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Our Lady of the Woods ~ Discernment Committee Recommendation

Regarding the Building of New Church Facilities – May 2010

On May 1, 2010 at the end of a day long meeting, the Discernment Committee reached consensus regarding the overall direction for the future of the parish and specific recommendations for new church facilities for Our Lady of the Woods.  We have discerned the most practical and cost effective approach for us to implement is:

v  Retain all current property as the home of Our Lady of the Woods Parish.

v  Begin as soon as practical a “Phased Development Plan” to build onto and renovate the current church.

v  Phased Development proceeding within the financial guidelines provided by the Diocese.

History and Purpose of the Discernment Committee

At a Parish Town Hall Meeting in the Fall of 2009, the Steering Committee was given a consensus direction to investigate more fully the option of building a “Two-Story Shell Core Addition” onto the west end of the existing church.  Subsequent to that meeting the church was approached by a developer within the Woodland Station project and asked to consider a concept whereby Our Lady of the Woods could be located in a prominent location on the plaza of the new Woodland Station development.

Given this important development, the Steering Committee felt this option should be presented to the entire parish for input and consideration as well as to determine the best direction for our parish to take for the future.  They also felt that the best way to proceed with such a complex challenge was to ask for the assistance of the Diocese.  Through the generous donation of their time and talent, Diocesan employees and volunteers, Ed Gaffney, Nick Colarelli, Al Peterson and Carol Meyer formulated a Discernment Process specific to the needs of Our Lady of the Woods and have guided and mentored us through that process during the past few months.

The Discernment Process

After an open invitation to the entire parish to participate in the process at any level, ultimately the challenge became the mission of the Discernment Committee which was composed of five sub-committees:

v    Woodland Station

v    Parish and Diocese

v    Current Location

v    Civic

v    Prayer

The range and scope of each sub-committee was diverse, extensive and comprehensive given the task to research the many diversities of the committee and distill the results into a recommendation.  The recommendation could have sub-categories or stages if needed but those should be as clear and concise as possible.  Dozens of volunteers spent thousands of hours in research, interviews, meetings and refinements in order to achieve sub-committee recommendations.  After months of dedicated effort, the sub-committees proposed and brought forward for parish feedback five options:

Five Committee Options

v  Option A … The Proposed sale of the currently-owned six-acre church Property and facilities, followed by relocation to a gifted parcel of land at the Woodland Station Development site that would include a sanctuary, multipurpose space and a residence for the pastor.

v  Option B … The Proposed sale of the current church facility, rectory/administration buildings and land that fronts on Hwy. 24; followed by building a new facility on Kavanagh Field, that would include a sanctuary, multipurpose space and a residence for the pastor.

v  Option C … The Proposed remodeling and constructing of additions, including increased sanctuary and multi-use space, to the existing facility on Hwy 24 frontage, and retaining Kavanagh Field for future needs and use.

v  Option D … The Proposed maintenance of our current facility with minimal improvements – certain expenses and upgrades are necessary (safety, health and accessibility); with this option there are no new Construction plans or any sale of property proposed.

v  Option E  … The Proposed Construction of a new facility on Kavanagh Field and linking it to our present facilities;  this option utilizes the entire current 6 acre parcel by building structures to include a sanctuary, multipurpose space and a residence for the pastor.

There followed four All-Parish meetings in April to gather parishioner comment and pros and cons regarding the five options. On Saturday, May 1, 2010, the Discernment Committee as a composite group of all the sub-committees met in a day long meeting to consolidate the five options down into a single consensus recommendation to be forwarded to Fr. Don Dilg for consideration and action. Parishioner inputs as well as the research of the prior four months by the committees were key elements in this effort.

Reaching Consensus

The process of reaching consensus on Saturday was one of personal soul-searching, great compromise and hours of discussion conducted so that anyone who wanted to voice an opinion was allowed to do so.  The Holy Spirit truly was part of the process manifested in the voices of those who participated which allowed a unified recommendation of option C to emerge at the end of the day.

Throughout the refinement process a series of informal “Guidelines” were developed for consideration and inclusion as any future committee moves forward with the implementation of the Discernment Committee recommendation.  Those included:

Parish Guidelines

• Honor the history of the parish
• Must do something given the needs of the parish
• Move forward in phases and stages
• Remain in our current location
• Preserve Kavanagh Field for now, future OLW Master Plan uses field
• Build and Renovate current church building and parish center
• Add multi-purpose accessible space essential to the needs of the church such as classrooms, flexible meeting space, additional restrooms, extended kitchen, choir space, additional sanctuary seating and an elevator
• Administrative space should be a serious consideration in the expansion so that the Rectory may be converted back to a residence for the new Pastor
• Some of the highest priority needs include expanded space for youth programs, classrooms, ministry space and total accessibility
• Cost efficiency is essential
• Sweat Equity is highly desirable if this is to be a phased effort, there is potential for many parts of the project to be built with talented time and “barn-raising” efforts by our parishioners
• Maintain unity of the parish – honor the fellowship of all ages and generations
• Consideration should be taken to see that future development on Kavanagh Field should maintain a connectivity to the Main Church

Pursuant to Father and the Bishop agreeing, the process of implementing the specifics will require continued communication, transparency and involvement from the entire parish.

An unforeseen benefit of the Discernment Process is that it allowed a variety of talented, open-minded and compassionate parishioners to come together in a unified cause – to define the future of Our Lady of the Woods as our founders did 54 years ago.  What has emerged from the process should be a unified parish moving forward in a clear and concise direction.  Our chosen direction allows the parish to be visionary while at the same time being responsible stewards of our resources by re-using and renovating our existing facilities where possible.  This also allows for the expansion of new facilities where needed in a practical and fiscally responsible manner.

Therefore it is with the greatest hope that the wishes and voices of the parish family known as Our Lady of the Woods have been honored by the process and recommendation herein presented.

Respectfully submitted,

The Discernment Committee – May 1, 2010

(Approved – Bishop Michael Sheridan, Fr. Don Dilg, Our Lady of the Woods Finance Council – May 11, 2010)

Present: Fr. Don Dilg, Lorraine Bailey, Johnny Lopez, Vicki Rector, Dale Schnitker, and Todd Wiseman.  Guest:  Mike Murray. Absent: Terry Lutz

The meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. with a reading by Father Don.

Repairs and Renovations: Mike Murray gave a detailed report on the status of the interior, exterior building renovations as well as the parking lot, drainage and landscaping needs. His report is included with these minutes. Since some of the improvements added to the fire hazard reduction/safety quotient, Lorraine Bailey questioned whether a reduction in insurance premiums might be realized. Vicki Rector to follow up.

Fred Mais will prepare a Report for a Bulletin Insert showing work completed, in progress and remaining to be done, as well as a total cost for the repairs and renovations.  A Knox Box is being installed at the East door. The Fire Department will have the only key to open this box which will contain identified keys to all doors for quick, easy access. The new system requires two phone numbers: The primary is the parish center phone number; the secondary is the fax number. The monitoring service will cost $30.00 per month. Concern was voiced about a false warning if something set the alarm off by accident. This concern will be addressed at a training session for the new system is scheduled for April 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

Finance Council Membership:

New Member: Carol Korzekwa was warmly welcomed as a new member to the Finance Council.

Resignation: Father Don announced that he had received a letter of resignation from Keith Waggoner as a Finance Council Member due to Keith’s move to Wray, Colorado to accept the position of CEO at a local bank.

Additional Member: An Agenda item for the next meeting will be a discussion as to whether an additional member to the Finance Council needs to be appointed at this time.

Financial Statements:

St. Peter/St. Victor: Terry Lutz, FC member for this area will review the statements on his return from an Arizona business trip. Unless he raises any objection, the statements were approved as read. Cripple Creek Historical Grant for replacement of Stained Glass Windows: Work completed but sealing is needed. 50% of grant money received; remaining 50% will be received at project completion. Father Don reported that exterior repair work is needed to the north side of St. Peter’s. Bids for repair work are in progress. A question arose as to whether this work had been previously budgeted for but no line item was found in 2009-10 budget. The leadership team at St. Peter/St. Victor will deliver their proposed budget to Vicki Rector by May 31st so their budget can be submitted in Diocese Format by 6/30/10 for approval.

Our Lady of the Woods: Statements, as well as July 2009-Martch 2010 Average Weekly Offertory Report, reviewed with the following comments, suggestions and questions:

00-1030, Current Assets, Park State Bank Operating Account: Funds in this account reflect the money we have to work with now as working capital for current projects, capital projects are not included.

00-1711, Other Assets, Work-in-Progress: Includes work being done which eventually translates into an increase in Land and Buildings Values line items.

00-3010, Offertory Income: $9,000 less than same time last year, in part due to the fact that 2010 Easter offering income will not appear until April statements.

70-6000, Charity and Social Concerns: Includes local charities, diocesan charities, Capuchin Monks Mall Ministry, Diaconate Ministers Expenses, Rosary Makers, Funeral Reception, VITA and other parish charitable activities.

00-1712, Work in Progress (2010 Renovation Expenses): Dale Schnitker requested that this sum, which represents one time expenses, would be more properly placed under 01-6000, Other Expenses-Capital Projects as its current placement improperly distorts the Net Ordinary Income bottom line.

Weekly Offertory Report: Increased August giving reflects visitor contributions, summer as well as “Snowbird” contributions (these part-time attendees have been encouraged to register with OLW and some contribute to our Capital campaign) but the figures indicate that regular giving for a congregation of our size is low in comparison to peer group churches.

Vicki Rector will provide FC members with listing of Chart of Accounts for better understanding of budget items.

2010-11 Budget Preparation: Finance Council Members were e-mailed budget review items for perusal prior to today’s meeting such as Diocesan Guidelines, a Worksheet showing projected year end 6/30/10 Income and Expenses and incorporating Diocesan mandates into Proposed Budget Column, Application for Subsidy, and Ministry Inputs.

Thoughts and Reflections for the Finance Council Budgeting Process: Father Don offered his views on offertory giving at Our Lady of the Woods over the past six years in comparison to his experience at other churches and giving records at other diocese churches. His statements were keen, reflective, and disturbing. He senses an acceptance of the premise that ours is a poor country parish; therefore, greater giving isn’t to be expected. And since greater giving isn’t expected, our congregation has to content itself with bare necessities and minimal expenditures, not look to the greater wants, needs, and participation, and most important, not buy into doing (and paying for) what is needed to accomplish God’s wishes for His people.

Are our demographics or our perception of them correct? He challenged us to get out of our rut and dream. We have to change our self image from a negative one to something more positive and do what is needed to uphold our faith. Someone interrupted with the oft heard excuse, “It’s the economy!” to which Dale replied, “Let’s not go there!” Yes, constraints may be present but our emphasis should be on accomplishing the goals of our mission statements. He stated that the Stewardship Model is difficult to achieve and what is needed at Our Lady of the Woods is a major effort that is greater and more challenging than a Capital Campaign. Instead we must communicate to our parish members their individual need for greater participation. In line with a change of perception was his statement: “Parish debt is good!” While a balanced budget is a noble objective, taking care of needs is a greater good, even if it involves debt and the correlating need to raise money to discharge the debt. These were sobering statements to Finance Council members who participated in recent budget processing in a negative expectations mode. These thoughts and statements impacted the following budget considerations and the recommendation that the proposed budget be expressed twofold: An essentials only/no frills budget column and an alternate column allowing for greater wants compensated by greater giving. This second column would require a leap from anticipated receipts to increased giving to cover for budgeted needs.

The Diocese requires us to submit a balanced budget.

Ministries Budget Requests: Proposed letter to Ministry Leaders discussed. Will be revised by Todd Wiseman and Vicki Rector to be more positive and encourage the fullness of participation of the membership of each ministry to input ideas and needs which would allow the ministry to obtain the objective of its Mission Statement. Letter will propose “dare to dream” but be reasonable. Include a bulletin item to encourage ministry members to meet with their leader and be part of the budget request and ideas to achieve the ministry mission objective. Ministry Leaders and Finance Council will meet at a budget meeting, May 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Finance Council Line Items Considerations: Needs to be considered and tasking nominees for research of options/costs:

Parish Priest:  Must follow Diocesan Guidelines.

Phone System: Our system woefully inadequate. New line needed; new equipment; options to be considered. Johnny Lopez said his “Virtual Office” phone investigation would not fit our needs.

Carillon: Manual operation only now and not used as before. Repair or replacement costs?

Faith Formation Director: Increased hours must be approved from 20 to accomplish the challenges of this position. Note: 30 hours would qualify as a full time position and benefits costs should be added to the calculation for the increased hours.

Youth Minister: Additional hours may be needed to expand the duties and accomplish the needed results.

Updated job descriptions would be a benefit to determine present and future needs of these ministries to accomplish goals and any needed adjustments to salary.

COLA:  Cost of living increases not given the past 2 years. Cost of living increases are not to be viewed as a salary increase but as a continuance of the status quo. It is a social injustice not to compensate our employees fairly.

Annual increases: COLA type increases prevalent in utilities, insurance, and other areas. Vicki Rector to research probably 2010-11 increases and include in budget projections.

WEBSITE POSTING OF MINUTES: Minutes will be e-mailed to FC Members for approval. When approved by e-mail response of members, they will be posted on our website.

After a recitation of the “Our Father”, the meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m. NExt meeting is May 11, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lorraine Bailey, Acting Secretary

ALL PARISH MEETING

As you know, our parish is in the midst of a discernment process, the results of which will affect our community for generations to come. Literally hundreds of hours have been contributed to this effort by many of our fellow parishioners; and this process is now at a very crucial juncture. That is why I am making a special appeal to you to come to the next All Parish Meeting.

On Sunday April 11, from 10:45 – 12:30, in the church, the preliminary results and proposals from our combined sub-committees will be presented to the parish as a whole. I honestly believe that the Spirit has been working through them, and now desires to work through you.

This meeting will be repeated on the following Tuesday evening, from 7:00-9:00 PM. Please do come to one of these meetings and offer the gift of your insights to our parish.

In the peace of Christ,

Fr. Don