210 N. Knoblock
405-372-6408
Parish Council Minutes: December 11, 2007
Present: Fr. Crevcoure, Patty Weir, Debbie Schroeder, Mark Weiser, Kevin Fowler,
Bob Lambert, Mona Pratt, Bob Wettemann, Paul & Jean McMullen
Absent: Lisa Healey, Barbara Stalzer, Mike Lawson
Fr. Crevcoure opened the meeting with a prayer at 7:00 PM.
The November minutes were approved as distributed by e-mail. They will be posted to the St. John website.
Parishioner Comments and Concerns: Parishioner interest in the reference made in the bulletin regarding OSU’s interest in St. John’s property.
Program/Committee Reports:
Religious Education - Mona submitted report. VBS planning was mentioned. In response a short discussion of Totus Tuus occurred. Fr. Crevcoure provided input that perhaps Totus Tuus could be an additional program option for the older children.
Early Childhood Center ? Patty provided overview of last ECC Board meeting. Enrollment is full. The center continues to get calls about the Montessori preschool along with requests to be on a waiting list. Christmas pageant is scheduled for Dec. 14. An additional board member that is a St. John’s parishioner is needed.
Finance Committee ? Collections were up. This is anticipated from year-end gifts. Fr. Crevcoure stated that December is typically a good collection month.
Campus Ministry/Newman Center ? The last 5 PM mass for semester was held. There has been a good enrollment in the Faith Immersion class. Some students will be represented at the Washington D.C. March for Life program. Cathy has done a good job with seasonal fundraisers. Roger and Sharon Sample have been assisting with the student dinners after 5 p.m. mass. Numbers have been increasingly high; in excess of 100.
Student Concerns/Comments ? None
Business Manager ? Fr. Crevcoure reported that the Mother Teresa Fund recently received a substantial gift. It was mentioned that Barbara was keeping an eye on rolling some of the money out of accounts that exceeded a $100,000 balance to obtain FDIC protection. Reference was made to review all accounts to ensure they were within these protection guidelines.
Old Business ? Clem Ward has worked with Fr. Crevcoure and Cathy Perry on some other Campus Ministry programs. A Campus Ministry Advisory Board will be meeting in February to look at getting some of these programs up and running.
New Business ?
A suggestion was made to create an account or line item for Family Life donations. Jean McMullen said she could talk with Barbara about setting this up as part of the bookkeeping system. Fr. Crevcoure stated it was okay to make parishioners aware that they could support these activities but he did not want the activities to be dependent upon special donations. The church can also support these activities.
A suggestion was made to celebrate The Feast of St. John the Evangelist with a potluck dinner and movie night after the 5 p.m. mass on December 27th.
Gary Clark, Director of Planned Giving, OSU Foundation, met with Fr. Crevcoure last Monday. They would like for the church to consider property locations they have identified as viable options for a new church location, as well as to identify other property interests the church has if these are not viable options.
Additional information to consider as options are reviewed:
- St. John’s current property: 84,000 square feet
- Need sufficient room for parking lot. City ordinance requires 1 parking spot for every 4 seats in an auditorium. Fr. Crevcoure indicated we would most likely need to secure a parking lot with 200 available parking spaces.
- Fr. Crevcoure and Fr. Harder will be including the Diocese in these plans to ensure we have their endorsement as well as available resources to make the best decisions on behalf of the Catholic community in Stillwater. Fr. Crevcoure stated that the Bishop does leave a lot of local initiatives up to the parishes if it’s feasible and viable for parishioners.
- Church relocation must be close to campus for continued campus ministry efforts.
- As St. Francis continues moving forward with building efforts we want to make sure the two churches do not duplicate each other’s efforts.
- Fr. Crevcoure is interested in hearing what other parishioners have to say as well. An upcoming forum will be scheduled to give parishioners an opportunity to voice pros and cons about the various plan options. The entire parish should be well informed to make informed decisions. By utilizing this process Fr. Crevcoure believes we can gain group consensus along the way.
- A long-range planning committee is being established to assist with this process. Potential members include: Bob Huss, Leroy Smith, Jay Albright, Mark Weiser and Bob Lambert.
#1 Option ? Location is on 3rd and Hester. South of campus. Located south of the new OSU Alumni Association parking lot. Property is currently owned by the OSU Alumni Foundation. Gary Clark was vague as to whether the whole lot was an option or just the western portion. Could continue to sell parking spots on football game days as well as student weekday parking. This option provides closer proximity to St. Francis. Reference at this time was also made that Fr. Harder had also mentioned considering purchase of property on the north side of town for a future 3rd parish.
#2 Option ? Location is on Jefferson and McElroy. North of campus. Western half of the entire block. Property is not currently owned by OSU. Property will need to be acquired.
#3 Option ? Location is on Lincoln and McElroy 3rd. North of campus. Property is not currently owned by OSU. Property will need to be acquired. Fr. Crevcoure didn’t think either option 2 or 3 would be sufficient space. Both options are smaller than the property we are currently on. They are also not as visible and farther removed from the daily life on campus; however, they are close to residential student housing.
#4 Option ? Go back to the drawing board to determine where we want to be.
#5 Option ? Stay where we are and seek architectural recommendations to
best accommodate our needs.
Bob Lambert provided some basic cost figures for building construction:
The Presbyterian Hall was recently constructed at the cost of $200/sq. ft.
St. John’s current pew capacity: 208. New construction needs would be to seat
400, ideally 500. To offset building expenses we would need to be looking at a total property purchase of approximately $4 to $4.2 million.
Fr. Crevcoure said he wanted to start moving the parish toward consensus over
Spring. He anticipates the process will happen in stages and will channel the information to group consensus. He also pointed out the importance of financial evaluation of our current property and the importance of caution to not make a hasty decision.
Several attendees commented about the importance of hanging on to historical
features of the church throughout the demolition phase. Hanging onto various pieces of the physical church were labeled as a way to maintain a piece of history that could then be incorporated into the design of the new church.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 7:00 p.m., St. John.
Fr. Crevcoure led the council in a closing prayer.
Respectfully submitted, Patty Weir, Secretary