As I approached my first anniversary as pastor of St. John Paul II Parish last June, I made my first financial report to you. As with that report, this message does not contain the details of the reports you have seen in the past. That information is available upon request. This message is more an explanation of the financial state of the parish than a collection of numbers. The table below shows the actual income vs. expenses for the last two fiscal years, 2017 and 2018.
| Fiscal Year 2017 (Actual) | Fiscal Year 2018 (Actual) | |
| Income | $936,013 | $1,010,457 |
| Expenses | $998,235 | $1,018,014 |
| Differential | -$62,222 | -$7,557 |
At a glance, the above looks like great news: although expenses exceeded income, we only ended up $7,557 in the red this year, which is $54,665 less than in 2017! However, this is deceptive. Keep in mind that: 1) We paid none of the $110,000 we owed in insurance bills, 2) We transferred $20,000 from our Diocesan Expansion Fund savings account to pay operating expenses (regular bills), and 3) After I asked people to consider increasing their weekly offertory 25%, we got a windfall in the form of some very generous one-time donations which we can’t count on again.
And, as you can see each week in the bulletin, the weekly stewardship of the parish has not really increased either. As you can also see each week in the bulletin, we fall several thousand dollars short of the $16,000 we say we need to meet our expenses. The $16,000 figure is several years old. In reality, we need around $21,000 each week. As you know, the cost of everything goes up. The following breakdown provides the details of why we need $21,000. Remember, these are just operating expenses – what we spend to keep the parish operating – and do not include capital expenses to property, such as fixing the steps or the steeple of a church.
The following does include how the costs decreased after the sale of the property at Sacred Heart Church. Unfortunately, the savings is not dramatic, and we must remember that the Flea Market brought in several hundred dollars of revenue each week. Note also that some expenses have gone up since the June report. Not only are expenses volatile and subject to change, but the electricity is way up because we had counted on $30,000 in savings based on forecasts from the ACN campaign, which never happened.
| Operating Expense | Weekly Cost | Annual Cost |
| Oil | $268 | $13,936 |
| Gas | $1,372 | $71,344 |
| Electricity | $1780 | $92,560 |
| Other Utilities (phone, internet, water, sewer, etc.) | $808 | $42,016 |
| Maintenance/Grounds | $1,177 | $61,204 |
| Church Expenses | $1,046 | $54,392 |
| Administrative (office supplies, machines, postage, bank fees, etc.) | $1,478 | $76,856 |
| Vehicles | $230 | $11,960 |
| Payroll | $7,908 | $411,216 |
| Employee taxes/Insurance | $2,927 | $152,204 |
| Property Insurance: | ||
| Notre Dame(includes Lasalle Hall) | $1,399 | $72,747 |
| St. Mary | $362 | $18,829 |
| St. Hedwig | $121 | $6,288 |
| Total | $20,876 | $1,085,489 |
This is sobering news. How do we meet this challenge? We need a three-fold approach. First, we do what we can to cut expenses. One action I think we should take is to save on heat and electricity by moving our weekend worship out of Notre Dame Church and into St. Mary Church after the first of the year to save on utilities (about $21,000). No one should jump to any false conclusions; this in no way means that we are looking to do this permanently or sell the church. On the contrary, we would do this so that we can have the funds needed to keep the church. At my family homestead, my father used to seal up the living and dining rooms in the heart of winter and not heat them. Of course, if there was a reason to use them we would, but it only made sense to live in the smaller, less expensive parts of the house until the weather got warmer. This is the same idea: we would rediscover our beautiful, iconic church after a few months and appreciate what we have all the more.
Second, expenses such as utilities and insurance are significantly decreased if we sell property we don’t use. And the proceeds from the sale would help pay down the $3.6 million debt we owe the diocese. The bishop and the diocese are being very generous in this matter; they have told us, for example, that if we pay them $250,000 from the sale of the Sacred Heart property, they will count every dollar as three, so we would pay $750,000 on the debt. This would be one fifth of the debt, and the same three-for-one deal would continue into future sales.
Third, we all need to prayerfully examine and discern our financial stewardship to our faith community. Stewardship is of course much more than financial. We have worked and will continue to work hard on the time and talent aspects of stewardship through the Stewardship Committee, such as the “Harvesting the Talent of Our Community” festival we had in October; but the financial aspect is critical as well, both to the vitality of the parish and our own individual spiritual vitality.
So here is the challenge: we all ask God what he is calling us to do in the way of increasing our weekly giving. The question always arises: how much are you asking me to increase my offering, Father? This is not the best question. We all need to ask God to help us discern His will. You may not be in a position to give any more. You may be in a position to double or triple your offering, or even more.
That said, I add that our Judeo-Christian tradition, based in Scripture, exhorts us to tithe ten percent of our annual income, that is, to give one-tenth of what we earn in a year away as charitable giving. I ask that all of us consider giving half of that to the parish. This means that we would tithe (give) five percent of our annual income to the faith community to which we belong, our parish, and which only we can really support and help keep vital. I make a personal pledge to do this myself.
Another thing which will help is to ensure that you make your offering through electronic giving. This way, if you are away on vacation, it snows or you are not feeling well, you still make your offering which is so vital to our faith community. Information about how to do this will be available in the bulletin and is available on the website.
Finally, let me thank all of you who in faith give in any way to God and to the parish, so that the love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom can be spread and lived for the life of the world.
Please pray for me and the staff that we can always deeply appreciate the sacred trust you place in us to be the best possible stewards of your generous giving. And let us together with God face the future with confidence, faith and hope as we journey toward the fullness of His heavenly Kingdom.
Sincerely in Jesus and Mary,
Father Ken
Al acercarme a mi primer aniversario pastoral en la parroquia San Juan Pablo II el pasado Junio, yo presente mi primer reporte financiero a todos ustedes.
Tal como en aquel reporte, este mensaje no contiene todos los detalles de los reportes que ustedes han visto en el pasado. Esta información detallada esta disponible para ustedes solo tienen que pedirla. Este mensaje es mas una explicación del estado financiero de la parroquia que una simple presentación de números. La tabla que ustedes ven aquí les muestra el ingreso actual versus los gastos por los pasados dos años fiscales, 2017 y 2018.
| Año Fiscal 2017 (Actual) | Año Fiscal 2018 (Actual) | |
| Ingresos | $936,013.00 | $1,010,457.00 |
| Gastos | $998,235.00 | $1,018,024 |
| Diferencia | -$62,222.00 | -$7,557.00 |
A primera vista, lo que vemos parecen muy buenas noticias: A pesar de que los gastos sobrepasan los ingresos, nosotros terminamos en rojo con un Negativo de -$7,557.00 dolares este año, que son ¡$54,665.00 dólares menos que en el 2017! Sin embargo, esto es engañoso. Recordemos que: 1) No pagamos nada de los $110,000.00 dolares que debemos por las facturas de los seguros; 2) Transferimos $20,000.00 dolares de la cuenta de ahorros de los Fondos de Expansión Diocesanos para pagar los gastos de operaciones (los pagareces) regulares; y 3) Después de haberles pedido que por favor consideraran aumentar sus ofrendas un 25%, nosotros recibimos unas donaciones inesperadas y muy generosas con las que no podemos contar por siempre.
Y, como ustedes pueden ver en los boletines semanales, las ofrendas semanales de la parroquia tampoco han aumentado. También como ustedes pueden ver en el boletín, nosotros estamos miles de dólares por debajo de los $16,000.00 dólares que necesitamos para poder pagar todos los gastos de la parroquia. La cantidad de $16,000.00 dólares es una cantidad basada en los gastos de años pasados. En realidad, nosotros necesitamos cerca de $21,000.00 dólares cada semana. Como ustedes saben, el costo de todo aumenta. La tabla que sigue les presentara con detalles el porque necesitamos $21,000.00 dólares cada semana. Recuerde, que estos son solamente los gastos de operación de la parroquia- lo que nosotros gastamos en mantener la parroquia funcionando- y no incluye los gastos capitales de las propiedades, tales como el arreglar las escaleras o arreglar el campanario de la parroquia.
La siguiente tabla incluye como el costo ha bajado después de haber vendido la propiedad de la parroquia del Sagrado Corazón. Desafortunadamente, los ahorros no son tan grandes, y tenemos recordar que el “Flea Market” Pulguero o Mercado de Pulgas nos traía varios cientos de dólares como ingresos cada semana. También note que algunos gastos han aumentado desde el pasado reporte financiero en Junio. No solamente los gastos son inestables y sujetos a cambios, pero la electricidad ha subido mucho ya que contábamos con unos $30,000.00 dólares en ahorros basados en los pronósticos de la campaña de ACN, que nunca pasaron.
| Gastos Operacionales | Costo Semanal | Costo Anual |
| Aceite | $268.00 | $13,936.00 |
| Gas | $1,372.00 | $71,344.00 |
| Electricidad | $1,780.00 | $92,560.00 |
| Otras Utilidades (teléfono, internet, agua, alcantarillado, etc.) | $808.00 | $42,016.00 |
| Mantenimiento/Los terrenos | $1,177.00 | $61,204.00 |
| Gastos de la Parroquia | $1,046.00 | $54,392.00 |
| Gastos Administrativos (material de oficina, maquinas, correo, tarifas bancarias, etc.) | $1,478.00 | $76,856.00 |
| Vehículos | $230.00 | $11,960.00 |
| Nomina (Salarios) | $7,908.00 | $411,216.00 |
| Impuestos de los Empleados y Seguros | $2,927.00 | $152,204.00 |
|
Seguro de las Propiedades
Notre Dame (incluye Lasalle Hall) |
$1,399.00 | $72,747.00 |
| St. Mary | $362.00 | $18,829.00 |
| St. Hedwig | $121.00 | $6,288.00 |
| Total | $20,876.00 | $1,085,489.00 |
Estas son noticias decepcionantes. ¿Como podemos enfrentar este desafío? Necesitamos hacer esto en tres diferentes maneras. Primero, haremos todos lo que este a nuestro alcance para ahorrar en los gastos. Un paso que yo pienso deberíamos tomar para ahorrar en la calefacción y la electricidad es el mudar nuestros servicios los fines de semana de Notre Dame para Santa María, después del primero del años para ahorra en las utilidades (ahorraremos cerca de $21,000.00 dólares). No debemos de precipitarnos a pensar cosas que no son; esto en nada quiere decir que estamos pensando en permanentemente cerrar la parroquia o venderla. Al contrario, haremos esto para asegurarnos de que contaremos con los fondos suficientes para mantener los arreglos que la parroquia necesite. En mi familia, mi padre cerraba la sala y el comedor en la época mas fría del invierno y no prendía la calefacción en esas partes de la casa. Claro que si había una razón por la cual necesitábamos usar esas partes de la casa entonces el prendía la calefacción para estas partes de la casa, pero tenia mucho sentido prender la calefacción para aquellas partes en las que si estábamos usando constantemente en vez de prender la calefacción para todas las partes de la casa que podíamos dejar de usar a lo menos en las ocasiones mas frías del invierno. Esta es la misma idea: nosotros redescubriremos la belleza de esta Iglesia tan simbólica después de algunos meses y apreciaremos aun mas la belleza que tenemos en esta parroquia cuando volvamos a ella.
Segundo, los gastos tales como los gastos en utilidades y seguros bajaran significativamente si vendemos las propiedades que no usamos. Y las ganancias de estas ventas nos ayudaran a pagar la deuda de Tres Punto Seis Millones que le debemos a la Diócesis. El Cardenal y la Diócesis están siendo muy generosos en este asunto con nosotros; Ellos nos han dicho que, por ejemplo, que si le pagamos Doscientos Cincuenta Mil dólares de la venta de la propiedad del Sagrado Corazón, ellos contaran cada dólar como si fueran Tres Dólares, entonces pagaríamos Setecientos Cincuenta Mil dólares a la deuda. Esto seria una quinta parte de la deuda, y ellos seguirán contando un dólar que le paguemos como si fueran tres dólares por cada venta de propiedades que hagamos y le paguemos.
Tercero, todos necesitamos examinar y discernir a través de la oración nuestra responsabilidad y administración de nuestras finanzas hacia nuestra comunidad de fe. El ser buenos administradores va mucho mas allá de simplemente administrar bien nuestras finanzas, ser buen administrador habla mucho mas que de eso. Nosotros hemos trabajado y continuaremos trabajando en el tiempo y los talentos como administradores a través de el Comité de Administración, tales como el festival de “Cosechando los Talentos en Nuestra Comunidad” que tuvimos el pasado Octubre; pero también es critico el aspecto financiero, tanto para la vitalidad de la parroquia como para nuestra vitalidad espiritual individual.
Entonces aquí esta el reto: todos le pediremos a Dios que nos indique a que El nos esta llamando a aumentar nuestras donaciones semanales. Siempre nos hacemos la misma pregunta: ¿Padre, con cuanto mas quisieras que yo aumente mi ofrenda? Esta no es la mejor pregunta. Nosotros todos debemos de pedirle a Dios que nos ayude a discernir Su Voluntad. Tal ves usted no este en una posición de poder dar mas ahora. Tal vez usted este en una posición que pueda doblar o triplicar su ofrenda, o tal vez aun mas.
Habiendo dicho esto, Yo añado nuestra tradición Judeo-Cristiana, basada ne las Escrituras, que nos exhorta a diezmar el diez por ciento de nuestros ingresos anuales, esto es, dar el diezmo de lo que nos ganamos al año como una donación de caridad. Yo pido que todos nosotros consideremos dar la mitad de esto a la parroquia. Esto significa que nosotros diezmaremos (demos) cinco porciento de nuestros ingresos anuales a la comunidad de fe a la que pertenecemos, nuestra parroquia, a la cual nosotros verdaderamente podemos ayudar y apoyar para mantenerla siempre viva. Yo me comprometo delante de todos ustedes a hacer esto yo mismo.
Otra cosa que nos ayudara es si ustedes hacen sus ofrendas usando el sistema electrónico. De esta manera, si usted esta fuera o de vacaciones, si nieva o esta enfermo, usted puede seguir haciendo sus ofrendas que son tan vitales para nuestra comunidad de fe. Encontraran en el boletín información acerca de cómo hacer sus donaciones electrónicamente y también estas disponibles en nuestro “website” sitio de web por internet.
Finalmente, quiero darle las gracias a todos ustedes que a través de su fe dan a Dios y a su parroquia, para que el amor y el Evangelio de Jesús Cristo y Su Reino puedan ser llevados y vividos para la vida de este mundo.
Por favor oren por mi y por todo el personal para que nosotros siempre podamos profundamente apreciar la sagrada confianza que ustedes ponen en nosotros para ser los mejores administradores posibles de sus generosas donaciones y ofrendas. Y que podamos todos juntos y unidos a Dios mirar hacia el futuro con confianza, fe y esperanza mientras caminamos hacia el cumplimiento total de Su Reino Celestial.
Sinceramente en Jesús y María,
Padre Ken
My brothers and sisters in Christ:
As I approach my first anniversary as pastor of St. John Paul II Parish, I make my first financial report to you. I intend to publish a message at least once every year. This message does not contain the details of the reports you have seen in the past. That information is available upon request. This message is more an explanation of the financial state of the parish than a collection of numbers.
First, let me thank you for all the ways you generously give and practice stewardship of your time, talent and treasure.
To be completely forthright with you, this report presents formidable challenges. For example, below shows the actual income vs. expenses for last fiscal year 2017 and the projected income vs. expenses for the current fiscal year 2018.
| Fiscal Year 2017 (Actual) | Fiscal Year 2018 (Projected) | |
| Income | $936,013 | $1,047,284 |
| Expenses | $998,235 | $1,150,296 |
| Differential | -$62,222 | -$103,012 |
Although overall income is projected to increase, it is from donations and bequeathments and not from the Sunday collections. For example, we received $20,000 recently, the last installment of money a parishioner bequeathed specifically for renovations to St. Mary church, including air conditioning.
As you can see, expenses easily exceed income. As you can also see each week in the bulletin, we fall several thousand dollars short of the $16,000 we say we need to meet our expenses. The $16,000 figure is several years old. In reality, we need around $19,000 each week. As you know, the cost of everything goes up. For example, our electric bill went up $24,946 the past year. The following breakdown provides the details of why we need $19,000. Remember, these are just operating expenses – what we spend to keep the parish operating – and do not include capital expenses to property, such as fixing the steps or the steeple of a church.
| Operating Expense | Weekly Cost | Annual Cost |
| Oil | $851 | $44,252 |
| Gas | $1,525 | $79,300 |
| Electricity | $949 | $49,348 |
| Other Utilities (phone, internet, water, sewer, etc.) | $771 | $40,092 |
| Maintenance/Grounds | $1,385 | $72,020 |
| Church Expenses | $1,273 | $66,196 |
| Administrative (office supplies, machines, postage, bank fees, etc.) | $958 | $49,816 |
| Vehicles | $323 | $16,796 |
| Payroll | $7,021 | $365,092 |
| Employee taxes/Insurance | $1,842 | $95,784 |
| Property Insurance: | ||
| Notre Dame | $1,130 | $58,747 |
| Sacred Heart | $355 | $18,457 |
| St. Mary | $362 | $18,829 |
| St. Hedwig | $121 | $6,288 |
| Total | $18,866 | $981,017 |
This is sobering news. How do we meet this challenge? We need a three-fold approach. First, we do what we can to cut expenses. We are doing that in ways which make sense without sacrificing the quality of the ministry and services we offer as a parish. For example, in joining the ACN to get our utilities like electricity and television (while feeding hungry children), we project a $30,000 savings annually.
Second, expenses such as utilities and insurance are significantly decreased if we sell property we don’t use. For example, if we had sold the property at Sacred Heart, it would have given us the ability to pay many outstanding bills we owe the diocese to “get current”. This means getting caught up with our insurance bills and being able to keep up with our operating expenses.
The diocese has said that, if we can do this, then when we pay down some of the $3.6 million debt we owe, they will count every dollar we pay as two. For example, if we sold Sacred Heart for $600,000 and put it toward the debt, we would owe the diocese $1.2 million less, bringing our debt down to $2.5 million.
Unfortunately, the buyer pulled out at the last possible moment, but we trust in God and go forward; we have shown the Sacred Heart property to several interested parties since.
Third, we all need to prayerfully examine and discern our financial stewardship to our faith community. Stewardship is of course much more than financial. And we are working on making the time and talent aspects of stewardship grow in our parish: I am so pleased to say that a Stewardship Committee is now meeting and working for the first time in three years, but the financial aspect is critical as well, both to the vitality of the parish and our own individual spiritual vitality.
So here is the challenge: we all ask God what he is calling us to do in the way of increasing our weekly giving. Let us keep our weekly target $16,000, hopeful and confident that careful spending, the selling of property and fundraising can take $3,000 a week from the need.
The question always arises: how much are you asking me to increase my offering, Father? This is not the best question. We all need to ask God to help us discern His will. You may not be in a position to give any more. You may be in a position to double or triple your offering, or even more.
In my own prayer, I believe God has led me to offer this suggestion to most of us: to consider increasing our weekly offering by 25%. For example, if you are giving $25.00 a week, a 25% increase is $6.25. That’s less than the cost of one drive through meal at McDonald’s.
Another thing which will help is to ensure that you make your offering through electronic giving. This way, if you are away on vacation, it snows or you are not feeling well, you still make your offering which is so vital to our faith community. Information about how to do this is available in another place in this bulletin.
Finally, let me thank all of you who in faith give in any way to God and to the parish, so that the love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom can be spread and lived for the life of the world.
Please pray for me and the staff that we can always deeply appreciate the sacred trust you place in us to be the best possible stewards of your generous giving. And let us together with God face the future with confidence, faith and hope as we journey toward the fullness of His heavenly Kingdom.
Sincerely in Jesus and Mary,
Father Ken