St. Mary Parish Council Meeting Minutes – Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.

Present: Lynn Cavanagh, Scot Wilson, Judy Binegar, Karen Schmidt, Sharon Mealey, Fr. Scott Foley
Not Present: Shane Hart, Marsha Maschmann, Linda Ollinger, Sam Peiffer, Wendy Kramer, Jane McFee, Lee McFee, Kristi Perrin, Scott Collings, Chris Zug, Dennis Phelps, Brian Cranston, Kent Reed, Deacon John Osborne

  1. Opening Prayer: Wendy Kramer offered by Scot Wilson
  2. New Business:
    Parish Council Membership: Scot W. will submit an item for the bulletin asking for parish members interested in being a member of the council to submit their names. The item will state terms are typically three years and include the dates and times of our meetings for the next year. (The third Thursday of August falls on a Holy Day of Obligation so we will meet August 22nd) Lynn will confirm Darlene’s continued service as secretary.
    Faith Formation Report from Angelina: April is our last month for faith formation. This year we grouped grades K-3rd, 4th-6th, and 7th-12th.  We had about 40 kids total in the program. In addition to weekly classes, we had several social events, service projects, and a Christmas pageant in conjunction with St. Patrick’s parish in Brooklyn.  Our Sacrament prep program was held once a month. This year we have 5 first communion students and 15 confirmation students. We are currently planning events for the summer, including Vacation Bible School and a high school summer conference. 
    Welcome Event: The Chamber of Commerce is holding an event on May 23rd 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. to welcome new members of the Grinnell community. St. Mary participated in the event last fall and it was agreed we should participate in the May event. Sharon will coordinate.
    Pancake Brunch:  A concern was shared that brunch workers will not be able to attend 10:30 Mass. After some discussion, it is hoped that the four or five people needed to actually cook the sausage, pancakes, and eggs would be able to attend Mass out of town either on Saturday or earlier in the morning on Sunday and the other helpers could help set up before 10:30 Mass and come back after the final blessing at Mass to serve and perform other needed tasks. The Parish Council is responsible for the June brunch.
    Other items: Fr. Scott asked us to pray for the young people receiving their First Communion this weekend at St. Patrick and St. Mary. A financial report for the parish will be prepared by Jay after the fiscal year ends on June 30th.  There was some discussion about the vibrancy of the parish council and being useful. Someone is needed to take over coordinating coffee & donuts or it will no longer be offered on Sundays.  
  3. Physical/Spiritual Component: Scott led us in a visit to the newly renovated north sacristy where he explained in particular how the sacrarium (holy sink) should and should not be used. The money to renovate both sacristies came from the Upon This Rock Campaign.
  4. Adjournment:
    Next Meeting – June 13, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. Prayer leaders Scot Wilson (opening), Fr. Scott (closing)
    Closing Prayer – Scot Wilson

Respectfully submitted: Sharon Mealey (acting secretary)

Communications:

Worship & Spirituality Report:
The commission met March 14th and April 11th. The “Gloria” from the Roman missal (#170) will be introduced and sung at Masses in May and then used once per month starting in June. Thank-you to Karen Schmidt and Wendell Utech for leading Stations of the Cross during Lent. Holy Week and Easter liturgies were planned and reviewed with notes made for the future. Our next meeting will be June 13th.
Social Action Report:
Social Action Commission Meeting Minutes March 7, 2024
The commission met March 7, 2024 with 8 members attending. Connis Dayton reported the 18 Valentines that the Sr Jr High faith formation students made for the homebound parishioners were all delivered the days preceding Valentine’s Day. All the parishioners were very grateful and wanted the students and teachers to be thanked. A thank you was delivered to the class. Elizabeth Dobbs reported that we have new homebound parishioners that would like home visits. They are currently being matched with volunteers. Jon Hexter reported the commission’s book study will be later this year. He has a book in mind and will ask Father Scott if it’s ok. Linda Buck reported that the Lenten Food Drive is in progress now. Beforehand she went to MICA and asked what their needs were. She has compiled a list for our parishioners to follow. The collection goes through Easter March 31st. April 1st the commission will deliver the food to MICA and the Drake library. Doris Hotchkin reported that Mother Teresa’s Helping Hands isn’t delivering meals right now, but we may have a parishioner that will need meals soon. Marge Husak and Doris Hotchkin watched the Diocese’s social action “Lunch and Learn” at noon March 7. The topic was “The Importance of the Rice Bowl in a Changing World”.
The next commission meeting will be April 4.

St Mary Social Action Commission meeting minutes April 4, 2024
10 members were in attendance. After reading the minutes for the March meeting, the commission had updates on their current missions. Mother Teresa’s Helping Hands is delivering meals to one homebound parishioner at this time. We also discussed the Food Recovery Network in Grinnell and we will look into how this could help this parishioner and also others in need. The Social Action Easter food drive collected 438 lbs. of food and $290.00 in checks and cash for MICA. It was delivered to MICA April 1. Three boxes of food were delivered to the Drake Library for their food pantry. A thank you to our church members will be put in the church bulletin. All our new homebound parishioners who would like visits have been assigned a volunteer. One new homebound parishioner is receiving phone calls from a volunteer.
Also discussed were ideas for future projects such as a summer food drive. We also are going to research all the nonprofits in Grinnell that help with food insecurities. Ideas for educational social action opportunities for church members were discussed. We would like to offer sessions on the environment. We have also discovered the Diocese of Davenport’s Social Action “Two Feet Newsletter”. It is a wonderful resource for social action ideas. Anyone can sign up to receive this email newsletter. Our next meeting will be May 3.

Knights of Columbus Report:
At the March meeting. Money was approved to give to the Grinnell and Montezuma after prom parties. KC received a thank you from Focus for its donation. It was talked about and approved to donate an old fryer to the Elks. It was talked about the Legion sponsoring a Memorial Day parade. It was talked about finding a float from the Victor council to use in it. Talked about the June meeting where the wives and widows of the membership are invited at Ahrens Park. 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree exemplification to take place on March 24th after the 10:30 mass. March Knight of the month Joe Bagnoli and Mike & Doris Hotchkin as the March family of the month. Good of the order, prayers for John Gorman, Dan Mauss, Adam Doorenbos, Marsha Maschmann and Susie Hansen.
At the April meeting. It was approved to give $3,500 to the church scholarship from the Fish Fry money. Money was received from KC’s Supreme Council to give to Pathways to Pella. A donation was made to the KC perpetual memorial society in John Gorman’s name. It was approved to get flowers for Mother’s Day to hand out after the 10:30 mass. KCs are organizing help for John Gorman’s funeral. Kent Reed and Brian Cranston are our delegates to the KC State Convention in April. Next Meeting is at West Side Diner. Nominations were made and approved for next year’s officers. KCs are planning to put on the Community Meal on June 13th. June 30th is the Iowa Cubs Knights of Columbus night out.