Our Lady of Victory Pastoral Council
Meeting Minutes
September 23, 2014
I. President Chris Wemhoff called the meeting to order. We opened the meeting with a prayer.
II. Roll call was taken.
A. Present: Al Boboth, Karon DeCock-Husted, Tommy Fallon, Trish Gallagher, Elaine Kopf, Ann Lee, Luis
Moya, Gary Neltner, Matt Osen, Msgr. Parizek, Kyle Rick, Ken Ruefer, John Scordato, Chad Steimle,
John Wagner, Chris Wemhoff, Helen White, John Wichelmann and Suzanne Yackley.
B. Excused: Matt Henning, Charlie Jones, and Marc Mosse.
C. Absent George Bradley
III. The agenda was approved as written.
IV. The minutes of the May meeting were approved with the correction of the addition of ”fence on” added to the
sentence regarding the parish center roof under the Building and Grounds section.
V. Chris read the mission statement.
VI. New Business
A. Review Parish Fall Festival: We came in under budget. There were 566 meals served, 95 cooked
chicken breasts were sold and 136 uncooked chicken breasts were put in the freezer for the parishioner
appreciation event. The bags tournament was a big hit. There was discussion regarding putting up
barricades to keep people out of areas of the school that they shouldn’t be in during the event. The pie
contest was a success. There were 26 entries. The rock wall continued to be popular. The close
proximity was appreciated. The kids seemed to enjoy the Angry Birds activity.
VII. Old business
A. Strategic plan: Chris indicated that he would be in touch with committee members to get a date set
before the next meeting.
VIII. Ministry reports
A. Social Action
1. Christian Services and Social Justice: Karon submitted a written report. Helen agreed to send
list of community resources to Char McGovern so that the information is available to the parish.
2. Ecumenical: No report. Trish has given Gary some resources to peruse and pursue.
B. Church Life
1. Church Life: No report
2. Stewardship: Elaine presented a written report. Stewardship Sunday is scheduled for October 11
and 12. There will be several events to call attention to the Ministries available within the parish.
3. Ladies Council: Helen reported that they are preparing for the bazaar. The Raffle tickets are out.
The bazaar is set for November 1 and 2.
4. Wellness: Ann submitted a written report. There were almost 80 contact hours. They are looking
for improvements in the walking program since many signed up but few turned in their logs.
Bonnie and Carol attended a Traumatic Resiliency Course. Ann asked that those committees
offering wellness activities notify the Wellness Committee.
C. Faith Formation
1. Faith Formation / RCIA: Trish submitted a written report. There is a nice RCIA group forming.
Adult Pro Life Holy Hours continue. This Thursday will feature Project Rachel.
2. JFK / Board of Education: Chad Steimle submitted a written report. They completed the
orientation for the Board of Education. He emphasized that JFK still accepts donations of
furniture and office supplies, such as envelopes. They DO NOT accept computers or printers.
3. Youth Ministry: Tommy submitted a written report. He stated that Youth Nights are in full swing.
They had 35 students for the Jr. High night. It is a new record. He is using peer ministry, having
the high school students help with the junior high nights. Preparations for NCYC have begun.
The youth group is not sponsoring the bus trip to Chicago this year. Tommy has the information if
another group wants to take it over.
4. Young Adults: They are having a barbecue on October 4.
D. Family Life: Chris reported that the Girl Scout troops at JFK are not very active. The Boy Scout troops
are immersed in their activities. Marriage Encounter weekend is November 14 and 15. Fr. Kaska is the
team priest. CEW retreat planning is beginning.
E. Finance and Administration: Matt reported that the second installment was made on the line of credit.
The balance is $144,000. ADA is beginning. There will be shorter homilies and speakers. The offertory
is down $14,000 from the prior year. Giving per household has increased. 41% of households are nongivers. 27% of active households make no contribution. We are 2.8% below the prior year in giving. As
for the operational budget, it was essentially in line except for the Building and Grounds item which was
$10,000 over. They continue to work on the Strategic Plan, and are down to one section. The water
leaks were repaired for about $850. The roofer for the rectory roof has been selected and work will begin
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
next week. The next newsletter will contain the annual report. They are considering offering
presentations for the parishioners in an open forum format to see what kind of response they receive.
F. Liturgy: The diocese handed out a survey on the 6 areas of ministry. They started with the first ministry.
Looking for ways to increase ethnic group representation. Reaching out to the homebound. They went
over the calendar for November. November 1st will be the special Mass of Remembrance on Saturday at
7:00 p.m. since All Souls falls on Sunday.
Standing committee reports
A. Buildings and Grounds: No report, although Ken reported that no additional stuff has fallen from the
ceiling.of the church.
B. Vocations: Adopt a Seminarian has begun. Display in the gathering space. There is a booklet which
gives additional biographical information. Take a card and agree to pray and correspond with the
seminarian of your choice.
Unfinished Business: None
Parishioners’ Comments: None
Pastor’s comments: Msgr. emphasized the importance of giving to the ADA. The programs supported include
support for seminarians, families, faith formation, chaplains at University Hospital. Mariann Agnoli will speak on
Sunday. Ken and Msgr. on Saturday. The parish assessment is $124,000. We receive a reduction due to our
promise to quickly retire our mortgage. This reduction is nearly $20,000 this year. We have to raise the
assessment or make up the difference. Nuns on the bus is a group focused on increasing voter participation
They will be present on October 4 & 5 to offer assistance in requesting an absentee ballot. The 6 areas of
ministry survey was sent to Chris. May want to include in the strategic plan. Msgr. emphasized that this is a
difficult time with many trouble spots in the world. The Holy Father has emphasized that war is never a solution.
This is a serious situation and a threat. Need to balance the expense of war with the humanitarian needs. We
have a seminarian that may want to stay in the rectory with us. He wanted to take some time off. Looking for a
pastoral experience. Looking for things to keep busy, pastoral related.
Next meeting: October 28, 2014 at 7:00pm in Gathering Space.
Adjournment and closing prayer: The meeting was adjourned with a closing prayer.
Minutes respectfully submitted by
Elaine C. Kopf, Secretary (unapproved)