ICC/SJ Parish Pastoral Council Minutes
February 15, 2023
Present: Marcia Bowers (via telephone), Robin Brueckman, Fr Gerry Dunn, Maryann Eurenius, Deacon Ben Feril, Susan Guarnieri, Terry Gustafson, Brian Ulmen, Lynn O’Brien, Arlene Simbulan, Jamie Moultrop, Deacon Mike Truman, Katie Webb, and Fr Jim Yeakel.
Absent: Joyce Ostrand
Opening Prayer:The opening prayer was led by Robin Brueckman.
Adoption of Minutes: Sue provided one update to the January 18, 2023 minutes, and the updated minutes were approved unanimously.
Financial Report: Robin Brueckman distributed handouts of the Parish Income Statement, Parish Income and Parish Expenses for January 2023. Our income is below budget by $26,629; this is mostly due to the weekly offertory budget and lower Christmas donations than budgeted (by $9,000). Our expenses are also below budget. The income that we are receiving from Fair Hill Church is helping to make up the difference.
Old Business: Progress Reports
- AED Report: Marcia provided an update on her research and developments for AEDs.
She spoke with Dawn Rose with the MD Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems, and she clarified that we do not need to have physician oversight for the AED at a church; however, the person that checks the AED once a month does need to be certified. Tommy Coulter will oversee the AED once a month while Marcia is in Florida. Tommy also sells AEDs, and he seems to be able to provide us with the best price of $1,285 per unit (the model typically retails for $1,700) and an 8-year warranty, but he does not have a guaranteed delivery date yet.
Marcia recommends that we purchase AED units for ICC, SJ, and the parish office. PPC approved Tom Coulter's proposal, and Robin Bruekmen will bring the proposal to the next Finance Committee meeting on February 26, 2023. In addition, Tommy Coulter will provide a FREE CPR and how to use an AED class to staff and parishioners once we get them.
- Action Item: Robin will bring this to the February Finance Committee Meeting to discuss; Marcia will provide Robin with a report to be presented to the Finance Committee.
- Signs: The group discussed tabling the sign discussion until next month as we continue to search for where the original wooden signs were created.
Jamie provided the group with an update on an outdoor banner. He met with Joe Bench, and they discussed the banner that Fair Hill Church has. We had previously discussed a 3’ x 8’ banner; Fair Hill Church has an all-weather composite banner that is professionally installed on the building and typically lasts 10-12 years; that type of sign would be approximately $1,200-$1,500. In contrast, an all-weather banner is under $200 with a lifespan of 3-5 years. The turnaround time on the banner is a week, while Jamie is unsure of the turnaround time on the all-weather composite sign. The group voted on which banner to purchase, and the group unanimously voted for the all-weather composite banner.
Next, the group discussed options of signage for outreach and yard signs to direct individuals to the church.
- Action Item: Fr. Jim will ask Joe Bench and Fr. Joe Piekarski if either of them are aware of who created our original wooden signs.
- Action Item: Jamie will schedule a site visit from the all-weather composite banner to get an official quote.
- Action Item: Jamie will research the feather option sign for outreach and yard signs for the parish; Lynn will also work on this.
- Staffing, Statistics: Fr. Jim first provided an update on staffing; Mare Draper was welcomed to the staff as the Director of Faith Formation. Vickie will work with grades 1-8, and Mare will work with Confirmation-aged kids and the youth group. Fr. Jim is wanting her to look into how the parish can grow moving forward, and Mare seems to be a wonderful collaborator. Terry suggested that Mare visits each one of the Masses over the next month or so to introduce herself, and the group concurred with this idea.
In regards to the music ministry position, the first individual has just applied.
Then, Fr. Jim presented the group with Family Statistical Information generated by Joan. In 2019 before COVID and the closing of the school, the parish had 1,036 registered families; as of February 14, 2023, we had 1,071 families currently registered. 39 new families joined our parish in 2022, and 9 new families have joined so far in 2023. Maryann questioned where all of the children in our parish are; we have so many registered families not active in the parish and not attending Mass. Terry suggested possibly adding something special to the upcoming Lenten mailing. Jamie expressed how he feels this concern of “missing” parishioners is somewhat normal in this world. Fr. Gerry suggested incorporating religious education during Mass, so everything is centered around the Eucharist. Fr. Jim also shared how busy he has been as of late, which is very promising, as our parish continues to grow moving forward!
New Business:
- Parish Information Flyer: Sue presented an updated pamphlet to the group, highlighting sacramental opportunities. Deacon Ben requested Sue update some of the verbiage regarding receiving the sacraments.
- Action Item: Sue will email the pamphlet to the group, and group members should provide any feedback to Sue via email.
- Liturgical Committee Report: Fr. Jim explained how he can share minutes from the Liturgy Meeting to the group.
- Action Item: Jamie, on behalf of the Social Concerns Committee, will reach out to Dottie regarding Outreach updates.
Open Discussion: Brian expressed concerns of the verbiage used in the bulletin, advertising an upcoming CASA event at the “Fair Hill Church (formerly Immaculate Conception School) Gymnasium & Cafeteria”. The group then discussed the sensitivity regarding the school building and Fair Hill Church leasing the building.
Closing Prayer: The closing prayer was led by Robin Brueckman.
Adjournment: 6:25pm
Next Meeting: March 15, 2023
Respectfully recorded,
Katie Webb