Saint Timothy Parish Council Meeting Minutes
April, 20, 2004

Present: Sarah Hoeben, Marin Smith, Laurie Battiston, Mary Brzinski, Joe Meiman, Rick Hoban, Jerry Grefer, Fr. Witte, Laura Eades

1. Opening prayer read by Jerry Grefer.

2. Facilities Pillar report by Rick Hoban. Rick presented a power point presentation which included many key points. Facilities planning committee has had 3 meetings. Our parish has excellent resources within including experienced, knowledgeable people who have a good grasp of the “needs”. They plan to do a better job at getting things done right vs. doing things cheap. The state of the Parish center and the new church have short and long term issues that need to be updated. As far as expansion of the church community much discussion is happening in the facilities pillar. The first step for expansion is land acquisition. The second step may be a Faith Formation survey to give us direction on which steps to take. Rick presented a draft of items/work that needed to done in Brodnick kitchen, Parish center, church and miscellaneous. He included long term and short term priority, estimated costs and when these projects need to be done in the presentation. Next steps include continued work on document, continued dialog on expansion ideas and to develop a timeline.

3. Worship Pillar report by Larry Lense and Fr. Witte. Fr. Witte presented a power point presentation on the Worship pillar with information from committee meetings. The vision for Worship from the Pastoral Plan is that Worship is the source and summit of our parish life. We welcome each other and gather to enrich ourselves as a Catholic community. Strategies for the Worship pillar include:
    A. Provide worship experiences that deepen parishioners’ appreciation for the liturgy and its impact on daily life.
    B. Engage more parishioners through seasonal and alternative faith enrichment opportunities.
    C. Develop a wider array of liturgical celebrations and teachings through a variety of mediums including retreats, educational materials, study groups, etc.
    D. Design an approach within the Music Ministry to increase participation in choir and worship.
    E. Enhance our art and environment to create a more prayerful and spiritual space.
    F. Provide a coordinator and training for all liturgical ministers.
    G. Increase parishioners’ use of child care options.
    H. Maximize the effectiveness of our physical environment to enhance worship.
    I. Issue an annual growth statement composed of community and parish growth projections.
    J. Respond to short-term growth with an expanded Mass schedule as needed.
Father Witte expanded on how some of these strategies are working now and how we can make some of these models for future plans.

4. Father Witte reported that he is to have another meeting with Bishop Foys on April 27, 2004 to discuss St. Timothy’s community needs.

5. Next Parish Council meeting will be Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 7:00 pm.


Respectfully submitted,

Laura Eades
Parish Council Secretary