Saint John the Evangelist Parish and Newman Center at OSU

210 N. Knoblock

Stillwater, OK 74075

405-372-6408

saintjohnparish@yahoo.com

Parish Council Minutes: October 9, 2007

Present: Fr. Crevcoure, Barbara Stalzer, Debbie Schroeder, Patty Weir, Mike Lawson, Marie Saatkamp, Clem Ward

Absent: Lisa Healey

Fr. Crevcoure opened the meeting with a prayer at 7:00 PM.

The September minutes were approved as distributed by e-mail. They will be posted to the St. John website.

Parishioner Comments and Concerns: A parishioner wondered whether or not we should remove the raised concrete (from a previous carport?) in the parking lot east of the church. Fr. indicated Richard recently painted the concrete with red and white paint to make the raised portion more noticeable.

A parishioner raised a question about the nursery not being staffed frequently. Barbara indicated this was incorrect. One Sunday, the nursery attendant was sick. While she notified the church, there was not time to find a replacement. Barbara indicated we have student backups; but we can only use individuals who have been properly trained and screened according to Diocesan guidelines.

Mike suggested parish council make a bulleted list of issues and concerns addressed by the council for distribution at the next parish forum.

Program/Committee Reports:

Religious Education – Marie distributed notes from the last board meeting. Angela and Denise reviewed recent activities. Denise expressed concern about attendance at some activities. In the discussion, it was noted she is trying to be visible, build support, and stay in contact with parents. Having an advisory committee consisting of two students from each grade was thought to be a possible means of seeking input and feedback from students themselves.

Early Childhood Center – Patty said the board meets tomorrow evening. She will report in more detail next month on recent EEC board meetings.

Finance Committee – Debbie indicated the finance committee will meet tomorrow and review income and expenditures for the first quarter of FY07/08. A recommendation was made to include a note in bulletins for both St. John and St. Francis, that persons registered at one parish but attending Mass at the other Stillwater parish still can use their home-parish envelopes. Barbara and Cindy regularly trade envelopes belonging to the other parish. Fr. indicated St. John is considering establishing an automatic electronic funds transfer system with a Stillwater bank for parishioner contributions, much like that used by the Diocese for DDF contributions.

Campus Ministry/Newman Center – Fr. indicated there has been good attendance at Newman Center activities. Service projects have been popular with students and have included working on the exterior and interior of BirthChoice. About 14 students are enrolled in the Faith Immersion class and 13 in Deacon Bill’s Bible study.

Student Concerns/Comments – None

Business Manager – Barbara distributed the monthly collection report and monthly sources and uses of funds. Collections continue to lag our weekly budgeted goal.

Pastor’s Comments – Fr. mentioned his column in last Sunday’s bulletin regarding the future of St. John’s and discussions with OSU. He wanted to assure parishioners that they will be kept informed as developments occur. He mentioned the need to do a property assessment and appraisal to determine the market value of the St. John property. He was asked if we could obtain some ballpark estimates of costs for a new facility based on recent experiences with other churches in the Diocese. It was thought we should have some idea what might be a reasonable offer by OSU should one be forthcoming.

The parish council was asked by Fr. for our reaction to participating in the capital campaign which is planned by St. Francis since we share some of the space there for joint programs. One suggestion was for the parishes to establish goals for each parish. Another comment was that participation by St. John parishioners would hinge in part on whether or not we conduct a fund drive in conjunction with whatever offer might be made by OSU. There was general agreement we should give St. John parishioners an opportunity to participate if they so choose.

Fr. said he was looking forward to the upcoming Jericho Siege, which was a first for him.

Old Business: Seven parishioners applied for parish council, but there were no student nominations. Fr. and Cathy will propose a student and the council will vote on her/him. A question was raised about whether the time for our regular monthly meeting might deter some from applying for parish council. While that may be the case, any night is likely to have conflicts for some. Another question was raised about a possible conflict between a parish council member and her/his spouse employed in a staff position at St. John. Nothing in our Constitution addresses that issue but it was believed not likely to be a problem except in rare instances.

Some council members indicated parishioners did not know who was serving on parish council. To better inform the parish, Barbara will take everyone’s picture at next month’s meeting to post on the bulletin board.

Parish council elections will be this next weekend at all Masses. Parish council members will meet to count ballots Tuesday, October 16, at 8 PM at St. John’s.

The Stewardship Fair is scheduled for this next weekend. Several groups responded but not some that were expected to participate. An effort will be made to contact those that did not respond. Barbara distributed a draft of the stewardship report to be given to parishioners and discussed by Fr. at each Mass this weekend.

New Business: Clem mentioned the possibility of forming an advisory board or committee for campus ministry. All reports indicate campus ministry is doing well currently, which he argued is the best time to form such a committee. He had spoken with Cathy Perry and she was supportive of the idea. Fr. and council members agreed. Fr. indicated campus ministry should have a symbiotic relationship with the parish. The advisory committee could provide assistance for peer ministers, serve as a point of contact, take advantage of faculty/staff resources at OSU, and provide new ideas and programs for campus ministry. Fr., Cathy, and Clem will work to draft guidelines for such a group and present it at a future meeting for parish council input and ultimate approval.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 13, 7:00 PM, at St. John

Fr. Crevcoure led the council in a closing prayer.

Respectfully submitted, Clement Ward, Secretary