Members Present: Jim Hentges, Rita Degnan, Phil Goebel, Joe Haefliger, Fr. Juettner, Tom Trksak, Steve Connolly, Jeanine Machan, June Thomas. Absent: Mary Turner and Mary Amery.
7:00 pm Opening Prayer - Vespers - Holy Spirit Chapel - PastorAgenda was approved.
February 2005 Minutes were approved with the minor amendment to correct the spelling of the last name of Tom Trksak.
REPORTS
Fr. Juettner reported that nine individuals in the RCIA program will enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass here at the Church of St. Raphael. He also reported that the current youth minister, John O'Sullivan, has submitted his resignation and will complete five years of service to parish youth on June 30, 2005. A Search Committee will be formed to find a replacement.
No report submitted by the Chair.
Rita Degnan reported that the annual insurance audit for our buildings, conducted by Catholic Mutual, for all the parishes in this Archdiocese, was successfully completed in the past month.
Jeanine Machan reported that good progress continues with the parish 50th Anniversary Commemorative Book.
Joe Haefliger reported that a joint meeting will be held between the Stewardship Committee and the DET on March 22.
Steve Connolly reported that good progress continues with the project to introduce new playground equipment at a new site on the school grounds.
OLD BUSINESS:
Three areas of evaluations as found on the March agenda:
The Evangelization Initiative, which will close with a large group meeting in church on Sunday evening March 13th, seems to have met with satisfaction and success for more than 100 parishioners who have participated in the small groups.
A final event for the "Called by Name" Vocations Awareness program was a dinner and meeting on Tuesday, March 8th, with the Archdiocesan Vocations Director, a Dominican sister and diocesan priest present who spoke about their religious vocations. 15 of our young parishioners attended this dinner and program and spoke favorably of the experience.
Very positive evaluations have been received for the Parish Mission conducted by one of the Fathers of Mercy during the third week of Lent. There was a strong attendance on each of the five evening sessions. Another Parish Mission with the Fathers of Mercy is proposed for Lent 2008.
There was an update on the parish letter that will be sent to the residents of the new homes in the Winnetka Greens Development. The letter, that welcomes families to the neighborhood and gives important information about the parish and school, will be mailed out about three weeks before each of two open houses: April 20 for the Phase One Development and August 31 for the Phase Two Development.
Council members discussed procedures for Nominations of Parishioners for the Parish Pastoral Council on Sunday on March 13th as well as for the Discernment Process held on two Thursday evenings in April. Tom Trksak distributed the forms that will be used for both Discernment Sessions.
NEW BUSINESS:
Phil Goebel presented a form with information on Ministry to Young Adults to Council members. This completed form will be inserted in the 'Education and Catechesis' section within the Seven Essential Areas of Parish Life.
The annual Parish Volunteers Appreciation event will be held on Sunday morning, May 1st, with a Mass of Thanksgiving at 9:00 am and a breakfast in the parish school cafeteria from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Invitations will be found as inserts to the parish bulletin on the weekend of April 3rd. Reservations are required for an accurate count in the meal preparations.
Closing prayer by Joe Haefliger.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:50 pm
Respectfully Submitted, Rita Degnan, Secretary