St Mary Parish Council Meeting Minutes / Meeting held Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 6:30 pm
Present: Linda Ollinger, Lynn Cavanagh, Scott Collings, Fr. Scott Foley, Mark Godar, Wendy Kramer, Lee McFee, Marsha Maschmann, Sharon Mealey, Vicki Nolton, Sam Peiffer, Scot Wilson, Chris Zug
Not Present: Joe Bagnoli, Shane Hart, Jane McFee, Dcn. John Osborne, Charles Willenbring
Opening prayer: Led by Marsha Maschmann
Spiritual Component: Since May is the month of Mary, Fr. Scott explained the history and meaning of the Mary statues in the church.
In Israel, the queen of the kingdom is actually the mother of the king, and not the wife of the king. This is why Mary is queen of heaven and earth, because Jesus, her son, is the king. Mary is wearing red in some statues because Jesus is Divine and she is his mother. Mary also wears blue on other statues because she is completely human like each of us. Red symbolizes divinity and blue symbolizes humanity.
On the Mary statue in front of the church, out of Jesus’ pierced heart, flows blood and water – or in practical terms a pale ray, and a red ray. The pale ray represents the cleansing sacraments of baptism and reconciliation. The red ray symbolizes the life of souls, which is the Eucharist. In John’s Gospel, when Jesus’s heart is pierced, because Jesus is already dead, the blood has already separated into the pale and the dark red liquid.
The statue near the entrance of the church is of Mary, who is queen, and who is mother of Jesus, who is the Eucharist. Mary is therefore the mother of the Eucharist, the mother of Jesus, and our mother, too. Jesus gives communion to us, Which is himself, because it is the greatest gift that he can give us. The cross next to the Mary statue reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus had to make in order to give us communion – in order to give himself as food for us.
Lastly, the statue in the church hall does not have a specific name, but depicts Mary as a powerful spiritual companion, who leads us to Jesus.
Physical Component:
Linda received names of 2-3 parishioners who are willing to serve on the Parish Council. Linda will confirm their eligibility then the council can vote to approve adding them to the council. At least one new volunteer will be needed to serve on the Family Life commission since Charles and Mary Willenbring will be rolling off that position.
Mark Godar will be rolling off as the Knights of Columbus representative and Brian Cranston will become the new representative, with Kent Reed’s support.
RAGBRAI – The council discussed the logistics of hosting some type of vendor for RAGBRAI riders on Thursday, July 27. Due to concerns about not having volunteers available since this falls during the day on a weekday, the council decided not to submit a vendor application to the Chamber of Commerce. However, if a parishioner/parish group is interested in applying to be a vendor, they can solicit church volunteers.
Parish Breakfast on June 4 – The council is responsible for preparing and serving the June 4 Parish Breakfast. Several council members will be out of town that weekend, but Marsha and Sharon will organize volunteers. Wendy and Sam can help and the council discussed other potential volunteers.
Spring cleaning – The council cleaned windows in the main parish hall area.
Refreshments – An ice cream cake was provided to celebrate Fr. Scott’s birthday.
Commission, Committee, Finance Council and Knights of Columbus Reports
Worship & Spirituality: The commission met on April 27. Lent, Holy Week, and Easter liturgies were reviewed and notes were made for future reference. When the new Mass times are announced, liturgical aides will be contacted to confirm their Mass time preference. Our next meeting will be June 8.
Parish Life: No new report
Social Action: No new report
Building & Grounds Committee: Fr. Scott shared that he is obtaining multiple assessments of repair estimates for the recent hail storm damage to the church. There will also be a Parish Work Day on Saturday, June 24 for interior and exterior grounds tasks.
Stewardship: No new report
Finance Council: No new report
Knights of Columbus: No new report
Adjournment (adjourned at 7:30pm)
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6:30 PM. Scot Wilson will lead the opening prayer and Scott Collings will lead the closing prayer. The meeting was closed with a prayer led by Chris Zug.
Minutes submitted by Vicki Nolton (secretary).