ST. BONIFACE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

MINUTES – MARCH 26, 2009

The meeting was opened at 7:00 p.m.  For Faith Formation, Father Joe read a reflection on the Easter Triduum and how it leads up to the Easter Vigil and the joy of the Resurrection.

Roll call was taken.  Members Present:  Father Joe, Tim Banish, Lisa Biedenbach, Dave Bracken, Kathie Fahey, Bob Frerick; Jeanne Guenthner, Ruthann Sammarco, Rosemary Welz, Henry Wesseler.  Carol Roosa was also present.

The minutes of the January 22 meeting were approved as published.

New Business:

Council Election  --  Tim Banish reported that the Parish Pastoral Council election will be held the weekend of May 16-17.  The weekend before the election biographies and pictures of the candidates will be included in the bulletin.  Lisa Biedenbach offered to have the ballots printed and added that small pictures of the candidates could be printed on the ballots.

Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) --  Dave Bracken reported that he received replies from the congressmen he had written to regarding FOCA.  The replies indicated that the issue has not yet been brought up in Congress.

New Business

Great American Clean-Up Day  --  Kathie Fahey reported that the Great American Clean-Up Day is April 25.  Teams will be meeting at McKie Center to clean up Northside.  More information regarding this will appear in the bulletin.

Year of Priests  --  June 2009-June 2010 has been declared a “Year of Priests.”  St. John Vianney, who is the patron of parish priests, is now the world patron of all priests.  Lisa Biedenbach suggested that, during this year, we celebrate the ministry of the priests and deacons who have served our parish.  She also suggested that other priests in our deanery could be guest presiders and homilists at St. Boniface.

For the Good of the Parish

Father Joe and Council members reported on the following:

·      There are currently 157 students enrolled in St. Boniface School.  Catholic students will be given the opportunity to go to Confession on Thursday, April 2.  The school has a new cafeteria staff and things are going well.  Father Joe, Carol Roosa and Sister Ann are working on the budget for the school.  They will meet with the CISE Finance Committee on April 24.

·      Deacon Jerry Yetter will preach on Good Friday and the weekend of June 13-14, the Feast of Corpus Christi.

·      The Parish Penance Service will be Wednesday, April 1, at 7:00 p.m., preceded be a simple supper at 6:00 p.m. in the rectory.  Four priests will be hearing confessions.  The confessional under the Good Samaritan window will no longer be used as it is now being used for storage.

·      Between 20-25 people have been attending Mass on Wednesday evenings.

·      So far our Fish Fries have been very well attended.

·      Holy Week is the spiritual and liturgical highlight of the year.  Palm Sunday is April 5.  The Chrism Mass is Tuesday evening at the cathedral.  We will have Morning Prayer at St. Boniface on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Thursday is the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper and washing of feet.  Good Friday liturgies are at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.  The Easter Vigil Liturgy begins at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday.  Four men will become Catholics.

·      There will be an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter following the 10:00 a.m. Mass.

·      First Communion will be Saturday, May 2, at the 4:00 p.m. Mass.  Three children will make their first Communion.

·      The parish is ending the month of March about financially even.  The work on the church windows should begin soon.  (Editor’s Note:  Anticipated start date is July 5.)

·      The Catholic Ministries Appeal is handling all of the receipts.  So far we know that we have pledges and donations of $7,755, which does not include pledges/donations that we sent in unopened.  A letter is going out to those who have not yet responded.

·      Last October Father Joe reported that we were looking at the possibility of putting a video camera in the choir loft with a projector aimed at a screen that could be lowered from the baldachino.  We now have an estimate of approximately $19,000.  We have money in the organ fund to cover half the cost.  Father asked for Council’s approval to proceed with the project.  After a brief discussion, Dave Bracken moved that we proceed with installing the video camera and screen.  Ruthann Sammarco seconded the motion.  The motion was unanimously approved.

·      Father still intends to do something about the uneven floor in the front of church.  Most of our parishioners are used to it, but it can create a problem when we have guests, such as for weddings and funerals.  Al Murnan can do the job, so it shouldn’t be very expensive.

·      Al has solved the problem of heating the cry room.  He piped the heat from the boiler room up to the cry room and put in a thermostat.

·      The next parish finance meeting is Wednesday, April 1.

·      Blood pressure checks will be the weekend of March 28-29.

·      The Spiritual Book Club will meet on April 26.  They will be discussing the book, Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton.

·      Jenni Lindgren is leading our Young Adult Ministry.  She is working with other parishes in the deanery and St. Theresa Parish with the goal of putting on a Theology on Tap, hopefully in August.  Jenni’s project for LPMP is to get focus groups together from young parishioners to identify what they like about St. Boniface and to use this information to market our parish to other young people in the area.

·      There will be an organ concert in church on Sunday, April 19, at 4:00 p.m.

·      Olan Mills has contacted us regarding doing a photo directory for the parish.  Council members did not express interest in this project.

·      It was suggested that a petition for the unemployed and for those who are in danger of losing their jobs be added to the intercessions at Mass.

The next meeting will be Thursday, May 28.  The meeting was closed at 8:00 p.m. with prayer by Father Joe.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted.

                                                                        Rosemary Welz, Secretary