Minutes of the October 17, 2007 Parish Council Meeting
Church of The Resurrection
In attendance: Father Mark Hobson, Lisa Frey, Terry Battaglia, Kathy Rinehart, Jane Hogan, Mark Hura, Mary Ann Theby, John Shovary, Murray Mayo, Mike Behnke, Sandy Patrick, Louise Cox
Absent: Suzanne Horvath
Father Mark opened the meeting by handing out an article titled, “OF MANY THINGS” authored by Drew Christiansen, S.J. Father Mark raised several questions for consideration and discussion. Much of the discussion that followed were thoughts on two questions: “How Do We Draw Kids Back To The Church?” and “Are We Competing?”
Thoughts were exchanged on why Parkside Church and televangelists like Joel Osteen seem to be attracting people in large numbers. Thoughts were exchanged on how we, at the parish level, can overcome the negative publicity being generated about the Church at both the local and national level, (i.e…the priest scandal, the ongoing local embezzlement lawsuit involving financial officers of the Cleveland Diocese, vocal Bishops demanding that pro choice candidates for public office be denied the Sacrament of Holy Communion, etc…). Thoughts were also exchanged on how the Church can again make itself relevant to people in today’s culture/society which offers so many alternatives and places such a strain on people’s limited free time.
Mary Ann Theby reported on the September 24th Cluster Planning and Coordination Meeting. Mary Ann provided us with a 2 page handout outlining the following topics: Summary of Geographic and Parish Trends; Financial Trends; Collaborative Options Identified – Within Our Cluster; Cluster to Cluster Collaborative Options; Areas of Particular Vibrancy that May Lend Themselves to Collaboration and Two Primary Questions to Consider.
All three of our cluster parishes identified Social Justice and Youth Ministry as an area of potential collaboration. Two of the three identified Hospital/Homebound Care. 8 other areas of possible collaboration were identified by only 1 of the 3 parishes for possible collaboration.
Kathy Rinehart led a discussion on impressions of The Big Picture which was a presentation of the recent trip this summer to El Salvador. Comments were unanimously positive. John Shovary felt the presentation was very effective. Mary Ann Theby thought the presentation demonstrated what a profound experience the trip made on the hearts and minds of the people who went. The remaining question is: How do we use this experience to infiltrate the positive aspects of the trip into the parish community at large to ensure that these positive aspects continue to flourish and bear fruit both locally and in El Salvador?
Dennis Bodziony of the Parish Finance Council spoke on the financial condition of the parish. The original amount of pledges for the new worship space was $3.6 million. The outstanding pledges are down to $120,000. To date, $101,000 has been written off due to parishioners moving, dying, etc… The original loan was in the amount of $2.2 million.
Dennis spoke about the debt reduction fund and the advantage of paying additional sums on the principal amount every month. For every additional $1.00 that is paid toward the principal, we are able to reduce the back end amount by $3.00. Starting in 2008, if we are able to pay an additional $10,000 per month on the principal, we will be able to pay off the mortgage by 2015, (10 years earlier than scheduled).
The proceeds of the sale of St. Jude, minus any outstanding debt, (estimated to be anywhere from $800,000 to $1,000,000) will go to Resurrection. The current asking price for the St. Jude property is $5 million and it has been on the market for close to one year. It was decided that Resurrection will hold off on initiating a debt reduction campaign until the money from the sale of St. Jude is received.
Dennis discussed the current trend of a decline in giving in the offertory collections. He would like to create a balance between maintaining a healthy offertory collection while still encouraging giving to debt reduction. This is especially true in light of the fact that operating expenditures are estimated to rise 7.5% for 2008.
The weekly goal for offertory collections is $14,500. Through September, 2007, we are experiencing a deficit of $47,000. For “Special Gifts”, Finance Council would like to encourage the following: 60% for operating expenses and 40% for debt reduction.
Dennis provided us with the Financial Report from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007.
17.5% of the offertory collections, (including Christmas and Easter), goes to the Cleveland Diocese. No money given in the Food/Charity, Debt Reduction, and Repairs & Maintenance envelopes goes to the diocese.
Church of The Resurrection is in the top 20, and very close to being in the top 10 of parishes, with respect to contributions to Catholic Charities.
Murray Mayo provided us with pages 42 through 55 from “The American Book of Dying” for reading and reflection. Murray explained how the experience of spiritual pain is related to one of four qualities: MEANING, FORGIVENESS, RELATEDNESS, and HOPELESSNESS. The question is: What can we do as a Parish to address these issues and bring them into the lives of our parishioners?
The quality of MEANING addresses the basic questions of : Who am I? and What am I willing to live and/or die for? And Where do I give my energies?
The quality of FORGIVENESS is referred to as the “common cold of spiritual pain.” Since the very concept of forgiveness is extremely nebulous, it is equally important to define what forgiveness is not. It is NOT condoning or excusing ignorant or evil behavior; denial of our own hurt; inviting an abuser back into our lives; and forgetting real wounds and betrayal. Father Mark commented on how difficult it is for many people to forgive themselves as a first step to healing.
The quality of RELATEDNESS concerns a re-connecting of body, mind and spirit. We must ask ourselves the question: Am I what I truly believe?
The quality of HOPLESSNESS can be defined as being “soul dead” or as referred to in medical terminology, “failure to thrive”.
The key is to address these spiritual hurts during life, and not to wait for the onset of illness or death. Father Mark suggested that the Sacrament of Penance could be a vehicle, if presented in the right context, as being part of this process.
It was also suggested that emotional issues, in addition to physical issues, be included in this process. A discussion was had as to what type of vehicle, ( be it a meeting, a series of lectures, a workshop, support groups, etc…) could be implemented by the parish to bring people from various walks of life, (both inside and outside the parish), together to initiate and assist in this healing process.
All felt that this type of process was an integral part of the Church’s mission in welcoming all people. It was discussed how the Church must be a place of peace, of safety, of comfort and of inclusion for all people from all walks of life. Individuals from select groups should not feel welcome at Resurrection only as a part of their “group”, (i.e..We….[fill in the name of group] feel welcome at Resurrection because they don’t judge us or discriminate against us). Rather, they should learn to feel welcome as part of Resurrection solely because they are part of the larger unified community.
It was agreed that this discussion will be continued next meeting.
The next Parish Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November, 28 at 7:00 p.m.