ST.

JAMES PARISH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

April 19, 2023

The meeting was called to order by President, Pat Kier, at 12:05 PM. Council members in
attendance were: Father Grubba, Pat Klier, Paula Pfaller, Rebecca Van Scyoc, and
Joyce Pindel and Trustees, Kevin Fitzgerald and Jay Johnson.

Father Grubba offered an opening prayer.

Secretary’s Report – Minutes from the March meeting were approved electronically
and filed.

Correspondence – Jay Johnson reported that St. James received three thank you
letters from the two girls and from the families who received a scholarship to attend
Camp Gray this summer. St. James also received a thank you from a family for supporting
a Catholic education for their children at All Saints in Berlin.

Treasurer’s Report - Kevin Fitzgerald reported that St. James is doing well financially.
A Motion was made by Paula Pfaller and seconded by Joyce Pindel to file the Treasurer’s
Report as given. Motion carried. Filed as reported.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Building and Maintenance – St. James Parish hall was scrubbed. There was a water
leak in the office roof. We believe the problem has been solved, as it has rained since and
the leak did not return. The area will be watched closely. The new carpet from
McCartney Carpet was installed on the altar giving it a fresh look.

Religious Education - Pat Kier reported for Pam Springstroh, our Religious Education
Director. Pam wanted to thank Paula Pfaller for supplying pizzas and garlic bread again
for the Wednesday evening group. In fall, there will be Family of Faith - Year Two.
Current families in the program will be inviting new families to join.

Council of Catholic Women - The CCW supplied beautiful flowers for the Easter
season for the altar. They also served a dinner for Vic Schiro’s funeral.

Liturgy - Two new families have signed up for membership this month at St. James. We
may need a new cover for the church microphone as some static was noticed during Mass.

Music - Things are going smoothly.

Food for the Needy - There have been no new requests for help. Because of this, we
will not ask for more funds at this time. If anyone knows of someone who needs food
assistance, they should contact the Parish Office.

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OLD BUSINESS:
Paula Pfaller will continue to work with an attorney to review the application/contracts
for scholarships. The committee for the going away/thank you party for Father Dale
Grubba is in full swing. Moose Inn will do the catering and the invitations (which were
generously donated by the Berlin Journal Newspapers) will be mailed out to all
parishioners and friends of Father Grubba within the next week.

NEW BUSINESS:
• An Exploratory Committee meeting for a possible late summer or fall parish festival
will be held in May. All parishioners will be invited to attend the meeting. The actual
date and time of the meeting will be listed in a future bulletin.

• On March 23, 2023, Kevin Fitzgerald and Joyce Pindel met with Father John Silva
(the pastor of All Saints) and Father Eric from Wisconsin Dells. Father Silvia has been
appointed by the Bishop as Parochial Administrator of our Parish Pastorate of six
Catholic parishes in the area, effective July 1, 2023. Father Eric was on the planning
committee for the Diocese. He answered questions on the process of “Into the Deep”.
Our meeting lasted two hours and it was for the purpose of not only showing
Father Silva our church and buildings, but also to give him information that we think
will be important to him when he starts the changeover in July. They both were given
all the numbers for Mass attendance. We discussed that we have approximately
150 families in our parish, and that number has remained steady or grown slightly
each year. We also have members who reside locally during the summer months, as
well a seasonal people who come to Mass when they are at their cottages. We talked
about how we should have two Masses during the summer. They did not disagree. We
told them how St. James is a significant leader of the Neshkoro community with
impacts felt in many of the surrounding communities as well. We discussed how
St. James is in a financially sound position. They both seemed impressed with the
tour of our buildings. Father Silva is working hard for this to go smoothly and wants
to visit each parish every two weeks to meet with his new parishioners throughout the
pastorate. He will start visiting all the parishes this July.

• After some discussion, it was decided to move the May Parish Council meeting to
May 24, 2023.

PASTOR’S REPORT:
Father Grubba reported that he is still “Living his Dream”.

Next meeting date – WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023, AT 12:30 PM.

Father Grubba closed the meeting with a prayer.

A Motion was made by Paula Pfaller and seconded by Joyce Pindel to adjourn the meeting.
Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 1:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Joyce A. Pindel, Secretary

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