Highlighting Mary Seat of Wisdom’s Policies and Guidelines for use of Parish Facilities

The following policies and guidelines have been updated by a parish committee and approved by the Parish Pastoral Council and the Pastor.

Purpose: Like a family sharing a home, parish groups share the use of parish facilities. To assure good stewardship of parish facilities, the existing policies have been collected in written form and new policies have been added. Changes in staff and volunteers have resulted in the need for clarification of policies.

General Policies
In the scheduling of space, priority will be given to larger groups that can’t be accommodated in homes. If parish space is limited, groups of smaller size are encouraged to consider meetings at homes if possible.

Space Availability Timeframes
All campus facilities are not available on Tuesdays during the hours the School of Religion is meeting.  The only exception is the Brian Barry Gym which can only be used for practices.

Athletic games are not allowed during scheduled liturgies on Saturdays, Sundays, and Parish Mission days. 
During Holy Week, the campus facilities are unavailable during the Triduum, Thursday – Sunday.

No meetings are to be held when the Parish Pastoral Council is meeting although the gyms may be used for games or practice.

Reserving A Space
Requests to reserve a parish facility should be made to the parish rectory at least three (3) weeks prior to the event. Requests can be made on the parish calendar on this site, or by completing the Parish Facilities Reservation Form. You may also email or call the rectory.  Maureen Keller at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   (847-825-3153) manages reservations for the Church, Annex and Gathering Space.  Roseann Nelson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it manages reservations for all other campus facilities. Click here for detailed instructions to request a reservation online. Then proceed to the Parish Calendar. 

The general parish policy is that space is shared by several users.  There is a long history of classroom space being shared by the school and religious education programs.  Wisdom Hall and Barry Gym are shared by athletic programs and parish groups.  The following list further specifies restricted use of parish space:

Church
The use of church interior is restricted to prayer and sacraments and for pre-approved meetings that are related to spiritual or liturgical formation. In general, the altar in the church should not be moved. 

Gathering Space
The gathering space has a direct relationship to our parish’s worship and the celebration of sacraments.  At the same time, it is a primary space for hospitality and for gatherings related to parish ministries.  The scheduling of the gathering space, the annex, and the church should be coordinated so that conflicts among the needs of individual users can be avoided.  The parish policy is that groups wishing to be present in the gathering space during weekend liturgies must have prior approval from the rectory, that this presence is limited to three successive weekends, and that policies about signage and announcements are strictly adhered to. (See Specific Gathering Space Guidelines).

Annex
On Sunday mornings during the 9:00 A.M. and 10:30 Mass, the annex is restricted for the use of Liturgy of the Word for Children (CLOW).  At Christmas and Easter, the annex is used for an overflow of crowds attending Mass.  At other times the annex serves as shared meeting space.  The storage space in the annex is primarily for religious education materials.  To schedule these spaces, contact Maureen Keller at the rectory at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Clark Ministry Center
With the completion of renovated space on the first floor north and spaces on the second floor, the Clark Ministry Center is the primary meeting space for parish groups. The south end of the first floor south will continue to be restricted to EDP (Early Day Program) during the day time hours.
West Room.  The West Room in the Ministry Center will be available for medium-sized groups. The tables and chairs that were stored in that room were moved to make the room available for meetings.

Rectory
The large meeting room can only be signed out by a staff member. 

Chapel
For the coming year (2009-2010), the Chapel will be shared for spiritual or liturgical gatherings and for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
 

Reservation Cancellations
The policy for canceling space previously signed up for is to notify Roseann Nelson or Maureen Keller as soon as possible, but no later than forty eight hours before intended use. Anytime the calendar manager finds it necessary to cancel a space reservation, she will contact a designated representative of the user group at least seven days ahead of time except in cases of emergency.

Requesting Services of Building Engineer
The Building Engineer reports to staff and does not take direction from facility users.  For example, a work order like setting up chairs would have to be addressed through Tim Shaughnessy, Parish Operations Manager. Forms for Request for Maintenance Help are available online and should be submitted at least two (2) weeks prior to the scheduled event.

Space Cleanliness
Security personnel will be checking the condition of meeting spaces, bathrooms, and kitchen areas upon the closure of the building. If a space has been left in unsatisfactory condition, the parish will need to secure additional cleaning services. The user group will be required to cover the cost of this additional cleaning service. Groups serving food using the kitchen areas or conducting crafts are particularly encouraged to assure that the facilities are left in good condition.