Fiscal Year 2015
September 1, 2014 through August 31, 2015
My dear friends,
This past weekend I shared with our parish family our State of the
Parish Report for the fiscal Year that began on September 1, 2014 and
ended August 31, 2015. God has been very good to St Mary's. We have much
to be thankful for. I would like to express my gratitude to so many of
you for sharing so generously of your Time, Talent and Treasure in
helping to make St Mary's parish a community alive in the Spirit.
A special word of thanks to those who use automatic giving. We would not
have survived the long winter and the low attendance summer without the
consistency of your giving.
God Bless,
Father Tim
This past weekend I shared with our parish family our State of the
Parish Report for the fiscal Year that began on September 1, 2014 and
ended August 31, 2015. God has been very good to St Mary's. We have much
to be thankful for. I would like to express my gratitude to so many of
you for sharing so generously of your Time, Talent and Treasure in
helping to make St Mary's parish a community alive in the Spirit.
A special word of thanks to those who use automatic giving. We would not
have survived the long winter and the low attendance summer without the
consistency of your giving.
God Bless,
Father Tim
State of the Parish Report 2015
I begin by expressing my gratitude to all of you who shared so generously of your time, talent, and treasure in helping to make St Mary’s a community alive in the spirit.
This report covers our 12 month fiscal year that began September 1, 2014 and ended August 31, 2015.
Highlights of this past year.
We continue to address the many repairs and maintenance which comes with old buildings such as ours. We have been able to solve many of these issues with your continued support through the “Building and Maintenance Envelopes”. We thank you.
Our online giving program, Netcharge, and mailed in envelopes sustained us with continuous funds to pay the bills during our weekend snow storms last winter. We thank you.
Now let’s talk about the numbers………………………………….
Parish Revenue/Income: 1) There are five sources of revenue.
Operating Income comprises the overwhelming majority.
Weekly Sunday Collections equal 87% of the Operating Income.
2) Religious Education Revenue is utilized solely for the purpose of the Religious Education program and is 7% of the total revenue.
3) Diocesan Collections are funds collected from parishioners, and is essentially a
“pass-thru”, as all of the contributions are turned over to the Diocese.
4) Stewardship is 5% of total income, but is comprised of 10% of the Weekly Sunday Collection.
5) St. Mary’s is a “self-sustaining” parish, meaning we receive no monies from the Diocese of Worcester for the support of parish operations.
6) Total Parish Income for FY 2015 was $600,324.
Parish Expenses: 1) Total Parish Expenditures equaled $591,724 in FY 2015.
2) The largest single expenditure is our employees in the form of Salaries and Benefits/Employee related costs at 48%
3) Our second greatest expense is our Program Expenses. i.e., our ministries, including Mass related, Religious Ed, etc.
4) Property Expenses encompass expenditures for all four of the parish buildings.
5) The Diocesan Tax, or Cathedraticum, is 7.5% of regular church weekly collections. These funds are
not to be confused with Diocesan Collections. These funds are used to help support the Diocese of Worcester.
Net Operating Income was $8,600. We would have had a loss if we hadn’t had vacant positions.….
And had not received an insurance settlement for ice damage
Those positions have been filled and we are still in the process of repairing some of the damage
Thus we will not have those monies available in the current year.
Our budget for 2016 which has been approved by the Finance Committee is based on the experiences this year with income and expenses with minor adjustments.
We are self-sustaining as a parish, as we receive no support from the Diocese, as previously mentioned. In order to help sustain ongoing operations, and to smooth out “peaks and valleys” in our cash flow, we are looking for your help.
Approximately 125 families continue to participate in our on-line, automatic giving program. This is an increase from only 50 families last year. We depend on this fixed income which is essential with all the ebbs and flows of our monthly cash flow which can be greatly impacted due to inclement weather and vacations. Think about your own finances and how difficult it would be to meet your obligations if your paycheck was different and unknown from week to week. We encourage all families to join in automatic giving. The link is available on our website. Or, you can call our office if you’d like to set up an appointment to get help with setting up this process.
A copy of our Fiscal Year 2015 and our Fiscal Year Budget 2016 will be posted on our website under the tab “Financial”. Please feel free to ask any member of the Finance Committee or call Cathy Purtle at the Office if you have any further questions. There was an insert in the bulletin that explains some of our major expense.
I begin by expressing my gratitude to all of you who shared so generously of your time, talent, and treasure in helping to make St Mary’s a community alive in the spirit.
This report covers our 12 month fiscal year that began September 1, 2014 and ended August 31, 2015.
Highlights of this past year.
- We welcomed 50 new families to our St. Mary’s community.
- We initiated 30 people- children and adults- into the Christian community through the Sacrament of Baptism.
- We were joined around our family table to receive the Eucharist for the 1st time by 62 of our children
- We shared the gift of the Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation with 51 of our young people
- We showed appreciation for each other with a large crowd at our first wine and cheese social.
- We thanked over 74 Catechists with a wonderful gathering
- We shared community in our very successful 2nd Annual Fall Family Fun Festival.
- We were Missionaries with 13 of our high school students in the Appalachian Mountains. And, in only two months, raised over $8,900 for the trip.
- We transformed into a stewardship parish giving back to God because he has blessed us with so much.
- We tithed over $24,000 to 44 causes in both our local and worldwide community in only 10 months(and still managed to pay our bills).
- We donated over $6,000 to our Lenten charity (Pernet Family Services) in the short span of Lent.
- We welcomed our first FULL time Deacon - Patrick Stewart.
- We mourned the deaths of 23 fellow parishioners and shared our grief for 2 high school students whose lives ended too soon.
- We gathered for spiritual renewal at our Parish Mission, Lenten Devotions and Holy Week Services, Lenten Longings and Easter Gospel Reflections.
We continue to address the many repairs and maintenance which comes with old buildings such as ours. We have been able to solve many of these issues with your continued support through the “Building and Maintenance Envelopes”. We thank you.
Our online giving program, Netcharge, and mailed in envelopes sustained us with continuous funds to pay the bills during our weekend snow storms last winter. We thank you.
Now let’s talk about the numbers………………………………….
Parish Revenue/Income: 1) There are five sources of revenue.
Operating Income comprises the overwhelming majority.
Weekly Sunday Collections equal 87% of the Operating Income.
2) Religious Education Revenue is utilized solely for the purpose of the Religious Education program and is 7% of the total revenue.
3) Diocesan Collections are funds collected from parishioners, and is essentially a
“pass-thru”, as all of the contributions are turned over to the Diocese.
4) Stewardship is 5% of total income, but is comprised of 10% of the Weekly Sunday Collection.
5) St. Mary’s is a “self-sustaining” parish, meaning we receive no monies from the Diocese of Worcester for the support of parish operations.
6) Total Parish Income for FY 2015 was $600,324.
Parish Expenses: 1) Total Parish Expenditures equaled $591,724 in FY 2015.
2) The largest single expenditure is our employees in the form of Salaries and Benefits/Employee related costs at 48%
3) Our second greatest expense is our Program Expenses. i.e., our ministries, including Mass related, Religious Ed, etc.
4) Property Expenses encompass expenditures for all four of the parish buildings.
5) The Diocesan Tax, or Cathedraticum, is 7.5% of regular church weekly collections. These funds are
not to be confused with Diocesan Collections. These funds are used to help support the Diocese of Worcester.
Net Operating Income was $8,600. We would have had a loss if we hadn’t had vacant positions.….
And had not received an insurance settlement for ice damage
Those positions have been filled and we are still in the process of repairing some of the damage
Thus we will not have those monies available in the current year.
Our budget for 2016 which has been approved by the Finance Committee is based on the experiences this year with income and expenses with minor adjustments.
We are self-sustaining as a parish, as we receive no support from the Diocese, as previously mentioned. In order to help sustain ongoing operations, and to smooth out “peaks and valleys” in our cash flow, we are looking for your help.
Approximately 125 families continue to participate in our on-line, automatic giving program. This is an increase from only 50 families last year. We depend on this fixed income which is essential with all the ebbs and flows of our monthly cash flow which can be greatly impacted due to inclement weather and vacations. Think about your own finances and how difficult it would be to meet your obligations if your paycheck was different and unknown from week to week. We encourage all families to join in automatic giving. The link is available on our website. Or, you can call our office if you’d like to set up an appointment to get help with setting up this process.
A copy of our Fiscal Year 2015 and our Fiscal Year Budget 2016 will be posted on our website under the tab “Financial”. Please feel free to ask any member of the Finance Committee or call Cathy Purtle at the Office if you have any further questions. There was an insert in the bulletin that explains some of our major expense.