Blog
Pastoral Council Minutes, October 24, 2024
Our Lady of the Lake
Parish Pastoral Council Agenda & Minutes
October 24, 2024
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Members: (* denotes absent)
*Fr. Penn: Pastor Linda Adams: Education Rep (1/2025)
*Gay Ann Christy: Stewardship Rep (1/2025) Bob Hiegert: Social Concerns Rep (6/2025)
*Tom Ziegler: Administration Rep (6/2024) *Tony Otto: At-large member (1/2026)
Brandy Hutzler: At-large member (1/2026) *Julie Mercurio: Worship Rep (6/2025)
Open Position: At-large member Open Position: Hispanic Ministry Rep
5:30 – 5:35Opening Linda
Parish Prayer
5:35 – 5:40 Worship Commission Report Julie
• No Report
5:40 – 5:45 Stewardship Council Report Jay Bukalski
• October 26-27 is final weekend of the formal Catholic Stewardship Renewal period. Forms will continue to be accepted.
o Discussion around the online form: 1) Searching for the form did not yield a hit. 2) Did not realize the “form” was under the label of “Volunteer.” 3) Paper form stated that the form could be filled out online, but the online form is very different and does not provide the areas of interest or involvement. (I was unable to renew my commitment of involvement accurately.)
o Suggestions to consider in future: 1) Separate, highly visible “Stewardship Renewal Form” link during October (even if it duplicates the “Volunteer” content). 2) Online and paper forms must match if we tell people the form is available in both places. 3) Review wording of online form options to be “ministry” focused rather than “commission” focused (e.g., more likely to be interest in participating in a worship-related ministry rather than joining the Worship Commission).
• Phase 1 of Fellowship Hall renovations is complete.
o Deacon Jim suggested duplicate displays on each end of the wall to catch people entering through both doorways to Church from the Fellowship Hall.
o Phase 2 is underway.
o Vicki Irsik resigned from the council. She was working on a display of short-term and/or immediate volunteer opportunities.
• Beatitudes small group study is coming up.
o At least two small groups have already signed up for the program. Individuals or families can also do the program.
• Deacon Jim asked about notifying participants that we are part of the Southwest Deanery (part of the program involves reviewing the pastoral plan for the parish’s deanery, which are printed in the back of the program booklet). Jay will discuss it with Linda B., who is in charge of the study.
5:45 – 5:50 Social Concerns Commission Report Bob
• Church Marquis – Decision made, and order submitted for the marquis.
o Brief discussion about keeping the messages short and easy to read at a glance.
• Advent Angel Tree 2024 –
o Assembly of 160 angels will be done on Nov. 7.
o Sign-ups on Nov. 9-10.
o Return gifts by Dec. 2.
o Distribution of gifts on Dec. 5.
• Welcoming New Parishioners – Meet & Greet – Approximately 40 people attended, with 20 new parishioners (eight did not show). Very successful and much appreciated with benefits being recognized immediately (sign-ups for Women’s Fall Event received that same day).
5:50 – 5:55 Education Commission Report Linda
• Women’s Fall Social Saturday, October 19 for all ladies in parish. Please invite and encourageladies to attend.
• Advent by Candlelight will be Dec. 10.
5:55 – 6:00 Administration Commission Report
• No Report
6:00 – 6:05 Hispanic Ministry Report
• No Report
6:05 – 6:15 Open Discussion/New Business
• Trivia Night – With Luke and Mel Graessle stepping down, there is a serious need for core team members for the evening. A planning meeting will be held Oct. 29 at 5pm.
• Officer Elections – Elections for Pastoral Council Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary will be held at the January 23 meeting. It is very important that all council members begin discerning these positions, whether for yourself or others on the council. All members need to be present.
o Charter states: “the terms for offices will coincide with the member’s representation or elected term, up to one year.” Thus, even if your term on the council is up in 6 months, you can still hold an office for those 6 months, after which another election will need to be made. The longest you serve as an officer is one year.
o Should the weather prohibit an in-person council meeting in January, a Zoom invitation will be sent.
• Open At-Large Position – This position will definitely be filled at the parish-wide elections of At-Large Pastoral Council members to be held in October of 2025. According to the charter, the person with the next highest votes from the previous election can be asked to serve until that time. Linda will look into this since the number of council members has dropped since this position opened up.
• Next Parish Pastoral Plan – The OLL Pastoral Plan dated for 2020-2023 is now out-of-date. Three out of the four action items have been completed/implemented (Pastoral Council, Social Concerns commission, and Stewardship Council formed). The fourth (evangelizing young families and youth) is in progress. In creating a new plan, consideration should be given to the feedback from the Beatitudes small group study.
6:15 – 6:28 Pastor Time Fr. Penn
• No Report
6:28 – 6:30 Closing and Final PrayerLinda
• Pastoral Council Meeting Dates:
o Skip November and December
o 1/23/2025 Officer Elections
• Closing Prayer