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PRINCE OF PEACE COUNCIL MINUTES
April 20 , 2006
Walking Together, Growing in Faith”
Opening Prayer: Sister Mary Ann Phelan and all council members said the opening prayer, followed by a reading from Revelations, followed by prayers of Easter, silent reflections and closing prayers said by all.
Roll Call: Members present: Father Tony Herold, Father Jim Vrba, Mary Beth Butt, Fran Cornwell, Jim DeMong, Kathleen DeMong, Kathy Eggers, Denise Laufenberg, Joseph Leonard, Marlys Lyons, Beverly Putman, Tom VanBuer, Bart Vander Bleek, Lenny Weih, Odelia Schrunk, Sister Mary Ann Phelan.
Deacons Present: Jeff Schuetzle
High School Representative: None
School Board Representative: Cyndi Winter
Faith Facilities: Michael Pittman
Staff Present: Brenda Bertram, Betty Mantsch
Finance Commission: None
Excused Absent: Michelle Griffin, Mark Regenwether, Charles Rutledge, Mike Rastrelli, Kara Seitz, Art Donart, Ray Hilgendorf, Fr. Thom Hennen, Annette Lyons, Dave Schnier, Dick Roberts, Ed Kross.
Guests: None
Approval of Agenda: Approved as printed
Communications: None
Approval of Minutes: Approved as printed.
Pastor’s Report: A written report was submitted. Father Tony told us about the special meeting at St. Joseph Parish in DeWitt. The Diocesan staff will share the results of the Parish Life Study with the parishes in the Clinton Deanery. Father said that representatives of the Pastoral Council, along with the School Board and Finance Council, should be at the meeting. The Peru committee would like to do a presentation to the Pastoral Council in May. First Communion is on April 30th at the 11:00 a.m. Mass. Father said there will be a special event on May 7th at 3:00 p.m. at Chancy Lutheran to mark the beginning of the building of the first Habitat for Humanity House in Clinton. Father also mentioned the Marian Celebration kicking off on May 5th and ending with a special event on Saturday, May 13th at 3:30 p.m. followed by Mass at 4:00 p.m. and a Picnic/Barbecue on the church grounds. Father wanted to thank everyone who helped with the Easter celebrations.
Open Discussion: Stewardship: Odelia Schrunk gave an overview of the Committee which was formed last November. Odelia, Dave and Bev attended a Stewardship training which consisted of two (2) eight-week sessions. The committee now consists of 15 parishioners. The first meeting was held in January of 2006 and included prayer, scripture readings and reflections on lessons from the book “Pastoral Letter on Stewardship.” Brochures were handed out to all Council members. The three major concepts of Stewardship are 1. It is a way of life, a change of heart and a conversion. It is taking care of and sharing all that we have and all that we are. Odelia mentioned it is usually a two-generation process in order to become a vibrant stewardship parish. 2. It is a call to holiness; a commitment to God to be Christ centered, not self-centered. For Catholics stewardship is not an option. 3. It is a way of expressing gratitude to God for all he has given us. We need to ask ourselves “What do I own and what owns me”. To summarize stewardship; it is an act of faith as we profess we belong to God and that all we have is His; an act of trust as we place ourselves in God's loving hands; an act of worship as we thank God for all that we have been given; an act of belonging as we unite our offerings to the rest of our parish family so that together we might take care of the needs of others, especially the poor. Odelia mentioned the new Stewardship training session that is about to begin and hopefully a few of our parishioners will be able to attend. Some members of the Stewardship committee shared their thoughts. Much discussion followed.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
A. Pastoral Council Elections: Joe thanked everyone for working on calling parishioners to run for the council. Joe stated they would like to hold the elections the last week of May. So far we have Mary Jo Dopson, Marc Smith, Joe Leonard, Tom Van Buer and possibly Julie Wolbers, Steve DeBo and Steve Cahoy. It was mentioned that they have three or four people running for the school board. The date for the actual election will be scheduled later.
B. Choose Discussion Topic for May 18, 2006 Meeting: Potential Use of St. Boniface Church.
Faith Facility Report: A written report was submitted. Mike Pittman reported that they had meetings with RDG and Estes Construction of March 23rd and 24th. Budget, design schedule and beginning basic design preferences were discussed. The Liturgical Design Committee also participated in a visual listening exercise. This was intended to help RDG get a feel for the style church that our parish community would be most attracted to. There are meetings scheduled for May 4th and 5th in which RDG intends to present preliminary concepts for the floor plan, seating arrangements and other preliminary information. The Liturgical Design Committee toured churches in Wisconsin and Illinois. Much discussion followed.
Prince of Peace School Report: Cyndi Winter reported on the planning stages of increasing the school day by 15-20 minutes. This is still in the early stages of planning. There will be an Enrichment camp from June 12-16 and June 19-23 for K through 5 grades. It will probably open up to Junior High, also. The facilities committee will be making a priority list so the needs of the building can be met. Baccalaureate is May 25th and Graduation is May 26th. Bobby and Tina Kehl have set up a scholarship to be given to a graduating senior. It is for $20,000 over a four-year period, with some restrictions. The Pot O’Blue & Gold Raffle is coming up along with the Sunset Social. Jim Connell is teaching a class on Internet safety, which can be found on the website www.myspace.com to all the classes.
COMMISSION REPORTS:
Parish Life: Sister Mary Ann said the Parish Life commission did not meet this month.
Liturgical & Spiritual Life Commission: Written report submitted. Denise reported that on Sunday, April 26th at 3:00 p.m. a devotion and singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet would be held. Deacon Jeff is working on prayer lists. Father Thom has had two training sessions for Altar servers. Betty Mantsch has set out sign-up books for Holy Week ministries. We still need people to come forward to chair the Environment committee. Andy Tadlock will do the Holy Week worship aids.
Social Action Commission: Written reports submitted. Lenny Weih reported the pantry fund committee has not met. Father Tony received a request from the Sisters of St. Francis asking Prince of Peace to co-sponsor their upcoming peace conference. The request of $500 was approved. “Foods Resource Bank” is a program where farmers donate a certain portion of their land, a crop is grown and harvested and the profits from the harvest go to Foods Resource Bank. This money is then given to a project in an underdeveloped country to help a village grow their own food. The Eggings have very generously donated five acres of their land to be used for the Foods Resource Bank. Father Tony reported on the damage done to our sister parish in Peru. Lives were lost, homes destroyed and the bridge to their city was also destroyed. A check for $3500 was sent to Peru to be used at the discretion of Bishop Dan Turley.
Finance Commission: No meeting this month.
Faith Formation: Written report submitted. Marlys reported on the plans for the Mary Event in May. Betty reported on the May 13th Living Rosary event. We would like to get people of all ages involved. Several Prince of Peace School and Parish members have received awards recently. Congratulations to all.
Father Jim Vrba said the closing prayer.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Beverly Putman