Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council Joint Meeting January 5, 2015 7 pm

Father Wayne began the meeting with prayer in the sanctuary. Members then adjourned to the meeting room. In attendance were Father Wayne, Claudia Boerner, Dave Boyd, William Dillon, Gary Drypen, Jeanne Jeffery, Wendy Kolbusz, Carole Litzelman, Jillian Peck, Phil Schmidlin, Frank Seymour, JoAnn Stambersky, Bob Szymanski, Kay Young and Howard Zimmerman.

Father Wayne opened the discussion by expressing some of his many duties and that he would welcome more assistance from the people of the parish. He explained the preparations that led up to our joint meeting. The Parish Finance Council has been formed and, along with the Parish Pastoral Council, will add to the effectiveness of the parish operations and will help form plans for the future. The leadership group identified areas of action for both Councils. Regarding pastoral care, we're running short handed. The councils need to be up and running, and effective in their work together.

Our parish is suburban and is gradually aging. Historically speaking we are tracking like a typical suburban parish and the end result is not promising. Now is our chance to change the course of events. We need to consider changes that will evangelize current enrollment and attract participation from the younger generation. We need to strongly maintain our sacramental functions and our level of giving. Since we don't have a school or a city population, we need to have a vision for increasing our membership and adopting new programs. The PPC and PFC are being asked to work together to evaluate current functions and look ahead to keep our parish sustainable and vibrant.

Father Wayne presented a preliminary chart of current organizations and activities in our parish. Categories the Parish Council will consider are Service, Education, Evangelization and Worship. The Finance Council will consider Building and Grounds, Marketing and Development. The Councils will help formulate plans for the short term and establish a 3-5 year plan. There has been an offer to help, by someone skilled in marketing and development. A committee was suggested to implement a new program called "Christ Renews His Parish". The Finance Council is considering fundraising and ways to save money. We don't have a fund for future expenses. We live day to day right now. For the sake of organization, Evangelization has been given the status of a Commission.

A parish survey is being planned to identify the wants, needs and complaints of parishioners. There was much discussion about how to present a survey and what it would contain. Everyone was divided into three groups and compiled possible ideas for questions on a survey. Other ideas could come from the people via a bulletin article. A small group will continue this effort. The survey should help determine plans for the future. We need to "market" the parish. Father will keep us informed as we progress and results will be returned to parishioners.

Father thanked everyone for having such an informative and valuable meeting. He has presented a general overview. The details will follow. Father feels we have come a long way in a short amount of time. We haven't hit our stride, but we are getting close. The meeting was closed with prayer.

Respectfully submitted, Denise Godin, Recording Secretary