Attending: Rose Braun, Tate Cooper, Steve Gross, Tim Harmon, Kevin Kohls, Brian Krause, Debbie Meinhardt, Claudia Miller, Cindy Muron, Jane Mueninghoff, Ann Perry, Ray Sousa, Barb Utrata, Fr. Mark Burger, Mary Ann Lampe (Scribe).

Preliminaries: The Council Meeting opened with the Pastoral Council prayer at 7:00 pm. The reflection was led by Steve Gross. Claudia Miller will give the reflection at the September, 2007 meeting; October - Barb Utrata; November - Tate Cooper; December - Debbie Meinhardt.

Agenda Items:

1) Replacement of Resigned Council Member - all
Tim Reed submitted his resignation and has been replaced by Brian Krause who was the next highest vote recipient in the May election that was willing to fill the remaining term. Approved by all.

2) Approval of minutes from May 14th meeting - all

3) Annual Items
a) Review New Council Roster Data before distribution - Rose Braun
Steve - we need to update the website to show the names of new Pastoral Council members. Rose will take care of this. Roster data approved by all.
b) Bylaws - all
Reviewed as written and approved by all.
c) New member Pastoral Council Covenants - Rose Braun
Covenants were signed by all Pastoral Council members present.
d) Upcoming Meeting Items - Sept: Officer Discernment / Oct: resume Pastoral Ministry Updates
Sept. meeting we will have annual discernment of Facilitator and Assistant Facilitator. This generally takes most of the meeting. Prayerfully consider if you would like to be nominated. Steve Gross will ask Jerry Barney to lead this process. Fr. Mark will be unable to attend. Oct. meeting: Last year we brought in each staff member to update Pastoral Council on their ministry activities. Kathy Guenther will present in October.
4) Update on Relief Effort for Hurricane Katrina Impacted Family - Tim Harmon
The second collection for the Katrina Family two weeks ago was a success. The Parish has now raised a total $14,500. We paid their Home Depot and Lowe's bills of $5,000 each. The remaining cash we sent to the family. Tim suggests anyone wishing to go work in the impacted area contact Good Shepherd and go with them. A group is planning to return in October. Tim - what disturbs me is the amount of demolition that still needs to be done throughout the city. They are at least ten years away from recuperation. I think our fund raising efforts are complete.
5) Saints John/Max/(Michael?)/ Susanna Cluster Meetings (next: Sept. 13(?) 7:00 PM - Steve Gross
Several members of the Pastoral Councils of the four parishes meet two times each year to discuss common interests. When Steve receives an e-mail from the St. Max Facilitator he will advise everyone of the meeting time and place. Tentatively, Sept. 13th. Fr. Fisher is the new pastor at St. Michael's and may wish to resume participation in the cluster.
6) Reach Out Lakota reaction to plans for St. Vincent de Paul Society - Tim Harmon
Tim - It was mentioned in a recent edition of Eagles Wings that the parish is considering setting up a St. Vincent de Paul Society chapter here at St. John's. Speaking as a representative of Reach Out Lakota, we are concerned because the two organizations have similar missions. We would like to meet with the St. Vincent de Paul people to ensure that we work together to serve the needs of the residents of West Chester. We want to avoid duplication of effort and splitting of resources. Fr. Mark - Our effort to establish a St. Vincent de Paul Society in the parish is not an affront to Reach Out. If and when we establish a St. Vincent de Paul Society we wish to still support Reach Out. St. V's could better deal with people who come directly to us. St. V's mission would be to visit people and to manage our emergency fund more efficiently.
7) Fr. Mark's Comments
Good Shepherd Parish is in full swing with the Tanzania Project (Millennium Villages Project). Fr. Mark will be making his pitch to the Parish the weekend of Sept. 8. There may be people from Good Shepherd also presenting. Our target is $50,000. So far, we have us, Good Shepherd and four non-Catholic churches. Justice and Peace Commission will be in charge.
Fr. Mark has been contacted by the Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church (an Eastern Rite Catholic church founded by St. Thomas). He has contacted Archbishop Pilarczyk who says he is glad we will welcome them. They would like to use our chapel once a month for their services. They have about fifty members locally and their service will probably be at 3 PM on the second Sunday of the month. Their service lasts about 2 ½ hours. They chose us because we have a reputation for welcoming people. They will want some leaders of the parish to attend, especially their first service.
8) Adjournment and Closing Prayer of Thanksgiving We adjourned at 8:00 pm.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007 at 7:00 pm. in Undercroft D - Reflection by Claudia Miller.