Terry began the meeting at 5:05pm Via Zoom.

Fr. Raj opened with a prayer.

Present: Bill Jacobs, Eileen Grant, Terry Brennan, Dan Putschoegl, Bob Dressler, Anne Welborn, Brad DeSaye

Absent:

Staff: Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

  1. Minutes Approval:
  • Eileen motioned to approve the October meeting minutes; Bob seconded it; approved
  1. Financial Statements:
  • Anne asked how the large contributions come about. Jim explained that most come in undesignated, though we will ask them to fill out a restricted form to designate it to something specific so we do not get assessed by the Diocese.
  • Bill asked about Collection amounts lagging behind Pre-Covid numbers. He asked if we should pass the basket again, have an usher at the door, and/ or promote online giving.  Jim remarked that many of our larger donors have recently moved.  This has not been offset by new parishioners; more families have registered but giving has not matched the large donors. We promoted online giving last summer with the grant match. Jim encourages online giving with new parishioners. December offerings have been good so far: $63k plate and $24,800 Online Giving. Most Holy Days have fallen on Sunday or Monday this fiscal year so we lost some revenue there as well.
  • Dan asked if we think church attendance is down. Fr. Raj has been gone for a month but did notice the Youth Mass attendance is low but other Masses seem to be well attended. Dan suggested the ushers move the collection boxes to be in front of the exits. Eileen commented that someone did not feel comfortable placing their cash in the collection box.
  • Dan motioned to approve the October Financials; Anne seconded the motion; motion approved
  • Bill motioned to approve the November Financials; Eileen seconded the motion; motion approved
  1. Bank Statement Approval:
  • Dan reviewed the October bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted. He commented that there were 2 reconciliations: BBVA and the new bank PNC. The transition is going okay. There have been more returned checks with PNC Bank. The check scanner is working.  Jim commented that the credit card transition wasn’t easy. It was difficult to activate his new credit card.  The process went smoothly for other employees after Jim activated his card.
  • Brad reviewed the November bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted
  1. Pastor’s Report:
  • Fr. Raj said it was nice to be back after his visit to India.
  • Upcoming events in December: decorating for Christmas, Holy Hours for the Lord.
  • commented that the Advent Mission was not well attended. He would like to have a popular speaker or musician perform.
  • Vicente is waiting for a Religious Visa permit from Canada. He is available for confessions and Spanish Masses.
  1. Parish Manager Report:
  • As Fr. Raj stated, attendance was low for the Advent Mission with Fr. Kevin. Jim has been in contact with popular Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick and Catholic singer Matt Maher. Both have control over ticket sales. From a budget perspective, we do not pay for anything but tickets may be too expensive and keep people away. Another idea is not to start out that big; use another speaker from Revive from Phoenix. The parish would have more control.
  • The Thanksgiving Mass and Advent Concert were popular and well attended; as was the Our Lady of Guadalupe Fiesta and play.
  • The School Advent pageant is December 16th.
  • Holy Hours for the Lord is December 22nd from 8am-7pm and confessions from 2pm-7pm.
  • There is no 5pm Vigil Mass on December 25th for the Feast of the Holy Family. Mary Mother of God is on Saturday, January 1st. There will be only one Mass at 9am.
  • We updated the names on our BOK accounts and will request to close account #4 since we are still being charged fees and there is only a small amount in the account.
  • Deacon Tony Humphrey is retiring after 49 years as a Deacon. Bishop Nevares will be celebrating the 9am Mass for him on January 16th. A reception will follow.
  • Deacon Joe Bueti is retiring from working at the Parish as of January 1st. He will continue to serve at Masses.
  • The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will be on February 24th this year.
  • Please complete Safe Environment Training by December 31st.
  • The Reserve Study needs to be scheduled. We will use the same person as before, Tom Thompson. Bill will contact him.
  • The Parish is giving out the book, Life is Messy, by Matthew Kelly to our parishioners for Christmas. We received a donation from a parishioner to pay for the books.
  1. Old Business: None
  2. New Business:
  • The 2022 meetings will be the last Wednesday of each month except August and December.

Fr. Raj led a closing prayer at 5:45PM

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely