Joe Zolecki, the Council Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Present:                      Father Bob Betz, Father Steve Varghese, Joe Amrhein, John Bordak, Tracey Borzick, Joe Dulka, Larry Haskin, Dennis Irwin, Dean Kick, Matt Lemens, Rich Lussier, Kathy Mattke, Sean Nuyda, Steve Raflik, Jen Trask, Elaine Tessmer and Joe Zolecki

Absent:                       Gary Hamilton and Chris Kujawa

Guests:                       Alice Berezinski and Gregory Meka

Opening Prayer:         Elaine Tessmer distributed a prepared opening prayer which was read aloud by all.

Welcome/Review Agenda:

            Joe Zolecki welcomed the council members to the meeting and reviewed the agenda.  He said the first item under New Business, Discernment of New Council Members, would be eliminated and the first topic would be Prayer of Initiation Into the Council.  Rich Lussier added that another topic to be included in the meeting would be a report on the Policy and Procedures for Purchases. 

Open Forum/Welcome of Guests/Visitors:

All of the above guests were welcomed to the meeting by Joe Zolecki with a special greeting to Matt Lemens, Kathy Mattke and Jen Trask who will officially become council members for the next three-year term.  During the open forum, Alice Berezinski asked whether, considering the present economy, the archbishop believes the Faith in Our Future Campaign will be successful.  Father Bob’s reply included statements that the archbishop received advice from many sources and chose to go ahead with the campaign at this time.  Father Bob also said those individuals who wish to make contributions will do so, and others will not, and so, whatever we do, we do.

Approval of Minutes of the May 2008 Meeting:  

There being no additions, corrections or deletions to the proposed minutes, upon motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of the meeting of May 15, 2008 were approved as prepared. 

Pastors’ Reports:

            Father Steve welcomed the new members to the council and offered a word of gratitude to the outgoing members for their leadership.  He said today was his first anniversary of being with us, and while it was a year of learning, he is grateful for the support of Father Bob, the entire staff and parish community.  He reported on the recent graduation of 34 students from the day school, and commented on the summer vacation bible school for children at 16^th Avenue conducted by Judi Backes, Judy Greene and many other volunteers.  He reported that the first meeting of the Building Committee was held yesterday and a full report will be given later in this meeting.  He said a report was received regarding the Campaign, and that also will be discussed later on.

            Father Bob reported that the religious ed program has been completed and the day school graduation was held with Father Steve presiding at that event.  He expressed concern for the parishioners who experienced water damage as result of the recent floods; our four sites were spared from major damage, we had a little water here and there, but nothing serious.  The day school was closed for one day but that is because we follow the South Milwaukee School System for closings. 

            Referring to the Campaign, Father Bob said that only 378 out of some 3300 parishioners responded to the appeal for a total of about $530,000.  He said there could be many reasons including [but not limited to] the economic conditions, the price of gasoline, the recent flooding.  He heard that some people don’t want their money to go to the diocese; they forget that we are part of a universal church and we must support the universal church.  Father Bob also heard that because no funds are specifically allocated to our day school, some people will not contribute to the campaign and, in fact, some e-mails were being sent which advised others to not support the campaign.  One of the school parents wrote a letter to Bishop Callahan and complained that the campaign was not allocating any money to our school; Father Curt Frederick, Vicar for Clergy, responded on behalf of Bishop Callahan, to that parent and sent a copy of the letter to Father Bob who read portions of that letter to the council members.  That letter, which was very supportive of Divine Mercy Parish and its school, included the facts [among others] that Father Bob was supportive of the school and its success, that the parish subsidizes 54% of each student’s tuition, while the archdiocesan recommendation for parish subsidization is 40%, and that the parish school is just one ministry of the parish while it is supporting other ministries as well.  Father Bob said he sent a copy of that letter from Father Frederick to all school parents.  He also said if we are not successful in our campaign, we will have to do our remodeling or renovation of the church in phases.  He also said some people are still confused between the annual stewardship appeal, the campaign, and the stewardship of our own parish.

            Father Bob advised that the Lottery Commission will not allow us to mail the raffle tickets for the upcoming Fun Fest as had previously been done.  Parishioners will be requested to pick up their envelope with the tickets after Masses in the church lobby; otherwise they can forward their check to the parish and we would complete the raffle tickets for them.  Our budget includes a $40,000 profit from the Fun Fest and a good portion of that comes from the raffles.  In addition, we must follow the laws of the State of Wisconsin in order that we not lose our tax-exempt status.  He also said the new Building Committee met for the first time last night and Rich Lussier will report on that later in this meeting. 

            Discussion of council members followed regarding the lack of support for the campaign.  It was stated that our parish does not have “major” or “large” donors as other parishes do.  It was stressed that during the commitment weekend that if all parishioners gave one-third more of their regular offertory donations over the next three years, the campaign would be successful.  Some comments made were that many people are still confused between their regular stewardship envelopes and the campaign; some suggested that it might be well to go over the whole thing again; another doesn’t believe the campaign was given the “hoopla” it should have been given; another suggested commitment cards be placed in the pews again for those who have not as yet made their commitments; still another suggested that people must be reminded more than once; others talked about having banners visible to remind people.  Father Bob mentioned that a pledge card had been mailed to every parishioner who did not originally complete a commitment card, and every parishioner received a telephone call regarding the card; he also indicated that not even all the people on the committee made commitments.  One council member suggested that perhaps we should wait until September or October to give it “another shot,” while still another suggested waiting until the beginning of the year.  Father Bob concluded this segment by stating that a letter explaining the entire situation and a commitment card will be mailed to all parishioners who did not previously respond. 

Contemplative Break: 

The question of the week appearing in the current parish bulletin was: “This week, what will you do to make others feel more cared for and loved?”  The discussion was led by Elaine Tessmer. 

Committee Reports/Updates:  

            Copies of minutes of the following committees were made available to council members prior to this meeting:  Building and Grounds Committee of 5/14/08 and 6/11/08; Human Concerns Committee of 6/5/08; School Committee of 5/1/08 and 6/5/08.

            Finance Committee.  Joe Dulka said the donations for energy are behind about $16,000 from last year.  He believes we should come out at the end of the fiscal year at about $100,000 income over expenses.  That can be attributed to the entire staff and its frugality.  The only area where we were over budget was for the snow removal. 

Prayer and Worship Committee.  Elaine Tessmer advised that the committee didn’t meet in June but will resume its meetings in August.

Human Concerns.  Joe Amrhein stated that the printed minutes speak for themselves.  The collection for the July Share Sunday will be for the Visitation House, and the August Share Sunday will be for the military troops

            Life Long Formation.  Dean Kick said the committee did not meet in June but will meet again in September.  He did say their group has two new members.  Dean said members of the study group have met and they have had rather enlightening conversations. 

Building & Grounds Committee.  Tracey Borzick reported that the last cleanup day for the committee will be held on June 21^st at the school site and they will resume in September.  The committee is looking forward to receiving the new proposal or purchase forms.  They would like to redo the multipurpose room, and may submit a proposal for a new oven for the school.  She further said the roof repairs on 16^th Avenue should be finished this week.  A number of parents volunteered to paint the bathrooms at the school at no cost.  A question was asked regarding carpeting in the phy-ed room, and it was stated there will be no carpeting but a sport court type of flooring will be installed.

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OLD BUSINESS:

Faith in Our Future Capital Campaign.   Joe Dulka indicated he had nothing further to add from the previous discussions regarding the campaign, but he and another council member who had agreed to begin their campaign payments in June of 2008 did receive their notifications and envelopes from the campaign offices “on time.”

            Report From The Building Committee.  Rich Lussier reported that the first meeting of the committee was held on June 18^th.  The committee is comprised of the pastors, staff, Building & Grounds Committee, and Finance Committee.  The first thing they agreed to do was follow the document entitled “Procedure for Catholic Institutions in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for Major Renovations and/or Building Construction.”  They are presently at Step 2.  The ultimate vision is for two sites but at this point their plans refer to the church site only.  An additional two persons will be requested to join the committee which will meet about once a month and a type of “wish list” goals or ideas will be set forth.  At some point, architects will be contacted, they will know some of the ideas we definitely want, and they may suggest alternative ideas or plans.  When these steps are completed, the Council will be requested to approve the plans, and a proxy will then be submitted to the archdiocese.

            Policy and Procedures for Purchases.  Rich Lussier reported that he had met with Cathy Wendt and Patty Bollis and it was decided that the present procedures for capital purchases and general purchases would be eliminated and a combined procedure for all types of purchases would be prepared.   The proposal for the recent purchase of the playground equipment is being revised and will be resubmitted to the Finance Committee and the Building & Grounds Committee and then to the Council for approval. 

NEW BUSINESS: 

            Prayer of Initiation Into Council.  Dennis Irwin read the prepared ceremonial comments regarding outgoing as well as incoming council members.  Lighted candles were then passed from Joe Zolecki, Tracey Borzick and Rich Lussier on behalf of the absent Gary Hamilton, outgoing council members, to Matt Lemens, Kathy Mattke and Jen Trask, the incoming council members.  The outgoing members were thanked for their service as council members, and gifts were presented to Joe and Tracey for their past service to the parish and council, and a gift for later delivery was made available for Gary for his past service to the parish and council.  Then Matt, Kathy and Jen were welcomed as the new members of the council.

            At this time Father Bob read a letter from Barbara Ann Cusack, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, advising that Archbishop Timothy Dolan approved the election of Joe Dulka as Trustee-Treasurer of Divine Mercy Parish for a two-year term expiring on June 30, 2010.  A copy of that letter will be attached to these original Minutes filed in the parish office.

            Discernment of New Council Officers.  Nominations or volunteers for Chairperson were requested.  Certain people were nominated and either accepted or withdrew their names from contention for various reasons.  From those accepting the nomination, there was lengthy discussion of qualifications for the position, vision for the future of the council and parish, and other reasons for accepting the office if chosen.  Balloting for each office was discussed, but after further lengthy discussion, it was agreed that Dennis Irwin, Dean Kick and Sean Nuyda would all complement each other as a leadership group and officers for the Council.  At another council member’s proposal, it was suggested that Dean Kick be named as Chairperson, Sean Nuyda be named as Vice Chairperson, and Dennis Irwin be named as Secretary.  Without any balloting to fill any specific office, it was the consensus of all council members that Dean Kick be Chairperson, Sean Nuyda be Vice Chairperson, and Dennis Irwin be Secretary.  All three named individuals agreed to accept the positions as proposed. 

            Liaisons to Committees.   Verbal assignment of liaisons to committees was not done.  Instead, a list of the various committees was circulated with the new council members having first choice as to their selection of committees, and with the other council members choosing a committee on which he/she has not previously been the liaison.  [These assignments were not available to the recording secretary at the end of the meeting but will be announced at the August council meeting.]

            Joe Zolecki prepared a list of the dates for council meetings from August 2008 through June 2009; the dates for the All Committee Meetings, and the dates on which the Building & Grounds Committee meets.  Because of recent history, no dates for July 2009 meetings were included.  If a holyday or holiday falls on any of the usual meeting dates, the date for that particular meeting will be adjusted prior to that date.

            APC and Archdiocesan Clustering of Parishes.  Dennis Irwin reported that a meeting was held on May 27^th with Father Jim Connell regarding St. Matthew’s, St. Stephen’s and St. James Parishes; all three of those parishes are in the midst of building projects with approved proxies from the archdiocese.  For the benefit of the new council members, Dennis explained that the APC consists of a representative from each parish in a district (we are District 15), and that group meets three times per year.  The general idea of clustering is that each parish in the general neighborhood knows what the other parishes are working on and are generally sharing resources and planning for the future.  Our parish can cluster with either the St. Matthew’s group or with Nativity of the Lord and the Bay View cluster.  We must develop a cluster relationship by the end of the year and notify the archdiocese of our selection.  It was suggested that Dean Kick contact the other parishes to see with whom we have common goals and see where we would best fit in and then build a relationship with them.  Father Bob said he had voiced a concern at a priests’ district meeting that clustering with a small group like Nativity of the Lord might be overpowering for them because of the number of programs we as a recently merged parish already have in place, and suggested that perhaps a cluster could consist of the Cudahy, South Milwaukee and Oak Creek parishes.

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, COMMENTS AND/OR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

            There will be no council meeting in July 2008. If the Building & Grounds Committee wishes to send proposals regarding the oven and vegetable sink for the school kitchen, these proposals and all responses from council members and the leadership will be done via e-mail. 

            A sign-up sheet for presentation of the Council’s report to be given at all Masses the first weekend in July was circulated before and during the meeting.

Give Thanks.

Closing Prayer:  Elaine Tessmer led the Council in reading the closing prayer that had previously been distributed. 

Adjournment:  The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.   

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Marcy Gramza, Recording Secretary