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UNOFFICIAL Minutes of Holy Angels Parish Council Meeting
August 21, 2008
Parish Rectory, 7:30 PM 

In Attendance:  Fr. Jerry Brittain Fr. Rick Wendell, Paula Beine, Don Felix, Jack Trzebiatowski, Tim Briscoe, Carol Bednarek, Earl VanderWielen, Mike Nowack, Colleen Mas, Dan Hanrahan.  Guests:  Mark Jansen, Paul Fichtner, Matt Rohlinger, Karen Steinhardt, Dennis Steinhardt, Pam Carter, Allen Carter, John Kucher, Nancy Monday, Jim Schmidt, Rob Mas, Scott Helness. 

Absent:  Sandy Lang, Harry German. 

Opening Prayer / Scripture Reflection / Personal Prayer:  Led by Dan Hanrahan. 

Guest Discussion Regarding Parish Festival: 

Council continued discussion with guests regarding issues surrounding music selection for the parish festival.  Father Rick opened discussion by commending the efforts of all those who volunteer their time and energy toward the success of the festival.  Several festival committee members and parishioners participated in the conversation. 

Matt Rohlinger gave a presentation on security as well as liability of serving alcohol at the festival.  Council concluded that the committee has taken sufficient measures toward safety and liability. It was also noted that the festival committee is open to participation from all parish members who are interested in exploring the workings of the festival.   

Council suggested that future band selection should include requests that bands:  a) provide a play list to the festival committee prior to the festival, b) perform a “PG” concert at the festival, and c) limit promotional material sales as appropriate to the parish festival setting.   

Approval of Previous Minutes:  Motion to approve June Minutes by Don Felix , second by Carol Bednarek and approved by consensus.   

Approval of School Policy Revisions: Council approved revisions by consensus, but noted a few minor errors in consistency under the heading regarding absences which could be corrected at the next printing. 

Approval of Stained Glass Windows: Council approved windows by consensus.  Official approval will be documented in a letter from Fr. Jerry to the Archdiocese to finalize funding processes. 

Review of Parish Mission Statement: Council briefly reviewed mission statement as drafted last fall. 

Quad Parish Day of Reflection: Council noted date, Saturday, October 4^th.  This will be a retreat day themed around the feast of St. Francis. A quad-parish or district meeting date may be scheduled at a later date. 

Update on Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Symposium: Colleen Mas presented an overview of best practices garnered from a study of parishes throughout the United States, and ideas from a presentation on moving a parish from “good to great,” as taken from a symposium at Cardinal Stritch University earlier this month. 

Ad Hoc Committee for Past Due School Tuition:  Council approved formation of the committee with Colleen Mas, Dan Hanrahan, Sandy Lang, Nola Bergstresser, Shawn Carey, and Nancy Monday as members.  Objectives of the committee include: 

1.  Research procedures at other schools;
            2.  Determine a follow-up procedure for dealing with late payments;
            2.  Determine method of communication of financial aid available to families;
            3.  Consider preventative measures. 

Archdiocesan Capital Campaign:  Faith in Our Future:
 Council noted the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
                        August 26       6:00 pm   Print/Visual Committees
                                                6:30 pm   Administrators
                                                7:00 pm   Other Committee Leadership
                        Sept. 11           Training Meeting
            Additional information may be found at the Archdiocesan website (www.archmil.org). 

Council Meeting Schedule:

            Future council meetings and prayer leaders were scheduled for 9/18 (Colleen), 10/16 (Dan), 11/20 (Mike), 12/11 (Christmas gathering), 1/15 (Earl), 2/19 (Don), 3/19 (Carol), 4/16 (Jack), 5/21 (Tim), and 6/19 (Sandy). 

Committee Reports: 

Human Concerns – Paula Beine reported that the committee is gearing up for Respect Life Month in October.  Earlier this month, Debbie Herbst answered questions and gathered names of parishioners interested in the Just Faith program.  A new program offered through Human Concerns is Faith in Recovery, an ecumenical prison support ministry whose future meetings will be noted in the bulletin.  The Elizabeth Ministry group reported on its activities over its first year at HA.

Youth Ministry – Mark Jansen reported that the wrap-up of the summer’s Youth Outreach trips went well and was inspiring as always.

Finance- Mike Nowack reported that the budget year 07/08 operating residue is  +$ 51,767, which includes $40,000 that is dedicated to Caulking and Tuck pointing of the Parish and School Buildings in '08 and $10,000 for an Emergency Fund.  Also, collections for 07/08 were $1.142 million vs. 06/07 which was $1.062 million.

School-  Dan Hanrahan and Tim Briscoe reported that enrollment for ’08-’09 stands at 390 students, 15 more than budgeted, with several new families.  SMART boards have been installed, through the generosity of the Stehling Project. Additionally, Chuck Dwyer will bring the church’s stained glass work to the school’s Artist in Residency program this year.  The school committee has reviewed the Strategic Plan recommendations released by the diocese in June, but will wait to act upon them when they have been approved by the ArchBishop.  The committee also reviewed the first draft of revisions to their Bylaws, with a second draft expected next meeting.  As part of the self-study of Year One of the SPA Accreditation Process, the principal will hold focus groups in November.  The committee also discussed potential goals for this year, which will be narrowed down to three or four at the next meeting. 

Closing Prayer:  Led by Fr. Jerry.

Adjourned:  10:48 pm 

Respectfully submitted by Colleen Mas