Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes of August 24, 2021
Holy Family Catholic Church Parish Council Minutes
Pastor: Father Ramon Baez
Council President: Wayne Mattson
Council Vice-president: Freddie Andrade
Council Secretary: Joshua Munoz
Date: 8/24/2021
Time Start: 6:32pm
Discussion Point 1: Introduction of New Council Members
-Ed Selm was not present. All other new members were present for the last meeting.
Discussion Point 2: Plans for new calls to parishioners
-There is a large quantity of people who come to mass, but we are not getting envelopes or faith direct back.
-We will call parishioners to get a specific number of who is attending the Parish.
-There were plans to have phones to call, but we will now do calls from the parish office.
-The calls will consist of letting people know the mass times and other important information
-We know that more people are coming to mass but for some reason they don’t put the envelopes in the collection, and they have not let us know if they have moved or not.
-Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays and Fridays will be available for phone calls as well as Sunday during the day. During the weekdays will only have limited capacity for phone calls.
-Those who call should keep notes of the conversation.
-The 400 people we will call were not called the previous time parish phone calls were made.
-Sign-up Genius will be used to sign up for times to do calls
-The last report had 300 families and was given to the Diocese.
Discussion Point 3: 2021/2022 planning/brainstorming/goal-setting session
-A goal setting session should be held for plans to have it held in October.
-A 4-hour session is better than having one that is all day.
-Planning should include things we believe are priority.
-The council agreed on having a 4-hour session for brainstorming/planning
-The possible locations agreed upon by the Council was the Parish, a Benedictine House, or the Basilica could be another option for having the meeting. Saturday would be a good day to hold the meeting.
-The meeting could be held October 23rd and the 16th if a meeting cannot be held on the 23rd.
- Mass will be held at 8am and the planning will take place from 9am-1pm. The location will be confirmed.
-A facilitator for the meeting will be confirmed.
Discussion Point 4: General plans for fund-raising appeal for specific parish projects
-Father Ramon gave an estimate of what is needed.
-1 HVAC which is $70,000 unit that is dead but still works and gives no problem. The large Air Conditioner for the Parish is $90,000 and it is working but will at some in the near future will no longer work. A way to present this is that the Parish should have the money to pay for these units.
-The Rectory roof was fixed and would have cost $16,000 which was paid for.
-The sound system that has the best reputation is the most expensive costs $75,000. The Parish requires certain solutions to help. The sound system now points towards the balcony and the balconies. The speakers are not functioning well and there are dead spots around the Parish. The microphone system is fine and will not need to be replaced, only the speakers.
-An estimate for the erosion has not been made for the parking lot. The two islands in the parking lot have been eroding and the neighbors are sending complaints that water from the parking lot is running off to their back yards.
-The Parish roof is also well and is newer than originally thought and will not to be changed for another couple of years.
-LED lighting needs to be placed in all the building which will cost $50,000 but the advantage will help with energy saving costs. Rebates which is limited can be given by changing to LED lighting to all the offices, classrooms, and other rooms. The lights we have now are the original ones and have been phased out by the government because they contain lead. There is a shortage of semiconductors, and the price will increase. For the lighting, the price lock will remain on $50,000 and not go up. A loan can be given for energy solving issues from banks. 291 lighting components need fixtures.
-The HVAC and the Sound system are the only systems that are incomplete, and the lights and other projects are recently discovered.
-The HVAC is top priority, the Sound system is second, erosion is third, and lights is the last priority.
-A stewardship could help plan the Parish’s budget with these projects. For others, the parish could ask others from funds placed in a secure account solely for the purpose of funding the projects.
-A sheet with an agreement for commitments can be made and given to families so that the Parish knows that it can begin planning.
-A concern that people will have, is where will the money go, by focusing on the fund more trust is given from others. Addressing a particular need where people know that the money is going for those projects. We must find a way to present this to families that is transparent and open. A town hall meeting can be held to ask parishioners what the Parish can do for them.
-The Diocese has a certain number of companies that helps with maintenance. Sometimes things that we want done cannot be done because it must be approved by the Diocese.
-The school roof was delayed because of the shortage of materials, and the Parish was in talks with good companies that gave good deals. The project had to be moved to the next year because a membrane need to be at a certain temperature to place which the summertime was a perfect time for this.
-There are people who want to give more and can help with these funds.
-Formation and Spiritual missions are being planned, but at the moment the focus on the Parish is the festival, but these missions will come.
-A rework of the Parish mission statement will be done by the council and sub-councils.1 more person is needed to help with the mission statement.
Discussion Point 5: Racism Initiative
-Emelda August discussed a circumstance involving a potential new member and the way the potential new member felt she was treated. While there was no mention of the circumstance being about race, the discussion followed about the specifics as they pertained to this potential new member.
-We refer to the two communities as the “Anglo” and “non-Anglo” communities which was offended, a good form of referring to these two communities is the Spanish speaking and “Non-Spanish Speaking”.
Discussion Point 6: “Bring them back Initiative”
-There are some who have not returned to the Parish and are watching mass online.
-There are people who do not come to mass not knowing that the true way to Receive our Lord is by coming to Mass in person. An invitation to daily mass can be an “alternative” but it can help ease any fears.
-Father Ramon, believes that people are patient, and they know that things take time. A direct approach and “guilting” people to come to mass is not the direction to approach this issue.
-Father Ramon is appreciative of the advice and praise given to him.
-A door to door is being planned on Saturday October 9th.
Discussion Point 7: Welcome Packet
-The welcome packet is in the process of completing; a couple of revisions are needed.
Discussion Point 8: What’s on Father’s mind/in what way can the Council advise/assist?
-Digger had to step down, and a new director for the Food Pantry is needed. At the moment volunteers are doing the work. The director of the Religious Education has also stepped down a new Director is being searched for.
-A selection committee is being formed to help with the selection process for a new RE director.
Discussion Point 9: Festival updates/logistics
-Father Ramon gave an update on the festival and everything is going great. There is a definitive number what is being spent and how much money is coming back. Reports from previous festivals is practically non-existent, but this year a report can be made and given.
-Ticket sales through August are going great.
-Food handling class is being held tomorrow.
-Multiple sponsors are sponsoring the festival.
-A handling of the festival is going great.
-Inventory is being held for the products used by each stand.
-The money made from the festival goes to the Parish general fund.
Discussion Point 10: Individual Council members’ questions/thoughts/feedback
-Hymnals are being looked at and we will have new hymnals soon.
Closing Prayer: 8:32pm
Submitted by:
Joshua Munoz
Secretary
Approved: September 14, 2021