Saint John the Evangelist Parish and Newman Center at OSU
210 N. Knoblock
Stillwater, OK 74075
405-372-6408
saintjohnparish@yahoo.com


Parish Open Forum Summary: May 2, 2006

Fr. Yew opened the meeting about 7 PM with a prayer.

The following is "a" summary of the exchange of comments and questions between Fr. Yew and the 50 or so parishioners who attended the forum. The summary should not be interpreted as a verbatim account of the forum and I've not attributed parishioner comments to specific individuals. The following notes follow roughly the chronological ordering of the discussion. Those who signed an attendance sheet are listed in an appendix to these notes. My apologies for any errors and omissions.

Fr. Yew began by identifying the purpose of the forum. Just as OSU has been developing a long-range plan, so St. John and St. Francis parishes also need to plan for the future. OSU has given Fr. Yew a verbal commitment that it does not plan to purchase any churches near the campus at this time. OSU does plan to close the alley behind St. John at the Scholars Inn end of the alley. OSU is planning some sort of open gathering space north of St. John but has no plans currently for property south of St. John.

Fr. indicated we are currently running out of space for meetings, classes, events, and storage. The parish needs to brainstorm parish plans for the future. The Diocese has a step-by-step process to follow in planning for the future of a parish. Thus, Fr. Yew emphasized, this process can begin now and would continue should he be transferred. Fr. indicated needing to consider our needs for a worship area, meeting and classroom space, kitchen, hall, parking, and handicapped accessibility.

In terms of parking, Fr. was told a multistory parking garage would cost about $13,000-15,000 per parking space. The new Chancellor of the Diocese has a background in architecture and has indicated maybe we could allow a private firm to build the facility and generate income from it for non-church activities such as sports and special events parking, faculty-staff-student parking, etc. Then after x years, the garage would revert to St. John.

Fr. said St. Francis is also thinking about expanding. Both parishes are planning to organize long-range planning committees to seek parishioner and parish organization input. Both parish committees need to be in close communication as they proceed. Two, independent committees are necessary because the two parishes are juridically separate with difference resources and needs.

Following the above comments, Fr. Yew opened the forum to those present.

One parish need is a space large enough for a combined CCD program. Currently, CCD is divided into two groups; one meeting Sunday morning and the older students meeting Sunday evening.

Could St. John expand both to the north on property we own and purchase property to the south? Fr. indicated the gravel lot to the north might be valued at $500,000 or more. Thus, property near St. John may be expensive.

It was observed that space needs of the parish depend on parish programs. The question was asked whether or not St. John is currently reaching all the people we need to reach (domestic and international students, young families, minorities, youth, non-practicing Catholics, etc.)? Thus, what is it we want to do? Who do we need to serve and how?

Fr. Yew plans further input into the long-range planning process and the committee which will be formed.

Have St. John and St. Francis considered buying land and building outside of Stillwater where land values would be considerably less? Fr. Yew indicated St. Francis is limited by the historical nature of the St. Francis church building. At St. John, moving away from campus would make it difficult to serve the OSU students via the Newman Center.

Is the St. John building structurally sound enough so as to build a second story? While the answer to that is not known for sure, a second story would likely require an elevator for handicap accessibility.

Will the Diocese offer the services of an architect? Fr. Yew said no. The Diocese expects us to hire an architect, but we need to do that after determining generally or specifically our needs for space (chapel size, number of meeting/classrooms, kitchen, etc.).

Someone asked how many parishioners does St. John have and how many attend Mass on the weekends. Over 400 families are registered in the parish. Fr. Yew indicated it is difficult to determine how many attend Mass each Sunday. Fr. guessed that 400 students attend each week. However, given the percentage of Catholics in Oklahoma, we may have 1,000 Catholic students at OSU.

In response to a question about current space, Fr. said we have a classroom and boiler room in the basement. Upstairs, we have Fr.'s apartment, plus two others. If St. John buys or builds a rectory away from St. John, the apartments would be available for other uses.

Fr. commented that if we decide to build in the area where St. John is located currently, it would need to be a multiphase project. That might entail building a new worship center, then remodeling the current building into more useable space.

A comment was made that currently all air conditioners at St. John are about 1978 vintage and all are about ½ of the current minimum efficiency standards for new ones. Thus, we need also to think about energy efficiency from room-to-room in a new or remodeled building. The current heating and cooling system is very inefficient.

What is the Bishop’s plan for St. John? And what about plans for a Catholic elementary school? Fr. said the Bishop leaves those decisions to us. If expansion at/near the current location is infeasible or impractical, then we may have to look elsewhere. Cost must be a consideration. The Bishop had indicated he wants a distinctively Catholic look to a new church, especially if near the campus to make our presence more prominent to the community. As for a school, Fr. mentioned the survey which is in process and need to coordinate planning with St. Francis.

Have we looked at other Newman Centers and/or parishes in terms of their facilities? We may need to consider other models. Fr. agreed that maybe the long-range planning committee needs to visit other Newman Centers at places like the University of Arizona, Iowa State University, Kansas University, or elsewhere.

Would it be possible to swap land St. John owns with property OSU owns near the campus? Fr. indicated that OSU was not in a land swapping frame of mind relative to the athletic village expansion so likely would not consider a land swap with St. John.

A comment was made that students could not support the Newman Center alone. St. John began as a Newman Center but families joined the parish and family parishioners provide the income needed to support the parish. Thus, St. John should continue to be for students and family parishioners.

Fr. commented he would like St. John to be a center for all faiths, for study and other activities. If non-Catholic students come to St. John for other reasons, some may become interested in joining the Church.

A parishioner noted the time students attend OSU and St. John is a critical time in their lives and they need a variety of programs offered by St. John.

What about the plan discussed two or three pastors ago about buying or building a rectory for the two Priests in Stillwater? There was consideration to do that but it was cost-prohibitive at the time. The St. Francis rectory is not up to code, with bare wires, no second story fire escape, etc. Someone has offered a tract of land close to St. John for below-market value. Fr. asked the parish council about it and the council supported having a rectory away from St. John. However, Fr. Ken believes each parish should have its own rectory. One person commented that if the Priest at St. John does not live at St. John near the campus, it may be more difficult for students to contact him when the need arises.

Another comment was made about first identifying needs before planning a facility.

Fr. hopes to have a long-range planning committee named this summer and begin work in the fall. Fr. indicated we may have to proceed as money becomes available. In any case, we need to keep the Bishop informed of our progress.

A question was raised about financing a new structure. Fr. said the parish is solvent on a year-to-year basis. The Bishop thinks we can sustain a debt of a few million dollars and repay it over time. The Diocese has an arrangement to loan money for a small percentage over the prime rate (1.x%?) and be the guarantor of the loan. St. John currently is debt free and has about $600,000 in savings and investments.

St. John fulfills a Diocesan function. Can we expect assistance from the Diocese? Fr. said no because we are solvent, have no debt, and have family parishioners. Fr. commented that he wanted to rename the Catholic Student Center the Newman Center in order to more effectively ask for money. Otherwise, the response was that we were a parish and we should fund our own needs.

When asked, Fr. said St. John has no endowment. An attempt to create one recently proved not to be very successful.

What follow-up will there be after tonight? It was felt we need to schedule a follow-up meeting date as soon as possible in order to solicit input from others not present tonight as well as additional input from those present. Fr. indicated notes from this evening's meeting would be posted at St. John and on the St. John website. A comment was made that the long-range planning committee should be relatively large, to represent a broad range of interests in the parish. The view was expressed that a forum of this type should be held once each semester. But others thought the process should continue from this meeting earlier than this fall. A suggestion was then made to have a potluck dinner in 6-8 weeks to continue the brainstorming type of discussion. Most in attendance seemed to favor this idea.

Again it was noted we need to identify and plan our program needs first. Fr. said he was open to evaluating current programs.

Fr. Yew led a closing prayer to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Clement Ward, Secretary


Appendix: Parish participants, May 2, 2006

Albright, Cathy
Biddle, David
Bokorney, Nan and Baker
Chown, Jenny
Coe, Carol and David
Cronk, Judith
Darlington, Pat
Descher, Cynthia
Devlin, Mame
Doyle, Nancy
Dunbar, Deacon Bill
Epplin, Francis
Gofourth, Melissa
Green, Rose
Jackson, Sarah
Kadavy, Teresa
Krehbiel, Kathy and Daryl
Lambert, Kathy and Bob
Lawson, Maureen and Mike
Lee, Cody
McCraw, Sue and Dean
McGann, Doris
McMullen, Jean and Paul
Middlebrook, Marilyn
Murer, Joanne
Newport, Wanda
Saatkamp, Marie
Scruggs, Marguerite
Smith, Lee Roy
Stalzer, Barbara
Taylor, Linda
Turner, Scott
Wagner, Kay
Ward, Justin and Clem
Weiser, Angela
Wettemann, Grace and Bob
Wilkinson, Rose and John
Williams, Sue and Joe