Parish Council

John Kip, Chairman  (540) 347-5957

The Parish Council is a group of elected and appointed parishioners that represents the parish and provides the Pastor and parishioners of St. John's with thoughtful discernment, guidance and advice on matters related to parish activities.

Parish Council meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm in the St. John School Science Room, from September through June. All parishioners are welcome and encouraged to attend and to participate in the discussions and activities of the council.

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ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST CATHOLIC CHURCH

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

April 2, 2008

President John Kip opened the meeting at 7:30pm and Fr. Melmer led the opening prayer.

The minutes from the March meeting were read, amended and approved.

Ministry and Committee Reports:

Building Committee ~ Dave McNichol: As of the end of March construction is on schedule. We will need a loan of $2M+ to cover the projected costs. Old stone work needs to be replaced. The leak in the choir loft comes from a leaky capstone. Replacement will cost about $22K. We might be able to salvage the cross. We may need to cut old grout out. Repairs could total $30K and could delay completion. Rooted in Faith money has been taken by the Diocese to pay last month’s construction bill. We are $1M short on the Capital Campaign drive.

Interiors Committee ~ Rod Beran: The statues (of the Blessed Mother and St. John ) have been finished and shipped. Pictures of the statues have been circulated via email. Lewis and Hitchcock did a walk-through of the organ installation. Problems have been worked out. James Doss has incorporated changes into the stained glass windows. Interior finishes have been finalized. These were on display at the Open House.

Fund Raising ~ Mike Durney: So far $5,160 has been raised this quarter. The committee is working on the Nissan project. Training will be available on April 19 for one day for all courses. 65 volunteers have signed up and will support ten concerts. The Knights came through with a tremendous effort. Sallie Carta and the Squire Roses sponsored a candle sale which was very successful. “Thursdays at McMahons” is being offered with St. John’s receiving 10% of the total tab. A similar deal has been set up with UNOs on Tuesdays with St. John’s getting 20%. We have three orders for stained glass windows, with the completion date pending. Father Melmer encouraged each of the ministries to come up with fund raising ideas. The Fund Raising Committee will meet on the third Thursday of the month at McMahon’s.

Finance ~ Karen Chipman: Through February we had a net loss of $10,500 (ytd). The Finance Committee has begun processing the 2008-09 budget. Contributions increased 25% through February. A flier will go out in the Bulletin with an update on parish finances. A Bannion letter will go out to the parish – to both contributors and non-contributors. A “retire the debt” campaign will eventually need to be initiated. Greg Mott is looking into getting a credit card machine. We may be putting credit card authorization forms in the Bulletin once a month. There have been complaints about the “Finance Box” in the Bulletin. People apparently do not understand the premise behind this reporting. A discussion followed as to how revenue is to be reported to the parish. Anne will check on any diocesan requirements for financial reporting in the Bulletin. Pending that, the Bulletin will show the projected budget deficit and the actual budget deficit for the (current) fiscal year.

Stewardship ~  John Kip: The car raffle with All Saints is doing very well, although not as good as last year.

Nominating Committee ~ John Kip: There is nothing new to report. We will probably not need an election. Details will be finalized in June.

Maintenance ~ Steve Wolfe: Looking for a replacement for Robbie Conrath. Applications will be in the Parish Office. The school roof has been patched. We have another five years before we need more repairs. Security cameras will be installed in Mercy Hall next week. 250 parishioners attended the Open House. There will be another Open House in May after all Masses, and we may have another one in June for the community. The Maintenance Department is getting ready to do yard work We may be getting some privacy fencing to hide AC units. Three commercial charcoal grills have been donated by Taylor Boyz to the Knights of Columbus. They are available to rent.

Buildings and Grounds ~ Martha McNichol: Still doing cleanup of the gardens and the grounds..

Knights of Columbus ~ Norma Francis: The Knights will host their monthly Pancake Breakfast on April 13^th. The Ladies Auxiliary will sponsor their annual Yard Sale on April 26^th.

The Women of St. John ~ Joan Chapman: The WOSJ meet on the third Friday of the month in the Knights Social Room. They are planning an outing to Montpelier , the home of James Madison.

St. Vincent de Paul ~ Ellen Cameron: The Poor Box was vandalized and needs to be repaired.

Pilgrimage to Rome ~ Peggy Ragan: There are seven more available slots for the trip to Rome in June/July. Please contact Peggy if you would like to be part of this historical trip.

Medical Missionaries ~ Peggy Ragan: The annual fund raising dinner for the Mission in Haiti/Dominican Republic will be held on April 19^th at the Foxchase Manor in Manassas.

MOMS Group ~ Teresa Paccassi: The MOMS meet every Wednesday morning at Teresa’s house to pray the Rosary. Playgroup now meets on Tuesdays. Time and place are published in the Bulletin. MOMS nite out will be April 26 with a “Games Nite”.

Homeschool ~ Chris Galvin: In February the Homeschool Drama Club theatre production brought in $1100. In June the Torch Group will present “The Princess and the Pauper”. On April 21 the Homeschoolers will sponsor a Red Cross Blood Drive at the Warrenton Church of Christ. On May 7 there will be a Homeschool Information Night for the elementary level and one on May 14^th for high school.

St. John School ~ Ed Hoffman: The Maybach family has set up a memorial fund to benefit the school. More information about the fund will be available shortly. The Annual Fund has raised $52K. Terra Nova testing will take place later this month throughout the diocese. On April 22^nd they will have ACRE testing for Religion. The Race for Education is a PTO fundraiser, the proceeds of which will go for science equipment. If $10K is raised, Ed has promised to dye his hair purple. Another PTO fundraiser, “Under the Tuscan Sun” with a silent auction, is scheduled for April 12^th. The used book sale will take place April 12^th and 13^th. There will be two Open Houses – May 7^th and 15^th. Thanks go out to John Kip for his donation of the prints that are on display in the hallway. The annual CYO Golf Tournament will be May 19^th at Fauquier Springs.

Work Camp ~ Steve Wolfe: Work Camp will take place from June 21-27 with 11 confirmed campers and adult leaders in place. There will be donut sales every Sunday, except Pancake Breakfast Sundays, to raise funds. Mulch will go on sale the first weekend in April. So far we have pre-sold half of the initial order. There will also be a plant sale for Mother’s Day. There will be a need for 200 lunches on Wednesday, June 25^th. John Kip will deliver the lunches. Next year Work Camp will be in the Winchester area.

Music & Liturgy ~ Debby Fancher: Thanks to everyone for all their efforts for the Triduum and Easter. All the practices really helped. The Dedication Mass will be Friday, August 8^th at 4pm. This time was selected so that as many of the priests of the Diocese as possible could attend. Marge Beran and Norma Francis will be co-chairs for the event.

New Business ~ Teresa Pacassi suggested that each ministry be acknowledged on Sunday so people become aware of what the parish has to offer them. She suggested that a lay person make the announcements after Mass to let people know what is going on. There was discussion about promoting the ministries and organizations.

Corpus Christi Celebration ~ Sallie Carta: The procession will be May 25^th. Planning for the other events of the weekend are underway.

A proposal was made to have a strategic planning meeting, prior to the next Parish Council meeting, of the Parish Council, Finance Committee and the Fund Raising Committee to coordinate efforts.

Father Melmer thanked everyone for making the Triduum such a beautiful event. Many hours of work by many people and lots of coordination went into it. Father encouraged everyone to continue in this Easter Season in a spirit of joy and peace and let us spread the Good News!

Father then offered a prayer and adjourned the meeting at 8:59pm. The next PC meeting will be May 7, 2008.

Respectfully submitted,

Anne Tinsdale, Secretary

Fr. John H. Melmer, Pastor