The meeting was opened at 7:00 p.m. with prayer by Father Joe. Lisa Biedenbach led the Faith Formation by sharing an Advent tradition of her own and asking Council members about their own traditions. Father Joe shared an interesting tradition involving a Christmas tree at a former parish of his. One Council member said that her Christmas tree had already been up and several weeks and several Council members said that their Nativity sets are kept out all year long in curio cabinets, etc.

Roll call was taken. Members Present: Father Joe, Tim Banish, Lisa Biedenbach, Dave Bracken, Missy Craig, Joe Dempsey, Kathie Fahey, Jeanne Guenthner, Beth Kessler, Tom LeSaint, Amy Robinson, Ruthann Sammarco, Mary Ann Thaler, John Twombly, Rosemary Welz. Carol Roosa was also present.

The minutes of the September 27 meeting were approved as published.

Lighting -- Father Joe reported that he had received one bid of $35,000, which was too high. Then the plan was to purchase the lights and have Al install them; however, the company would not sell us the lights because we are not an electrical contractor. The plan now is to have Gilkey Electric install only the pole lights at a cost of $25,000. $16,000 has already been donated toward this project.

Oktoberfest -- Carol Roosa reported that the Oktoberfest had netted $26,717. Expenses were $21,754, so our profit was only about $5,000. However, more people attended this year’s Oktoberfest and Carol feels that it is am important community event and helps to promote St. Boniface Parish.

Thanksgiving Dinner -- 177 dinners were served on Sunday, November 20, including 54 dinners for the people who attended the closing of the Solemn Annual Eucharistic Devotion.

Parish Lenten Theme/Vocation Project -- Lisa Biedenbach was unable to work on the Lenten project but shared her progress on the Vocation project. Once a month a profile of a person in the religious life will be included in the bulletin. Lisa shared the first profile (which is Father Joe) with Council members. Vocation prayer cards will also be distributed. Lisa will present her work on the Lenten project at the January meeting.

Representative for Archdiocesan Pastoral Council -- St. Boniface Parish needs to appoint a male representative to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. Several possible members were suggested. The Archdiocesan Council meets every three months on Saturday from approximately 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Any man who is interested in serving on the Archdiocesan Council should contact Father Joe.

Bingo Workers -- Amy Robinson mentioned that the Thursday Night Bingo needs about 18 people each week to run smoothly and asked if all the Council members would consider volunteering. Dave Bracken joked that almost half the Council members are already regular Bingo volunteers. Anyone else wishing to volunteer to work at Bingo should contact the rectory.

Father Joe and Council members reported the following.

·There are currently 144 students enrolled in St. Boniface School.

·December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a holy day of obligation. Volunteers are needed to lector, serve and distribute Holy Communion at both evening Masses and at the noon Mass.

·Six people from St. Boniface attended the Ecumenical Service on Sunday, November 20. The service was held at the Word Alive Baptist Church at Pullan and Hamilton Avenues.

·There are currently nine people in the RCIA program.

·Confirmation will be Sunday, April 30, at the 12:00 noon Mass. Father Joe will be officiating. Fifteen people from Sacred Heart Church will be confirmed with those from St. Boniface.

·Our October count was down this year. Attendance at the 4:00 p.m. Mass increased but attendance at all the other Masses dropped. Dave Bracken asked if this might mean that we would be cutting one of the Sunday Masses. Father Joe replied that he would try to avoid this if at all possible.

·Masses for Christmas will be at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, midnight, and 8:00, 10:00 and 12:00 noon on Christmas Day. Mass on New Year’s Eve will be at 4:00 p.m. and on New Year’s Day at 8:00, 10:00 and 12:00 noon. Zoe Ring will carry the statue of Baby Jesus at the Children’s Mass on Christmas Eve.

·The Advent Penance Service will be Monday, December 12, at 7:00 p.m. There will be additional priests available to hear confessions.

·Father Joe distributed a financial report for the year to date. The parish is currently about $800 in the red, but Father feels that we are not in any serious financial trouble. Collections have been down, which Father thinks is due to the drop in attendance and contributions to disaster relief.

·Parishioners will soon be receiving a letter from Father Joe regarding stewardship.

·The American Boy Choir gave a wonderful performance on Sunday, October 30. Future musical programs at St. Boniface are the Vocal Arts Ensemble on Friday, December 9, an organ concert by Don Auberger on Sunday, February 5, and an organ concert by Matt Phelps on Sunday, March 26.

·Father Joe has had no further contact from the real estate agent handling the property at Chase and Gordon Street nor from the owners of the gas station at Chase and Kirby.

 

The next meeting will be January 24. The meeting was closed with prayer at 7:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rosemary L. Welz, Secretary