ST. JOHN PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES FROM MAY 6, 2002

Msgr. Art Valenzano opened the meeting with a prayer.  The March minutes were approved. 
Council Members in Attendance:  Bob Andrews, Joe Cinquino, Terry Jones, Mike Oster, Peggy Rager, Fran Rock, Paul Rock, Mike Rodgers, Frank Tontala, Gail Young, and Ken Yuhas
Council Members absent: Jason Fitzgerald, Joe Rankin, Dave Street
Staff in attendance:  Pat Brink	Guest: Charlie Swinderman
Parishioner Concerns:  None
Old Business:
	Master Plan 2003: - Terry Jones said that digging could begin next week.  The general contractor is Frank Harvey.  There is a group working on the interior and exterior design.  Construction will start in July and be finished in 12 months.  
	Religious Education – Bob Andrews distributed a handout on the 2002-03 Religious Education budget of $238,000.  Paul Rock asked about the revenue expectations for Religious Education; Bob will look into the numbers.  Ken Yuhas said that tuition will remain the same for the coming year; next year, there will be a moderate increase.  Pat Brink made a presentation about St. John school.  Pat emphasized that St. John’s is a parish, not a private school.  The school always puts the curriculum within the context of faith.  The expansion of the school will be complete next year with an enrollment of 595 students.  All teachers are highly qualified and certified Catechists.  The Religion curriculum is the same as in the Religious Education program.  The School Board is not a policy making Board, and Pat doesn’t see a strong link between the Council and the Board. Pat suggested a liaison between the Council and the School Board.  Msgr. Art said that there is a finance representative from the School Board that goes to the Finance Committee meeting.  There are still openings for the school because some families do not want to split up their children in order to go to St. John’s.  There are 35 students per class.
	Development – Mike Oster said that the 2nd Phase will begin soon; we will need new volunteers.   Since 1995, there are 1000 more families who have been in the parish for one year or more, and we will contact those families.  Terry Jones suggested taking the thermometer down.  
	Liturgy – The committee will send a survey to 1000 randomly selected families, asking for suggestions and improvements.  Their goal is to increase mass attendance.  The survey will also be on the Website and anyone can complete it.  
	Management & Finance – Paul Rock reported that the offertory is ahead of budget, some expenses are ahead of budget, and some are behind; the net is positive.  We are running against the national trend, where collections are down.  Paul does not like the way the budget process is progressing; people are not turning in their numbers.  The committee is beginning to review recommendations from the accounting firm concerning financial controls.  Paul said that we are in an era of change because financial controls were put in place before the parish was this large.  The next Finance meeting will be on May 30th.  
	Outreach & Evangelization – No report
Sesquicentennial Committee – Fran Rock reported that the committee met with a representative from a Marketing Consulting company to coordinate all the upcoming events and develop a central theme.  This firm has a lot of experience with Catholic parishes, especially those building new churches. 
New Business:
Nominations Committee has 10 candidates and 4 positions to fill.  Msgr Art can appoint council members.  The elections will take place over the next 2 weekends.  On May 20th, we will be counting ballots in the Emmaus room at 7 PM.  Ken Yuhas introduced the by-law change.  There was some discussion on the issue.  The council agreed that the change will be submitted in writing at the next meeting.  A vote will be taken at the second June 3rd meeting with the new council.  
Announcements: Msgr. Art announced that Deacon George will be ordained on May 25th, and will be at St. John’s for another month.  We will have 2 seminarians in the next year.  One was in Rome for 2 years, and will live in the rectory.  The other is a Lutheran Army Chaplain who will be with us for 3 years and will be living with his family in Taneytown; his wife will be going through the RCIA program.  Msgr. Art addressed the recent events in the Catholic Church.  The archdiocese has been proactive; the policy is stated on the Archdiocesan Website.  St. John’s will probably be hosting a forum to discuss this situation.  Msgr. Art emphasized that we will do everything we can to protect our children.  Meeting adjourned.  
						Submitted by, Peggy Rager, Recording Secretary