Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It's that time of year again for my conversation with you, as the one entrusted with the chair at the head of the table, regarding the material wellbeing of our Parish.  At the link below you will find my report to you of the material wellbeing of our Parish for the fiscal year we ended on June 30, 2011.  The report has been reviewed by your Parish Finance Council and is now reported to you in fulfillment of my obligation to you according to the norms of Canons 1284 and 1287 of the Code of Canon Law. 

…Commentary on the Financial Report

If any of you have any question or concern about the Annual Financial Report, please do not hesitate to contact me directly so that we can have a conversation about your question or concern.

●I am pleased to report that due solely to your generous material stewardship our Parish was able to operate in the black again this past fiscal year.  The overall operating balance for the Parish was $95,266.34.   This may seem like an extraordinary amount of operating profit; however, I encourage you to understand that it is not that large of an amount when you consider that it cost us $213,434.21 per month simply to operate our Parish in the modest and fiscally conservative way that we did last year. 

●Out of that operating balance, we created another $40,000 certificate of deposit as part of our general revenue savings.  Our total savings as part of general funds is now equivalent to 2.25 months’ worth of operating expenses.  Best practices direct that our general revenue savings should amount to six months’ worth of operating expenses.  We are making progress toward that goal.

●With regard to our Operating Budget, which is funded almost exclusively by your Sunday Offerings, I respectfully ask that you continue to be as generous as you are able to be.  Costs of things in operating a Parish only continue to rise in the same way that the cost of living increases annually for you at home.  We try to be fiscally responsible and live as simply as possible.

●If you are at all able to increase your Sunday Offering by a percentage or two, I ask that you prayerfully consider that possibility.  Archbishop Carlson’s Mission Advancement Initiative for Catholic Schools is said to include an upcoming 2% increase in Parish Assessments annually in order to fund a centralized process for direct tuition assistance for any family in the Archdiocese who applies and qualifies for financial aid.  For our Parish, that means that our annual assessments will increase by almost $80,000.  We will have to come up with that increased revenue from somewhere. 

●Additionally, anticipating the hiring of a new Director of Music Ministries sometime in the coming months, we will undoubtedly have a larger financial responsibility in our salary costs than we have had in the past. 

…Don’t Forget the Christmas Club for Major Needs

Because of your generous support of this initiative, we have been able now to complete and pay for in full the replacement of the roofs on both the Junior High and the Elementary School buildings as well as replace and pay for the fire system control panel and system upgrade.

We have additionally been able to set aside $50,000 annually for the eventual completion of the interior of Church to accompany the funding for that project which comes from our annual Fish Fries.  We have also been able to make another accelerated debt payment of $175,000 on our construction debt.  I hope you have notice the huge difference that has made in the amount of our monthly payment that now goes to principal instead of to interest payments!  Please continue to be as supportive as you can of the Christmas Club initiative so that we can be debt-free by 2016 and then complete the interior of Church.

We also will along the way have to tackle the matter of re-grading our property frontage, repairing the overall surface condition of our parking lots, replace the retaining wall by the rectory garage and straighten that driveway to remove the blind spot, reroute the main entrance to our property and replace defunct lighting, and install and new and permanent parish sign.  It is estimated that project will also cost over $100,000.  It is my hope that your generous support of our Christmas Club initiative will make that possible along the way.

A million thanks for all you do for our Parish with your time – your volunteerism makes many things possible that we could not otherwise afford!

A million thanks for all you do for our Parish with your talent – you make our Parish truly Alive in Christ by sharing the Gifts which the Spirit has given you for the common good! 

A million thanks for all you do for our Parish with your treasure – the more we give back to God the first fruits of that with which He has blest us, the more able and better able we are to grow and expand ministries and services for the sake of the Gospel!

                                                                         Blessings to you and your family!

                                                                         Reverend John A. Brockland, JCL

                                                                         Pastor