Blessed Sacrament Parish
Pastoral Council Minutes
March 6, 2024

Attendees: Corrine Cathcart, Annette Clark, Christy Granda, Fr. Rob Howe, Jim Mahoney, Jeff Paulus, Patrick Regier, Cathy Richard, and Barb Warczinsky

Minutes

• Meeting began at 7 pm
• Annette Clark moved and Jeff Paulus seconded the approval of the minutes of the December 13, 2023 Pastoral Council meeting as presented. The motion carried.

Updates (Fr. Rob)

• The Christ Mission Appeal amount for Blessed Sacrament has been adjusted. The method of determining the rate of assessment for this program in future years is being studied by the diocese.
• At this point the maintenance staffing is stable. A new person, Keith Brandt has been hired.
• The staff is getting closer to hiring a new person to serve as the leader of the High School Youth Ministry program.
• Eight priests will be here for Blessed Sacrament’s Communal Penance service.
• There are 17 new or returning Eucharistic Ministers to serve at Masses. We will return to the pre-Covid number of cup ministers during the Easter weekend Masses.
• Blessed Sacrament choir will be singing at the Diocese Chrism Mass.
• Pastoral Council members are encouraged to attend the Christian Service Funding Showcase on March 17th.

Adult Faith Formation – Christy Granda

Recent events included

• Contemplating the Eucharist Through Art – an offering to join with the Eucharistic Revival. Twenty persons attended this event.
• Box of Love – Families preparing goodies to send to college students
• Milestone Anniversary – Fifteen couples signed up to celebrate their milestone anniversary with 40 to 72 years of marriage being celebrated.
• Lenten Reflections – focusing on Gospel Readings and applying them to home, life, parish and the world

Theology by the Glass has been changed to Jesus and Java. Meeting times will be twice a month. Mornings at Cultivate Coffee in the Mall and evenings at Stranded Yarn and Coffee on the Circle.

Ongoing events include

• Small faith groups
• Little Rock Scripture study
• CARE
• Christ Renews
• Laidback Book Club
• Special Event Task Force (A group of people who help with the “behind the scenes” needs of parish events such as the Parish Picnic and Holy Thursday meal.

Upcoming events:

• Parishioners have the opportunity to sign up to create a Peace Post. The finished post will represent reflections on Scripture. Instruction will be provided and participants will have stencils and paint available for their use.
• The parish art show was well attended and many parishioners showcased a variety of artistic talent.

Faith Formation

See attached document for a complete overview from Corrine Cathcart regarding the Elementary, Sacramental Prep, Middle School, and High School Ministries as well as Family Fun events.

Finance Update (Patrick)

The parish Net Assets increased by $167K through February 2024.

Our weekend collections have rebounded since December and we closed the gap vs our plan. Actually, through February our Weekend Collections is better than Budget by $9. In March we continue to track higher than budget. Our Total YTD Expenses were better than Budget across most categories. In addition, our tuition assistance payments to St. Brigid were lower by 4K due to fewer families enrolling children in their school. (12 students enrolled vs 16 students budgeted).

Grant payments totaling $125K were paid to nonprofit programs/organizations supported by Christian Service funding.

Round Table Updates

There were 38 participants in the Men’s Christ Renews program presented earlier this month. There were several younger men who attended.

The Outreach Team paired with the Emmaus House for a project and the Riverside project is coming up.

Attendees: Corinne Cathcart, Annette Clark, Dick Dolinski, Kathy Fothergill, Judy Gross, Fr. Rob Howe, Pat Lautner, Jim Mahoney, Jim Marinik, Andy Pasztor, Jeff Paulus, Patrick Regier, Cathy Richard, Christine Sellnow, Barb Warczinsky 

Minutes 

• Meeting began at 8:02pm 
• Annette Clark moved and Jim Mahoney seconded the approval of the minutes of the September 6, 2023 Pastoral Council meeting as corrected. The motion carried. 

Updates (Fr. Rob) 

• A meeting with the city regarding the playground transfer is scheduled for November 15. Up to approximately $40,000 in grants is pending to help offset the cost of replacing the playground in partnership with the City.  
• The maintenance situation is in transition. An initial arrangement of a person working ~30 hours at Assumption and ~10 hours for Blessed Sacrament was terminated after 3 weeks when the incumbent preferred working solely at Assumption. We now have a person working part time who is expected to transition to full time in December. 
• Our October parish Mass attendance count has increased from 807 in 2022 to 1,016 this year, a 26% improvement. However, this total still lags the 2019 pre-COVID amount of 1,182 by 14%. Attendance at the Sunday 11:00am Mass has increased sharply. Our family-involved faith formation program helped drive this increase. 
• Bishop Ken Untener’s weekend homilies are being read by priests in the Diocese (beginning with Fr. Rob) each weekend and are available via podcast. The “Little Books” based on his writings will be available again for the parishioners beginning with the first Sunday of Advent on December 3, 2023.  
• The video report on the “State of the Parish” is being recorded and edited. The final copy will be available for the parish soon. 

High School Faith Formation Update (Corinne Cathcart) 

Corinne provided an update of the High School program as outlined in the attachment (“Faith Formation”). Some highlights include the whole family program is being well received, we are still seeking candidate to lead the program, the outreach trip this year is to Knoxville, Tennessee. We exceeded our goal of 800 cereal boxes collected and provided to the food pantry.  

Middle School Faith Formation Update (Christine Sellnow) 

Christine provided an update of the Middle School program as outlined in the “Middle Schools YM” attachment. Christine explained the joint pilot of the new Confirmation program at Blessed Sacrament and Assumption beginning next year. She is working with Kathy Russell at Assumption on the project. This is a two-year program with 24 sessions plus a service project and a retreat. Five parishes in the Diocese are participating in the approach with the desired outcome to build a Catholic foundation and form life disciples for the church. Other highlights include the “Reach Out Program” that is providing a service project monthly with the first being to assist at Shelterhouse’s retail store, and an additional project to bake 25 pies for the Food Pantry.  

Parish Christian Service Ministry Report (Pat Lautner) 

Pat provided a very comprehensive report on the various components that make up Christian Services ministry, specifically “Emergency Assistance, Special Assistance, and Christian Service Funding.”  

“Emergency Assistance” typically begins with a request through 2-1-1. Basic information such as name, address, income, number of children, etc. is collected and the need is identified. Typical needs are for rent to avoid eviction, paying a utility bill, and the like. Blessed Sacrament is in collaboration with a network of agencies, comprised of approximately 20 churches and several service organizations, who provide emergency assistance. Recipients are limited to one support payment per fiscal year and a maximum payment of $150. Blessed Sacrament provided $27,400 of assistance during our 2022-2023 fiscal year. 

“Special Assistance” is for extraordinary help arising from more serious circumstances such as floods, storm damage, emergency shelter, etc. A network of 15 churches and 20 agencies come together to manage this endeavor. 

“Christian Service Commission Funding” has provided $3.27 million in funds to area non-profit agencies since its inception in 1981. Applications for funding are submitted by October 1 of each year requesting information about the agency’s mission, service, budget, and related items along with the proposed use of the requested grant. Representatives of any agency that has not applied in the past are interviewed by the Commission members, the applications are reviewed, and the funding decisions are made. Last year, $125,000 of a total of $183,000 requested was dispersed in grants to 56 agencies. The Christian Service Commission reviewed requests from 53 agencies this year and has recommended $125,000 of funding to the agencies. Award letters will be sent to the selected agencies in early December with payments in February. An open house for recipient agencies is held after the Sunday Masses on a designated day in March of each year to allow the agencies to inform about and exhibit” their work as well as to network. 

Finance Report and Update (Patrick Regier) 

Weekend collections are down $30,700 versus budget through the end of October. However, our total year-to-date expenses were better than budget by $43,000 largely owing to lower employee-related expenses including a less than 100% staffing level with the open High School Youth Ministry position. Net assets increased by $46,000. 

Roundtable Updates 

• Corinne—encouraged all to view the pictures lining the hallway 
• Barb—expressed her appreciation and gratitude to the staff for their exceptional work 
• Jim Marinik—asked about the outcomes of the Synod meeting in Rome. Fr. Rob responded that this is a two-year process, only the first phase has been concluded, and more work will be done over the next year. 
• Cathy Richard—indicated that she was proud to be a part of this group and its work 
• Annette—updated the group on several initiatives including a planned Thanksgiving turkey drive, Coats for Kids campaign, greeting cards project at Washington Woods, Sharing Tree tags availability, and the Alternate Gifts fair in November 

• The next meeting will be a Joint Pastoral & Finance Council on December 13, 2023 at 7:00pm. 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:16pm 

Attendees: Corinne Cathcart, Annette Clark, Dick Dolinski, Fr. Rob Howe, Jim Mahoney, Jim Marinik, Jeff Paulus, Patrick Regier, Cathy Richard, Barb Warczinsky

Minutes

• Meeting began at 6:58pm
• Barb Warczinsky moved and Jim Mahoney seconded the approval of the minutes of the June 7, 2023 Joint Pastoral and Finance Councils meeting as corrected. The motion carried.

Updates (Fr. Rob)

• Justin Rose’s departure was an unexpected surprise but it is a very good move for him and his family. With his leaving, Corinne has agreed to take on the role of faith formation team leader. A search is underway for Justin’s replacement.
• The maintenance situation is still in a state of flux. We are sharing a part-time person with Assumption with help on the weekends.
• The parish picnic and golf outing went very well and we’ve received positive feedback regarding both events. A total of 23 teams participated in the golf outing. Plans are to move the date to the week of August 25 next year.
• The Midland City Council approved the playground transfer agreement. The Diocese also has agreed with the move. The appropriate legal documents are being drawn up to facilitate the transfer. A letter in opposition to the transfer from a concerned parishioner was read to the Council as requested. A discussion ensued to explore additional sources of revenue from local foundations and civic organizations to assist with underwriting the cost of updating the playground.

Faith Formation Update (Corinne Cathcart)

Corinne described the Faith Formation program for this fiscal year. An outline of her presentation is attached which includes the new Confirmation schedule and the format for elementary Faith Formation programs. This year’s program theme is ”Kingdom Builders” — what can we do to build God’s Kingdom on earth? This topic is derived from several Catholic social teachings including the need to build a holy and just society. Jesus called us to care for “the least of these.”

There is a change in the Confirmation program. It will be a two-year program beginning at age 12 or later. We and Assumption are piloting the “Purpose” by Life Teens curriculum that’s been approved by the Diocese for use in all parishes. Elementary Faith

Formation has been designed to include kids and their parents to experience the program together. Parents are the first and most influential catechists for their children. The program will empower them to raise faithful, faith-filled, life-long Catholics. There will also be a good deal of family fun components including the Trunk or Treat evening, Euchre, a chili cook-off, game nights, and the like. This year’s outreach will be a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Corinne closed her presentation with a list of important Faith Formation program dates as indicated in the attachment.

Finance Update (Patrick)

• The parish fund balance increased by just under $28,000 year-to-date through August 31, 2023 to a total of $2.9 million.
• Despite lower weekend collections, our revenues slightly exceeded expenses due to memorial donations, higher interest income, and lower expenses across most categories except utilities.
• Our 2022-23 Christ Mission Appeal effort ended at 83% of our $250,000 target, about $42,000 short of our goal. Our 2023-24 goal has been increased 9.2% to $273,000. A contributing factor to this large increase is that the Diocese uses US census population and income data in their calculations rather than parish-specific information.

Roundtable Updates

• Jim Mahoney—discuss greeters to welcome and orient newcomers to the parish
• Jeff—we should make sure that we select the right candidate for Justin’s replacement even if it takes more time to find that person
• Annette—the “One Week-One Street” program is in the works
• Cathy—the women’s Christ Renews group is discerning their next steps—22 people are involved
• Fr. Rob—we need help recruiting Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, choir members, etc. Please invite people who may have an interest.
• The next meeting of the Pastoral Council is November 8, 2023

The meeting was adjourned at 8:03pm