Parish Staff

Pastoral Council

Members serve in an advisory role to the parish priest. They plan for the future of the parish, review parish policies, promote faith formation and parish activities, coordinate parish groups, and accept and consider comments and suggestions from parishioners.

Charlotte Snekvik - Chair 509-595-3048
Alejandrina Amado
Rob Cassleman
Lorraine Farrand
Aurora Horstkamp
Jim Lincoln
Kevin Owens
Eric Patera - Vice Chair
Mary Schweitzer
Charlotte Worthy

Minutes: Sacred Heart Pastoral Council Zoom Meeting -
June 14, 2020

Members present: Alex Amado, Rob Cassleman, Fr. Steve Dublinski, Lorraine Farrand, Aurora Horstkamp, Jim Lincoln, Kevin Owens, Mary Schweitzer, Char Snekvik (chair) and Charlotte Worthy. Also present: Mary Sutherland, Parish Secretary.
The meeting opened with the Our Father.
Welcome to youth members: Two youth volunteered to be pastoral council members during the coming year, Kelsey Benton and Diego Kittelson. Mary forgot to send an invite to the meeting to them and our youth minister, Linea Johnson. Father Steve will meet with them to explain what the council does.
Faith Formation Commission: The board is trying to be creative. No one option will work for teaching during this time. Online learning only works for some students, the majority are struggling with it.
Liturgy & Worship Commission:
The Year of the Eucharist: Bishop Daly proclaimed June 2020 to June 2021 the Year of the Eucharist. There is a link on our website to the diocesan resource page. The Bishop’s pastoral letter, The Most Holy Eucharist, will be helpful to read before the Disciples in Dialogue series about the Eucharist, which starts June 17. It is about a ten-minute read.
Drive in Mass June 21. It’s clear that more people attended the drive in Mass than the outdoor weekend Masses. At least double. Some older people felt more secure there. We will do it again. The movie theater is letting us use their parking lot again for free. Atom Heart cut their bill in half for the first Mass, which was very generous. We hope the weather is nicer. There is a new sign up program through Flocknote. If people sign up on Flocknote, we will have a register of who is present, and it will speed things up checking off cars when people arrive. 100 cars will max it out. People can sign up from the website as well as the bulletin email.
Safety committee – reopening of the church:  They approve of what we have done so far. They are talking about the future. We cannot have Christmas in the church. Mary contacted Beasley Coliseum about a possible all-parish Christmas Eve Mass. They are still looking into how many people can occupy the space safely. It would be expensive, but we could possibly share the cost with other local congregations, such as the Episcopalians or Lutherans, who have a similar set-up and might want to have Christmas Eve services there. Bohler Gym is not an option, it is an NCAA facility and only available for WSU groups. What are the alternatives for weekend Masses during bad weather? The high school gym, Gladish? What is available, what would it cost, is there enough room for distancing, do they have upgraded filters?
Community Outreach Commission: There is a social justice meeting this week. They will talk about racism – Catholics are very concerned with this. Social justice may lead a discussion about it.
Finance & Administration Commission:
Building committee – They meet Tuesday, June 23, with the architects. This is the final meeting before we get the facilities report. The committee will give feedback for the report. The Sunnyside area property owner is asking us again if we can lock in a deal. The committees need to meet to go over the report, then meet with the congregation. Outside during the summer might be a good time to do that. We can gather on the lawn and spread out. Or have a Zoom meeting. We will try to do Disciples in Dialogue with Zoom. People who don’t have it can come in person. Mary will talk with Linea about our Zoom account.
Maintenance committee: Gylling Construction gave us an estimate of $9,195 to repair the roof of the steeple. They are the first roofer to agree to come and give an estimate; we have been trying since Fr. Jeff was pastor. Shingles continue to blow off during windstorms. This company did a great job on the Cassleman’s roof. It is a very difficult job. We need to do it before we have a lot of leaking. Rob will find out when the company can do it. Fr. Steve knows of an anonymous donor who will pay for it.
            Eric Patera fixed the leak in the bathroom. The heating system needs a few repairs. That will be part of the building evaluation. We hope to look at the plan and determine how to move forward. The architect was delayed by the current situation and city zoning. The church and parking lot are in two different zoning areas, which makes finding out about permitting, etc., very difficult.
            Patio wall (gathering area). A mason agreed to do the brickwork. When he looked at it the damage was worse than he thought. He had agreed to do for $2,000 if we did deconstruction and bought bricks. Al Farrand has removed most of the old bricks. Now we need to get the new bricks. The mason gave good advice on how to maintain the wall. Part of the answer is to keep the snow off of it in the winter. He will redesign the cap of the wall slightly. It will have a slight overhang so water will drip off rather than running along the bricks. It should have a good life.
            The light by the social hall is still not working. Don Snekvik will work on it.
Landscaping: A few people are helping, and doing a nice job. We have nice flowers in front of the church. We did a clean-up last weekend. Eric did more work on the parking lot. We need to seal it. It will cost about $3,000 to do it ourselves vs $12,000 for someone else.
Racism & diversity: We have a diverse community. How does the parish handle it, are we welcoming? Are we diversified in our ministries and boards? Do we have a white bias? We are all affected by our culture and need to be aware.
            Alex is sending out emails about the Mass times and places for Sacred Heart and putting them on Facebook. There will be a new pastor at St Thomas More July 1, Fr. Paul Heric. We don’t know if he knows Spanish. He will also be pastor of Colton/Uniontown. He has a lot of energy and ideas. He needs to figure out how to run the Newman Center during coronavirus. The Knights should help sustain that ministry. It will be a difficult year.
            We will keep working on diversity. We have a great community. How is our representation in all of our committees? Some committees are not on the website, like the building committee and maintenance committee. We don’t have demographic information for the parish.
            We will continue reach out to the Spanish community. In the long term, they should be at Sacred Heart, since this is the family parish. We will continue having a reading in Spanish for the 8:30 Mass.
Fr. Steve will reach out to Fr. Paul to see what he is planning.
Fall activities: The Sacred Heart parking lot welcome-back BBQ for students in the neighborhood is August 28. We will pass out food. If we have tables they will need to be spread out, but it is hard to keep younger people apart.
Next meeting: The council needs to meet after we get the building committee report. Kevin will send it out, then we will meet together. Probably by Zoom, or we could meet in the yard.
            Some questions for the fall retreat:  How long do people serve on standing committees and commissions? How do they get off and on? We should review the constitution and bylaws at the retreat.

 Submitted by Mary Sutherland

June 14, 2020 council Zoom minutes
May 17, 2020 council Zoom minutes
Finance and Administration Report to council 5/17/20
April 25, 2020 council Zoom minutes
Community Outreach Commisstion report to council 4/25/20
March 8, 2020 council minutes
February 9, 2020 council minutes
January 12, 2020 council minutes
December 8, 2019 council minutes
Community Outreach Commisstion report to council 12/8/19
November 3, 2019 council minutes
Faith Formation Board Report to Pastoral Council 11/3/19
October 13, 2019 council minutes
September 8, 2019 council minutes
June 2, 2019 council minutes
May 5, 2019 council minutes
April 7, 2019 council minutes
March 10, 2019 council minutes
Community Outreach Commission Report to Council 3/10/19
February 10, 2019 council minutes
January 13, 2019 council minutes
Faith Formation Board Report to Pastoral Council 1/13/19
December 9, 2018 council minutes
November 11, 2018 council minutes
October 14, 2018 council minutes
September 9, 2018 council minutes
June 3, 2018 council minutes
May 6, 2018 council minutes
April 15, 2018 council minutes
March 18, 2018 council minutes
February 25, 2018 council minutes
February 2018 council minutes - February 11
January 2018 council minutes
December 2017 council minutes
November 2017 council minutes
October 2017 council minutes
September 2017 council minutes
May 2017 council minutes

Faith Formation Board

Parish Faith Formation serves preschool through adults. Board members provide oversight and support to the Faith Formation staff for curriculum, hiring, adult education topics, and the parish library. Individuals will be chosen to form a diverse group representing all parish members.

Penny Zimmerman - President, 509-330-0736 
Tammy Barry 
Linda Heidenreich 
Jane Hommel 
Dan Jinguji 
Wendy McCann 
Jon Parrish 
Dave Schneider

Faith Formation Board Meeting
June 2, 2020 via Zoom
 
Attendants: Theresa Paul, Jane Hommel, Father Steve, Penny Zimmerman, Mary Johnson, Jon Parrish, Dan Jinguji, Tammy Barry, Anna Park, Linea Johnson, David Schneider (11)
Drive Thru Mass – There were many moving parts, it was well attended, and a significant number of older attendees. Feast of the Sacred Heart might be a good weekend to have another drive-in Mass; it felt like a safe and successful gathering. The stage built for the altar was made by Eric Patera. The drive-in mass was not attended by many families with small children. Mary shared that a parishioner told her she enjoyed the Mass very much. Theresa shared that the sound system was clear. She noted that some were streaming and that the stream was very clear. Masks need to be worn as the potential spread area is 24 feet. Tammy shared that she tried to enunciate well due to wearing mask. Movie Theater let us use the parking lot for free.  Would like to do this once per month. There were several volunteers that helped the morning of the Mass.
Opening prayer by Theresa Paul
Review Notes - Anna reviewed the minutes from our 5/5/20 meeting that was held via Zoom.
Potential Board Member - Jane contacted a new parishioner who is a part of the Catholic Daughters.  She is interested in serving on the board.  Last meeting we discussed that we might wait to do board changing until next fall. Linea mentioned that we do a discernment for potential board members.  Dan suggested that we could do the discernment via Zoom. The parishioner knows this and has Zoom capabilities.  To keep things as normal as possible, Father suggests that we go ahead and do this discernment now.  Jane will check to see if next Tuesday, June 9, at 7pm will work. Anna will get the questions for the discernment and send to the FF Board along with the Zoom invite.  
Lentil Fest: Mary shared that the Lentil Festival has been cancelled. 
Updates on virus: We are going to try Mass at the church outdoors.  Father is not encouraging those that are at-risk to attend (dispensation is still going).  RE covered up the library to reduce touch surfaces. We have to have an intense cleaning routine for anything that is indoors.  We have the products just not the staff power to make the appropriate cleaning take place.  We will have hand sanitizer going around and give out sanitizer prior to Communion. 
Theresa asked how we would keep track of number of in church attendees.  Father said daily Mass is only attended by ten or fewer people, and there are no limits to how many can attend in the outdoor space.  Each gathering at the church will have a roster to note who attended. 
Tammy noted that some people were not wearing masks at the drive thru Mass and mentioned that it could make people nervous.  Father stated that he would cancel Mass if someone refuses to wear a mask in the indoor or outdoor spaces.  Internet viewership went up last weekend. 
Survey parents/Options: An option is to have alternative Faith Formation classes, all online where catechists are reading the lessons online like the public schools are doing. Families would be provided with resources to do the lessons like with sacramental prep, or do neighborhood-like Zoom rooms/groups for lessons that are liturgical based. Theresa wants to know what the parents would like to do. Penny shared that parents are overloaded with online learning and that fall plans or online learning in the public schools are still up in the air. Dave shared that online learning is tough for the younger grades.  Penny suggested waiting to see what the school district is going to.  Theresa will need to have a plan or direction by August so that she can order materials, etc. and see if the Catechists still want to help in an alternate education option.  Please everyone share all ideas and options with Theresa that will work for our community.  Dave said that families are maxed out.  Penny wanted to remind us that we will need to be flexible and ready to go with other plans. 
Safely Re-opening: Jon shared that the Safety Committee talked about many options for Masses and cleaning.  The underlying theme was that we are still unsure how to have Mass and Eucharist safely and with full participation.  Cleaning would need to be done after each Mass.  Linea suggested that the coffee and donuts groups could wipe the church down after the Masses.  The committee is going to meet again, but Jane and Jon both shared that an exact date wasn’t set.
Youth Ministry: Tammy asked what would be needed of the youth who come to help with the outdoor Mass.  (setting up and taking down the platform, altar, sound system, other items that cannot be left out overnight). Fr. Steve will try to just have single adults as altar servers.  We will probably do a retraining of altar servers when we get back to regular Mass routines.
        Linea is having weekly meetings with area directors for other options.  Steubenville is online for $60 per person which seems high.  The youth might gather for a one day event at the end of July or do a free online event.  They are hoping for the youth group kickball game in September.  They have been meeting on Sunday evenings via Zoom.  This past Sunday, 5/31/20, 11 youth met. There is a majority that has not been participating.  Linea is still working on a way to reach out to them.  Dave shared the idea of doing a drop-off activity at the youths’ houses that they then do together online.  Linea also had the idea of the chain letter.  Tammy and Dave suggested a scavenger hunt and Linea said they did one via Zoom that was fun.  Linea will continue with Zoom in the summer unless youth start to seem fatigued by it.  Tammy shared that Andersen enjoys the meetings and looks forward to them. 
Dave will set up a table for WSU All Campus Picnic (the Friday before the first day of classes)
Penny will take care of cards from the FF Board. 
Anna will touch base with Jane to see if Betty is available for the meeting next Tuesday. 
Next meeting: Meet again on Tuesday, August 4th at 7pm
Closing Prayer by Tammy Barry
Meeting Ended: 8:20 pm 

June 2, 2020 faith formation board minutes
May 5, 2020 faith formation board minutes
March 3, 2020 faith formation board minutes
February 4, 2020 faith formation board minutes
January 7, 2020 faith formation board minutes
December 3, 2019 faith formation board minutes
November 5, 2019 faith formation board minutes
October 1, 2019 faith formation board minutes
September 3, 2019 faith formation board minutes
June 4, 2019 faith formation board minutes
May 7, 2019 faith formation board minutes
April 2, 2019 faith formation board minutes
March 5, 2019 faith formation board minutes
January 8, 2019 faith formation board minutes
December 4, 2018 faith formation board minutes
November 6, 2018 faith formation board minutes
October 2, 2018 faith formation board minutes
September 4, 2018 faith formation board minutes
June 2018 faith formation board minutes
May 2018 faith formation board minutes
April 2018 faith formation board minutes
March 2018 faith formation board minutes
February 2018 faith formation board minutes
January 2018 faith formation board minutes
December 2017 faith formation board minutes
November 2017 faith formation board minutes
October 2017 faith formation board minutes
September 2017 faith formation board minutes
June 2017 faith formation board minutes

Members research charities and decide which ones will receive money from the parish. In 1990 Sacred Heart's Pastoral Council decided the parish would spend a percent of its income on charity, gradually working up to 10%. It established the Caritas committee to disburse the funds. The percentage has varied over the years. 

Mary Johnson, chair
Ken Casavant
Michelle Chapman
Jessica Ortiz
Tim Paulitz
Robin Saam

Finance Council

This council is appointed by the pastor, and is responsible for ensuring the financial stability of the parish.

Erik Coats - President, 509-334-7772
Dennis Guettinger
Bernie McEldowney
Miho Nam
Rev. Jeff Core, diocesan representative