Parish Pastoral and Finance Council Minutes
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
In Attendance: 12
For Parish Council: Father Showreddy, Father Eustace, Ja-Deen Johnson, Ronda Swartz, Theresa Roberts, Maria Hartman, Connie Merkel, Amberlie O’Toole, Ben Laker, Bobby Eicholtz, Patty Cain, Steve Looney
The meeting was called to order.
Father Showreddy opened the meeting with scripture and with prayer.
A motion was made to approve the council minutes. Minutes were seconded and approved.
Pastor’s Report from Father Showreddy:
• Father said feedback he received from people is that Easter Masses went well. More attended Easter celebrations this year. There were 25 candidates and catechumens that came into the church this year at the Easter Vigil. One couple that were confirmed got married in the church. Two more are also looking to get married in the church.
• Patty Cain continues to provide a list of sick people with clergy for them to visit. One of those passed away today, but Father was able to visit with the family.
• Candidates for the principal position have been interviewing. The deadline for submissions has been extended a week.
• First Communion is happening this coming Saturday.
• June 3rd will be Confirmation.
• Father said he met with the new Men’s Club president, Chris Hasse. Chris mentioned he would like to conduct a small festival in October to raise money for Men’s Club efforts. The Casino night fundraiser hasn’t been bringing in as much money so this would supplement that. Father asked for clarification on this event before plans happen and also asked for the council’s thoughts on if St. Barnabas allows this kind of event. Theresa shared the history from the founding with Father Sciarra of St. Barnabas being a stewardship parish and historically, not having fundraising. Discussion followed about how things have shifted with regards to stewardship. Council members were not openly opposed to the idea of a festival. Bobby explained that Chris wants to get people more involved, connected and to build community. He shared that $35-40K is needed each year to help fund Men’s clubs expenses. Their efforts offset athletic costs for our parish and school families by 30-40%. They also spend a substantial amount in the recent past for the athletic field improvements.
Connie’s idea is to pair a ministry fair with the festival so that people can see the different ways to get involved. Maria added that the Faith Formation Commission had been in discussion about bringing the ministry fair back.
Assistant Principal’s Report:
Ronda shared notes through email which included:
• May Crowning was Friday, May 1st led by our 8th grade students
• First Communion coming up
• ILEARN and NWEA have been happening at the school. These are assessments on academic growth and achievement.
• Summer tutoring is available for students. This is supported through homework help or Title 1 funding. Participation is optional and for some is required based on student need.
• Partnering with Kids Abilities for a parental choice program for anyone that needs speech or related services.
• Continued progressive discipline model to be added to the yearbook.
• Tour de France on May 15th with pie throw
• Planning for end of year activities
• Scheduled Lockdown drill happened this week.
• Still searching to fill the position for a 5/6 grade science teacher. Other positions are filled.
Financial Report:
• Ja-Deen shared that our cash position is looking good right now. (this pertains to time through March, as April hasn’t been closed out). We received our second choice payment in April of $860,000. Another payment will occur sometime this month (this will be another approximately $100,000)
• Tithing is on budget and a little above.
• As for covenant renewal pledge forms, 298 have been received. Ja-Deen did share that some families don’t turn one in if they are on automatic withdrawals and plan to continue their same tithe. $1.1 million has been pledged with 1206 ministry roles being pledged.
Operations:
• Our parking lot will be getting resurfaced this summer - likely at the end of June or the beginning of July.
• Part of our water issues are due to window seals not being in good condition. We have received a quote to get that taken care of.
• A few more doors will be getting fob entry instead of key. The hope is for this to be done in the next couple of months.
• Admin. hallway doors: Parts were backordered so installation will be taking place the first week of June. The backlot gym doors have been replaced.
• More roof repairs are coming up. The roof over the cafeteria will be getting repaired. The roof over the upper room will be getting completely replaced. The roofs could be done while school is still in session.
• 3 more trees will be taken down because they are half dead.
• Patty shared about feedback she has received that people are having issues hearing in the sanctuary. There was discussion about what we can do. Francesca Roher’s husband looked at our sound equipment a year ago and said it was of great quality. Bobby explained different types of mics since this is his profession and offered his expertise on those. He also suggested hearing devices that connect into the sound system may be helpful. These have been used in the past. It was mentioned that the music director, Sam, may be able to offer input on resolving sound issues.
Men’s Club:
• Bobby shared that they just had the father and son breakfast and it was a huge success. Pat Kuntz, former St. Barnabas student and current assistant coach for IU Football, was the speaker. 376 tickets were sold. The sound wasn’t great though and Bobby mentioned the Men’s Club might look at revising the PA system.
Catering was done by Mills Catering and the food quality received praise.
• There is currently an electrical problem with the scoreboard. They believe the line was nicked when work was done. The original electrical is just a buried wire and not housed in conduit. The Men’s club has a couple of people in mind to look at it.
Faith Formation:
Maria shared that they met on the 14th.
Topics of discussion at their meeting were:
• VBS June 15-19. The plan is to have a family picnic and show a slideshow with pictures from the week to wrap up on Friday. Rainforest Falls is the theme.
• In regards to the opening for the Faith formation position, they will work on a job description and posting after openings at schools are dealt with.
• There was recently a retreat for confirmation candidates.
• Religious Ed is going well.
• Tina launched Emmaus Village for parents of teens.
• Men's prayer group for lent went well. A variety of ages have been participating. Lenten’s program was led by Deacon Tom. The men would like it to continue so they are looking at how to do so.
• They talked about starting the ministry fair again.
Ongoing Business:
Ja-Deen shared that the Finance Committee has a couple of representatives that need to roll off. They are in need of 3 more people. Let Ja-Deen know if you have any suggestions.
Father Showreddy closed the meeting by leading us in prayer.
The next Parish Council Meeting will be 6/2 at 6:30 pm in the Hope Center. (moving May’s meeting due to Father being out the last week in May)