Minutes for Spiritual Growth - January 9, 2007

 

 Karen Davis called the meeting to order.  Prayer included the Sunday gospel and sharing on the question of the week.   Those present for the meeting were Martha Sicking, Debbie Cochran, Don Rohmer, Barbara Rohmer, Nicole Hennigan, Mark Hesse, Angela Hennigan, Lanie Bartush, and Karen Davis.

 

 OLD BUSINESS:

 

Bulletin Update:  Jeannine was not present to give any information on that.

 

ACTS Retreat update:  Karen said that she told the ACTS Core Team that as far as she was concerned, they were to take over the decision-making as far as the ACTS retreats.  At this point the men's retreat is April 13 through 15 at Kingston, OK.  The women's retreat is May 3 through 6 at Kingston as well.  However, the core team is checking into other places for the women's retreat that might be better suited for them.  They plan to reserved Camp Copass for the fall retreats:  a men's September 27 through 30 and a women's November 1 through 3.  They have decided not to pursue the offer by Andy Reed at Turtle Hill since it is not to suited for the ACTS  retreat.  The core team has decided that the Council of Ministries might be the group to decide whether to pursue it.

 

Second Sunday:  This coming Sunday, January 14, Karen will be in charge of showing a video that tells the life story of Dr. Paul Schenck who will be the keynote speaker at the ABBA banquet on Saturday, March 10.  Karen said she bought a large coffee pot that she plans to leave up at the Community Center to use for the Second Sunday series.  Several committee members said they would bring snacks for this  Sunday's session. Martha will prepare a handout of future events for those who attend.

 

February 11:  Karen has asked Kathy Vogel, chair of the Outreach Committee, to share

about work that the committee has done to reach out to families in need through the food pantry, fixing up homes, bringing meals, etc. 

 

March 11:  Martha is working on getting Dr. Paul Schenck himself since he will speak at the ABBA banquet the evening before.  We talked about giving him an honorium if he would come.

 

April:  The Second Sunday in April is Easter and there are no other Sundays that will work.  So we will not have a Second Sunday that month.

 

Father John Robert:  Barbara mentioned the Father John Robert Skeldon will be doing a one day workshop on the gospel of Luke on Saturday, January 27.  She will have an insert put in the bulletin.  Since our parishioners know him, they may want to attend.

 

Valentine Dinner for Couples:  The idea is to have a romantic dinner for married couples that would include a presentation by  the TOBET group of Dallas who speak about the Theology of the Body.  Angela has spoken to Monica ? with the TOBET group. At this point, it would be Monica ? and a married couple. They request a stipend of $75.  The plan is to have the meal upstairs at Doc's. Mark Hesse presented us with a  list of entrees from Doc's and said that Craig would like to give the couples two choices, one for $8.99 and one for $12.99.  They could either get both meals at the same price or get one of each.  We decided to go with the Surf-n-Turf for $12.99 and Grilled Chicken with Pilaf for $8.99.  We discussed that we probably need to ask for enough money to cover the tips for the wait staff and for the stipend.  So the plan is that those wanting two of the $12.99 meals would pay a total of $35; those couples wanting a $8.99 meal and a $12.99 meal would give $30 and those wanting two $8.99 meals would pay $25.  There is room for 30 couples and we would take reservations and collect the money up front.  We also came up with the following schedule for the evening:

6 pm - Doors open - some romantic music in the background

6:30 pm - Begin serving the meal

7 pm - Presentation by TOBET members

8:30 pm - Conclusion

 

Angela Hennigan agreed to chair the event.  Nicole Hennigan will help her.  We decided to do an insert for the bulletin with reservation form.  The deadline for registration will be Friday, February 9. If one or both want the Surf and Turf, they would indicate on the registration form whether the steak should rare, medium, or well done. The couples could also call Angela or Nicole to make reservations.  There would be name cards that would also include the choice of entrée and if the person wants steak, how it should be prepared.  Since no dessert is included, we discussed having some nice chocolates at each table.  We would also need to advertise in the Muenster and Gainesville papers and on Channel 2.  We will begin by putting a notice in the bulletin starting next week.

 

Movie Night:  Karen said she ordered the DVD of  Therese and when she viewed it,  she thought  it was geared more for older children and adults.  Don and Barbara also mentioned a video about Dorothy Day which was also more for teens and adults.  Mark Hesse said he checked into the legal use of showing movies.  The diocese of Fort Worth does have an agreement with certain movie production companies and we may show their movies, but they said to check with Monica Koesler to be sure. If you invite the public to see a movie there cannot be a charge and the publicity cannot include the name of the movies, main characters, or actors.  For example, for "Therese" we could say that it is a movie about St. Therese and is more suitable for older children and adults. After much discussion, we decided to offer a Movie Night to show the DVD on St. Therese on  Sunday, January 21st at 6 pm in the Music Room in Sacred Heart Elementary.  Children will be welcome to come and watch the Veggie tale movie "Jonah" in the far west classroom in the basement.  We would provide childcare.  Each family will bring their own snacks to share and we will provide juice boxes for the children and cold drinks in  a cooler with ice for the adults.  Kids could come in their pajamas and bring a pillow.

 

Recruitment Letter:  Jeannine wanted to work on this so it was tabled for the time being.

 

End of Life Decisions with Father Michael Olson:  Martha will contact him and find out what would some good dates for him to come since he is both Vicar General for the diocese and a pastor at St. Peter's in Fort Worth.

 

Festival of Ministries:  The Festival of Ministries will be held the weekend of February 24 and 25.  Angela has materials from previous years, but Karen suggested changing it somewhat.  Angela said we need a new group picture for the Spiritual Growth and Education Committee.  Barbara suggested getting photos of some of the events we will have before then.  We will also display some of the materials available in the parish library.  There will be a door prize after each Mass: a Catholic Answer Bible, a Catechism of the Catholic Church, and a Compendium (of the Catechism).

 

Parish Library:  Nicole said she checked with Jack White about the parish media library and he said that he would be happy if someone else took charge of it.  It needs to have a sign out sheet, a return box, a better rack for displaying videos, and a list of items.. Nicole and Lanie will work together and see what they can do.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Ken Henderson:  Karen said she had heard of Ken Henderson and checked out his website and called to see if he would be available for a Lenten presentation.  He does have openings. He is from Tulsa and said he would not have a problem being recommended by his bishop as being in good standing.  Karen checked with Ernie about dates that the Community Center would be open.  We decided that the weekend of March 31 and April 1 would work about the best.  At first we were thinking about him coming Friday, March 30, and talk to teens from both schools during the day and then having presentations for the parish on Saturday.  Then it was suggested that we have it on Sunday afternoon, April 1st, which is Palm Sunday.  He could possibly give four talks - his conversion story, one on the domestic church, and others.  Barbara mentioned that we might want to include confessions and benediction if Father Ken or another priest would help.  We discussed how we could cover the expense of bringing him and paying his mileage.  He requests $600 for one talk, $1,000 for two.  After that, it is negotiable.  He also requests mileage.

He may need to spend the night - we could find a place for free.  We decided to ask people for a $10 donation (if they can afford it) to cover the expenses and then have a love offering during the event.   Karen will notify Theresa Mae on the Liturgical Committee of our plans. We also wanted him to speak to the H.S. students at both schools and maybe that could take place on Monday, April 2.  Karen will talk with Dana Dittlinger and Father Ken and Monica Koesler and the principals.

 

Ideas for the Future Programs or Studies:  Barbara suggested that we think a little broader and include speakers on social justice,  explore "adopting" a needy parish outside the states and give people opportunities to serve there, and do some serious study of Scripture and Church History.

 

Vocations:  Debbie Cochran asked that the Vocation Committee be under Spiritual Growth and Education.  We agreed that that would be fine.  She said that they are now telling families if they would like the Vocation Box they can request it rather than wait for it alphabetically.