Bill began the meeting (due to Terry attending the meeting by Zoom) at 5:00 pm.

Fr. Raj opened the meeting with a prayer.

Present: Terry Brennan (via Zoom), Bill Jacobs, Bob Dressler, Keoni Murphy, Eileen Grant

Absent:  Brad DeSaye, Anne Welborn

Staff: Fr. Raj, Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

  1. Minutes Approval:
  • Terry motioned to approve the July meeting minutes; Eileen seconded it; approved.
  • Bill praised Jim, Shelly, Donna and Fr. Raj for their good work maintaining the strong financial health of the parish.
  1. Financial Statements:
  • Eileen motioned to approve the July and August Financials; Bob seconded the motion; motion approved.
  1. Bank Statement Approval:
  • Bob reviewed the June bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted.
  • Eileen reviewed July bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted.
  • Terry communicated that Brad reviewed the August bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted.
  1. Pastor’s Report:
  • The Inter-Council Social was held in August. Thank you to those who attended.
  • We are bringing back Communion under both species this coming weekend.
  • 160 priests attended the clergy convocation in Flagstaff with Bishop Dolan. The theme was on how to evangelize the parish and how to reach out to unchurched people.
  • Eucharistic Encounter nights will be held each month. The next one is on October 18th during Heritage week. Deacon Mark will be speaking.
  • There are many things happening within our Hispanic Ministry: The Mexican consulate was recently at Sacred Heart; one hundred people attended the apologetic mission talk, which took place over 2 days; the new Christ in the Neighborhood ministry has formed small faith groups; and 12 parishioners are attending the Kino Catechetical Institute.
  • Fr. Raj reminded the council about renewing their safe environment training by December 31st.
  • Heritage Week starts October 17th. Some of the events include a Faith Walk, new parishioner dinner, and the festival in the gym.
  • A few parishioners are promoting first Saturday devotions in the hope that more parishioners will attend.
  • The Lord’s Bounty Meal, which took the place of the Homeless Supper Club, has started. It will be held on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
  • Fr. spoke about how World Youth Day was a great experience for him. He was inspired by the 105 million youth that attended.

 

  1. Parish Manager Report:
  • September Collection totals so far: $68,909 – collection, $42,832 – Online giving
  • 233 Summit: the roof and windows are complete; flooring and appliances are next. The house is expected to be done at the end of November or early December. There was termite damage in the house, which was taken care of. The house next door had termite damage as well. All the houses will be checked for termite damage.
  • 229 Summit: the floor was sinking from termite and water damage. We used the same contractor who is rebuilding 233 Summit to fix the floor.
  • A new dishwasher was installed in the forum. A parishioner donated it as well as the labor to install it. Estimated cost for the total project- $15-20k.
  • Solar panels were going to be delivered next week and then installed in two weeks. We do not have anywhere to store the panels so Jim is working with Scout Solar to see if the panels can be delivered later.
  • Heritage week: the Finance Council is invited to the new parishioner dinner. 97 new parishioners were invited and about 20 are coming so far.
    • Heritage week events: Tuesday – Movie Night, Wednesday – Eucharistic Encounter with Deacon Mark, adoration, benediction, confession and dessert, Thursday- New parishioner dinner, Friday- Living Rosary at the School, Saturday- Historical Downtown Walk with Mike King, Sunday- Festival in the Gym
  • Jim asked the council for input on what inflation rate to use on the Reserve Study application. It was decided to use the T-bill rate of 3 ¾ percent.
  • We have five applicants for the RCIA Director position; three are local and two are out of the country: Canada and Mexico. (They will be interviewed via Zoom.) Interviews will be held on Oct 24th and 25th. A decision will be made by the beginning of November with a start date in January.
  • After the convocation of priests in Flagstaff, Bishop Dolan came to Prescott for a reception. The bishop outlined his priorities with the group. Jim asked him how we can communicate with his office. Bishop Dolan indicated that there will be a parish manager convocation soon.
  • Catholic Community Foundation will host a Retirement Planning seminar on November 14th at Sacred Heart.
  • This year, about forty students are attending the Embry Riddle Mass on Sunday night. Last year only ten attended.
  1. Old Business:
  • none
  1. New Business:
  • The council discussed what to do with the excess money in the PNC Bank general fund. There is close to $900k in the account that does not earn any interest. It was determined that we need approximately $240k each month in cash on hand.
    • Bill made a motion to purchase CDs or similar investments, not to exceed $600K; the CDs cannot be more than $250k in one institution; some short term-30, 60, or 90 days and some for a year. Eileen seconded the motion; motion approved. Jim will speak with Scot Sas at BOK and Mary Brunson from IFA about best strategies for these investments.
  • Bill encouraged the council to ask questions about different accounts for more in-depth information. It was decided to invite the Youth Minister, Amanda, to the next meeting to discuss Youth Ministry.

Fr. Raj ended the meeting with a prayer at 5:44 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely