Pastoral Council
September 2025 Pastoral Council Meeting Summary
Finance and Administration: Denay Minett is now the church’s Head Sacristan. It was noted “she’ll do an outstanding job and that she brings a professional presence to it.” The Music Director position is still open. Four interviews had been conducted but the right person hasn’t been found yet. This will take some time to find the right person for the job.
Liturgy and Worship Commission: It was noted that Denay Minnett will take the leadership role of this Commission.
Parish Life Commission: There were two Arkansas Travelers games for which the church received 100 tickets. The first game was in June and the second in August. A heavy majority of them were used and a great time was had by all. Next year, there will be an attempt to get seats in the shade on the 1st base side. The 2nd Annual Volunteer Banquet is to be held November 5 and will follow the same pattern as before. Invitations are to be sent out asking for RSVPs with food choices and for nominations for Volunteer of the Year. Lenten dinners were discussed. The dates are to be February 25, March 4 and March 18. Gumbo, pork and fajitas should again be on the menu. The Deaconate Ordination Reception for Josh Osborne will be held May 23, 2026 in the Spiritan Center’s Room 116. There was discussion of the parish’s 150th anniversary. It will fall on February 23, 2029. The Parish Life Team would be happy to help plan/organize it. There were a variety of options brought up, but the team felt there should be a separate committee to plan some of the possible events but that Parish Life can be in charge of the banquet.
Social Justice and Community Outreach Commission; Missions Committee Report: Community Volunteer Day has been set for March 7, 2026, the International Mission-Belize is planned for February 8-14, 2026, the International Mission-Guatemala will take place January 17-27, 2026, and the Divine Mercy Medical Mission will be held here on March 14, 2026 from 10-2. Through July more than $4,000 in donations had been made to Community Assistance requests for help with Conway Corporation bills. In the same time period, the Handyman/H.E.L.P. team had 18 workdays serving 11 H.E.L.P. clients and five non-profit corporations. Missions for Transition Call Tree volunteers started making calls in July. Ninety-two MFTs were on the call list. Another round of calls was to begin in October. MFT deliveries through June took up 26 workdays and served 68 households. Everything is going well for Bethlehem House meals but coordinator Felicia Spradlin is looking for anyone who would like to provide the July meal for next year. CAPCA is an agency the Committee has helped. Among its current needs are meals for its 36 adult residents either by providing a meal one night or donating items for the kitchen to make or serve meals. The City of Hope Outreach has been helped with various repairs and has received $500 a month since August for a small market there. Routine maintenance and repairs have been done at the Conway Emergency Shelter. The Committee showed a documentary called “No Place to Call Home” on behalf of Conway Ministry Center which has been in the process of converting the old Continental Motel into “The Refuge” for homeless people. Committee volunteers have been doing much of the remodeling work there. The Harbor Home for Women, which currently houses 10 women, also receives a monthly subsidy from the Committee. There’s a fund-raising event coming up for it on November 20 called “Black and White.”
Stewardship Commission: Plans were reviewed for this year’s Stewardship campaign which is in October. The focus was to be on time and talent, more specifically Youth Faith Formation, Adult Faith Formation, and the Youth Ministry. A video was to be shown at Mass featuring the directors of these offices with Father John introducing and closing the video. A Stewardship packet was also being mailed out that would include a letter from Father John, the ACH and online giving info, a ministry list, a parish FYE report and Father John’s Parish Vision statement. Shawn Moix and Clare Turpen have joined the Commission. Larry Coney had to drop off from it because of a move. He was thanked for his great leadership and length of service. The other members include Susan Farris, Tonja Fillippino, and Frederic Simon. Staff representatives are Matt Mallett, Celeste Bailey, Yolanda Berumen, and Father John.
Hispanic Commission: Dcn Ramon Argueta reported that leadership classes are being conducted over a period of three years for members of the Hispanic community and more than 40 persons have been participating. There are also a number of retreats being held on the weekends.
Education and Formation Commission: St. Joseph School Principal, Dr. Tucker, submitted a report which included comments regarding how our students love seeing priests at the carline, Mass, adoration, and around campus. He also noted the school Masses are “very full with students and participation!” There were many dates and events listed, but there was a breakdown on student enrollment. The total, for Prek-3 through 12, was listed at 587 which is 76% of capacity. K-12 is 520 or 73% capacity, and the Preschool is 67 for 97% capacity. The elementary school is currently at 89% capacity, the middle school is at 91% capacity, and the high school is at 58% capacity. Overall, the school has 66 new students. The number of students receiving ACE partial tuition scholarships, which help lower-income families wanting to enroll them in a private school, add up to 113 of them.
Old Business: Father John discussed approving the Vision Statement that will go out with the stewardship packet being sent out to parishioners in October. It details the parish history, background to the visioning process, the variety of listening sessions that took place and the core themes developed for the three areas decided upon for a parish vision. The Pastoral Council approved the Vision Statement being sent out with the Stewardship Commission packet in October.
New Business: The next meeting of the Pastoral Council will be held on October 27. It will be the last one of 2025, because of the Volunteer Dinner on November 5th and other holiday-related activities. Those on the Council were asked to think about possible candidates for a seat on the Council in 2026. Rita Sanders’ second three-year term expires in January and Daniel Jacquez completes his first term. He’s agreed to serve a second term. Rita has already served two consecutive terms, so a replacement will need to be found for her position. The Council is grateful for Rita’s dedicated service. A question was raised about progress made regarding plans for a new K-6 school building. It’s being determined how much money can be raised for this project. A consulting firm is working through this. There are three phases to this process before anything can be finalized regarding funding and the final cost of the construction.
Pastor’s Report: Father John primarily dealt with how he’s had to split his time between Diocesan duties and his responsibilities here. It’s evolved over time, but his goal now is to spend two days at the Diocese and three days here.
