Parish Council Notes
- Cemetery Bylaws review: leads of the Cemetery Committees had a meeting to discuss unifying the fees and regulations of the cemeteries. New bylaws are being drafted and will be presented to the Cemetery Board for final approval.
- Common fees for each cemetery
- New Staff: Ben Buening was hired as Director of Youth Evangelization. He will be working in the CCD Center to help offset teacher shortage and to lead the youth program and help establish a Hispanic ministry in our family.
- Questions were raised about additional spending (salaries) when we were told the budget is a concern.
- Expressed the need to communicate the financial picture to the cluster and what will happen with finances post-merger.
- Briefly discussed the overview of goals for the parish. Use these when thinking about struggles and the direction we want the parish to go.
- Liturgical/Prayer
- Liturgical Life Commission
- Formational Classes
- Stewardship
- Tithing
- Theology/Culture of Stewardship
- Beautification/Restoration
- Youth
- Vocations
- Catechesis
- Outreach
- Homebound Ministry
- Hispanic Ministry
- Liturgical/Prayer
Starting Sept. 9, 2023
Coinciding with the launch of perpetual adoration at St. Wendelin
Several factors led to this final change in schedule. The weekend Mass schedule adjustment comes from our noted attendance records and the survey response that 60% prefer to attend Mass on Sundays after 9am.
Parish Survey Results/Response
This past spring, we took a survey as a parish called the Disciple Maker Index. This survey's purpose was to help provide insights into what was going well for the parish and where we had room for growth. These results will help us to strategically plan for the future of the parish. Thank you to all who participated! Here you'll find a few key indicators and the parish response.
Growth in Understanding Church Teaching
The survey indicated we as a parish need to do more to help our parishioners grow in confidence in the Church teachings. In light of this, we are hoping to free up evening time for Fr. Hess & Fr. Jacquemin to focus on this need, so our previous Wednesday evening Mass will now be a noon Mass. Now they will be able to attend and help with things like religious ed classes, RCIA, etc.
More Priestly & Religious Vocations
In all of our youth programs, we've made immense efforts to help our youth consider a variety of vocations including religious life & the priesthood by really asking what God wants for their life. Our priests have also made it a personal mission of theirs to make it a topic of conversation more.
Annual Parish Contributions
Of those who answered, 33% contribute less than $500 annually and nearly 50% contribute less than $1,000 annually to the parish. We have taken a hard look at our budget to cut any extra spending as much as possible. Our annual financial report will be shared with the parish in the fall; our goal is to be transparent with everyone about where your donations have gone. We hope to share a larger strategic plan with the parish in order to increase your confidence in contributing moving forward enabling our parish to drive the mission of the church, make disciples, feed the hungry and care for the poor.
