St. Joseph Catholic Church Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
18 May 2022
Attendees: Father Von Deeke, Deacon Corby Valentine, Donna Rakers, Jaxon Daubach, Jack Emge, Jean Reinneck, Geralyn Erwin, Tim Reinhart, Charlotte Vielweber, Charlie Hill,
President Donna Rakers called the meeting to order; Father Von led us in prayer.
Meeting Minutes: The 20 April 2022 minutes stand approved as written and will be posted on the parish website.
Pastor’s Report:
a. Father reported that St. Joseph graduated twelve 8th graders on 17 May 2022. Pre-K recognition and Kindergarten graduations have both taken place.
b. Father would like to use the “Summer slow down time” to plan for the year ahead. He tasked each of the Pastoral Council Commission leads to ascertain their goals for the next year (1 Jul 2022 – 30 Jun 2023) and send them to him by the next meeting (15 Jun 2022). The following month he and the Commission leads will review those goals so actions can get underway.
Front Office Report (Margie Reaka – Submitted in Writing): The Pastoral Council agreed that Margie would be invited to attend Pastoral Council meetings but it is up to her given it is not in her job description. Margie was unable to attend tonight but provided the following input:
a. Margie secured a bid from Freeburg Printing for Ministry Update booklets. Booklets 5.5 x 8.5 inches, cover in heavy paper, 20 pages total including cover, color on front/back covers only, the remainder in black and white, print-ready file provided -- 600 copies is $599. The question surfaced as to how we planned to effectively distribute these books, i.e., in church, via mail, etc. and the value added. More discussion on this was reserved for when Margie is in attendance.
b. Margie was unable to find a “sketch” of St. Joseph Church to use as our logo. A subsequent discussion on the “logo” ensued on how we need to finalize this logo if it is indeed to become our “branding” and used on all media. Margie has found more symbols related to St. Joseph; Jaxon also has more and will send all members a few more samples. Deacon Corby insisted our “logo” include the words “St. Joseph Catholic Church”.
c. Margie attended the Into My Vineyard on 23 Apr 2022 and would like to share that info with the Pastoral Council at the June 2022 meeting; the Council agreed. The way ahead on social media will be discussed in separate meetings with Father, Margie, Sarah Wiskamp, and Jaxon Daubach.
d. Father stated that Margie has attended and been our Parish lead on the Synod Listening Sessions. She and Maggie Wolf are finalizing our report due to the Diocese by 31 May.
Principal’s Report (Kelly Schaaf – Submitted in writing but not discussed at the meeting):
a. Accreditation visit went very well. Only a few minor recommendations in regards to some building/maintenance issues. We have added a CO2 detector in the kitchen, replaced batteries in some of the emergency lights in the parish center, and we need to clear off some items from the top shelf in the copy room in the school. Beyond that, the St. Clair County Regional Office of Education has not named any other recommendations. Our school policy, school records, student records, and staff records were all good. The Office of Education for the Belleville Diocese will issue a final report. At this time, they have not provided a date of when the report will be completed.
b. At the end of April Kelly attended the NCEA conference. She attended several sessions where the main focus was on marketing and communication. She has brought back several ideas and plan on working with the school board to develop a strong marketing plan that outlines monthly, quarterly, and yearly marketing tasks.
c. Since the end of April the school has been very busy. We celebrated our postponed Grandparent’s Day, students shopped at our rescheduled Santa's Cottage, our middle school students participated in Rotary Field Day at Freeburg High School, an athletic banquet, an 8th grade banquet, we had student appreciation day, and our all-school field day. Earlier this week our PreK and Kindergarten held their year-end celebration and last night we celebrated a Graduation Mass for the 8th grade class.
d. A year-end survey was sent to our families to get feedback on what they liked, what they would like to see continue, what didn't work, what they would like to see return since Covid restrictions have been lifted, teacher satisfaction, administration satisfaction, and overall satisfaction of St. Joseph School. So far the results have been good and have provided some great feedback on the questions. The answers to the survey will be used to help us plan for next school year.
e. Our last day of school is on Tuesday, May 24th.
Commission Updates:
1. Faith Formation (Donna Rakers):
a. While "Formal" programs are drawing to a close for this year, and will begin again in the Fall, Donna discussed Wine (Women in the New Evangelization). This is a worldwide program that typically sessions three times a year for up to six weeks and involves some costs. Donna is looking at starting it as a small Bible Study Group that she will research further. If it seems appropriate, she will consider starting a WINE Book Club. Information can be found at catholicvineyard.com.
b. Donna recently completed a webinar titled “One Disciple at a Time” which can be found at avemariapress.com. Focus is on the status of the churches before and how they differ now. Consensus was a personal one-on-one campaign of evangelism is 50% effective due to that personal touch compared to a letter campaign which is 1% effective. Bottom line is to get people back in the pews they need to be asked to come back.
c. A question surfaced about if/when we can leave our church doors open during the week so people can stop in and worship at their convenience. Father will talk to Brad about restarting that practice.
2. Liturgy & Worship (Jean Reinneck):
a. School graduation caught the Liturgy and Worship Team off guard. Jean simply asked that more notice be given in the future so they can better plan. Additionally, Father Von offered that having graduation on Tuesdays interrupts Adoration so that needs to be avoided in the future.
b. At the next Liturgy & Worship meeting, Jean would like to review this year’s Triduum to see if any changes need to be made.
c. The choir is on Summer break after Pentecost Sunday, 5 June.
d. A discussion on Mass live streaming ensued given at last month’s Pastoral Council meeting it was decided we would no longer live stream Sunday Masses after Easter or school weekday Masses. There have been occasions where since then we have live streamed and music was played where there were no license permissions or the laptop hiccupped because updates had not been run. The “tentacles” of live streaming (music licenses, laptop updates) were discussed and need to be considered before any live streaming occurs. Additionally, the Prayer for Spiritual Communion was started when live streaming of Masses did. Lectors now are unsure if they need to lead that prayer or not because they are uncertain if the Mass if live streamed or not. Based on this discussion, Father Von has since decided to definitely discontinue live streaming.
3. Social Justice Ministry and Community Life (Deacon Corby):
a. St. Joseph had three parishioners attend the Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest training – Chris Hopfinger, John Charlton, and Paul Wolf. They finished the training and now need to have a “practical application” before being commissioned by the Bishop. Nineteen people from the Diocese attended; having 3 attendees is a VERY good representation from St. Joseph.
b. Deacon Corby will check with Freeburg Village Hall to see if there is any way we can find out who new village residents are and approach them about our church, provide them with handouts, or somehow reach out to them.
c. The visit of Father Stuardo Castanaza, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Guatemala (our Adopted Parish), last month went very well.
4. Maintenance (Tim Reinhart):
a. Foresight inspected the church roof on 17 May 2022. An official report on its condition is forthcoming.
b. The 8th graders project to landscape around the marquee is set for 19 May 2022.
5. Technology (Jack Emge): This Friday, 20 May 2022, Jack and Jaxon Daubach will meet to do an assessment on the parish center sound system.
6. Technology Assistant/Social Media (Jaxon Daubach):
a. We have been continuing to move forward with the “Proclaimed by the People for the People” recorded readings program. However, the last few weeks have had less than impressive analytics. We have three weeks left with the program at which time we will decide the future.
b. A discussion was opened about Jaxon’s role with live streaming, social media, and technology assistance. Separate meetings will be held with all players on this.
7. Stewardship (Geralyn Erwin):
a. Karen Kuester has one mission statement ready for install above our church entry doors. Geralyn and Karen will work to install next week. The suggestion box is in final stages and will be hung in the church vestibule in the next couple weeks along with information about it in the bulletin. Margie will include the article on the good works of St. Joseph volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul along with pictures in the 22 May bulletin. The joint St. Joseph/St. Agatha Stewardship meeting was delayed from 27 April to 27 May.
Fund Raising:
a. Fish Frys: The May fish fry went about as expected with respect to attendance – it was weaker than other months but this is fairly normal. The volunteer situation was disappointing as it is a very small, good core group, with the average age of 60. Help is needed from ALL young families of the parish. And, as costs have continued to rise, we will need to evaluate pricing as we move towards the picnic.
A discussion ensued whether to continue fish frys from both a social and financial perspective. Trustees Charlotte Vielweber and Charlie Hill verified fish fry profits go into the general operating account for any necessary use and are not dedicated to reducing tuition costs. While all agreed the fish frys are essential, everyone recognizes the lack of help situation. Suggestions were: eliminate Fish Frys during lent that overlap St. Agatha nights; have specific groups help on specific nights (Alumni Night, Knights of Columbus, PSR families, etc). Also, possibly have the school families help not by “grade assignment” but instead by surname -- this prevents families with 3 children being asked to work 3 times -- which may increase volunteering. Everyone realized this would take a “focal point” to lead the volunteer schedule and tasking, which needs to be someone other than Wayne Harris and Dan Sliment.
b. Picnic: The first picnic meeting is tonight where chairman Paul Wolf will confirm the stand chairs.
c. Quilt Social: Geralyn is soliciting volunteers to put together several baskets for the 2023 Quilt Social given a total of $2362 of the $10,400 profit in 2022 was due to the theme basket raffle. Thus far two groups have stepped up to assist.
d. CSMA: St. Joseph remains at 58 pledges for $8690 which is 44% of our goal.
8. Trustee Issues:
a. Charlie Hill asked if a date had been set to recognize Rich Ostman and Josie Schwab for their many years of Cemetery Committee service. Sarah Wiskamp will call to see if there is Mass time/date that works for them to be recognized.
b. Geralyn Erwin asked if there were any other parish accounts that could be used to pay off the parish center loan debt with the obligation that account would be paid back with interest. Goal would be to pay ourselves a lower rate than the current 3% we now have on our loan. Apparently this discussion has taken place at Finance Council before and is not feasible. For instance, Father clarified the Endowment Fund has specific bylaws of what it can be used for and is not intended to be a “loaning account”. Endowments are made specifically to benefit the school and if the principal amount would decrease for any “loan” then that account would suffer the losses. So the bottom line is no, there is no way St. Joseph can “loan” money to ourselves to pay off the debt.
Action Item Review Topic: Action items were reviewed, updated, and new ones added.
The meeting adjourned with a closing prayer led by Deacon Corby. The next Pastoral Council meeting is 15 June 2022 at 7:00PM.
V/R,
Geralyn Erwin
Parish Council Secretary
Attendees: Father Von Deeke, Deacon Corby Valentine, Donna Rakers, Jaxon Daubach, Jack Emge, Geralyn Erwin, Charlotte Vielweber, Charlie Hill, Margie Reaka
President Donna Rakers called the meeting to order; Father Von led us in prayer.
Meeting Minutes: The 16 March 2022 minutes stand approved as written and will be posted on the parish website.
Pastor’s Report:
Flocknotes is reaching a lot of St. Joseph and St. Agatha parishioners. Margie Reaka stated the intention is to be used to reach a broad scope of parishioners from both parishes rather than a specific group. Flocknotes can be distributed via email or text, but text is limited to 144 characters. Current plan is to send it out once a week with current news and events. However, Flocknotes will also be sent for special announcements such as death announcements, immediate prayer requests, or other requests not included in the weekly submission.
Father Von announced we will have First Communion at St. Joseph on 1 May 2022 with 17 communicants.
Commission Updates:
1. Stewardship (Geralyn Erwin):
a. In the near future, a short summary with pictures will be in the bulletin highlighting St. Joseph volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul. From here on, St. Agatha and St. Joseph will alternate articles in the bulletin highlighting each parish’s stewardship activities.
b. The Pastoral Council made a motion, seconded, and approved the display of our parish mission statement in church – above the entry transom window on both sides -- after seeing photos and samples of examples. Karen Kuester will “cut” the statement on her Cricut out of brown vinyl. The display is not permanently affixed.
c. The Pastoral Council agreed to put a suggestion/idea box in the back of church. Ideas received will be distributed to various Pastoral Council Commission leads to work and respond to the suggester, if requested. If this is successful, we may put another box in the Parish Center in the future.
The next joint St. Agatha/St. Joseph Stewardship meeting is 27 Apr 2022.
Fund Raising:
a. Paul Wolf reports the biggest picnic goal is filling four chairperson jobs. Paul has a couple people in mind but has not yet asked. 2022 picnic committee meeting dates will be set soon.
b. The Freeburg Homecoming Chair, Sharron Marquardt, has approached St. Joseph Fish Fry team to fry fish again on the homecoming Friday. Wayne Harris reported we most likely would, but would need to discuss it with the group to make sure. While the April fry was good, the volunteers are slim and are mostly older parishioners or grade school children (who really needed better supervision).
The lack of volunteer workers continues to be a concern in that it may be difficult to continue with these events. Wayne Harris and Dan Sliment do a good job of organizing the supplies and workers. However, parishioner phone numbers are not available and they don’t have time to personally make phone calls. Kim Wyman has helped greatly with the Sign Up Genius for scheduling as she posts the Sign Up to the Fish fry Facebook page, she emails a large group of parishioners, and for Lent she assigns specific school class grades to volunteer. (Without kids needing service hours for confirmation, there would likely be even less help.) All of this still results in the volunteers MUST take it upon themselves to sign up. Dan, Wayne and Kim work day jobs and have family commitments as well. Any help or input is appreciated. While a note in the bulletin is the common thought, it generates very little response.
May will be the last fry of the spring. The Village newsletter stated we would be having a fry in June but this is not true; we are unsure where they got that information.
c. As we know, the quilt social was a success with a net profit of right at $10,400...the best ever. Many factors played into this result: mask mandate lifted, COVID fears subsiding, beautiful weather, and no conflict with St. James in Millstadt this year.
The inability of the PA system to work in the lunch room was once again a problem. Geralyn asked that an action item be assigned for someone to lead the PA system or we simply not open the lunch room for the Quilt Social which would result in 40-50 less attendees. Charlie Hill suggested we spend some of the Quilt Social earnings to fix our PA system. A joint action item was assigned to Tim Reinhart, Jack Emge, and Jaxon Daubach to get a company in to assess what needs to be done, and then work out a long-term fix by the start before the start of the 2023 school year. A motion was made, seconded, and voted and approved to get the PA system fixed.
d. Geralyn suggested we consider assessing a “facility usage fee” on every parish/school fund-raising event that uses our facility, i.e. fish frys, dinner auction, quilt social, breakfasts, dances, euchre tournaments, etc. That way when we need money to fix the cooler, repair the PA system, or future larger maintenance needs (which will occur given the age of the building), we have some or all of the money set aside to make those repairs and we wouldn’t have to go begging parishioners. Given the accounting aspects and guidance would need to be worked out, Charlie Hill said this topic had been discussed in the past; he will again take it to the Finance Council.
CSMA:
a. At this time, St. Joseph’s has had 57 donors/pledges out of a total of 549 households for a total of $8670. This is 43% of our goal of $19,969.
b. The deadline for 2022 CSMA Grant Applications is 31 May 2022. After discussing potential applicants, it was suggested Geralyn send the application and guidance to Gene Racho (Stewardship), Melissa Reinhart (Youth Ministry) and Cindy Ingold (PSR) to see if they have any needs.
2. Faith Formation (Donna Rakers):
a. Donna stated that the Synod Listening session on 19 April was an excellent sharing of our faith with other parishioners as well as being MOST informative and rewarding. She encourages all parishioners to join in the future sessions.
b. As a side note, Jim Milford’s granddaughter, Reese, will be included in the July 4th Annie Moses Show which is now found on Formed.
3. Liturgy & Worship (Jean Reinneck – absent but forwarded a written report):
a. Jean suggested we discuss the continuance of Live Streaming – which was done as part of the Social Media update.
b. The 1 May Mass schedule will be normal Sunday 8:00 AM Mass followed by First Communion Mass at 10:00 AM. Music ministers have been secured for the 7 May Dinner Auction Mass at 4:00PM with celebrated by Fr. David Kalert.
4. Social Justice Ministry and Community Life (Deacon Corby):
a. Kevin Kuester continues to assist at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School with various projects. Several St. Joseph volunteers also help a Freeburg Food and Clothing Bank weekly.
b. EOMs continue to take communion to Cedar Trails on Sunday morning. Deacon Corby takes communion to FCC on Tuesdays. Two other parishioners went with him to get aquatinted so they can fill in when he is not available.
c. Father Stuardo Castanaza, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Guatemala (our Adopted Parish), will be visiting our parishes the weekend of April 30/may 1. Father Juan Gaspar OMI from the Shrine, will interpret for Father Castanaza. Father Castanaza will concelebrate Mass with the school children on 3 May 2022. Transportation, lodging, and interpreters are being arranged to support his visit. Deacon Corby will contact The Messenger to see if they would be interested in running an article on this visit.
d. Joe LaScala served at the Master of Ceremony during the Triduum. His service was truly a value added!
5. Maintenance (Tim Reinhart – absent but forwarded a written report):
Maintenance – Tim
a. Tim spoke with Chad Waters @ Foresight about the roof evaluation. His delay centers around bringing a lift in and driving around on the yard on the rectory side of church. As Spring weather straightens up and the grounds dry out, Chad will get the evaluation done.
b. We recently had major issues with our walk-in cooler. Parishioner Tony Erwin took it upon himself to solicit donations from local businesses, parishioners, and friends to raise funds to replace the roof on the cooler that is currently sagging and leaking. The cost to buy, ship, receive, unload, install ceiling panels and a membrane roof and flash to the building is $7342 and is fully covered by donations. Work is expected to be completed as soon as the materials arrive.
c. The 8th grade class landscaping project is slated to be done the last week K through 7th grade is in school (the 8th graders finish the week before). They will be landscaping from the sidewalk in front of the parish center, 6 feet on either side of the marquee and 6 feet past the marquee towards the parish center. This will be some short shrubs, rock and landscape edging. The project is being designed by Wolfland and will be overseen by them as well. Donna Rakers mentioned that her Garden Club would be willing to donate a tree towards this project.
6. Technology (Jack Emge): No update at this time.
7. Technology Assistant/Social Media (Jaxon Daubach):
a. Jaxon and Jack were unable to meet to assess the PA system post the Quilt Social failure, but will do so before the May meeting. They, along with Tim Reinhart, will work towards a long-term solution that meets all user needs.
b. Live streaming of Masses will be terminated after the 25 April 2022 Mass. While Easter Mass had 152 “views”, all those views only totally 3.5 hours. Jaxon will set up the laptop in the Sacristy so if Father wants to live stream a Mass, he has the capability and instructions to do so easily and stream it in “Still View”. Weekday Masses will not be live streamed.
c. Proclaimed for the People by the People (recorded Mass readings posted on our website) will continue through Pentecost. We will then review the analytics to reevaluate its worth and value to both our Parish and current social media lineup.
d. Jaxon presented a couple potential sample Parish logos; Margie had some samples as well. All agreed we want our logo to be clean, simple, and recognizable. Goal is to use that logo on all social media, letterhead, etc. Margie will go back to the old bulletins to search for a previously-drawn pencil sketch of our church steeple to see if that will work.
8. Parish Office Staff (Margie Reaka):
a. Margie will be attending Into My Vineyard on 23 April 2022 where the afternoon session will focus on Evangelism in the Digital Age. Ideally this will give some guidance on our digital upgrades.
b. Margie stated that St. Clare in O’Fallon has an amazing website driven by eCatholic, the same software we use. We may potentially get some ideas from there for our website revamp.
c. Margie suggested we rethink our previous decision to only publish the St. Joseph ministries on our website. Discussion ensured about hard copies especially for new parishioners, those who request one, or mailing one to each family. Sometime “providing or pushing” information brings greater rewards. Margie Reaka will come up with an estimate on how many pages a printed book would be, and an estimated cost.
9. Trustee Issues: Charlie Hill suggested we recognize Rich Ostman and Josie Schwab for their many years of leading the Cemetery Committee as they are relinquishing those roles to Darren Reuter and Laurie Hill this month. Both have led that committee for many years. It was agreed to honor them with a Valentines gift card and a thank you card signed by the Pastoral Council, Finance Council, Father Von, and office staff. Sarah Wiskamp will acquire the gift cards while Geralyn Erwin will purchase two thank you cards.
Action Item Review Topic: Action items were reviewed, updated, and new ones added.
The meeting adjourned with a closing prayer led by Deacon Corby. The next Pastoral Council meeting is 18 May 2022 at 7:00PM.
V/R,
Geralyn Erwin
Parish Council Secretary
St. Joseph Catholic Church Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes
16 March 2022
Attendees: Father Von Deeke, Deacon Corby Valentine, Donna Rakers, Jean Reinneck, Jaxon Daubach, Jack Emge, Geralyn Erwin
President Donna Rakers called the meeting to order; Father Von led us in prayer.
Meeting Minutes: The 16 February 2022 minutes stand approved as written and will be posted on the parish website.
Pastor’s Report:
a. Father Von stated Bishop McGovern plans to revoke the dispensation for Mass attendance starting Palm Sunday. From then on, as based on the precept of our Church, all Catholics who are able will attend Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation.
b. The Diocese will hold “Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest” training for those interested. Prerequisite is you must be a trained Extraordinary Minister. Goal is to have 2 people from each parish who can step in and conduct services when a priest or deacon is not available. Training is May 13/14, 2022. Women are invited to serve in this role as well.
c. Father Von will work to gather input for a parish response to the questions presented in Pope Francis’ Synod – an opportunity for the entire Church to reflect on its life and mission.
d. Father Von signed the contract on 15 Mar 2022 for approximately $3300 to have Foresight out of Highland IL perform a study and assessment on the church roof. Their assessment will include options and timelines for what maintenance, repairs, and/or replacement needs to be done in the future.
e. Father Von is waiting on a reply from Listening Technologies on possible local hearing assistance system vendors so we can ascertain if there is one that may meet our needs. We also discussed that before purchasing any system we need to determine if there are parishioners who would actually utilize the system.
f. Father Von has worked to secure replacement priests where our partnership parishes have Mass conflicts and while he is on vacation in May.
Commission Updates:
1. Faith Formation (Donna Rakers):
a. Lenten Activities: Lenten Flocknote emails are being sent on Tuesdays to advise of all religious and social parish activities. Flocknote includes 456 emails in the database. Approximately 50% of the emails of the first two Lenten ones were opened within 2 weeks. Flocknote continues to be a successful means to reach the greatest number of parishioners in a short time. Approximately 30 people have signed up for the 14-Day Prayer Challenge. Having various groups lead the Partnership Prayer during Masses has been a positive way to get parishioners involved. A schedule of groups to lead the prayer has been set for throughout Lent. Deacon Corby suggested we think about having various groups lead the Stations of the Cross next year.
b. Donna reported that Cindy Ingold feels PSR is going well.
c. Donna continues to research various books and media for possible Adult Faith Formation
2. Liturgy & Worship (Jean Reinneck):
a. The joint St. Joseph/St. Agatha liturgy committee met on 22 Feb. Mass schedules for Ash Wednesday through Pentecost and all associated logistics (ashes distribution, Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday, etc.) were discussed. The Feast of St. Joseph will be celebrated on 19 Mar at 5:00PM Mass with special readings, songs and worship aid. Deacon Corby mentioned the 2023 Feast of St. Joseph is on a Sunday so extra activities could possibly be planned for that celebration.
b. Mike Lossau, a trumpet player, will join in on Easter Sunday Mass. First Communion will be a separate mass on 1 May at 10:00AM. Normal 8:00AM Mass will be held that day while St. Agatha will have a substitute priest for the 10:00AM Mass. 30 Apr/1May is the
World Day of Prayer for Vocations. For this Tom Reaka will distribute prayer cards, a note will be placed in the bulletin, and an announcement will be made during mass.
c. On Saturday, 7 May, there will be a 4:00PM mass at St. Joseph in conjunction with the Dinner Auction. Fr. David Kalert will be the presiding priest, as Fr. Von will be saying 5:00PM mass at St. Agatha. Tom and Rose Buchmiller will celebrate their 40th anniversary at that mass as well. Father Von provided a list of upcoming baptisms and weddings for this year. Luke 18 will be held at St. Agatha 21-23 Oct. The St. Joseph Christmas Potluck is 11 Dec.
d. The next liturgy committee meeting was scheduled for 20 Sep 2022 at 7:00PM at St. Agatha.
3. Social Justice Ministry and Community Life (Deacon Corby):
a. At the last Vicariate meeting, priests and deacons were challenged to find ways to engage our parishioners and bring awareness to them of the problems with systemic racism and prejudice of all minorities. Deacon Corby picked up a copy of the Stations of the Cross put out by the USCCB on the subject and used it at Stations last Friday at St. Joseph. It seemed to be received well by those in attendance. Deacon Corby intends to find ways to offer opportunities for our parishioners to get involved with this endeavor.
b. We have several parishioners that continue work at Cosgrove’s Kitchen/St. Vincent de Paul in East St. Louis; there may be opportunities for more volunteers. Kevin Kuester continues to work on projects at Sister Thea Bowman while other parishioners volunteer at the Freeburg Food and Clothing Bank.
c. Deacon Corby has two parishioners that are interested in helping take communion to Freeburg Care Center when he is not available.
d. The Permanent Deacon Formation Office will be opening up the application process for deacon candidates for the deacon formation class of 2023-2028 in the next few months.
4. Technology (Jack Emge): Jack viewed an Active Shooter Assessment webinar and provide information and discussion on it.
5. Technology Assistant/Social Media (Jaxon Daubach):
a. Website Updates: Jaxon has been working with Margie Reaka on updating the website. Updating/reforming the website is well underway with Margie accomplishing the majority of the work. Likewise, Jaxon has been working with Kelly Schaaf and Charlotte Vielweber on the St. Joseph School website update. That website will be fully updated/revamped by the first week in April when Accreditation is set to take place. In addition, Margie added a Lenten 2022 tab, our Partnership Prayer, links to Word on Fire and the 2022 Lenten Guidelines. Goal is to direct more of our congregation to utilize the website.
b. Mass Recorded Readings: The name for the recorded readings was decided to be “Proclaimed by the People for the People”. Jaxon provided the analytics for the first two weeks on how many people viewed the videos and for how long. Discussion then ensued on how long to continue this effort and how much work is involved. A decision was not made on when to terminate as this is just getting started. However, we do need to make it less “work intensive” for everyone involved.
c. Live Streaming: Question surfaced on how long we continue to live stream. We currently have 3 adult live streamers. In addition to having someone live stream, Jean Reinneck has to ensure we have proper licenses for all music we “stream” and reporting to be filed for such. With dispensation being lifted, we need to assess whether there is a need or not to continue. For now, the decision was made the weekday Masses will no longer be live streamed; Father will notify Kelly Schaaf. We will continue Sunday live streaming until after dispensation is lifted. Jaxon asked if the First Communion Mass should be streamed; Father Von thought it would be good to do so. Geralyn suggested Jaxon contact Sarah Wiskamp to get that event in the Ministry Scheduler program.
6. Stewardship (Geralyn Erwin):
a. Catholic Services and Ministry Appeal (CSMA): St. Joseph’s goal is $19,969 for 549 households. To date we have $4745 in donations/pledges from 28 households or 23.7% of our goal.
b. Stewardship: Geralyn will soon have a “suggestion box” to be placed in the back of church for parishioner input. In an effort to highlight all the stewardship participation of St. Joseph parishioners, Geralyn will soon have pictures and a short article for an upcoming bulletin on the work our St. Joseph volunteers do at St. Vincent de Paul. Other groups will be featured in the future. Geralyn has suggested that the next time we turn over the Children’s Offertory envelope funds to the Freeburg Food and Clothing Bank, that we have pictures taken and a short article published in the Freeburg Tribune. Currently, Sarah mails those funds quarterly without any “attention given”.
c. Last month’s Pastoral Council meeting minutes were posted on the Parish Website. Upcoming bulletins will let parishioners know where those minutes are posted for their viewing. The Pastoral Council agreed that last three months of Pastoral Council Meeting minutes should be all that is posted on the website.
d. The ministry book updates were electronically provided to Margie Reaka to load on our website. At the Feb 2022 meeting, it was discussed and decided there would be no printed book. I would like to reopen that discussion at a future meeting and suggest we explore the costs of a printed version before we totally rule that out.
e. Fund Raising: The first two Lenten Fish Frys have had strong attendance. Cod sold was 410 lbs. and 385 lbs. respectively. We do need more bakers for desserts to serve and more volunteers to work. Prices were increased at the 11 Mar 2022 event to reflect the current market pricing. The Quilt Social is on track for next Sunday, 20 March 2022. Hopes are for a strong showing of attendees and workers. Deacon Corby learned the cordless microphone doesn’t work but there is on one reserve we can rent from Swing City. Geralyn expressed her frustration that every year the sound system doesn’t work on the Quilt Social despite all “checking out in advance”. Jack and Jaxon will look at the system we have to ascertain if it needs upgrade. Deacon Corby recommended we purchase or rent a separate system to be used for fund raising events as an option. A discussion ensued about fund raising in general, the difficulty in finding volunteers, how long we can sustain these efforts, event leads are “wore out”, etc.
f. Amazon Smile provides $0.5% back to St. Joseph for all eligible purchases made by people who order and have designated St. Joseph as the non-profit to support. Since June 2021, St. Joseph has received $139.60 from Amazon Smile. In an effort to increase this simple fundraising option given many people order through Amazon and may not be aware of this option, Geralyn will work through the details and provide information to parishioners so they know this a no-cost opportunity for them. Jean Reinneck mentioned there are also other vendors/manufacturers offer this sort of donation pay-back opportunity. More research needs to be done in that area.
g. After the last Pastoral Council meeting, Geralyn worked with Charlotte on ironing out the process on what the Pastoral Council does with proposals that need funding. Geralyn relayed to the Pastoral Council that process: The Pastoral Council is a consultative body. Any proposals made by the Council to make a purchase requires a formal vote by the Council. A motion needs to be made, a vote taken, and the approval documented in the minutes. From there Father Von and the Office Manager make the determination if the proposal or recommendation is feasible and report back to the Council on the way ahead. No one on the current Council was aware this was the process we were supposed to be following.
7. Trustee Issues: Sarah Wiskamp and Charlotte Vielweber have a meeting later this month to review the status of the current budget and begin preliminary work on the 2022-2023 budget.
Charlotte wanted to commend Jaxon Daubach with his work on the school's website. It has been and continues to be a humbling experience to work with a young adult of the parish, and a graduate of St. Joseph School, who is so dedicated to the school and to the parish. He is a blessing, as are so many of our young adults.
Action Item Review Topic: Action items were reviewed and updated.
The meeting adjourned with a closing prayer led by Deacon Corby. The next Pastoral Council meeting is 20 April 2022 at 7:00PM.
V/R,
Geralyn Erwin
Parish Council Secretary