Dennis Irwin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

 
Present:                      Father Bob Betz, Tracey Borzick, Joe Dulka, Dennis Irwin, Dean Kick Jerry Kromraj, Chris Kujawa, Linda Laguna, Rich Lussier, Sean Nuyda, Steve Raflik, and Joe Zolecki

Excused:                     Father Ron Gramza, Chuck Frey, Gary Hamilton, and Dave Spitzenberger

Guests:                       Alice Berezinski, Judy Kalinowski and Colin Loehr

Opening Prayer: Steve Raflik provided all with copies of the opening prayer entitled Prayer for Meetings which was then read by all council members.

Open Forum/Guest & Visitor Comments: 

Dennis welcomed all of the guests to the meeting and invited any comments from them. 

 Review of Agenda: 

 Dennis went over the agenda with the particular topics to be covered under old and new business.

Approval of Minutes of July 2006 Meeting:                           

The word “deficit” in the second sentence of Joe Dulka’s Finance Committee report under Committee Report Comments, is stricken and replaced with the word “variance.” The corrected sentence will read “Compared with the total of last year’s weekly and holyday envelopes, offertory and utility collections, there is a variance of about $3,400.”  There being no other additions, corrections or deletions to the proposed minutes, upon motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of the meeting of July 20, 2006 were approved as prepared. 

A member suggested that all minutes of council meetings include the date of the next month’s meeting even though the verbal announcement is not made.

 Pastors’ Reports:

             Father Bob commented on the Fun Fest weekend just completed, the beautiful weather and the many volunteers, including new people, who helped.  He said that while the preliminary report of revenue from the festival may be down a bit this year, it is perhaps due to the economy because there were large crowds present.  He expressed the parish’s gratitude to Harpo for his chairing of the event and everyone else who helped in any way with the festival. 

             Father Bob provided everyone with a copy of the Annual Financial Report from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 and advised that a copy would be included with the parish bulletin in about a week and a half.  He noted that the total revenue is about $24,000 over expenses.  In going over some of the figures of income and expenses, he explained that expenses were reduced because of the elimination of teaching positions because of the enrollment in the school, elimination of one maintenance person, adjustments of a position made because of the hiring of Cathy Wendt, help-out priests not being needed regularly because of the new weekend Mass schedule, and every area of the parish cutting back on expenses.  Because of all these cutbacks the parish has been able to achieve these results.  He also said with a $2.5 million budget we are right on target.  The next year’s budget has been reduced by $100,000. 

             The first two weeks since the one weekend worship site was implemented, according to Father Bob, have resulted in collections being about the same as last year.  The pastors have heard many positive remarks about the one weekend worship site from people as they have left the church.  Many thanks are extended to the liturgist, prayer and worship committee and members of all other ministries for getting it off the ground, as well as to those who worked on the parking lot project.

             Father Bob said Divine Mercy has become a model for the diocese as far as the merger of the four parishes is concerned.  Inquiries have already been received from other parishes regarding mergers, one of them being from St. Frances Cabrini of West Bend, and Father Bob was also interviewed by a reporter from Milwaukee Magazine.  Again he praised the parishioners for their cooperation and all who worked to bring the merger about.  Also, the second year of the family or intergenerational catechesis program will get underway in September.  Adjustments from the first year’s program have been made to include a Mass for both students and their parents.  He went on to describe the system that the priests, deacons and other religious ed members will follow to meet with the students and families.  The entire staff was praised for their positive attitudes and enthusiasm for the future of the program.   Again, our parish is the role model for this new technique of Christian Formation in the diocese. 

             Father Bob also mentioned that the school is moving ahead with projects for next year and the future.  Any communication issues which may have existed in the past are being worked on.  Referring to the addition of a foreign language in the school program, perhaps there should have been more communication, but when and if things fall into place, a decision must be made at that time.  Joe Zolecki had a meeting yesterday regarding his role to promote communication with the school, and he will speak further on that later in this meeting.

 Contemplative Break: 

 Steve provided all council members with a daily reading entitled “No Half-Way House” from The Business of Heaven by C.S. Lewis, and then read it aloud.

Committee Report Comments: 

No written committee reports (other than the annual Financial Report previously referred to) were received because the usual monthly committee meetings are not held during the months of July and August.

Joe Dulka of the Finance Committee reported that for the current month the parish is in the black by some $245,000.  He said “we are doing great” and expects everything to go according to budget.  Referring to the parking lot, the expenses to date are about $340,000.  Joe said the total expenses will be pretty close to $400,000, and that amount is under budget.

There was some discussion relating to the priests giving the weekly announcements before the start of Mass, and it was agreed they seem to be more effective than previously. 

Regarding Prayer & Worship, Jerry Kromraj informed the group that he heard a complaint about the ushers having to wear blazers supplied by the parish at all Masses and other services.  A reply to be given is that all ushers are dressed uniformly and can be easily identified. 

NEW BUSINESS:

            School Communication Facilitator Roles and Responsibilities.  Dennis advised that a meeting was held the previous evening regarding communication of school subcommittees, athletic associations, administration and staff.  Joe then talked about his responsibilities as being an evaluator of communication in the school setting.  After conferences with various individuals and study of communication manuals of schools, he will write a report that will include the positive areas he found as well as areas which may need some adjustments along with his recommendations.  The pastors will receive his first drafts for their information and/or critique.  If agreeable with them, he will then provide each school group with a copy of his report with the hope that it would be used as a tool for future communication.

            At this time Judy Kalinowski was asked for any comments.  She stated they have a very fine organization.  Of the 38 students who graduated this year, 15 will be attending Catholic high schools.  At the present time they have 291 students registered for the coming year but are still receiving calls.  The staff is working well together.  The school is moving in the right direction; the archdiocese recommends a foreign language and they were very fortunate in having a teacher with a license to teach Spanish.  In answer to a council member’s query, she said subcommittees will be meeting more often this year than last, and there will be minutes prepared following those meetings; she also suggested an exchange of minutes between the Council and the school.  Another question concerned class size; she said ideally it would be good to have 15 or 16 students per class.  It did not work out that way because of registration and there were some parents who suggested the class size should be smaller; 29 is a higher number but it is workable.  Comments were made of the many children who received high honors in their studies.  Colin Loehr, the vice principal, stated that the school has received letters complimenting it on the many outside services, such as fundraising for an orphanage, and other activities that the children are involved in.  He also said that in the merger of the two separate faculties, they are working well together; they even have a prayer circle every morning.  A survey is being planned for this year.

            Proposed Constitution and Bylaws Changes.  Dennis distributed a copy of the parish’s mission statement, constitution and bylaws to all members and stated that they should be reviewed annually.  His suggestions for amendments in the constitution and bylaws are typed and shaded immediately following the original word or words.  In the constitution, Art. IX, Standing Committees (p. 3), he suggested that School Board be changed to School Committee.  Amendments in the bylaws include:  Art. IV, Meetings, the last line of Sec. 2, should be replaced with the following sentence:  Parishioners may submit items for consideration to any Executive Committee member one week before the Executive Committee meeting.  Items not presented at the Executive Committee meeting will be automatically tabled to the next month (with the exception of Parish emergency situations.); Art. V, Standing Committees, Sec. 4, last paragraph on p. 4, School Board should be replaced with School Committee [this occurs three times in that paragraph]; under Finance Committee, third paragraph, second line on p. 5, the word commissions should be replaced with committees; under Building and Grounds, Sec. 4, the following sentence should be added as a third sentence in the paragraph:  It assists the parish staff in the maintenance and upkeep of parish property by providing time and talent to complete activities and projects approved and scheduled through the parish staff.   Dennis added that council members should contact him directly if any other changes are requested. 

            Parish Event Plans.  A monthly calendar, August 2006 through July 2007, was distributed by Dennis.  Included were holy days, holidays, and regularly scheduled meetings.  Some meetings were changed because of holy days and automatically pushed back one day, but each committee can alter the schedule as it sees fit.  Jerry Kromraj said the parish council will be hosting the ice cream social following the 10:45 a.m. Mass on September 10^th. 

            Responding to Dennis’s request, Tracey Borzick volunteered to begin planning for a council retreat to be held before advent.  One suggested it be held at the St. Francis of Assisi Convent on Lake Drive; another suggested contacting the Capuchin Fathers who reside at the 16^th Avenue rectory because they are involved in that type of mission.

            Chris Kujawa has not previously attended a parish council orientation session and, therefore, will be present at the one scheduled for September 16^th at the Cousins Center.  The 2006 leadership conferences will be held on October 21^st at the Cousins Center; among those invited are pastors, parish council members, committee chairs, and parish staff.  The cost is $30, and it was recommended that those interested in attending sign up before the September council meeting. 

             It was suggested that the regular December council meeting be shortened in length with a Christmas social to follow.  A further recommendation made was that a day of reflection be planned for early August 2007 so that council members beginning their term of office in July of 2007 could attend and become acquainted with members already in office.

OLD BUSINESS:

            Marquette Parking Lot Project Status.   Father Bob indicated that they have a check-off list prepared before making the final payment.  He also said many positive comments have been heard relative to the parking lot.  Chris Kujawa reported on the landscaping of the lot.  Using a large map of the lot, he indicated where a retaining wall will be required along Montana Avenue, where topsoil is required, and where trees will be planted.  Landscaping will consist of all low maintenance plantings.  Also discussed was the crosswalk, without a ramp, for pedestrians proceeding from the lot directly across Marquette Avenue to the church entrance, and the ramp on the corner near the handicapped parking spots.  The painting of the crosswalk leading from the lot to the church entrance must be taken care of by the city.

            Fun Fest Update.  Sean reported that 35 to 40 people volunteered their services for the festival and said there were many more volunteers this year than in the past.  While the revenue was down a bit this year, the festival was a great success with many positive comments received from those in attendance.  He said the Boy Scouts were among the many volunteers who assisted in the clean-up of the grounds, and letters of appreciation will be sent to all groups who helped out in any way, other than financially.  A member asked about any security problems, and Sean indicated that there was one minor incident for which the police were called and a person was taken to the hospital for treatment. 

            Fall Fest Planning – Parish Council Basket for Raffle Prize.  Rich Lussier announced that this year’s Fall Fest would be held October 15^th at the 16^th Avenue site, and preparations will get underway the previous day.  The meal will consist of the usual Swiss steak and chicken dinner, vegetables (all donated) and dessert.  The price of the booster tickets was increased to $36.50.  All parishioners will receive booster tickets and, in order to save postage, they will be requested to pick them up in the lobby of the church where they will be for two weekends.  Themed baskets will be available by raffle at the dinner, and the council has agreed to donate items considered appropriate for a cheese, crackers, wine, etc., basket; those items should be brought to the September council meeting.  A dinner cooked by the pastors for a specific number of people will be one of the prizes offered during a silent auction.

Yoga Classes. Steve Raflik distributed materials referring to aspects of Christian Meditation from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. for reading at the council members’ leisure.  He reported that he attended one of the classes in the TOTs Building and noted that they are for the most part stretching exercises with the last fifteen minutes or so being a time for reflection; he said he is satisfied and no longer has any questions about the classes as held.  As one of the council members said, Paul McKean “would never cross the line.”

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, COMMENTS AND/OR ANNOUNCEMENTS.

            [Recorded out of order.]  Sean Nuyda announced that his and Dave Spitzenberger’s names had been given to representatives of St. Frances Cabrini Parish which will be one of three parishes in West Bend to merge.  Those representatives requested that Divine Mercy reps speak about our merger.  Sean, Dave and Marty Traynor will go to West Bend to make a presentation.  If anyone has any suggestions as to specifics to be included, either call or send an e-mail to Sean. 

            [Recorded out of order.]  Dennis suggested 100% attendance at the September meeting because pictures of the council members will be taken.

                                 Closing Prayer:   Steve presented the closing prayer attributed to St. Faustina Kowalska.

Adjournment:  The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Marcy Gramza, Recording Secretary