GOOD SHEPHERD PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL
MEETING HELD 10/6/08
PRESENT: Nancy DeRycke, Sue Eliasz, Brad Buckland, Joan Lowell, Ron Jodoin,
Barb Simmons, Tim Runyan, Sam Moskowitz, Brian Gallagher, Mike
Loftus, Gene Kobos, Catherine Frangenberg, and Wendy Pachla
Opening Prayer: Nancy DeRycke
Reports of what PPC members have heard from parishioners
Sue Eliasz questioned the difference between consensus and voting on items discussed at PPC; does not think we have any voice in what the Diocese does. Many parishioners do not understand where new things (i.e. sound system, AV equipment, etc.) come from in light of current financial circumstances of the parish. Nancy hopes to present ideas to PPC before they are put into action. Small purchases would be made without prior notice. Funds are specifically allocated for certain projects; things that were previously designated or for projects someone requested. Five years ago, Partners in Faith funds were designated for purchase of certain equipment or capital improvements.
When we get a full group of PPC, all PPC members would be liaisons to a parish
committee. That will improve communication with the parish groups. Nancy wants to get the selection process going; and not to be negative on how PPC has been in the past; moving forward. One PPC representative from Stewardship cautioned that as membership is increased, we have to be careful about training and making clear what the responsibilities are as a PPC member.
Communication seems to be an issue. The composition of PPC was changed last year to improve communication. Nancy would change job descriptions to reflect that the liaisons "represent" and are responsible to get the information back to their parish group. Be sure that the bulletin has the explanation of where the funds came from for the purchase of any equipment or furnishings.
People are concerned; some came forward and did not realize that our finances were in such bad shape. People were glad to hear directly from Nancy about the state of our parish. Somequestions were raised:
- since attendance is down, why don't we use the church building to save on heating the chapel.
- is it possible for us to rent out the rest of the school building.
- is it possible to take the parish office, relocate staff to the school building, and sell the rectory.
- could we sell the church building? Real estate is expensive to own and maintain;
- Is Rush-Henrietta interested in the athletic fields.
- Is the "white house" paying it's way?
Catherine Frangenberg is involved with the school task force - 11 acres here with 4 buildings. One proposal was to move everything into this school building. Nancy had a real estate person come and look over our property. The whole property could be sold; selling it one piece at a time would be difficult. As pastoral planning moves forward, what will be the bigger plan? Until we deal with those questions, we might not want to sell off pieces of our real estate.
Nancy has asked for a meeting with Barb Swiecki and Father Hughes. We want to move forward. They will be meeting in a few weeks to see if the three parishes can be more efficient and look at the bigger picture.
Nancy received some comments via phone calls:
- Could we rent the church as a source of income; if not, could we rent out the chapel to other groups.
- parishioner is willing to work on re-starting the parish garage sale;
- someone else offered to organize the book shelf and to have CDs available for sale;
- some offered to do home parties (i.e. Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, etc.).
Other people want to meet with Nancy to discuss ideas. She was very encouraged; everyone she has spoken to is interested in helping, if not financially then by volunteering.
Nancy said the weekly collection has to be above $12,000 and we need a sustainable source of funds. Catherine asked how much Guardian Angels makes from their annual garage sale and pointed out that garage sales are very labor intensive.
Sam said people have asked why we have a full-time staff if we are having financial difficulties. Some parishes have only part-time staffs. Nancy said mailing going out later this week will have year end report. The Diocese did a study and Good Shepherd has the largest staff for a parish our size. Sam asked if Good Shepherd can afford this. The biggest change in eight years is that attendance has gone down and economic conditions have definitely changed. We arenot alone in dealing with these issues; most parishes are. Churches in the northeast U.S. are declining and those in the south and southwest U.S. are growing.
Another comment heard was that a parishioner did increase their giving but did not give anything to the CMA because they do not agree with CMA. Brian feels that Nancy needs to address that the CMA gets funds regardless. If parish does not make its goal, any shortfall has to be made up from savings. CMA provides benefits for groups that we do not hear about that we could not support on our own, such as college ministries and Catholic Family Center programs. The question was asked about having someone come from the Diocese and give a presentation to
the parish, something like "this is your dollars at work" through CMA. Second collections following a talk like that are usually very good.
Fund raisers - Barb Simmons feels there is a different feeling/culture at the churches in Buffalo; some have calendars using numbers from daily Lotto and she wondered what people here think of these fund raisers. Gene Kobos pointed out that Buffalo parishes still have schools attached to them and there is a feeling of ownership by parents in these parishes. Depending on how the parish administrator feels about things, each individual parish has to decide how they want to do fund raisers.
Nancy - letter to go out to parishioners - year end statement, stewardship card and envelope to make donation to go for deficit reduction. Only 330 of 1700 families have returned the Stewardship card thus far. Finance Committee was thinking of setting a definite date for return of this extra envelope (possibly by December 1). It was felt that we do not like having a deadline on return of the envelopes.
Nancy suggested going to the top 15 percent givers and ask if they could increase their parish contribution and we should also approach the snow birds before they leave for the winter.
Brian said some parishioners are wondering why the Diocese sent an administrator and priest when we could have just had a priest and not pay two salaries. Nancy said there are currently 17 active pastoral administrators and seven more in the pool. There are priests available but none available to be pastors. Benefits are a big ticket item. The Diocese feels that if they send a priest who is not an experienced pastor the results are not favorable for either the parish or the priest. It was mentioned by one PPC member that she prefers to have an administrator like Nancy here who is concentrating on the administration of the parish.
Nancy is seeking input from people outside the Diocese concerning our finances and she
believes we can get out of this situation. She has had older people come forward who cannot give anything financially but want to know what they can do to help. Others came and asked for envelopes. She is encouraging parishioners to do the auto deduction.
Pastoral Administrator Report- Nancy
CMA
Nancy asked if anyone had received a letter from Diocese; some had. It was suggested to have a speaker instead of presenting a video during Masses because it was felt that people do not watch a video. Nancy said many parishes appealed their CMA goals. Our PPC letter to the Diocese about CMA resulted in a reduction in our parish goal of $2,500 and both she and Brian were very pleased by this outcome.
Many PPCs struggle with their roles and Nancy really wants our input. It is her hope that we can get trust built up and work together. It takes time for this to happen, but she is very encouraged by the exchanges taking place tonight.
Fund-raising Suggestions
Bingo - Brad Buckland
Brad provided projected figures for start-up and equipment costs. Net gain per week between $900 and $950. The parish should be polled to see if this is something we want to pursue as a parish. Nancy needs to decide what form of sustainable source of income we would be getting. Barb Swiecki is concerned that Guardian Angels would lose money if Good Shepherd
has Bingo. There is only one other Bing o game in Henrietta. Question is would people come out another night to play. There are three people from Good Shepherd who work at Guardian Angels Bingo. Brad has offered to run the program here if it is started.
Catherine sees Bingo as a feasible project but feels we still need to think about it. Can we get enough volunteers to be involved? It would require a minimum of eight volunteers per week. Moose Lodge has Bingo one Saturday a month and Henrietta does not allow more than one Bingo game per night. Monday, Tuesday or Friday would be the nights considered for Good Shepherd. Catherine suggested keeping this proposal open and not make a decision now.
Gala/Auction - Nancy
One night dinner and silent auction. Sue Eliasz said Parish Life has a dinner dance; $30.00 per person. Attendance has not been very good due to the cost. Brian suggested having people auction their time (i.e. cleaning, handyman chores, etc.).
Finance Committee will also discuss fund raisers during their meeting this month. On 10/27 Dana Kimberly from Danforth Development will be speaking. She will come for one hour at no charge and give some recommendations about bridging the deficit. Mike Loftus will be attending as a representative from PPC. If we send any questions to Ms. Kimberly ahead of the
m eeting, she can address them. She will be discussing sustainable income.
Listening Sessions
We are acting on some of the suggestions from the listening sessions; more information to come.
It was suggested that instead of asking people who already give money to try to get the people who are not giving to do so. Gene said we usually go to the people who give more to increase their monetary donations. You can tell if a person would rather write a check or give time. Usually the collection on the first Sunday of the month is highest. We also take parish sharing from this collection. It was also suggested that during these difficult financial times, maybe we should suspend the parish sharing and use all the funds for our parish.
Gene said this has been brought up a number of times, but the thought was if we do not give from the heart, we are not fully living the faith - "walk the walk". We want to be an example. Five percent goes to an outside group and 5 percent stays in the parish for requests that come in.
Nancy asked that if anyone has a special request, that they go through her so that people do not feel bombarded when they walk through the door and any requests would be better coordinated.
PPC Visioning - Mike
Mike would like to see at least a couple of potential PPC candidates sitting in on the November meeting. He has names of some people from the Stewardship response. Information will be in the bulletin and announcements will be made inviting people to come. Would like to have new PPC members start in December, if possible.
Need to have time set aside at the November PPC meeting to discuss what "gifts" are needed on the council. Some suggestions made tonight were:
- People who are involved in the parish beyond attending Mass;.
- youth;
- Individuals or married couples;
- knowledge of Good Shepherd parish;
- good communication skills;
- good listening skills;
- decisiveness;
- interest in the parish; and
- ask why the person/people want to serve on PPC.
The terms of all seven current PPC members expire in June 2010. The youth
representative has a two year term. The Nominating Sub-Committee shall be composed of: Tim Runyan, Sam Moskowitz, Joan Lowell, Brian Gallagher, and Nancy. They will begin seeking nominees. The youth representative is anyone in high school and youth can nominate each other.
Miscellaneous Items
10/24 - Friday night - Bingo at Guardian Angels - R-H Catholic Community will be hosting a Family Fun Bingo Night. Anyone who would like to volunteer, call Brad Buckland.
10/26 - World Youth Sunday - there will be a Youth Appreciation Ice Cream Social starting at 12:15 - Ann would like to have some PPC members attend to show support. Brian, Mike, Sue and Gene Kobos plan to attend.
Nancy would like a group to do a survey-type information gathering - who is attending the parish, if they were and are no longer; Sue Reed and Marie Snell are on this committee. Need people who are good at planning and focusing. They plan to meet as necessary. Their first meeting will be Wednesday, 10/8. Let Mike know if you know anyone who would be interested in joining this short-term committee. Members of Guardian Angels, Good Shepherd, RIT and St. Joseph's will comprise the committee.
Motion to adjourn made by Brian Gallagher, seconded by Tim Runyan at 9:15 PM.
Next PPC Meeting: Monday, 11/3/08 at 7:00 PM
PRAYER REFRESHMENTS
11/3 Sam Moskowitz
12/1 Gene Kobos Sue Eliasz
1/5/09
2/2
3/2
4/6 **
5/4 Joan Lowell Joan Lowell
6/1 Barb Simmons Barb
7/6
(** 7: 00 PM Rec. Service; 8:00 PM PPC Meeting)