St. Elizabeth’s

Parish Council Meeting

August 19, 2001

Present: Joe Ryan, Kathy Bradley, Deb Brenneman, Ken Ebert, Don Hoff, Kris Meis, Karen Taylor, Ray Tucker, Sr. Rose Walters

Absent: Joe Frank

Call To Order

Meeting was called to order by President Joe Ryan at 9:30 a.m.

Opening Prayer

Sr. Rose led the council in prayer.

Minutes

Minutes of the last meet-ing were unavailable

Welcome

As his last official act as outgoing Parish Council President, Joe Ryan welcomed newly elected member Kathy Bradley to the Council, encouraging her to contribute openly to the meetings and reiterated the Council attendance policy.

Elections

After the nomination by Don Hoff, second by Ray Tucker, and absent further nominations, Kris Meis was elected Parish Council President by a unanimous vote. Sr. Rose thanked Joe Ryan for two years of faithful service, great leadership and efficient meetings. (He will remain on the Council as a regular member.) Kris Meis stated his hope and intention that Council meetings remain brief, productive and informal, then opened the floor for nominations for Vice-President.

This year's Vice-President will become next year's Council President. Deb Bren-neman nominated Don Hoff (second by Kris Meis). Seeing no other nominations, Joe Ryan moved the nominations cease (second by Deb Brenneman). Don Hoff was unanimously elected Parish Council Vice-President.

Review of Finances & Fund Drive Update

Ken Ebert praised Finance Board and Don Kaiden's expertise, which makes collaboration with the Board easy. Sr. Rose reported that, thankfully, weekly contributions have kept pace, largely unchanged since the beginning of the capital campaign. Janet Pahls may be asked to come and "audit" the computerized and writ-ten fund drive records to ensure both sets match. Sister clarified accounting measures in use to keep pledges distinct from regular contributions. Finance Board plans to hold its second open parish information meeting of the year in September, and this will be announced in the bulletin. Cosgriff Co. is now paid in full. Sister Rose reported that the church has closed out one bank account and deposited those monies with the diocese in savings.

Church Visitations

Don Hoff and Joe Ryan reported on recent visitations to newly constructed churches, especially Corpus Christi in Lawrence, KS, to gather ideas on building possibilities. The tour group-which included Hoff, Ryan, Donnie Marrs, Jeff Wilson, Fr. Frank and Sr. Rose-was impressed and inspired by the church's use of space, wide aisles, pew placement and gathering space. Although Corpus Christi's budget for their church was approximately double St. Elizabeth's fore-casts, conceptually, there is much we might emulate in their design. Donnie Marrs seems much clearer on our taste in design after the visit. Joe Ryan mentioned that, when construction nears, we need to consider all the church's landholdings in the longer term.

Pre-School

Sr. Rose reported that she has recently learned the tax code prevents St. Elizabeth Parish from charging rent to a for-profit business on our premises. This affects the pre-school operated in our basement. Choices are limited: either assume ownership of the pre-school and bring its owner on church payrolls, or discontinue the rental arrangement. Wanting to avoid new entanglements, Sr. Rose, with the advice of the Diocesan attorney, decided to cease charging rent until the end of December, after which point there will be no pre-school operating at St. Elizabeth's. All churches have been made aware of this section of the tax code.

Commission Liaison Assignments

Members of the Parish Council serve either as officers on the Council or as liaisons to parish commissions. Sr. Rose noted that there seems to be a need for an Evangelization Commission and a Social Justice Commission, and bulletin flyers will provide more information.

• Karen Taylor again volunteered to sit on the CYO Commission. (She reported that the youth are fresh from an outing at Kanopolis Lake, are planning a carwash and a service project, and have a new co-sponsor, Joe Gordon.)
• Ken Ebert agreed to serve again as liaison to the Finance Board.
• Joe Frank reported to Sister that he would again serve with the Buildings & Grounds Commission.
• Deb Brenneman volunteered for the Parish Life Commission. The Commission has everything planned for the Parish Picnic, Sept. 9. (Thanks especially to Bill and Jana Steck, Ron and Sheila LaDuc, Pat and Greg Ernzen, all those helping with the Gazebo sound system, participating in the Mass, and bringing a dish to share.)
• Kathy Bradley will serve as liaison to the Religious Education Commission.
• Joe Ryan will serve on the Social Justice Commission and, with the Council's approval, as chair of the Parish Planning Committee.

Evangelization Commission will take its cue from the Diocese for organization and mission. Liturgy Commission will develop in consultation with Fr. Frank. Ken Ebert expressed an interest in greater publicity for Parish Planning Committee meetings.

Meeting Dates

The Council agreed to continue meeting on the third Sunday of each month, after the 8:30 a.m. Mass.

Administrator's Report

Sr. Rose reported that she has had few replies to the query about continuing the Parish Auction, but they have been largely negative. Parish Life Commission will meet and discuss alternatives. Sister thanked Melanie Melander and Luci Larson for their work with Religious Education, and Ron and Sheila LeDuc for their assistance with the Parish Picnic. Sister handed out copies of the Parish Council Bylaws and asked the members to review them for the next meeting.

Sister closed the meeting with prayer.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be September 16 after the 8:30 a.m. Mass. This may be a joint meeting with the Finance Board.

Respectfully Submitted,

James Talley

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