St. Mary’s Finances 2024
We are all called to be good stewards of the gifts we have been given, including our financial blessings. Being a good steward of money involves more than just managing finances efficiently. It’s about using our resources wisely and generously, recognizing that our wealth ultimately comes from God.
When we prioritize our money on things that truly matter, such as helping others, investing in our spiritual growth, supporting our parish, and giving to other causes we believe in, we align our hearts with God's values. This leads to a sense of fulfillment and peace that goes beyond material possessions.
Christ asks us individually to be good stewards of our money; he also asks the same of our Church. To that end, I’m very pleased to be sharing with you St. Mary’s financial report for the last fiscal year. Thanks to your generous weekly contributions, support of our fundraising endeavors, and the hard work of our staff, our parish is in solid financial shape.
What we have planned for 2025
The Diocesan Ministries Appeal. As always, we are being asked to support the Annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal, which supports the many charitable efforts of our diocese. The in-pew part of the appeal will take place on October 26 – 27. Last year, we exceeded our goal of $52,250 by over $40,000, gaining us a rebate of just over $23,000, which we have applied to our many ministries. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Capital Campaign. I had hoped to launch a Capital Campaign last year to address some of the projects around our church and campus that needed addressing, but time slipped away from us. To prevent this from happening again, we will contract with an outside firm to help us raise the money for needed repairs to our building including the church carpet, our confessionals, the sacristy, the roof of the Carnevale Center, and an elevator. Please stay tuned for more information on this in the next few months.
Online Giving. Unfortunately, our migration over to a new giving platform did not go as well as we would have liked. Many of you found the process of moving to eCatholic difficult; especially when it came to scheduling recurring donations. In light of this, we will be changing our online giving platform to ParishSoft Giving. I am truly sorry to be asking you to make this kind of change again. But it is necessary, and in the long run will be easier for you and the parish. More information on this to come.
Financial Transparency. One issue that came up in our parish survey is financial transparency. As parishioners, you have a right to know how much money we collect and how much we spend. Going forward, each week in the bulletin we will have information on our monthly and quarterly collections and expenses, so you can have a clearer idea as to where the money you have entrusted to us is going.
School Building. We have been working with the diocese to have the school building rented, but to no avail. We have had a number of possible tenants tour the building, but either they have not made offers, or the offers were so low that we couldn’t come to terms. We have moved our Religious Education Classes into the building, so it is being put to use, but we will continue to work with the diocese to seek out potential tenants.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us that where our treasure is, there also will our hearts be. The people of this great parish have never failed to put their hearts, and their treasure, into this community of faith. Thank you for your support of this great parish!
Fr. John