Saint Mary, Saint Michael & Saint Kilian Parishes
Saint Mary, Saint Michael & Saint Kilian Parishes
  • Home
  • About
    • Homilies
    • Pastor's Column
    • Parish Histories
    • Cemetery Rules & Regulations
  • Bulletin
  • Mass Schedule
  • Religious Education
  • Resources
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • Sacrament of Penance
    • First Communion
    • Confirmation
    • Holy Matrimony
    • Becoming Catholic
  • Online Giving
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
    • Homilies
    • Pastor's Column
    • Parish Histories
    • Cemetery Rules & Regulations
  • Bulletin
  • Mass Schedule
  • Religious Education
  • Resources
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • Sacrament of Penance
    • First Communion
    • Confirmation
    • Holy Matrimony
    • Becoming Catholic
  • Online Giving
  • Contact Us

Response to Parish Merging Questions & Concerns Part III

1/13/2017

 
Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Response to More Questions About Parish Merging
 
In the last couple weeks before Christmas I received a few more good questions.  One parishioner, indicating that they were not necessarily for or against a merger, asked a number of statistical questions about our parishes, the responses to which I thought would be good for us to know:
Active Parishioners
Q.             What is the number of registered parishioners in each parish?
A. HE 373; AU 842; BL 471
Q. What is the average number of persons attending weekend Mass at each church?
A. These Mass attendance averages come from the annual Mass attendance counts that the diocese requires to be taken every October: HE 125; AU 195; BL 126
Q. What are the number of parishioners contributing $100+ fifteen years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, and this past year:
A.             HE            AU                   BL
2001       148         260                  155
2006      135         234                   126
2011         138        202                   125
2016        116         204                    116
N.B. – Our parishes completed an increased offertory program in late 2014.
Financial Status of Parishes
Q. What is the current financial status of each parish (yearly income, expenses, current debts)?
A. This question is difficult to answer.  I would recommend looking at the 2015-2016 Annual Reports available at the back of each church.  Each parish has a different budget format and lists things differently.  One thing I would like to work toward in this merger discussion process is greater uniformity in how we report our finances so we can compare apples to apples.  There are no debts in any parish.
Q. In a merger, what funds would be pooled and what expenses would be shared?
A. In a merged parish, we would just have one offertory envelop.  Regular revenue would go into one general fund.  At the time of a merger, each parish would contribute a predetermined amount to the new parish’s general fund.  The finance and administration leadership committee (made up of representation from each parish) will be responsible for establishing a budget for the merged parish, as well as budgets for the maintenance of each church campus.
Q. What are the major projects and improvements projected for each parish for the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years?  How will they be funded?
A. There are many projects with varying degrees of urgency.  A few of the largest include: (AU) re-blacktopping the remainder of the parking lot in about 5 years, possibly fixing up the interior of the convent building to serve as a central office for all three parishes or the merged parish (still idea stage), replacing the lighting in the church sanctuary; (BL) completing the stained-glass window restoration project, dismantling the rectory, replacing the church sound system, repainting some or all of the church interior, as well as some other possible interior updates; (HE) just completed the most urgent exterior brick repair work on church, replacing flooring where carpet comes up during the summer months.
                 While our finance councils are aware of these and many other smaller maintenance needs, they have not yet developed a concrete plan for addressing them.  In many respects, these projects are bigger, more numerous, and more time consuming than each separate council has been able to address in a solidly proactive way.  An over-arching plan for stewardship and a capital campaign(s) would be needed.  With a merged parish, I would like to propose a single finance council with subcommittees that deal solely with buildings and grounds maintenance issues, as well as stewardship and capital campaign issues for all of our campuses.  Realistically, I don’t see many of these projects being addressed proactively with our current arrangement.  Each individual parish finance council does not have an abundance of time to deal with them after keeping up with the budget, book reviews, and various projects when they become urgent.

Comments are closed.
    Pastor's Column
    Posted here is the weekly column featured in the bulletin of Saint Mary, Saint Michael & Saint Kilian parishes.

    Archives

    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.