Dear Parishioners:
This past weekend, I spoke at all the Masses concerning the Financial Status of the Parish. Our fiscal year goes from September 1st to August 31st of the following year. I am addressing the last fiscal year: September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023.
Normally, I would present a yearly report in November. However, we had a great deal of trouble with our accounting firm, and, in fact, we no longer have the firm.
As you know, I arrived in November, so these figures reflect the LAST fiscal year and do not reflect the current fiscal year that began on September 1st. Unfortunately, upon my arrival it was determined that the financial statements were not up to date for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
After finally getting as accurate a picture as possible, I have had two meetings with the Parish Finance Council to discuss the state of the parish finances. By Church law (Canon Law), all parishes are required to have a Finance Council. Our parish Finance Council had not met too often since the pandemic and the Finance Council members were largely unaware of the financial situation.
The bottom line is this: LAST Fiscal year (Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 31, 2023), the Parish AND School were a combined total of $307,000 in the RED – not good news.
I take very, very seriously my responsibility to be a good Steward of your contributions. You donate money to the church to help us the young, the elderly, the poor, etc. I appreciate your generosity very, very much. I know you have plenty of financial pressures on you as well.
I can make this pledge to you: I will NOT waste your money; I may make errors in judgement at times BUT I will not waste your money. My mother was born in 1928 and grew up poor during the Depression; I grew up during the Depression. I was raised with a Depression mentality: There is a difference between needs and wants. You usually (not always) got what you needed but often not what you wanted.
I treat your money as if it were my money and I am very careful with my money. As my brothers have remarked to me, I not only still have my First Holy Communion money, but I even have my Baptismal money!! This is the same attitude I will bring to your donations to the Parish. I simply will not waste your money.
I need to address the parish’s financial situation; we simply cannot run in the RED every year. As Albert Einstein once remarked: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result! We are already doing a deep dive into all expenses and revenue to make sure that we eliminate this deficit as quickly as possible.
I ask your understanding during this time as we address these important issues. I once again thank you for your generosity towards the Parish.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God. In Christ,
Fr. Brian