St. Jude Pastoral Council

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday October 4, 2006

Participants: Don Cairns (Chair), Fr. Dave Rogerson (Pastor), Sr. Betty Schumacher ( Pastoral Associate), Lauren Sing, Debbie McCormick, Anusha Fernando, Bob Johnson, Gary Smith, & Bob Stephens

Absent: Suzanne Henderson

The meeting began @ 7:05 p.m. with an opening prayer led by Don Cairns, followed by a brief introduction of each Pastoral Council member to Sr. Betty Schumacher.

Old Business:

¨      Tent City: Don announced that a church in Bothell, WA is currently going through the decision process of hosting Tent City for 90 days this winter; 2007. The Bothell church must make the decision by this weekend, if the church in Bothell can not host tent city, St. Jude parish is listed as the backup for hosting, which gives our parish four months to plan. Due to the lengthy permitting process, planning would need to start immediately if Bothell declines. Don and Fr. Dave volunteered to inform Mayor Ives of St. Jude’s hosting status regarding Tent City.

¨      Election of Pastoral Council Vice Chair for 2006-2007: Bob Stephens agreed to accept the position of Vice Chair after being nominated by the majority of members at the last meeting.

Pastors Report:

¨      Religious Education Classes: Enrollment has declined this year, at first glance it looked like almost 50% in some grades, but that is not the case, although it is down considerably. Some people were slow to enroll, so they are still filtering in. One of the main reasons for this may be due to the fact that Blessed Theresa parish in Woodinville is starting up it’s R.E. program this fall. Last year many parishioners from Blessed Theresa’s enrolled their children in St. Jude’s program, since their parish did not have a program yet.

¨      Weekly Contributions: Offertory collections were down in September by approximately 28%, which is unusual. The month of September usually marks the end of summer vacations and an increase in weekend Liturgy attendance and donations. Members discussed the hot weather lingering into September resulted in many people extending trips and vacations.

¨      Parish Ministry Weekend: Fr. Dave received feedback that several ministries felt that by eliminating all the individual sign up tables and therefore a lot of crowding and congestion after the liturgies, actually encouraged more volunteers this year, because it was an easier process. Further discussion was held, and recommendations made for next year.

¨      “Parish Pulse” Discussion was held regarding the current curriculum being used for the Elementary Religious Ed. program here at St. Jude.

Staff Reports:

·   Fr. Dave reported that the Parish Office is back to full staff after many months of vacancies. Sammi Allen has been hired as the Jr. High Youth Ministry Intern to fill the position left by Kelly Wimsatt. Sammi brings a lot of energy to this position and has done Mission work in Alaska and has volunteer experience in other parishes.

·   The council was introduced to Sr. Betty Schumacher, new Pastoral Associate for St. Jude parish. Sister Betty; a Benedictine from Idaho gave the council an overview of her past 20+ years experience in different locations throughout Idaho and Washington working in Parish Ministry. Visions, ideas, & goals were shared by all.

 New Business:

·   De-brief of the Fall Festival: Discussion was held regarding the success, purpose, and future of the Fall Festival. The general feeling shared was that the Festival was very successful and that the purpose is to build community, not to raise funds. The attendance was great, and over 800 meals were served. The council recognized the many hours of planning and work done by key individuals, especially Terry & Mark Mackaman and Taya Vercelli ; the event chair people.

·   Open Topics: Plans were discussed for the upcoming 25^th Anniversary of the St. Jude Church building, October 29^th, 2006. Complaints were heard regarding the current hearing aide devices available for use in church not working properly, and the need for an improved system. Ways and theories on how to improve parish communication were also discussed. We also discussed the need for communication to be 2-way, and the responsibility of parishioners to utilize the many ways information is already shared through the parish bulletin, web site, announcements from the ambo after each liturgy, kiosk in parish narthex, etc….

Action Plan:

¨      Fr. Dave & Don Cairns will contact Mayor regarding Tent City

¨      Fr. Dave & Gary Smith will draft a letter to the Fall Festival Committee and will plan events for 25^th Anniversary celebration

¨      Fr. Dave, Don Cairns, Bob Stephens will meet re: Mission Work

¨      Don will include parish communication on the next agenda

The meeting was adjourned with a closing prayer at 9:10 pm. The next meeting will be held Wednesday, November 1, 2006.

 Respectfully submitted, Debbie McCormick