Anne’s society will be visiting parishioners who are shut-in.
Going forward, Jane Stewart will be the representative from the Saint Anne’s Society.
Youth Committee: Angela DeKriger delivered the report on the youth committee.
At the August meeting, it was discussed that the Youth Committee is looking for new members.
The Youth Committee will move from monthly to quarterly meetings based upon a suggestion at a
September training session.
The Youth Committee is planning for the March for Life on January 23rd with two other parishes.
September 27th is a youth mass, with the youth that attended One Bread One Cup helping with the
Mass.
There is a fundraiser planned for October around the Blessing of the Animals
Planning is underway for Valentine’s Day fund raiser.
Father Bob wanted to clarify that the there are no plans from the Deanery to send anyone to
Washington DC for the march on January 23rd. Angela said she would like to see more dedication before
sending any of the youth and that we still may send some to Washington DC.
Angela would still like to set up a display on January 23rd.
Angela shared the new Youth Ministry Policies which contained the following sections.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chaperone Policy
Policy on accommodation of disabilities
Fundraising Policy
Policy on Transitions
Mellissa Schellenberger asked about the wording on one of the enumerated elements of the chaperone
policy: “3. No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs at any time, with the exception of adult socials
provided by the event.”
The wording will be changed to something like: “No alcoholic beverages while in the presence of youth.”
Facilities Committee: This committee has been disbanded
Archive Committee: No Representative
Old Business:
Renee will be providing a contact list to Lynn for sending out email communication.
New Business:
Training session for new members: Meg and Barbara attended a training session at St. Mary’s of the
Knobs on September 9th for new Pastoral Council.
Parish Organizational Chart: A handout showing the organizational structure was given to Pastoral
Council members.
Opening meetings to the public: Meetings are open to parishioners but not all items will be discussed.
A distinction between “Public” and “Open” was made; Pastoral Council meets are “open,” but not
“public.”
Town Hall Meeting: Fr. Bob felt that the town hall meetings went well and that we will have to wait and
see where it leads. We were reminded that Connected in the Spirit hasn’t even started yet.
The town hall meetings had a good turnout.
Deacon Rick felt that the meetings went well with many good questions from parishioners and that “We
need to trust in the Lord.”
Discussion on Policies for Receiving the Sacraments: Questions about the policy on the reception of
sacraments stemmed from a family wishing for their child to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation
without attending our faith formation program. The policy is, and will remain, that people wishing to
receive the Sacraments at St Mary’s will need to participate in our program.
The question was asked as to where our policies are kept. The policies are kept by Renee in the Parish
Office.
Any decision ultimately is Father’s to ratify and should be noted.
Participation in Multiple Committees / Commissions: A discussion on whether person can serve on
multiple committees will be held at the next Parish Council meeting.
The next Parish Council meeting will be on October 21st at 7:00 PM
The meeting was concluded with a Prayer