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Education Commission 

Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, Lake Ozark, MO

Notes from May 6, 2021 Meeting 

Those present at the meeting were Monsignor Mak, Mel Graessle, Karri Brauman, Vicki Irsik, Karen Blevins, Barb Steinman, Kelly Hamrin, Linda Bukalski, and Sara Barlett.

After the opening prayer, meeting leader Barb Steinman shared from The Word Among Us.  The inspiration was a reminder of the life of St. John Bosco who provided a fine example of how a tiny mustard seed of an aspiration can grow into a large plant. Another example was shared with the life of a WWII veteran and his efforts to offset the  health cost of Covid in his home country.  We prayed for Jesus to open us to the ideas  He plants into our hearts. 

PSR Director Vicki Irisk shared some slight edits from the first introduction of the PRS Budget. She then shared updates on the calendar, makeup sacrament classes for Hispanic speakers, Spanish Class for Beginners, VIRTUS, PSR, parent meetings for 7th, 8th and HS, Adult Faith Formation,  textbooks, Children’s Liturgists, and a mini retreat August 4 for catechists. SEE the attachments for more details. 

Barb Steinman shared updates on the plans to do the Doing Business by the Good Book study. There will be no charge. Barb has access to the curriculum.  It is an eight week program; the book is not needed but it can be purchased.  The book study will be scheduled for one hour a week for eight weeks. The starting date will be this summer. The program site is b-b-t.org (Biblical Business Training). 

Representing Family Life, Karri Brauman shared that May 23, 2021 at noon will be the special mass for celebrating first communion with students in Joan Wolf’s class.

Sharing info on the library, Kelly Harmin mentioned there are numerous copies of various books by Matthew Kelly that could be used as a book study. She especially mentioned Kelly’s book Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic. She suggested maybe we look at sponsoring a movie night or a video study with a FORMED resource.

Mel Graessle shared the following with a Renewal Movement update: The WELCOME retreat planning for the fall retreat (October 23 and 24) is on target.  There is a full team and all witness talks have been spoken for. There is already one attendee registered. The Advent by Candlelight (ABC) event will return in December; it is set for December 7 with a December 14 inclement weather date. Planning for this will begin in August.

Linda Bukalski reported on New Evangelization.  At this time she said no new Matthew Kelly books have been purchased or received. She also gave an update on the new program entitled Crossing Over the Bridge. This free workshop is subtitled The Essential Key to Recovering from Divorce. It’s purpose is to assist any divorced Catholic in divorce recovery by giving them a better understanding of how to cope with emotional pain, providing key insights into how their faith can help them recover, and offering a  variety of tips and techniques for dealing with life after divorce. Information can be found on fliers, brochures, and in the bulletin.  The bulletin offers a registration link and those  interested can also call the office to sign up.  The first gathering is just that; an informational meeting introducing and outlining the program. This will be held Wednesday, May 26th at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  Other lake area parishes have been encouraged to invite their parishioners to attend. 

It was reported through Deacon Paul that one new OCI participant entered into our church. 

The meeting ended with prayer; next meeting is Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in Bestgen Hall (will Zoom, too, if requested).   Monsignor volunteered to be the prayer leader and Vicki Irsik volunteered for hospitality. 
Submitted by Karen Blevins

ED REPORT ATTACHMENT

Report for Education Commission

May 6, 2021

From: Vicki Irsik, DRE1. Budget: See budget spreadsheet. Adjustments made from last meeting with no new additions.2. Calendar: Will not be finalized until…a. Number of available classrooms is determined for Wed PSR.b. We meet with 8^th grade and HS families to decide time and locationc. K-1 will likely not be combined due to numbers. 3. Makeup Sacrament classes for Hispanic speakers from May 12 – June 30.a. Kim Dulle is the catechistb. Ongoing effort to get everyone caught up from relocation to OLOLc. Strong emphasis now on PSR and consistency in attendance. 4. Spanish Class For Beginners : Taught by Alu Wilsona. Mondays, May 17 – July 21 b. 4:00 – 5:15 PMc. Cost is $75 including bookd. Limited to 10 students5. VIRTUS: Connie Schepers from the diocese came and reviewed all the requirements for documentation and online accounts. All information the diocese needs is not on the website. However, their webpage for Safe Environment is very well done and has clear instructions for updating or creating accounts, as well as the additional materials needed.a. The list is fairly extensive of those who need to update/create accounts as a result of new diocesan categories describing volunteers who must certify training. Basically, if you only attend Mass and then leave early, you have to go through the process!b. I am including a copy of the form I have sent that helps you through the process.c. I receive the updates in our Master Report so please check your accounts for any required documents. There are dialogue boxes with instructions as you enter your account.d. Call me with help logging in or recovering your password. 6. PSR: I will be closing out the attendance for this year and updating individual students. It was like counting chickens! a. Please be inviting everyone you know to volunteer as an aide in the classroomsb. I will be doing the lesson plans for a couple teachers to help with their own busy schedules. c. Registration for Fall PSR will open up soon, and Kelly says we can direct payments for registration to a one-time-payment selection within the process. 7. Parent meetings for 7th and 8th grades will be requested for the last week of May or 1st week of June to inform of curriculum and Confirmation plans. The two grades will have separate instruction.8. HS Parent meetings will be called together after we try to locate at least two core teams who can help with planning and calendar dates. 9. Adult Faith Formation: Spoke with Deacon Paul today and he may need us to assist with past RCIA folks who want additional in-depth Church teachings and topics. 10. The textbooks are in for the Fall. I have asked Amy Fowler and/or Terry Wedding to help me unpack and get the online information and passwords out to teachers. That way more than one person has the data and resources. We will continue with Be My Disciples. 11. I will be calling former Children’s Liturgists to see who wants to come back.  What will that look like and can we begin soon?12. Aug 4 will be a mini-retreat with LeeAnn Korsemeyer speaking on the importance of catechists and how to motivate students with your own stories and experiences. Everyone who teaches God’s Word has a calling!