GOOD SHEPHERD PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL
MEETING HELD November 3, 2008
PRESENT: Nancy DeRycke, Sue Eliasz, Joan Lowell, Ron Jodoin, Barb Simmons,
Tim Runyan, Sam Moskowitz, Brian Gallagher, Mike Loftus, Gene
Kobos, Catherine Frangenberg, and Wendy Pachla. Also prospective PPC
members: Paul Kato and Joe Hornack
Opening Prayer: Mike Loftus
Nominating Committee
Brian Gallagher and Nancy DeRycke gave overview of what gifts we are looking for in
PPC members. Nancy gave guidelines of how she wants meetings to be conducted:
1) Prayer to open meeting;
2) recap of previous meeting;
3) agenda items and various informational and planning leading into new items;
4) encourage people to share their own ideas and encourage everyone to listen.
We are striving to evaluate our differences and similarities. We need to make sure we listen to differing opinions and find value in those opinions. We need to remember that we are people of faith, making decisions as a faith community and make decisions by consensus.
Mike Loftus explained the background of the last year and changes in the structure of PPC. We want 12 people total on council: 2 youth and 10 other individuals, which could include one married couple. A term is three years for adults and two years for youth representatives.
Nancy welcomed Paul Kato and Joe Hornack. She explained that some people are not voting members of PPC but representatives of other parish groups. She is seeking people to be members of PPC and liaisons to other parish groups to improve communication between PPC and these groups. Nancy said she does take PPC recommendations seriously and appreciates input.
Some of the gifts we are seeking in PPC members are:
- clear thinking,
- out-of-the-box thinking,
- prayerfulness;
- people willing to pray and work together.
Mike and Nancy asked if either Paul or Joe had any questions.
Q: Where has PPC been over the past three years, what are we looking to accomplish over the next three years?
A: Need to be able to communicate with parishioners and determine what needs and/or complaints are voiced and work through them.
There will be many changes coming soon; 2010 is when Pastoral Planning will be completed. Bishop Clark will be retiring in two years. We have looked at goals - stabilizing Good Shepherd parish; working with Pastoral Planning; consolidating; building together; reaching out to inactive Catholics; Spirit Alive and communication with the Diocese and region.
Q: What has prevented PPC from achieving the goals and major hurtles?
A: There were periods of grief that the parish as a whole experienced - change after change - was no central force to move forward. Without a course heading, we were at a loss. We are now working on getting everything moving in the same direction. We experienced a lot of disruption.
Nancy feels the immediate thing is to stabilize the parish financially and morale-wise. She wants to look at the short-term first and then move on to the long term. Nancy sees a major hurtle as our economic situation and then consolidation of the three parishes - to get the three parishes to look at what it really means to work together.
Question directed to Joe Hornack - What made you stay with Good Shepherd? (Joe has been here about five years)
A: Location of the parish and something that Father Doug said - that this is the Church of Jesus Christ.
Comments from other people who have been at Good Shepherd a few years:
- Brian Gallagher (been here about seven years) The welcoming feeling of Good
Shepherd and the sense of real community; sense of parish "family" that he has not felt since he was a child.
- Sue Eliasz - has left over the years and come back, feels that Good Shepherd is a very warm "family".
- Tim Runyan - when he first came there was a warm family feeling; then the loss of Doug and the school - the "family" was hit and is just now starting to heal from these losses.
New PPC members will be joining in January. There are four adult openings and one youth (someone in 9th or 10th grade). Some PPC members will be leaving in June of 2009. Every three years, four people will rotate off and four will join. Some adjustments will be made this year to get this rotation started. The first twenty minutes of the December PPC meeting will also be informational for prospective PPC members.
Both Paul Kato and Joe Hornack left at this point of the meeting.
Finance Report - Gene Kobos
Gene has minutes from two Finance Committee meetings. Brian Gallagher asked if Gene could forward the minutes. Mike Loftus had also attended these meetings and will forward his notes before the December 1st PPC meeting.
Finance and Stewardship are both discussing how to minimize the projected shortfall in the budget; how it occurred and what can be done about it. Some members of Finance Committee had concerns about the wording in the original Partners in Faith document; some of the dollar amounts for capital repairs and if the funds would have to be put back into it. There is a process in place about changing the wording. The funds for the sound system and carpeting were taken because, after discussion, it was felt we needed them. Good Shepherd has contracts with Isaac Heating, snow removal and other maintenance of the parish grounds (parking lot), and
a small maintenance sub-contract for extra cleaning for about nine hours per week. Nancy has spoken with Guardian Angels and St. Joseph's about sharing purchases; they are not interested at this time. We are trying to save and reduce the deficit; income is not keeping up with our expenses. The Rush-Henrietta School District will cut the grass right around the school building. We are still responsible for the other areas of the property.
Question was raised if it would be possible to consolidate snow plowing for all three parishes and maybe even the heating and air conditioning contract. We are already utilizing a less expensive way of purchasing office supplies. A little over 58 percent of the budget is parish office, including salaries, benefits, etc.; some of those items cannot be eliminated quickly.
At the Finance meeting, a fund raising expert gave some ideas on what direction we might want to take to come up with creative fund raising. Some were one-shot ideas. Mike Loftus will add this item to the next PPC Agenda for discussion.
A shortfall is a shortfall regardless of where the funds are. Partners in Faith and capital repairs are both restricted funds. You cannot take money from one restricted fund to another. The reason we have a deficit is income is down not because we took money from a fund. When Partners in Faith was first established, the statement was to set a series of goals for those funds to be used. Within that statement was the comment that it would be used for future worship space needs. One concern voiced - we have a restricted fund for capital improvements and a restricted fund for Partners in faith and the money was taken out of Partners in Faith. Nancy said it was taken out of the operating budget and then reimbursed. It is the same pool of money but a
restriction as to how it can be spent from the capital funds and Partners in Faith.
The funds that were taken out of Partners in Faith need to be replaced. Where does the money come from? Why doesn't it come from the capital improvement fund. "Future worship space" original definition was a new building. Brian is concerned we are creating a budget problem on the cash statement.
We still have a $51,000 deficit no matter where it came from. If we are not at the point of making $12,000 per week in the plate, some tough decisions will need to be made at the December 1st meeting.
We will be inviting Stewardship and Finance to come to that PPC meeting.
1) We have achieved $12,000 a week, how will we sustain it? Or
2) We have not made that goal and what will we do now?
The December PPC meeting will not be a regular business meeting, but an opportunity to get the three committees to make specific recommendations of what PPC, Finance and Stewardship will do to stabilize the parish. We need to do something about it, not just talk about it.
Pastoral Administrator Report - Nancy
- CMA - coming along slowly. Nancy did call the Diocese and ask about a speaker coming to give a testimonial about services given through CMA funds. PPC
suggested that we wait until after the holidays, maybe even the beginning of Lent.
What about giving a list of what services are provided through CMA funds?
- Confirmation - we have 35 kids from Good Shepherd; ceremony will be January 7 at the Cathedral. Nancy thought it would be nice for PPC to give them each a congratulatory card.
- Region Report - December 1st is regularly scheduled meeting; need to make decisions for the parish. December 2nd - joint three parish meeting - PPCs beginning to work together on the regional plan. We will be responsible for refreshments. 12/1 Meeting will be Good Shepherd PPC with Stewardship and Finance. 12/2 meeting - Room 105 - Agenda of what's going on in the region. We will be going over each of the parishes finances (we are all in the same situation) and see how we can begin working together more. The three parish councils will be asked what are fears and hopes in this consolidation process.
- Christmas - liturgies will be at 3:30 and 5:30 on Wednesday (Christmas Eve) and
11:00 PM; 10:00 AM on Thursday (Christmas Day).
December 1st Agenda Setting - Mike
1) Cards for Confirmation candidates will be available for signature;
2) New members are invited for the first 20 minutes (they can stay for the entire meeting if they wish);
3) Finance presentation of ideas for fund raising recommendations and what Finance and Stewardship suggest to stabilize parish long term - both short term and long term ideas.
Gene Kobos will try to get the list of fund raising ideas out to people before the 12/1 meeting. Ron Jodoin will send Agenda and other items to Stewardship. Gene will also ask Ann Iten and Brad Buckland to send list of the suggested fund raising ideas to Mike. Ron will send any Stewardship ideas to Mike as well.
Possible format will be: first 15 minutes - make recommendations; 10 minutes to address general questions and clarify recommendations; 15 minutes - small group discussions and report back to the large group.
Motion to adjourn made by Gene Kobos, seconded by Brian Gallagher at 9:15 PM.
Next PPC Meeting: Monday, 12/1/08 at 7:00 PM
PRAYER REFRESHMENTS
12/1 Gene Kobos Sue Eliasz