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Minutes - St. Cecilia Pastoral Council

Tuesday, August 25, 2015, 7:00 pm, Social Hall

Present: Father Jim Secora, Rick Brimeyer, Dorothy Sally, Kathy Ramirez, Ric Nelson, Joel Rogers, Mark Moore

(Finance Council), Bill Haas (Stewardship), Jason O’Brien (Catholic School Board liaison), Jim Stuart, Jacob

Hess (Youth Representative), Tina Colburn (Faith Formation Council), Sarah Swanson

Excused: Adriana Hernandez de Alvarez, Adriana Alvarez (Youth Representative)

Staff: Char VanKerckvoorde, Deacon Mark Bortle, JoAnne Dalhoff

1. Call to Order: Ric N. called the meeting to order at 7:01.

2. Welcome & Introductions: Sarah Swanson was introduced as the person identified to fill Todd Clancy’s vacancy.

Each person present introduced themselves.

3. Agenda Changes: Ric stated item 7d) would be struck from the agenda as it was not yet fully developed for

presentation.

4. Review/Amend/Approve Minutes from last month’s PC meeting: No changes were identified; minutes

approved by consensus.

5. Visioning Update: Featured Finance Council Initiatives Update by Mark Moore (chair). The following were

addressed:

1. Ensure viable financial resources for lifelong faith formation – green (status good).

2. Become a tithing parish by increasing 1% per year (goal=10%) – The discussion of this item led to Rick B.

proposing that it be dropped from the Finance Council’s initiatives. Consensus was reached on this. It was

acknowledged that the presence of the initiative had fostered good discussions and reflection upon what is

involved in tithing and being a tithing parish.

3. Develop a (5-year) plan to enhance or replace the existing facilities – red (no progress). This has been on

hold since the last Facilities Expansion Planning Committee meeting in January. A September meeting is

planned to resume work on this initiative.

4. Refine budgeting process to improve communication between Pastoral Council, Finance Council, staff, and

parish to provide more financial direction – yellow. Mark noted that the budget process would begin in

November, and that this initiative would be implemented in the process. It was noted that the new stream

of income from the newly invested funds needs to be appropriately allocated.

Other comments regarding Finance Council included the consideration of “special collection” envelopes for

those who use electronic donation and the need to consider a policy applicable to unencumbered gifts to the

parish.

Rick B. reported that registrations are up, sacraments are level, Mass count is down, and contributions are up.

Rick B. will update Finance Council Initiatives.

6. Old Business

a) Klingseis Bequest Immediate Use Portion – Joel R. and Bill H. met with five other parishioners on August 10 to

review proposals. Three distinct categories were identified. One proposal was distinct in its ongoing celebratory

nature and potential for active involvement parish-wide. Joel and Bill were asked to take this to a larger group

to commence planning and implementation. Joel indicated he would e-mail the proposal out so that the PC

could see the details.

b) Facilities Expansion Planning Committee – Ric N. contacted Mark Hanson to set up a meeting for September.

c) Website Update – contained in 8.g).

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d) Tithing Parish Subcommittee report/discussion – Todd Clancy had been responsible for this. Given his

departure and the outcome of item 5.2. above, it was declared and accepted by consensus that this group was

no longer needed, having served its purpose.

e) Sister Parish Leadership Structure with Social Justice – Fr. Secora wrote the archdiocese for guidance. He was

informed that a partnership with the parish in Nicaragua would not have support due to its connections with a

religious order and its lay affiliate currently under review by the Vatican. The PC, therefore, will request that SJ

consider other parishes, possibly one in the US.

f) Pastoral Leadership Study Day, Recommendations and Reflection Questions – Fr. Secora asked that the

information he provided be kept in mind as decisions and plans are made by the council.

7. New Business

a) Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy – Father handed out copies of Misericordiae Vultus (Bull of Indiction of

the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy), asking that all members read it. Father expressed that St. Cecilia conduct

itself in such a way that it is known for mercy. He drew attention to paragraph #10 (Mercy is the very

foundation of the Church’s life. He also advised that copies of the book, “Church of Mercy” by Pope Francis,

would be provided to parish groups in the near future for study and reflection.

b) On the Care of God’s Creation: Encyclical/Ideas – Father handed out an e-bulletin from the International

Catholic Stewardship Council, encouraging that this be read.

c) St. Cecilia Ministry Fair - Bill H. reported that things were in order for this event which was taking place

August 29 and 30. Kathy had the PC display on hand for approval, and passed around a sign-up for coverage at

the PC during the fair.

8. Committee and Board Reports – the following additional information was offered

a) Liturgy - At least nine new adorers have been added to Adoration

b) CSB – 157 students, grades k-5, are enrolled; down from last year’s enrollment. There are 28 children in the

4- year old program and 16 in the 3-year old program.

h) It has been learned that a Hispanic priest in enrolled at UNI, and has been granted faculties to serve in the

Archdiocese. Deacon John McCully has invited him to come to Ames to preside at the Sunday evening Mass.

9. Other Business and Comments: None were offered.

10. Closing Prayer – was led by Mark M. Meeting adjourned by Ric N. at 8:42 pm.

Next Pastoral Council Meeting: Tuesday, September 22, 7 pm, Social Hall

Prayer and In-Service: Ric N. (Chapter II Jesus’ Way)

Visioning Updates: Faith Formation Council

Submitted by Kathy Wipf, Pastoral Council Secretary

Draft AGENDA (rev. 6/17) Saint Cecilia Pastoral Council Meeting

Tuesday, August 25, 2015 – 7:00 pm - St. Louis Room

7:00

pm

1. Call to Order

Ric N

7:00 2. Welcome – Introduction of New Members Ric N

7:15 2A. Prayer/Reflection/Discussion (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response)

Mark M.

7:30 3. Agenda Changes

Ric N

7:32 4. Review/Amend/Approve Minutes from last month’s PC meeting

Ric N

7:35 5. Visioning Update

a) Finance Initiatives Update, Mark Moore

Rick B

7:45 6. Old Business a) Klingseis Bequest Immediate Use Portion

b) Facilities Expansion Planning Committee (Jan. 29 last mtg) c) Website Update d) Tithing Parish Subcommittee report/discussion e) Sister Parish Leadership Structure with Social Justice f) Pastoral Leadership Study Day, Recommendations and

Reflection Questions

Joel R; Fr. Secora Ric N Bill H Ric N Ric N Fr. Secora

8:00 7. New Business a) Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy b) On the Care of God’s Creation – Encyclical / Ideas c) St. Cecilia Ministry Fair – Bios

d) St. Cecilia Facebook Ministry? (new idea pending

approval)

Fr. Secora Fr. Secora Kathy; Bill H. Ric N.

8:10 8. Committee and Board Reports (provided in packet) a) Liturgy Committee – Dorothy Sally b) Faith Formation – Tina Colburn / Joel Rogers -Catholic School Board – Jason O’Brien c) Stewardship Committee – Bill Haas / Jim Stuart d) Social Justice Committee – Sarah Swanson e) Parish Life – Rick Brimeyer f) Finance Council – Mark Moore / Kathy Ramirez g) Business Manager – Char Van Kerckvoorde -IT Committee – Bill Haas h) Hispanic Community update – Adriana Hernández de Alvarez

8:20 9. Other Business and Comments a)

8:25 10. Closing Prayer

Mark M.

8:30

PM

11. Adjourn

Next Pastoral Council Meeting: Tuesday, September 22th, 7pm, Social Hall

Prayer & In-Service: Ric Nelson Visioning Updates: Sept-Faith Formation, Oct-

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Draft Minutes

St. Cecilia Pastoral Council

(rev. 6/30/15)

Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 7:00 pm, Social Hall

Present: Father Jim Secora, Rick Brimeyer, Dorothy Sally, Kathy Ramirez, Ric Nelson, Joel Rogers, Mark Moore

(Finance Council), Bill Haas (Stewardship), Steve Hustedt (outgoing Catholic School Board liaison), Jason

O’Brien (incoming Catholic School Board liaison), Adriana Hernandez de Alvarez, Adriana Alarez (Youth

Representative)

Excused: Jim Stuart, Todd Clancy, Jacob Hess (Youth Representative), Tina Colburn (Faith Formation Council)

Staff: Bob Hauser, Deacon Ron Smith, JoAnne Dalhoff

1. Call to Order by Kathy W. at 7:00 pm

2. Prayer/Reflection/Discussion – Membership will be using the document, “Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response”

for this portion of each meeting. Bill H. Bill distributed copies of “Parish Stewardship Prayer,” which was used

and Bill encouraged members to insert into their copies of the document. He drew attention to and read some

passages from the Preface and Introduction, asking for reactions and posing questions to create discussion

platforms.

A. Officer Elections – After a brief discussion, the following officers were unanimously affirmed:

Chair: Ric Nelson

Vice Chair: Joel Rogers

Secretary: Kathy Wipf

These officers plus Fr. Secora will comprise the Executive Committee

B. Committee & Liaison Assignments were reviewed with the following determinations:

Liturgy – Dorothy Sally

Faith Formation – Joel Rogers

Stewardship – Jim Stuart

Social Justice – Todd Clancy

Parish Life – Rick Brimeyer

Finance Council – Kathy Ramirez

- IT – Bill Haas

Hispanic Community update – Adriana Hernández de Alvarez

CCC meeting coordinator – Rick Brimeyer

Parish elections – Jim Stuart

3. Agenda Changes – Before the officer elections, Kathy noted that the new chair would begin duties by overseeing

2B, Committee and Liaison Assignments

4. Review/Amend/Approval of May Minutes – Following Rick B.’s suggestion that the status of the Parish Life

Initiatives be changed from red to green (5a) and that the new Parish Mission Statement end in an exclamation

mark(5b), the minutes were approved.

5. Visioning Update

a) Liturgy Initiatives Update – Bob Hauser reviewed three initiatives:

1. Enhance worship space; status yellow (progressing), with active discussion of new crucifix in the church.

2. Increase youth involvement at weekend liturgy; status yellow (progressing). Bob cited involvement of

youth involved with greeter and usher ministry through their families; will emphasize lector and possibility

EMHC.

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3. Seize opportunity to use technology for liturgical ministry scheduling. #1 and #2 are status yellow,

progressing; #3 is green, moving along well. Coordinators are becoming familiar with the system. Bugs are

being addressed.

6. Old Business

a) Klingseis Bequest Immediate Use Portion – Joel reported that announcements were made before all

Masses the weekend of June 20/21 that offered awareness about the Klingseis gift, and invited parishioners

to submit ideas for how to celebrate the gift, using the whiteboard in the Narthex or by contacting

committee members. Twenty-seven distinct ideas/suggestions were received. This will be repeated during

next weekend’s Masses (June 27/28). Ideas/suggestions will be evaluated by staff and others to make a

selection.

b) Facilities Expansion Planning Committee Discussion disclosed the serious need for additional meeting

space, with the staff recommendation that some of the pre-school space be remodeled to create a space

similar to the St. Louis Room. Due to the many committees not meeting in July, Bill H. suggested that the PC

could give a contingent “fast tracking” approval of the project pending the review from Facilities, Finance,

and then Executive Committee of the Pastoral Council. This was unanimously supported.

c) Tithing Parish subcommittee – No report

d) Sister Parish Leadership Structure with Social Justice – After input from Fr. Secora and further discussion at

the June SJ Committee meeting it was determined that a Sister Parish Committee would be formed with

oversight provided by Social Justice.

7. New Business

a) May 27 Archdiocese Presentation on St. C. Ministries Endowment Investment Options resulted in Finance

Council’s proposal to reallocate money held in short-term accounts at the Archdiocese to long-term options

offered there. Mark M. also reported fund name change from Saint Cecilia Church Endowment Fund to Saint

Cecilia Legacy Fund. After brief discussion, proposal was approved.

b) Archbishop’s Plan for the Archdiocese – Fr. Secora reviewed the four goals. It noted that St. Cecilia’s

initiatives are aligned with them. Father emphasized the statistics associated with vocations, past, present

and future.

8. Committee and Board Reports – in addition to the reports provided in the reading packet, the following

information was added:

Stewardship – Bill H. pointed out the Ministry Fair, scheduled for August 29/30. The Pastoral Council decided to

have a booth; Kathy W. will prepare a tri-fold with PC information.

I.T. Committee – Bill H. reported that the website is up and working well. Capability of viewing on any device

will be one of the upcoming issues addressed.

Hispanic Community – Adriana inquired about the length of Vacation Bible School, and the possibility of a

second week.

9. Other Business and Comments

a) Next CCC/Orientation meeting – Rick will schedule for July 28, 2015, 7 pm, St. Louis Room

10. Closing Prayer: Bill read a passage from the Gospel

11. Adjourn – Ric adjourned at 8:45 pm.

Next Pastoral Council Meeting: Tuesday, August 25, 7 pm, Social Hall

Prayer and In-Service: Mark M.

Visioning Updates: August Finance Council; Sept. Faith Formation Council

Submitted by Kathy Wipf, Pastoral Council Secretary

Dr. Christian Smith 

5 Recommendations 

Pastoral Leadership Study Day—April 14, 2015  

 

1.  Hit Students Up with the Best of Catholic Thinking and Liturgy—Surprise Them into 

  Reconsidering the Catholic Tradition 

 

• Very many Catholic college students come from mediocre parishes with lame 

homiletics, bad catechesis, little sense of the riches of their own tradition intellectually 

and liturgically 

• Show them the “treasures hidden in the family mansion” 

 

2.  Attack Moralism Relentlessly 

   

• Relentlessly destabilize students’ easy assumption that Christian faith is all about 

following rules and being nice. 

• “Christian faith is not finally about you being good, but about God being good to you in 

Jesus Christ” 

• Etc. 

 

3.  View “Partying” through St. Augustine’s Eyes 

 

• Intoxication and hooking up are not simply campus problems to oppose 

• Rather, they are perhaps better seen as unconsciously misdirected desires for the 

good of transcendence and connection to something beyond the mundane 

• “The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God” 

• If so, needs naming and redirecting 

 

4.  Work to Redefine “Strong Faith”= 

 

• Convicted, but civil, hospitable, capable of a good, constructive argument 

• Committed, but interested in reasonable, rigorous, fun conversations 

• Serious, but not rigid, reactionary 

• Caring about the right ideas, truth, but invested in reciprocity, learning, persuasion 

• Smartly critical of “the world,” but also appreciative of the good in it and loving of 

God’s creation 

 

5.  Focus on the Compatibility and Complementarity of Reason and Revelation,  

  Science and Faith 

 

• Work intentionally to break down the erroneous “inevitable warfare of science and 

religion” narrative 

• Take on the epistemological issues of reasonable faith and graduate better informed 

students 

Pastoral Leadership Study Day Reflection Questions

April 14, 2015

Focus 1: What is emerging adulthood (EA) and how does it influence religious faith and practice? For Reflection:

• What was your experience of faith and religion when you were 21 years old? • How do you think it compares to the experiences of today’s 21 year olds?

Focus 2: What is the character of the dominant religious culture among (most Catholic) Emerging Adults today? For Reflection:

• Today’s Emerging Adults buy in to “Relativism” (“What seems right to me” is Authority). What do you think is the best way to reach out to people who “take or leave what they want” in regards to religious beliefs and practices?

• How have you witnessed the clash between the religious culture of emerging adults and the traditional culture of Catholicism?

Focus 3. With what religious orientation do most Catholic college students exit their teenage years? Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is defined by the following five tenets:

1. God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.

2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he

is needed to resolve a problem. 5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

For Reflection

• What about MTD is attractive to Emerging Adults? • How is MTD different from the Catholic creeds? • If successful formation is “Almost all About Parents”, how could we re-imagine

faith formation so that parents truly are the primary catechists of their children? What changes would need to be made for that to be a reality?

Pastoral Leadership Study Day Reflection Questions

April 14, 2015

Focus 4. What religious change happens between the teen and Emerging Adult years? For Reflection:

• Why do you think that Catholics become less religious in the transition from high school to Emerging Adulthood than Non-Catholic youth?

• How could we claim success in youth ministry or Catholic formation of children if Catholics tend to become less religious once they leave high school?

• What would need to change to have these trends reverse?

Focus 5. What are the major types of Emerging Adult relations to religion? Smith identifies six types of Emerging Adults in relation to religion:

1. Committed Traditionalists 2. Selective Adherents 3. Spiritually Open 4. Religiously Indifferent 5. Religiously Disconnected 6. Irreligious

For Reflection:

• What kind of ministry/programming would be necessary to serve a person from each of these categories?

• Which type of Emerging Adult is your parish(es) best prepared to serve? • Which type of Emerging Adult is your parish(es) least prepared to serve?

Focus 6. Where do youth raised Catholic end up as 18-23 year olds? For Reflection:

• Were you raised Catholic? If so, what happened in your life that lead you to being here today and not becoming an “apostate”, a “switcher” or “estranged”?

• If you were not raised Catholic, what drew you to the Catholic faith even though emerging adults are leaving?

• What can you take from your own life story to help steer your parish(es)’s ministry to Emerging Adult and young families?

Extra Credit: What “Good News” did you hear today?

Liturgy Meeting --- August 2015

Present: Diana Shonrock, Fr. Jim Secora, Josh Opheim, Dorothy Sally, Randy Dalhoff, Bob Hauser, Gary and Kay Aitchison

Meeting began with Evening Prayer.

Deacon Gary and Kay Aitchison reported that 15 couples took part in the Renewal of Marriage. It ranged from couples married for

two months to 62 years. There were two couples celebrating 50 years of marriage. Feedback was very positive. They are still settling

on a date for next year. The Aitchison’s and CFM were also active in the Wine & Cheese Social sponsored by the Welcoming

Committee. They reported it was wonderful evening and well attended. Gary thought there was around 4 new families in attendance.

Liturgical Formation Night is set for Thursday, September 17. Discussed possible topics which include Year of Mercy, Ministry

Scheduler, breakout sessions. Diana Shonrock is hoping to have a training session during her breakout session. Anna Steele had sent

her names of interested youth. Dorothy Sally will be in Greece and Sue Scoles will help out with the EHMC breakout session.

Ministry Fair is scheduled for August 29-30. There will be a table available for Liturgical Ministries. Bob suggested that ministries

may want to recruit volunteers to assist at the table and provide information on ministries.

Adoration Report – A table set-up this weekend, Cyndi Volcko, Kathy Wipf and Margy Hanson will be at the table in the Narthex after the 3

Masses in that order. Joe Baumgarten will speak before the Masses and he is going to suggest a 3 week trial for those who want to give it a try

before committing more long-term. Eucharistic Adoration will also have a table at the Ministry Fair, as well. We will call potential new adorers right

away and provide an orientation and hopefully have everything wrapped up so they can begin after the Labor Day break.

Bob discussed the formation of a Sub-Committee to investigate a new Crucifix in Church. Fr. Jim cautioned that we need to take this

process slowly and there needs to be a dialogue or type of formation with the parish if we do pursue.

EMHC – (Dorothy Sally) – Anna Steele has helped us identify some youth that are interested in the EMHC ministry. We are

especially targeting youth that have been altar servers and peer leaders. There are two training sessions scheduled this upcoming

week.

Lectors - Diana Shonrock followed up briefly on the breakout sessions for the Liturgical Training night. She is going to emphasis the

importance of using the Lector Workbook. It’s a great resource.

Mass Coordinators - we still do not have a coordinator for the upcoming year.

Ushers - Randy Dalhoff is working with Erv Rowlands and Dr. Burns to schedule a AED training session for ushers, teachers, and

staff in October.

Ministry Scheduler Pro – we discussed the usage of the ministry scheduler pro. The main inquiry is there a way volunteers can swap.

Randy will look into this. He thinks that feature has not been activated.

Candles in Church – Over the past month, we have had a couple of devotional candles that have tipped and started to burn the plastic.

The Archdiocesan Insurance Report has cautioned parishes to only use lighted candles during official Liturgies. We believe it is in

the best interest of our parish to remove these devotional candles to prevent a potential fire. This will take place this week and a

notice will be put in the bulletin. The ‘electric’ devotional candle stand will remain in the Church.

Next meeting – September meeting will be the Liturgical Formation Night.

FaithFormationCouncilMinutesAugust 11, 2015

MembersPresent:

• Rita Hayes, FFC Vice Chair

• Kari Ricke

• Patty Willadsen

• Joel Rogers, Pastoral Council

• Katie Patrizio, Director of Faith Formation

• Kelly Grandgennet, Catholic School Board

• Elizabeth Stone, Pre-K and Elementary Faith Formation

• Ricardo Garcia, Middle School Faith Formation and Youth Ministry

• Fr. Jim Secora, Pastor

• Anna Steele, High School Youth Ministry

• Tina Colburn, FFC Chair

• Joe Baumgarten

Opening

• Tina started with prayer

• May minutes approved

• June 9th minutes, approved

Reports

• Faith Formation: Katie

a. Gave Bible 101 Crash Course in Scripture. This went well. Very well received. 50-60

people attended.

b. Planning on giving 6 week old testament scripture overview starting in mid December.

c. Plan to give more attention to the adult faith formation.

d. Working with Deacon Ron on the “Beloved” series put out by the Augustine Institute

this fall via an exciting new digital platform called Formed.org.

e. Elementary FF. We have about 1/3 registered so far. Working with Elizabeth

f. Starting up Children’s Adoration program

g. August 22nd is “Intensive Formation” day to educate the Catechists. Katie will give this.

h. Registered www.becomeacatechist.com domain name. Simple landing page, enter in

your email address if you are interested in being a catechist.

i. Flock Note is a way to communicate with all parents of students. Text message blasts.

Also might be used for teen communication.

• Youth Ministry: Anna

a. Totus Tuus very successful. The missionaries were excellent.

b. Printing testimonials from teens from LTLC in bulletin

• Youth Ministry: Ricardo

a. Sports Ministry went about as well as it could have. Kids enjoyed the time together.

b. Need a core team for Edge, looking to recruit some college students

c. Need more catechists for Faith Formation, we have 8 need 18!

• Pastoral Council: Joel

a. Election of officers. Ric Nelson is now Chair

b. Determining what to do with $1M gift to celebrate it.

NewBusiness

• We assigned responsibilities to team members to lead the group prayer

• Stewardship Fair August 29, 30

a. FF will have a table to showcase what we do.

i. Will have materials that we use

ii. Put together a flyer for what we offer for each age group.

iii. Use the big circle diagram in large format.

iv. Each group will provide a list of roles we need help with and a brief description

of what that role is.

v. Also provide a more generic signup sheet for those that want to help, but don’t

know where or how.

• Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

a. December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016.

b. Pope’s teaching on this. http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va/content/gdm/en.html

c. Considered getting copies of The Church of Mercy book by the Pope

d. Reach out to those on peripheries, those that have been alienated.

e. Who do we know that we need to reach out to?

f. Divorced/remarried, gay, lesbian, convicts, military

g. First has to come the invitation. We can’t wait for them to come to us, we must go to

them where they are.

h. December 8 is the start of this year. Tuesday. This is a holy day of obligation.

i. Talk of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, evening prayers on this night

j. “It is not God who tires of forgiving us, it is we who tire of asking for it.” Pope Francis

Closing

• Prayer

• Next meeting Tuesday September 8.

• Adjourned 8:45 p.m.

• Respectfully submitted by Joe Baumgarten

Stewardship Committee Meeting Notes – August 2015

The Stewardship Committee met in the Sun Room at 5:15 pm Wednesday, August 12, 2015.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Bill Haas, Beth McPhail, Jim Stuart (Pastoral Council Liaison) PRAYER –– We began the meeting with prayer. PLANNING FOR RENEWAL OF TIME & TALENT COMMITMENTS AND MINISTRY FAIR –

The Time and Talent Renewal and Ministry Fair are scheduled for August 29-30. The committee reviewed and considered the work items in a detailed planning table distributed one week prior to the meeting. Members also considered a detailed list and schedule (distributed at this meeting) for work tasks covering setup up, assistance during, and clean up after the Ministry Fair. Although all committee members are expected to help with these tasks on August 29 and 30, Beth agreed to take principal responsibility for distribution of prayer cards to children 12 and younger and Jim agreed to be responsible for the adult- and child- prize drawings and notification of winners.

INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE –– Jim Steward agreed to attend this conference as a representative of the Stewardship Committee. Conference info is given below.

Chicago, IL, Thur-Sun, October 22-25, 2015. Begins 4 pm Thur with evening prayer and plenary session. Ends with Sun 8:30 am Mass. Detailed info and registration form are available at http://catholicstewardship.com/documents/doc_download/1520-2015-annual-icsc-stewardship-conference-registration-brochure

PRAYER –– We ended the meeting with prayer.

Saint Cecilia Social Justice Minutes July 20, 2015, 7:00PM, Sunroom

Present: Becca Wemhoff, Lynn Franco, Milla Charles, Marlene Weishaar, Dawn Aitchison, Todd Clancy,

Doreen Berg, Deacon Alan Christy, Julie Haas, Mary Ross, Deacon Ron Smith, Barb Moore, Cynthia Shriver

Recorded by: Cynthia Shriver

SAINT CECILIA SOCIAL JUSTICE A Call to Order – Mary called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. B. Opening prayer – Ron led the opening prayer. C. Welcome, introductions D. In-Service - Ron

I. BUSINESS MEETING A. June minutes. The minutes were approved by consensus. B. Correspondence: Thank you – Home for Awhile Request for donation – Priests for Life C. New Business Gabriel Project – request for funding. There is a request from the Gabriel Project to help fund bus ads. They would like to do it for an entire year. Our committee is wondering if starting smaller and assessing the ads impact would be doable and useful. (Transit Advertising suggests yearlong ads for maximum effect). Becca reminded us that Sanctity of Life does have a small amount of money in

the SJ account. Barb Moore agreed to check on transferring it all to the Gabriel Project. It was decided by consensus that the SJ Committee donate $250.00 to the Gabriel Project for help with the bus ads. Black bag collection – July change. Since the Saturday, July 18, Mass had to be cancelled, the black bag collection, which was to occur at that Mass, will be taken July 25.

D. Unfinished business 1. Klingseis estate. The one-time $5,500.00 we donated to Home for Awhile, has temporarily been taken out of the SJ account. When the Kingseis estate money becomes available, the SJ account will be reimbursed. Alan reported that he has been in conversation with several individuals regarding the construction of low cost housing in Ames. Alan said that the demolition of the house, north of ERP, would be very expensive, residents would lose the playground, and a new building would result in only one additional unit. Until more is known about the future usage of the three lots on 6th Street, across from City Hall, and the old middle school property on State Ave, it will be difficult to make a good decision on using the money for affordable housing. Alan proposed an alternative use of the money home, building another house for Friendship Ark. Discussions are on-going. 2. Sister Parish - Dawn. Several issues were discussed. a. It is Dawn and Todd’s belief that whoever is in charge of the sister parish in Nicaragua would need to go there at least once a year. Priests as well as other things change and it would be imperative to keep track of the situation. Long distance communication is almost impossible. b. The contact people in Nicaragua are associated with Regnum Christi. Presently, there is no apostolate in our diocese and, to our knowledge, our new archbishop has not been approached on the subject regarding his views on the group. c. The question remains as to whether Dawn’s name can be associated with One Heart Mission and the sister parish without affecting the church’s liability status. d. Dawn will be traveling to Nicaragua soon and will be visiting Divino Nino. Any financial help the SJ committee could give would be appreciated. Since Dawn mentioned that one if her goals was to provide food food for the teachers, Becca suggested and the committee agreed by consensus to give the Holy Thursday collection ($627.00) to Dawn for the above purpose. 3. Home for Awhile – Mary. Video made at Cornerstone. Interviews on June 30. Mary was (very reluctantly) in a video made about the project. 4. Days for Girls – Mary. Donations and cabinet. It was brought to our attention that, since Days for Girls cannot be classified as a parish committee, we will need to provide proof to the parish office that Days for Girls does have liability insurance. Mary will check on

this.

5. Need board members or representatives for AMOS, Home for Awhile. 6. Pastoral Council – Todd will be moving from Ames. We reluctantly bid farewell to him. We wish him and his family the best of everything. Thank you, Todd, for your many invaluable contributions to this committee.

7. Financial reports; Budget – Financial reports. Becca. Monetary Receipts: $3,537.66, Estimated Value of Food Shelf Contributions: $616.60, Disbursements: $9,036.77, Bank Balance as June 30, 2015: $8,354.44, Discretionary Funds Available: $1,174.91, May and June FAF budget balances to be paid to FAF in July: $275.22 and $265.43 respectively. Becca provided graphs representing MICA’s Monthly Food Weights and SJ’s Monthly Receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 as well as for previous years. Additional graphs included Christmas Decoration receipts and Rice Bowl collections from 2008 to 2015. A complete, detailed monthly accounting for the fiscal year was also distributed. Becca presented a preliminary budget for 2015-16. It included a month by month distribution of funds as well as anticipated revenue. The budget for this coming fiscal year was increased only slightly since contributions for several months last year did not make budget. The 2015-2016 budget was approved by consensus.

8. Committee reports a. Good Samaritan Fund/Food Pantry donation: 386 pounds in June; July 19/25 – Keith and

Linda Huls; August 15/16 – Sally Tracy & family Lynn will take care of any problems associated with the date switch for the Saturday Mass cancellation.

b. Hunger Coalition – Marlene reported that AMOS is looking at how to alleviate the stigma of using food distribution sites. The Coalition is currently making a display listing food sources in Story County. The realization of the Salvation Army’s plan on purchasing a food bus is several years away.

c. Food at First –Doreen, Cynthia, Julie, Cindy. Doreen is now a board member. She reported that St. Cecilia’s head chefs met two weeks ago and discussed procedures. FAF still needs head chefs and a distinction needs to be made between head chefs and food preparers. The idea of a volunteer hostess was discussed as well as a plan to address covering the 5th Tuesdays of a month. Currently, Julie is doing all of the 5th Tuesdays.

d. Good Neighbor - Doreen. Phyllis Craig is the new board member. The GN office is now a Raising Readers site.

e. Restorative Justice - Ron, Barb. The Story County prison ministry is looking good for volunteers. Barb has attended bible studies at the Butterfly House. (Tuesdays, 6:00 AM!) The individual who owns the home and provides it rent free wants to do something else with the structure if the residence cannot be kept full.

f. Individual Assistance – Ron. Need is there. The money is not. g. Emergency Residence Project – Julie reported that they will be meeting tomorrow.

Max Rothshield has taken over as treasurer. h. AMOS. No report. i. Gabriel Project - Bethany. The project is seeking a new coordinator. The minutes are

included in Mary’s handout. j. Sanctity of Life -Garland. Minutes SOHL 7-12-15. Garland+ Bethany Dahlke, Jim & Rosemary

Wilson, John Greenwood, Marilyn Krocheski. Went through material and video for Natural Family

Planning and plan for upcoming nfp week. Started looking ahead at the ivf material the usccb

has and thinking of what needs to be done with this subject.

k. Additional issues. Mary reported that the SJ committee is signed up for the Ministry Fair on August 29th. Since she will be out of town, she asked if anyone was interested in being at the booth. If committee members want any of their project brochures at the table, please email Mary. Julie offered to supervise both Home Bound and SJ if the booths were next to each other. Anyone who has articles for the August SJ newsletter should email Lynn.

E. Prayer/Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM with a prayer.

Draft St. Cecilia Parish - Finance Council Meeting Minutes for Tues. Aug. 18, 2015

In Attendance:

Fr. Jim Secora Kathy Ramirez - Parish Council Rep.

Mark Moore - Chairman Diana Shonrock - Catholic Schools Rep.

Diana Weber - Secretary Joel Thilges - Vice Chr. (7:30pm)

Janet Brimeyer - Finance Council Member

Meeting Called to order at 7:08pm.

1. Mark led the group in the prayer for Tues. Aug. 18, 2015.

2. Minutes from the June 16, 2015 meeting were reviewed and approved when Joel

arrived

at 7:30.

3. Old Business

a. Review Investment Transfers - All money has been transferred into the

respective accounts and the new account has been opened in The Catholic

Foundation for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Mark is going to talk to Char for

more clarification on account names.

b. Other Old Business - The monthly disbursement of $7156 from the Education

Endowment Fund gets deposited into Faith Formation, Youth Ministry, and

School according to the contract for the fund.

4. New Business

a. Tuition Assistance Request - There were 14 requests for Faith Formation tuition

assistance for a total of $700. We did not approve any of the requests due to lack

of money in the account. Discussion followed on how we could get money into

the tuition assistance accounts: have Char review the undesignated memorials,

put an announcement in the bulletin, and/or have a packet of special collection

envelopes go to parishioners that do electronic transfer for their giving. Mark will

talk to Char. We did approve 1 school tuition assistance request.

5. Reports

a. Financial - not much to review being the first month of the financial year.

b. Facilities - meeting Wed. night. Mark Hanson will be starting up discussions on

facilities sometime in Sept.

c. Parish Council - no July meeting. Will be meeting next week

e. Technology - Scott Walker is testing new updates for the Parish website.

g. Catholic School - nothing to report. School year starts next week.

Next Finance Council meeting will be on Thurs. Sept. 10 due to conflicts on Tues.

Sept. 15 at 7pm in the Sunroom.

Closing prayer and adjournment @ 7:59pm.

IT Committee meeting report

The IT committee met in the Social Hall at 6:30 pm August 12, 2015

Members present:

Randy Dalhoff (chair), Dawn Cowles, Bill Haas, Bob Hauser, Susan McNicholl, Ric Nelson, Char

VanKerckvoorde

(This list may be incomplete.)

One purpose of the meeting was for the committee members to hear and view demonstrations from

Scott Walker of MeasurableROI concerning a proposed new St. Cecilia website user interface.

A second purpose was for Scott to hear committee members’ reactions to his demonstrations of how

the Home page and navigation portions of the St. Cecilia website look and function in an initial

implementation of the proposed new website user interface.

Scott began by noting that 40% of the persons who access our site do so via a mobile device, i. e., a

smart phone, tablet or laptop. Our website interface must seamlessly support easy viewing by persons

using those devices as well as those who use a desktop computer. That is, it must be a responsive

design .

Using an internet connection to a development environment he has set up on the same server that

supports the present St. Cecilia website, Scott demonstrated how the St. Cecilia Home page and its

navigation system look when implemented using Divi, an elegant, new, commercially available,

WordPress theme with responsive design characteristics. Scott also demonstrated some of the

powerful, modular page-design and Mega-menu navigation features of Divi.

Those present viewed Scott’s demonstration and at the same time viewed the same pages on their own

mobile devices. Based on the demonstrations and accompanying discussion, the committee members

expressed a very positive view of what Scott has already accomplished with Divi and the proposed

approach, and enthusiastically encouraged proceeding as planned.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Haas

Opening & Closing Prayer Leaders

Pastoral Council Meetings 2015-16

Meeting Date Name

Aug 25, 2015 Mark Moore

Sep 22, 2015 Ric Nelson

Oct 27, 2015 Joel Rogers

Nov 24, 2015 Rick Brimeyer

Jan 26, 2016 Kathy Wipf

Feb 23, 2016 Dorothy Sally

Mar 22, 2016 Kathy Ramirez

Apr 26, 2016

May 24, 2016 Adriana Hernández

Jun 28, ,2016

Parish Life Welcoming Committee

August 4, 2015 Place: Sun Room Present: Marlene Weisshaar, Rick Brimeyer, Joan Jones, Don Seaton, Sue Seaton,

Bev Peters, Lois Lehmkuhl, Paula Wiebel, and JoAnne Dalhoff

Note Taker: Lois Lehmkuhl

Junes Minutes: approved with correction to name Dori Gass

Called to order by Joan. We opened with a prayer

Pastoral Council Report: Rick Brimeyer

Parish Financial Status: Rick passed out a “Recap or Revenue and Expense” for July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

8% increase in revenue during this period

Frank Oppold is working on a series of options for planned giving

Rick will check if the Jewell Center Savings is kept separate from the “Church”

savings both of which are deposited with the Archdiocese

Rick said a number of descriptions on the sheet he distributed are being

renamed

Relationship between Parish Life and Welcome Committee: Members and leaders are

needed to volunteer to be part of the Parish Life Committee (parent committee of the

Welcome Committee). Rick has been unable to secure PLC leaders at this time. Rick is

thinking about reworking the description for the PLC Leaders.

Wine and Cheese Social: August 14, 2015 starting at 7pm.

54 invitations were sent to members 40 years and under

Child Care provided which is being organized by Adriana Bernhard. Scrip Cards

will be given to the volunteers who will provide this care. The dollar increments

discussed were $25 for the adults and $10 for helpers

Set up will begin at 4pm

New Member Event: Possibly in September or October with discussion about hosting it

after the 8:30am Sunday Mass. Consideration is being given to hosting it on October 4

because that is the Sunday for the Rite of Acceptance for the RCIA Candidates. This

allows for us to engage the Candidates in the parish.

Calling Committee: Joan reported 2 calls were made in July

Registration: Bev reported this will be done as part of the Ministry Fair

Ministry Fair: Sue and Bev are heading up the Welcome Committee’s involvement. A new “Welcome” banner was revealed to the committee with appreciation expressed by the committee. Paula and Joan are working on a “pamphlet” detailing activities of this committee that will be given as a “take away” along with a sweet from the “Welcome” table which is being placed in a highly visible place at the entrance to the social center.

Staff Update: JoAnne reviewed the positions recently filled as reflected in the Parish

Bulletin.

Next Meeting: September ????

Note Taker?????