Most Blessed Sacrament

Human Concerns Committee

Minutes 9/21/2010

Present: Pat Hilmer, Mary Gibbons, Kelly Butzlaff, Sue Bongert, Jan Cleaver, Belinda Kuester, Sara Pritzl, Diana Streblow, Christa Nollenberger

Absent: Carolynn Cada, Jenny Thorn

Meeting was led in prayer by Mary Gibbons with a special prayer in memory of Bob Leitl. Sarah offered to do the prayer at the October meeting. August minutes were approved.

Sue Bongert was introduced as the liaison from Parish Council. Christa Nollenberger was also introduced as an individual interested in the committee.

Mary Gibbons addressed the need to appoint a new committee member to replace Bob Leitl. Diana Streblow offered to fill the position. The committee approved the motion.

Parish Council

Mary Gibbons reported on the Parish Council Retreat, which emphasized strategic planning for the Parish. There was a review of the mission of the Parish and four strong Parish positives were noted: Father Jim, the Adoration Chapel, Liturgical action, and Parish events. Four areas for future focus were: creating a welcoming and inviting Parish, achieving 90% parishioner attendance at Masses, accomplishing total stewardship, and establishing a well-trained laity to assist our clergy. These goals will be the task of the Parish Council. Also stressed was the need for good communication between committees for cohesiveness. Sue Bongert will be assisting with this. Committee minutes are to be completed and shared within one week of each meeting. The committee will further communicate via the large calendar displayed in the meeting room by posting upcoming events.

Care Ministry

Mary and Jan wrote up the first draft of the Care Ministry proposal for members to review. The ministry will begin with focus on visitation of the sick in local hospitals. Ten volunteers will be interviewed, complete a background check, and receive proper training by Ministry coordinators (Jan and Mary) who will also select the final volunteers. The program is slated to begin in March 2011.

Strategic Plan Review

The committee review and updated its strategic plan as requested by Kathy Reed. There have been problems/concerns with our Fair Trade tea and coffee sales, with possible theft of product at the St. Mary site. The committee is considering ways to offer the product differently, such as in the Parish office, at special events, and during hospitality Sundays. Fair Trade will be placed on the October agenda for further discussion. Food For Finals was dropped from the committee's objectives.

The committee opted to change the wording of its first agenda under Objective 1:B from "refugee families" to "Parish families in need" to be more inclusive. Our local Sudanese families were discussed, with many desiring to pursue U.S. citizenship. Cost factors and time commitment for sponsors was discussed and it was decided that assisting with this endeavor was a loftier goal than the committee had resources for.

Belinda volunteered to update committee information on the MBS website. Kelly offered to make a timetable identifying monthly activities and submit articles and information to the MBS bulletin for publication.

The committee is still interested in bringing in a speaker from the Christine Ann Center and this will be explored in 2011. (Objective 2:B)

Other Events

The committee expressed a desire to help with Habitat for Humanity in some way in the near future. Parish involvement with the Back to School Fair, the Christmas Giving Tree and our annual Fair Trade sale will continue. It was believed that Jenny will continue to lead the Fair Trade sale. We hope to sell Fair Trade goods at the Lourdes Craft Fair on November 20 as well as in the back of church in December. The committee would also like to explore a mission trip to help the poor in the U.S.

Concerning respect for life, September 22 through October 31 has been designated a time for fasting and prayer on behalf of all life (40 Days of Life). On Saturday, October 23, from 8:00-10:00 a.m., Sarah Pritzl will be participating in a prayer event in front of the abortion clinic in Green Bay. Other committee members have made a commitment to pray during the forty days. Sue Bongert also addressed the need to support life in all areas as addressed under objective 3:B.

With regard to the committee's support of its military families, Mary told the committee that Lynn has ordered shadow boxes for pictures of parish members actively serving. Mary is also working on plans to honor vets at Mass for Veteran's Day in November. Kelly created new prayer cards and will be having them printed. They will be available in the back of church and the committee is hoping to ask children to hand them out after Masses.

The Rice Bowl Project will be explored as a Lenten activity.

Red Cross Blood Drive

Mary said that Sister Diane would like to combine the blood drive with the health fair in February.

Northwestern Article Submission

Sue Bongert reported that before an article can be submitted to the Northwestern it must be approved by Father Jim. The committee suggested the Fair Trade Sale might be a good topic for submission.

Meeting Change

The next Human Concerns meeting will be changed from October 19 to October 26 due to conflicts. The time will remain at 6:00 p.m.

Mary closed the meeting in prayer.

Respectfully Submitted, Pat Hilmer