Minutes

Terry began the meeting at 5:00pm.

Fr. Raj opened with a prayer.

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

Absent:  Brad DeSaye

Staff: Jim Wren (Via Zoom), Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

1. Minutes Approval:

• Eileen motioned to approve the December meeting minutes; Dan seconded it; approved

2. Financial Statements:

• Terry suggested adding a note to the bulletin income/expense report that online giving is lower this year due to the online giving grant match last summer.
• Jim commented that December was a good month financially and the Christmas collection was $10k over budget.
• Bill asked about the $25k anonymous restricted donation to the building fund. A letter was sent with the donation restricting it to building expenses. He also asked if the restricted roof donations were all earmarked for the church roof; yes.
• Bill motioned to approve the December Financials; Dan seconded the motion; motion approved

3. Bank Statement Approval:

• Terry reviewed the December bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted

4. Pastor’s Report:

• Fr. Raj commented that attendance seems to be increasing at Mass.
• He spoke about preparing for the Synod and that the council will be asked to participate.
• Catholic Schools Week begins next week kicking off with the Preschool Spaghetti Western Dinner.
• The Volunteer Appreciation dinner is February 24th.
• Lent begins March 2^nd. We are giving out the book, ‘Living Joy’ by Chris Stefanick. Fr. Raj would like to have an open house to discuss the book after Easter.
• We are contacting the Diocese about a Lenten Mission speaker.
• Blessing of the Candles is February 2^nd; Blessing of the Throats is February 3^rd after Mass.
• Next week is the Annual Claretian Retreat. It will be virtual.

5. Parish Manager Report:

• December plate collection numbers are strong as are January’s: $87,800 plate and $40k online giving so far.
• The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner is February 24^th at 5:30pm in the Gym. Only 12 RSVPs so far. The deadline to RSVP is February 4^th. It will be catered and there will be music.
• A 2017 Nissan Rogue has been donated for Fr. Gaspar. It is in great shape; has 40k miles. Fr. Ralph will drive the Prius since his car has a lot of miles. Fr. Ralph’s Subaru will be the back up car. Jim asked if we should depreciate the car over 5 years as in the past or 3 years as Terry and Bill suggested. If 3 years, it will affect the depreciation budget.  Terry will research.
• Tom Thompson has been given all the information for the Reserve Study. We are 8^th on the list for the site visit. Jim welcomes any Finance Council member to be there for the visit.
• CDA virtual training was yesterday. We have the same goal as previous years. Bulletin ads will begin February 5/6. February 12/13 is the kick off weekend and Mike and Kelly Daniel will give a witness talk the weekend of February 19/20. The Diocese put together a great video of the Daniel family which is posted on the Parish and Diocese Facebook pages.

6. Old Business:

• We discussed passing the basket at Mass. Bob was in Yuma and said they were passing collection baskets there. Our Ushers were holding baskets at Christmas which may have helped with the larger collection. An important question is if we have enough ushers to pass the collection baskets. We will hold off passing them for now.

7. New Business:

• Pope Francis has called for a Synod. Bishop Olmsted opened it for the Diocese of Phoenix on October 17, 2021. The Finance Council will discuss the three questions from the handout at the next meeting. The Diocese wants to know what parishioners are thinking about the Church. The Priests will be talking  about the Synod in homilies and will have open houses to hear from different groups. Kevin Keighron and Martha Lamb are heading up the Committee. This is a 2-year process, though the Committee has set a March 17, 2022 due date to complete the Parish report.
• 2023 Budget: first draft budgets are due this week from the ministries. A tuition increase has been recommended from the Diocese. Jim will present the first draft at the February meeting.
• Jim would like a committee to be formed to discuss putting the Parish directory in the 2023 budget.
• Shelly talked about Catholic Schools Week which begins January 30th.

Fr. Raj led a closing prayer at 5:55PM

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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 16^th.
• Holy Hours for the Lord is December 22nd from 8am-7pm and confessions from 2pm-7pm.
• There is no 5pm Vigil Mass on December 25^th for the Feast of the Holy Family. Mary Mother of God is on Saturday, January 1^st. 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 16^th. A reception will follow.
• Deacon Joe Bueti is retiring from working at the Parish as of January 1^st. He will continue to serve at Masses.
• The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will be on February 24^th this year.
• Please complete Safe Environment Training by December 31^st.
• 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.

6. Old Business: None
7. 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

Terry began the meeting at 5:02pm.

Fr. Raj opened with a prayer.

Present: Bill Jacobs, Eileen Grant, Terry Brennan, Dan Putschoegl, Bob Dressler

Absent:  Anne Welborn, Brad DeSaye

Staff: Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

1. Minutes Approval:

• Bill motioned to approve the September meeting minutes; Dan seconded it; approved

2. Financial Statements:

• There was a discussion about the shortfall on plate collections. Bill asked if we were going to do anything to try to increase collections. Not at this time. Jim added that collection money is down 14% Pre-Covid.
• Bill motioned to approve the September Financials; Bob seconded the motion; motion approved

3. Bank Statement Approval:

• Bob reviewed the September bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted

4. Pastor’s Report:

• The Liturgical Minister’s annual formation meeting was held on October 2^nd. The reflection was on Bishop Olmsted’s Apostolic Exhortation. About 65 ministers participated.
• Heritage week went well. Fr. Raj is having a special Mass to thank all of the volunteers.
• Next week is the All Saints and All Souls Day liturgy. The school children will dress as Saints and parade around the school after Mass on All Saints Day.
• Fr. Raj is taking his annual vacation from November 8-December 10. Fr. Ralph will be acting Pastor.
• During Advent we have mission talks during the first week of December, the Advent Pageant on December 16 and 12 Hours for the Lord on December 22.
• Suggested that we have our next Finance Council meeting on December 15^th instead of November 17^th.

5. Parish Manager Report:

• The Diocese asked for the percentage of our online giving compared to our plate collection for the past 3 years:
  • 2018/2019-36.4%
  • 2019/2020-36.8%
  • 2020/2021-42.3% (most likely due to the online giving grant from Summer 2020)

• The New parishioner dinner was successful. 65 new parishioners attended; 100 people in total. Representatives from the councils and ministries attended. It was catered by Rosati’s and the leftovers were given to Fire and Police dispatch. New volunteers and friends were made. The cost of the food was offset by our credit card rewards rebate of $1,165.
• Jim attended a virtual meeting with Our Sunday Visitor (our online giving provider) on how to increase offertory. He said it was not helpful.
• Heritage Festival:
  • Expenses (so far)-$1725 without the police security bill
  • Income – over $2900, the 50/50 raffle winner donated back her winnings
  • There will be a follow up meeting to discuss the pros and cons of the event. Jim felt more help was needed with cleanup and that the hours should be condensed.
• Index Fund Advisor account update: our investment dropped last month but has recovered.
• November is a quiet month: All Saints Day school Mass and Thanksgiving Mass are coming up
• December: Advent Mission, Advent concert, Advent pageant, Christmas and New Years
  • Since Christmas is on Saturday this year, there will not be a vigil mass on that day and January 1^st is not a holy day of obligation.

6. Old Business:

• None

7. New Business:

• None

Fr. Raj led a closing prayer at 5:21pm

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

Fr. Raj opened the meeting with a prayer at 5:01pm

Present: Bill Jacobs, Anne Welborn, Terry Brennan, Dan Putschoegl, Bob Dressler

Absent:  Eileen Grant, Brad DeSaye

Staff: Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

Guest: Fr. Gaspar

1. Minutes Approval:

• Anne motioned to approve the July meeting minutes; Dan seconded it; approved

2. Financial Statements:

• Dan asked why altar flowers expense was over budget by $500. Jim explained that previously if we did not receive a donation for altar flowers for a certain week, we would place the orchids from the Adoration Chapel on the altar. A parishioner offered to pay for the altar flowers when we do not receive a donation. We did not budget an altar flower expense for each week so the expense will be over budget.
• Dan asked why we budgeted half of the yearly unrestricted contributions in July. We knew we were receiving a large contribution in July so we budgeted it in July.
• Jim commented that the online giving collection amounts are less than last year at this time because of the online giving grant match last summer.
• Anne asked why the school did not receive the EANS grant. Shelly explained that the school did get the grant but it has proven hard to access. It can only be used for certain expenses like technology and PPE. The school wanted to hold summer school this past July but it was not approved by EANS in time. The school has three years to use the grant money.
• Bill motioned to approve the July Financials; Anne seconded the motion; motion approved
• Anne motioned to approve the August Financials; Bob seconded the motion; motion approved

3. Bank Statement Approval:

• Terry reviewed the July bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted
• Anne reviewed the August bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted

4. Pastor’s Report:

• Raj welcomed Fr. Gaspar to our meeting.
• The Council Social was held in August.
• The Staff retreat was held in July.
• A Liturgical Minister’s formation meeting is on 10/2. Bishop Olmsted’s Apostolic Exhortation will be discussed.
• The Diocesan Priest Convocation was held in Flagstaff in September. It was a reflection on priestly spirituality.
• October is the month of the Rosary, pro-life month, Fall break at the school and Heritage Week. Fr. Raj asked the council to participate in Heritage Week.

5. Parish Manager Report:

• September collection totals so far are $55,482 for the plate collection and $48,044 for online giving.
• Jim spoke about the events that took place recently:
  • The Council Social went well; it took place in the Youth Center.
  • Youth Group has gotten off to its best start in many years. The kick-off was on September 12^th with the Hispanic community participating. The first 2 weeks have had 15-20 participants each in Life teen and Edge. The new Youth Minister is very enthusiastic and communicates well.  She has put together a great Core Team. She has a sent out the entire semester’s lessons and they are centered around a super hero theme.
  • Hopefest took place on September 11^th. Sacred Heart participated. There were 3 shifts of 2 hours each run by staff, Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent de Paul.  We passed out rosary pamphlets and did a great deal of evangelization. We also handed out school information. A local real estate agent asked for school information to give out to people who move here.
  • Jim and Amanda attended Embry Riddle’s new student orientation. About 30 students stopped by their table. They gave out educational material and 3 young men from Embry Riddle have since signed up for RCIA.
• Heritage Week:
  • October 21^st is the new parishioner’s dinner. 107 new families were sent invitations. It will be catered this year so staff can interact with the new parishioners. Some of our Parish ministries will also attend: Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul, and That Man Is You, along with representatives from liturgical ministries.
  • October 22^nd: The living rosary in the school gym
  • October 23^rd: Heritage Festival from 10:30am to 3:00pm will take place outdoors and in the gym. Alma Helms and Margarita Arellano are co-chairs. They have a committee and sub committees. The flyer has been posted to the website, Facebook and the Chamber of Commerce. There will be a new addition: a table filled with church historical documents. We have applied for a liquor license and have asked for police involvement.
• The Silver Rose Service will take place on October 12^th at 5:30 (English) and 7pm (Spanish). There will be a prayer service, rosary and blessing.
• Staffing: we hired a new school custodian. Jim reached out to US Vets after not having any luck recruiting any potential employees. Shelly needs to fill a part time teaching position. The 5^th grade teacher moved to part time due to health reasons. Shelly is filling in for now.
• Together Let Us Go Forth Campaign: Fr. Raj and Jim met with Martha Gamez from the Diocese and Fr. Raj made the decision to halt the campaign. A letter was sent to parishioners thanking them for their donation and asking them to continue their pledge. The Diocese also reached out to parishioners who pledged but have not given.
• Christmas is on a Saturday this year so there will not be a Vigil Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family which is on December 26^th. Mary, Mother of God is not a holy day of obligation so there will be a normal Vigil Mass on that Saturday, January 1^st.
• PNC Bank bought out BBVA. As of October 12, BBVA will become PNC Bank. We have received information on a new fee schedule. Donna reached out to Laura at BBVA about the new fees.
• Gaspar would like a larger car than the Prius. Jim suggested that we could sell the Prius and then look for a used car for him but we did not budget this item and will have to consider taking it from reserves.
• Investment follow up:
  • We opened an account with Index Fund Advisors (Investing for Catholics). There is now $900k in IFA and BOK Reserve Fund 2. Originally the council approved $1.1 million in each account but when Jim, Terry and Bill looked at the numbers it was decided to begin with $900k so we could equalize what was in each account.
  • According to Jim it was a monumental undertaking to get this accomplished. He had to redo the paperwork for IFA and they were not easy to work with. Scott Sas at BOK on the other hand, was great to work with.
  • We changed the names of two of the BOK accounts: Account #1 is now Operating Funds, Account #2 is now Reserve Account Number 2.
  • We moved the amount we budgeted for Reserves this fiscal year, $55,500, to the BBVA Reserve Account from the BBVA Operating Account.
  • We will start sending $10k to BOK and $10k to IFA instead of $20k to BOK each month.
  • Bill reminded everyone that this is a long-term investment.
• Jim spoke about the homeless man that was living off of Summit Street by the church office on the easement owned by the city. It was becoming concerning due to his encampment getting larger and his approaching parishioners. The police notified him that he needed to vacate the premises. He did leave and the city came in and cleaned up the area.
• There have been a couple vandalism issues: a young man tried to enter the locked church and then the adoration chapel one night. He went up to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue and tried to lift it. Three men who were in the adoration chapel came out and called the police. The police arrested him and he spent some time in jail.  The other issue involved children playing on the playground unsupervised. A young boy was throwing rocks at the elevator window. It happened a couple of times and Jim and another adult talked to the boy.

6. Old Business:

• None

7. New Business:

• None

Fr. Raj led a closing prayer at 6:06pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

Fr. Raj opened the meeting with a prayer at 5:03pm

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

Staff: Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

1. Minutes Approval: June Meeting Minutes approved

• Dan stated that the minutes should read “school registration” not tuition in the Financial Statements section in the June minutes. Donna will amend the June minutes to read “school registration”.
• Anne motioned to approve the June meeting minutes with the correction; Dan seconded it; approved

2. Financial Statements: June Financials approved

• Jim answered some questions that Bill emailed previously: 1)Why was rental income under budget? One renter did not have much work during the height of Covid so Fr. Raj allowed him to pay half rent. 2)Why was CEA also under budget? The school did not have the enrollment to use all of the CEA funds available to us and some families did not apply for the CEA scholarship money.
• Jim commented that we ended the year with net income of $7,978 and actual net income of $261,555, which is good since the school had a large net loss.
• Bill asked why the Reserves show a negative amount for the month of June. We make the adjustments at the end of the fiscal year and move capital expenses to fixed assets which removes the expense from Reserves.
• Eileen motioned to approve the June Financials; Brad seconded the motion; motion approved

3. Bank Statement Approval:

• Terry reviewed the June bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted

4. Pastor’s Report:

• Sacred Heart achieved our 2021 CDA goal. We were 106% of goal.
• The Day of Reflection is on Friday, July 30th^th.
• School reopens Wednesday, August 4^th with a school Mass.
• commented that more people are coming back to church; the delta variant is a concern; he is waiting to hear from the Diocese on any new guidelines.
• Raj is starting to hold liturgical meetings. He met with the Deacons just before this meeting.
• The all council social is on Wednesday, August 25^th instead of a normal meeting. The parish directors are also invited.
• That Man is You is starting up again in September. They will meet in the Gym.
• On the 2^nd Friday of the month the Hispanic Families group will meet.

5. Parish Manager Report:

• July collection totals so far are $67,745 for the plate collection and $44,291 for online giving.
• The Day of Reflection is from 8:30-3pm in the church on July 30th. Dual topics of the Eucharist and Hospitality from 3 perspectives will be presented.
• Deacon Mark Weber was installed as a Deacon with a reception after Mass on July 11^th.
• The school’s open house is on Sunday August 1^st after the 9am Mass.
• The Knights of Columbus breakfast returns on August 8^th.
• The Catholic Community Foundation’s Wills and Trust Seminar is on August 17^th. There is a morning and an evening session. Sign-ups are through the CCF. It is free and comes with an hour meeting with one of their attorneys.
• Fr. Gaspar’s welcome reception is on August 22^nd after the 9am mass.
• The council reception will take place on August 25^th at 5pm. The directors are invited this year.
• Jim commented that the School Advisory Board wants to be involved with the school budget and financials. By Canon Law this is the Finance Council’s role. Jim suggested that Terry attend a school board meeting to explain.
• We received the monthly diocesan bill for the property and liability taxes.  There was a 30% increase to the property taxes. Jim spoke with the Controller at the diocese. He explained that the increase is due to the increase in property taxes because of the renovation. We did not have an increase last year because of the pandemic. The amount is not a catch up, which is in answer to Bob’s question.
• The new youth minister, Amanda spoke at all the Masses on July 25^th. It was successful as 22 youth signed up to attend Life Teen or Edge. She has sent out a survey monkey to the parents, she has spoken with Jimena to reach out to the Hispanic teens and to Shelly to reach the middle school for Edge. Amanda is expecting a child later this year so she is concentrating on building a strong core team.
• Embry Riddle Catholic Club has not reached out to us yet to bring back the Sunday Mass or to attend their back to school program.
• Hopefest is on September 11^th. We are participating this year.

6. Old Business:

• Investing for Catholics: Raj and Jim spoke with Fr. Bud a pastor from Sun City about Investing for Catholics. Fr. Bud said that IFC has very good communication, is flexible, and responsive. His parish has benefited greatly from investing with them. Their church started 4 years ago by investing $6 million into 3 different funds: 70/30-growth, 60/40 -capital projects and a small amount for immediate needs. They recently consolidated into 2 accounts: 70/30 and 60/40. They have drawn over $2 million but still have $6 million invested.  They have a rainy-day fund that they use to pay their Bishops Assessment in one lump sum without affecting their budget. They like the flexibility of the funds.
• Eileen asked if Mary at IFC has a back-up. She has a staff but she likes to handle most things. Eileen also asked in what companies will IFC invest in for us. She has some concerns about some of the companies such as Facebook. Jim stated that the funds are consistent with Catholic guidelines but he will question Mary.
• One of our parishioners with a financial background feels that there is a correction in the market coming. How will this affect our decision?
• Raj is confident in going forward with IFC after speaking with Fr. Bud. Fr. Ralph is also in agreement with moving forward.
• Bill suggested splitting the investment between IFC and the BOK master custody account so that we can compare the performance of the two funds after a period of time. Bob agreed with Bill as he had done something similar with his personal investments.
• Following a fruitful discussion of pros and cons of using IFC, Bill made a motion as follows: The Finance Council recommends to the Pastor to transfer $1.1 million from Bank of Oklahoma reserve funds to IFC over the near term using the 60/40 portfolio (Equities/Fixed Income), which is consistent with the mix in the Diocese of Phoenix Master Custody Investment Intermediate portfolio. Additionally, the Finance Council recommends transferring $500,000 from cash in other parish accounts over the near term to the Diocese of Phoenix Master Custody Investment Intermediate portfolio. Bob seconded the motion; motion approved.

7. New Business:

• None

Fr. Raj closed the meeting by thanking everyone for their efficiency and for Bill and Terry’s help with the investments.

He led a closing prayer at 6:06pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely