Holy Spirit Parish
Pastoral Council Meeting
April 5, 2011
Members present: Father Dick, Tim Neu, Dave Stukey, Barb Schlecht, Lisa Stenzel, Kate
Triplett, Bill Ramsey, Mary Wingerter, Tom Cook, Rodi Pitstick, Ed Kelley
Members Absent: Teresa O’Connell
Ad Hoc Members: Mark Meyer (Administrator)
1. Meeting: Called to order at 7:05 pm with scripture reading (Romans 8:8-11), reflection,
and Prayer to Holy Spirit.
2. Approval of March 1, 2011 Minutes: Approved as read.
3. Review Status of Deacon Mark Zenner: Father stated that a ministry agreement with
Bishop Warfel defining Deacon Mark’s services will soon be completed. It is envisioned
that some of Deacon Mark’s would encompass:
- assisting with Mass 1 weekend/month with preaching
- conducting non-Mass weddings
- rendering services at funerals
- periodically preaching at school Masses
Deacon Mark will also meet with parish staff to see how his talents can assist in our parish
mission. Either the 1st of June/July is the expected timeframe for his official assignment to
begin.
4. Recap and Evaluation of March 8th “Fat Tuesday” Celebration: All felt that the event
went well. The serving of food flowed well due to having two food lines. The new
decorations purchased by Lisa were very festive and well appreciated. Father received
feedback from several parishioners that the invitation calls by the Council were much
appreciative. Dave’s bus passengers were very appreciative for the availability of the
rides. Eight signed up, four showed. Mark reported the celebration statistics as:
 310 plates used
 368 buns used
 325 total meals served
 Approximately 20 lbs. pork remained
 12 beer baron sausages remained
Lisa reported there were a significant quantity of beads & hats remaining. These items as
well as the table center pieces will be stored for next year’s event.
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Recap and Evaluation of March 8th “Fat Tuesday” Celebration: (continued)
Items to consider for next year’s celebration:
have live music, preferably something with a jazz theme.
- Consider adult musicians. Possibly a musical family such as the Hodges. Have Mary
Dupuis query around for potential music sources.
emphasis on help with clean-up
start barbeque earlier (3:00-3:30) especially if the outdoor temperatures are low
5. Evaluation of Stewardship Talks: This item was previously discussed at the March 1,,
2011 Pastoral meeting.
6. “Appreciative Inquiry” Interviews:
Dave’s report:
Dave tried calling people from the directory. The people that he reached have not been
attending services actively and therefore could not respond.
Tom’s report:
 Interviewee felt very welcome at our church.
 Liked being greeted upon entering the church
 Enjoyed the children participation in services
 Appreciative follow-up to provide later feedback
 Would like to see Adoration. (NOTE: We presently have this solemnity each
Wednesday and is listed in the bulletin.)
 Felt the tabernacle should be at the alter. (NOTE: Placement of the tabernacle at
the alter is an American custom. This is not done in Europe and the Vatican. The
alter is the focus of our Eucharistic celebration. The tabernacle is for reserved
consecrated hosts Church is for liturgy, devotional during week. Mass is an action.
Eucharist is devotion.)
 Tom had hard time reaching people known.
Barb’s report:
 Interviewee knew Father Dick from his days in “Geraldine & had to come to Holy
Spirit when this was known.
7. All-Parish Mass at UGF: This would be a great opportunity to meet fellow parishioners
that regularly attend Mass at different times. Believe best time is early June due to
families usually taking vacations. Father would like all council members to visit with fellow
parishioners for feedback on their potential participation to get a better idea if this idea is
wanted. Once confirmed that the desire is present, we need to aggressively publicize the
event. How we do this may be through the bulletin, newspaper, and other available
sources.
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All-Parish Mass at UGF: (continued)
Items to consider/resolve:
 Conduct services near the fountain area in front of the Student Union Building
(SUB)
 Alternate site in case of inclement weather such as the SUB or gymnasium
 Provide golf cart shuttles for elderly & others needing assistance
 Lawn chairs/blankets to sit on lawn
 Delegate the Worship Commission to assess the area and gather additional
information for planning.
 Place in bulletin to contact parish office or council member with feedback.
Father brought up the use of townhall meetings to get community together for information
sharing, feedback, and community continuity. We have had 3 such meetings in the past.
Perhaps conduct ½ hour meetings twice/year immediately following Mass services?
8. Flow Chart of Various Commissions/Committees: Education commission brought up
that sacramental preparation be both under Education & Worship. Do we want to consider
having a Director of Formation Ministry? Council then had discussion on how each
department formulates their budgets. Father stated that each staff draws up their budget
and brings to appropriate commission for review. This process will be happening during
the month of April.
9. Feedback on Small Lenten “Renew” Groups: Tim’s, Barb’s, Lisa’s groups are doing
well. Questions are easier to dialogue on. Book is educational and explains the Mass
well. Mary Dupuis consolidated the questions from various sources.
10. Recruiting of New Member for 2011-12 term: Barb (A-3), Lisa (A-2), and Tom (A-2) will
be departing. Council members are to recruit for potential new members as well as notice
will be put in the bulletins announcing the opportunity to serve the parish.
11. Report on Loan Initiative by Kate: Kate gave a briefing on the Kiva loan program. It is
an internet loan program that anyone can participate in. “The program loans monies to
people that are typically identified by commercial lending institutions as “high risk”. The
majority of loans are made to third world country applicants, however, are available worldwide. Participants in the program place monies for loan availability. The loans are
administered by a third party. Size of loans vary from under $100 to a few thousand. The
program is very flexible on how you want your monies invested. One can join other
“lenders” for bigger loans or go with their own monies. All loans are short term and
interest is not received by the participant, but the third party administrator. Once your loan
has been paid off, the participant can opt to continue lending or opt out.
The program is to make available monies to people that are in need of small amounts of
money for their businesses or other needs to improve their living standards.
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“Just Faith” is participating in the program with $300.00 earned from the Saturday evening
dinners. For more information, one can read both in the bulletin and the “Just Faith”
website.
12. Administrator’s Report: Mark stated this is the time of year each department is
developing budgets for next fiscal year. Once reviewed by applicable commissions, they
will go to the Finance Council in May and then onto the Pastoral Council in June.
13. New Agenda Items: None.
14. Commission Reports:
Christian Service:
The group is looking at getting organized a “Backpacks for prisoners” parish sponsored
program. These backpacks are intended for people returning to society from prison and in
need of clothing items and toiletries. The former prisoners are typically released with only
the items they are wearing and very little money to begin their return to society.
Worship:
Will be posting the Commissions/Committees flowchart on the parish website.
Religious Formation:
Sacramental Preparation on-going. Will be having a representative on the Finance
Council, Bible study on-going. Preparations for Easter on-going with 1st communion. In
need of more commission membership.
15. “Thank You” Cards: Cards of appreciation were signed for:
Ken & Marilyn Mathern – their dedication and joyful help throughout the entire “Fat
Tuesday” celebration.
Lisa Stenzel –.continuous heartwarming dedication to the parish funeral stewardship
program
Directory group – all people that made the issuance of the new parish directory possible:
from notifying each parishioner of their picture time to helping distribute
the directories.
Next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm with the Our Father.
Respectfully submitted,
Ed Kelley
Secretary
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