St Mary Parish Council Meeting Minutes
Meeting held Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6:30 pm
Present: Linda Ollinger, Lynn Cavanagh, Fr. Scott Foley, Mark Godar, Wendy Kramer, Marsha Maschmann, Vicki Nolton, Scot Wilson, Chris Zug
Not Present: Joe Bagnoli, Scott Collings, Shane Hart, Jane McFee, Lee McFee, Sharon Mealey, Dcn. John Osborne, Sam Peiffer
Opening prayer: Led by Scot Wilson
Spiritual Component: Fr. Scott explained the history and meaning of the rose window above the choir loft of the Church. In earlier times, few people were literate, so the Church used images and symbols in stained glass windows to teach followers about the faith. The “nave” of a church is related to the ship term “naval” because the nave is the central part of the church structure and is shaped like the hull of a ship and offers a place of safety from the storms of life. The structure and patterns in rose windows are designed as specific reminders. The center of a rose window symbolizes Jesus as the center of the Church and the “spokes” of the window radiate out from the center. The next layers of the window pattern are ordered in importance to the Church–the layer next to the center (Jesus) often symbolizes Mary, and the following layer symbolizes the Disciples. Other rose windows may be designed to honor a specific saint, with that person as the center of the window design. As with statues in the church, the colors also carry symbolism, such as red symbolizing divinity and blue symbolizing humanity.
Physical Component:
Mass schedule – Fr. Scott reviewed the new Mass schedule, which can be found in the weekly bulletin. Since Fr. Scott will also serve St. Patrick Church in Brooklyn, the new St. Mary Church Mass schedule will be as follows: Saturdays at 4 p.m. (July 2023-March 2024) and Sundays at 10:30 a.m., effective June 24. Please also see the bulletin for the schedule of Daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration.
Future pancake breakfasts – These will continue on the first Sunday of each month as Pancake Brunches after 10:30 a.m. Masses. However, the July pancake breakfast will be held on Sunday, July 9 since people may be out of town near the July 4th holiday.
Parish Council appointments – Linda shared that Karen Schmidt, Dennis Phelps, and Judy Binegar are willing to serve on the council. The council voted to approve all three as new council members. Voting for council officers will be held at the next meeting. The council also discussed the option of shared officer roles if needed. The council also voted to hold meetings every other month since Fr. Scott will also need to attend parish council meetings for St. Patrick’s Church. The next council meeting will be on August 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Parish Clean-Up Day – Fr. Scott reminded the council that the parish clean-up day will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 24 to complete a variety of indoor and outdoor church cleaning and repair projects.
North Country Fish Fry – The summer fish fry will be held on Friday, July 21 at 6 p.m. and will include a raffle and live auction. Those who are interested in volunteering to help with the meal or who want to donate items are encouraged to contact Linda Ollinger or Al Frischmeyer.
Upon this Rock Campaign Update – Fr. Scott shared that approximately $250,000 has been pledged so far. Twenty percent of the amount raised will go back to our parish and be used to replace one of the church air conditioners and to restore the Holy Family statues in the church.
Commission, Committee, Finance Council and Knights of Columbus Reports
Worship & Spirituality: The commission met June 8th. The commission is seeking a volunteer liturgical ministry scheduler. Sharon has reached out to all current ministry volunteers to confirm Mass preference and has received responses from most. Our commission with the Buildings & Grounds Committee is responsible for the August 6th pancake brunch. Mass for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be offered Tuesday, August 15th at 5:30 p.m. Our next meeting will be August 10th.
Parish Life: No new report
Social Action: No new report
Building & Grounds Committee: No new report
Stewardship: No new report
Finance Council: No new report
Knights of Columbus: The June meeting was a potluck picnic at Ahrens Park. We had great weather, a good turnout, and lots of good food, including burgers and hotdogs, prepared by the McFee‘s. The officer installation is tentatively scheduled after the 10:30 am mass on Sunday, July 30 and will be followed by a lunch.
Adjournment (adjourned at 7:25pm)
The next meeting will be held on August 17 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was closed with a prayer led by Lynn Cavanagh.
Minutes submitted by Vicki Nolton (secretary).