September 2017 Parish Leadership Council Meeting

PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
 
PASTOR REPORT

• Fr. John made note of study pages on the parish website which have been set up for various councils.

• Fr. John has asked Fr. Callistus to review the role of the Worship Council.

• Proposal for upgrades to the church sound system are currently being reviewed.

• Mass attendance has been down slightly recently – road construction activities could be a cause.

 
GENERAL BUSINESS

• Discussion about concerns that have been voiced by a parishioner regarding Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and possible approaches to address the concerns.  Fr. John will follow up based on input from the council.

 
CARE & JUSTICE

• St. Mark involvement in the Bridges Out of Poverty program will begin with parishioners assisting with meal preparation for sessions that will take place at Sts. Peter and Paul parish over the course of 18 weeks. 

• Sister Jose Women’s Center drive was a success with over 80 bags/boxes of items collected

• Will coordinate a donation drive for Reach Out Women’s Center in October – looking for more cost effective alternative than baby bottles for this drive.

• Will likely coordinate a Christmas giving tee to benefit various groups.

• Casas De Los Ninos will be changing their focus and as such future drives will have different donation needs than in the past.

• Ongoing discussions regarding projects for 2018.

 
FACILITIES

• Two decaying saguaros were removed from the property recently.

• A new cleaning company for the church, parish hall, and office has started.  Staff will evaluate their performance.

• Grounds clean-up has been scheduled for November 4.

• Facilities to look into installing bird spikes on trellis at front of church.

• Facilities to assess current use of storage areas and whether or not off-site storage is warranted.

• Knights of Columbus will consider a motion to sponsor the planting of two new trees at the Mary garden near the rectory.

 
 
FAITH FORMATION

• Discussion of upcoming events, which are to include Blessing of Pets to coincide with the Feast of St. Francis in September, All Souls procession in November, Candlemas in February, Divine Mercy Sunday in April, May Crowning (tentative).

 
FINANCE

• Annual Board of Directors report was recently completed.

• The parish has seen an approximate 23% offertory increase over the past year.

• Will coordinate an Increased Offertory Program awareness effort on the weekend of October 14/15.  A financial announcement will be posted in the bulletin in early October.

• Operating income for the past fiscal year was in excess of $200K, compared to $30K the previous fiscal year.

• The parish has made a switch in TEP pricing plans in order to benefit from the fact that much of the parish’s power use is during off-peak hours.

• Focus will be on mortgage debt reduction moving forward.

 
STEWARDSHIP

• Discussion regarding how to better focus on welcoming – along those lines, efforts are underway to employ Host Teams at each mass.  This will consist of Greeters and an Information Team that will staff an information desk.  The goal for the Information Team is to make available after mass services that normally are available only at the parish office during the week.  Stewardship to host a training event.

 
WORSHIP

• Discussion on Advent and Christmas liturgy ideas – may implement lighting of the Advent Wreath by families at beginning of mass during Advent.

• Discussion regarding recruiting members for the council.

• Discussion regarding status of the music ministry.

 
AT LARGE

• No report

 
ADJOURNMENT