Saint Bonaventure Catholic Community
Parish Pastoral Council Meeting
Minutes of November 24, 2015
Attending: Fr. Richard Kaley, Jim Bittner (Chair), Sue Sadeh (Vice Chair), Marcy Ager, Joe Beckrich, Jeanette
Chwialkowski (Trustee), Jack Koepke, Maria Mangaliman, John Reger, Paul Sedler, Patty Stibal, Tom Stibal
(Trustee), Jeannene Zimmel (Finance Council Rep), and Mary Althen (Recorder).
Guest: Becky Running, Health & Wellness Coordinator
The meeting was called to order by Jim Bitter, Chair. Opening Prayer read.
1) Review and approve meeting minutes - The meeting minutes of October 27, 2015 were reviewed. A motion was made by Jack Koepke to approve the meeting minutes as corrected, seconded by Jeannene
Zimmel, motion carried.
2) Items for this meeting a.
Standing Agenda Items i.
Invited parish ministry – Becky Running, Health & Wellness Coordinator
Becky Running, Health & Wellness Coordinator at St. Bonaventure, was invited to give the PPC an overview of the mission statement and the goals and objectives of the Health & Wellness
Ministry. Becky distributed a copy of the Health & Wellness Ministry’s mission statement and the various ministries included in that mission. The Mission Statement is: To promote health and wellness of body, mind and spirit within our faith community through visitation, education, interministerial collaboration, and ministry opportunities which foster positive lifestyle choices and one’s personal relationship with God, family and community. The Health & Wellness
Coordinator works in collaboration with the Health & Wellness Cabinet, the Pastor and other staff members and many volunteers within our faith community to carry out the mission. The various ministries within the Health & Wellness Ministry include; Blood Pressure Ministry,
BeFriender Ministry, We Care Meal Ministry, Prayer Shawl Ministry, Grief Coalition, Young
Adult/Parent Spirituality Ministry, and WINE (Women in the New Evangelization). Becky gave an overview of each of these ministries which she oversees. She stated that recruiting new members is done primarily through personal invitation. Becky does work with a young adult group and they currently have about 10-12 members. This year they are partnering with the Faith
Formation Group which is participating in Symbolon. Becky also leads a group Moms of Prayer which meets monthly to pray for our youth and she works closely with Gary Russell and Gabby
Swift in the youth programs. The PPC thanked Becky for her attendance and all of her work on these various ministries. ii.
Hospitality a.
Discuss schedule of hosting ministries
The PPC has invited different ministries to host hospitality the first weekend of each month to give them the opportunity to showcase their ministry and recruit new members. St.
Vincent dePaul will host hospitality the first weekend in December. Marcy Ager will contact the CARE Committee and Respect Life to schedule them for a weekend. Jim Bittner will contact Becky Running to schedule Health & Wellness for a weekend. b.
Discuss the two weekends that will be hosted by PPC members
The PPC discussed which two weekends they would like to host hospitality. It was agreed to host the first weekend in March and October, 2016. It was noted that there should be a greater presence of PPC Members during hospitality those weekends and to showcase their ministry.

iii.
Ministry Reports
Liturgy
– Sue Sadeh reported that the committee met to work on the logistics for the reconciliation service in December and the Christmas liturgies.
Health & Wellness – Maria Mangaliman reported that WINE (Women in the New
Evangelization) will hold an Advent Open House on Thurs. Dec. 3, 2015 from 6-8 pm at St.
Bonaventure. The WINE Catholic Women’s Conference titled Mercy, Encountering Boundless
Love will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm at Mary, Mother of the
Church in Burnsville. A service project at Feed My Starting Children will be scheduled for Jan. or Feb. 2016. And the Tuesday morning exercise classes will not be offered during the winter months.
Faith Formation – John Reger reported that there was very positive feedback from the
Confirmation Retreat in November. The Confirmation students are helping in the nursery and with the Sunday school classes. Gary would like to find an adult volunteer to greet the youth volunteers and build a working relationship with them. Pre-school attendance is increasing, while the number attending Celebrate the Word has declined. John reported that Gary is looking for new sacramental instructional material for Eucharist and Confirmation next year and this should be a budgeted item.
Spiritual Task Force – Joe Beckrich reported that this ministry will host Hospitality two weekends next year. They have obtained three new members. They are currently evaluating different programs for next year. And a new study group meets Sunday morning between Masses to discuss the weekly readings.
Youth
– Jack Koepke reported that approximately 18 6 th
– 8 th
grade youth participated in SNA
(Saturday Night Alive), an event which included Mass, pizza, games, a talk and prayer. The
Winterblast Lock-In will be held Dec. 11-12, which is an overnight event being held with
Nativity Church.
ALIVE – Paul Sedler reported that they are working on their Mission Statement and will be making a presentation to the PPC in March, 2016. This is still a self-funded ministry.
Stewardship – Jim Bittner reported that the recent annual stewardship drive received $317,000 in pledges from 206 households. There were 57 new ministry commitments, including a new wedding coordinator and a new Finance Committee member. It was felt that part of the success of the stewardship drive this year was attributed to being paired with the Capital Campaign. b.
Variable Agenda Items i.
Archdiocesan Pastoral Visitation
Last month a Parish Self-Assessment evaluation was given to each PPC Member to complete. Father
Richard asked for all evaluations to be returned to him by Fri. Nov. 27, 2015. ii.
Next ministry to invite to PPC a.
January, 2016 – Spiritual Task Force – Dick Hertel b.
February, 2016 – No ministry invitation. A report will be given on the Archdiocesan visit. And there will be a discussion around how the various ministries align with the strategic plan c.
March, 2016 – ALIVE – Jerry Kaley d.
April, 2016 – Youth & Family Ministry Coordinator – Gabby Swift iii.
Capital Campaign Update
Fr. Richard reported that the currently total in pledges is $991,000 from approximately 300 households. A second payment of $100,000 has been paid on the loan. There will be a phone-a-thon campaign on Dec. 7 th
& 10 th
to contact those individuals who have not yet pledged to the Capital
Campaign. There will be a Commitment Weekend on Dec. 12/13, 2015 at which time everyone will have the opportunity to fill out a commitment card for the Capital Campaign. iv.
Corporal Works of Mercy
Fr. Richard reported that the decision has been made to no longer participate in the Loaves & Fishes program. Recent changes made to the program has made it difficult to comply with and we have an aging volunteer base in this ministry. Father asked that we look at what do we want to do in the

future as a Corporal Work of Mercy in our local community and beyond. We have an opportunity to re-evaluate and Father is looking for input from the PPC and other parish ministries. This will be an item for discussion at a future meeting. v.
Follow-up on Virtus training
Gary Russell held a Virtus Training session on Sunday, Nov. 22 and 19 people attended. Feedback from the training was very positive. It was noted that if any of the parish ministries involve interaction with the youth, those volunteers need to take the Virtus training. Virtus training is available at many locations and registration can be done on the Archdiocese web page. vi.
Adopt-a-Family
John Reger reported that Gary Russell has identified parish families with children 18 yrs. or younger who are in need of financial assistance this Christmas. Requests to purchase gifts will be placed on the Giving Tree in the back of church during Advent. Gift requests will also be available for residents at Martin Luther Manor and for St. Vincent dePaul clients. Gift should be returned the weekend of December 12/13 for distribution to the families.
3) Any Other Business a.
Intentional Discipleship
Fr. Richard reported that a number of parishioners attended a workshop on Nov. 4, 2015 with keynote speaker Sherry Wedell, author of the book Forming Intentional Disciples.
The question was asked how is it that you get to a point where you have a personal relationship with God? How can we create an approach to create intentional disciples? This topic will be brought back for further discussion.
4) Date and time of next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, 7-8:30 p.m., in Youth Room.
5) Closing prayer
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Althen
Recording Secretary