QUESTION
There seems to be a lot of “financial asks” coming from the church lately. How are we expected to support all of them?
ANSWER
That’s a great question. Yes, there have been multiple projects and campaigns in the parish and diocese that involve an “ask” for financial support. In our continued effort to be more upfront and clear about the complete finances of our parish, we would like to provide the following line-up of all the major financial projects you can expect to see this coming year:
WHEN
October/November
April/May
September – Janaury 2020 only
September/October
March
Ongoing
Throughout the year
BENEFITING
Parish
Archdiocese
Archdiocese
School
School
Local Community
Designated Charity
It is a lot, and not everyone is capable of supporting all of them. But it is also indicative of being a vibrant parish that is actively involved in bringing Christ into the world, and that mission requires resources.
How and where you share your financial blessings is a very personal decision. But we do offer a few suggestions as to how you might consider discerning how you will prioritize the charities you support.
One recommendation is to consider setting aside 10% of your income for charity, with 5% donated to your church and 5% to other charities of choice. Within the gifts you direct to the church your first priority is to your parish (Sacrificial Giving and School Programs); your second priority is to the archdiocese (Annual Catholic Appeal, Catholic Community Services, etc); and third is special campaigns (Called to Serve as Christ, Building Renovations, Roofs, etc). These special campaigns call for support above and beyond the first two priorities, and it is not the intent of these campaigns for parishioners to interrupt their giving to the parish and archdiocese in order to give to special campaigns. Contributions to such campaigns are the result of extra giving above and beyond because of the importance of the campaign.
Charitable giving is indeed a complicated and very personal decision. These are just some broad recommendations we offer to help you in your discernment process. We hope to provide additional information in the coming weeks and months.
Sincerely,
Your Finance Council
Additional Resources
- Sacrificial Giving In Relation to Other Campaigns
- Annual Catholic Appeal vs Parish Sacrificial Giving
Maintenance to Mission Stewardship Series
Overview
Trends
Mass Attendance
- Mass Attendance Report – October 2019
- Mass Attendance Report – November 2019
- Mass Attendance Report – December 2019
Budget
- Tri-Parish Parish Budget – 1st Quarter
- Tri-Parish Stewardship Report – October 2019
- Tri-Parish Stewardship Report – November 2019
- Tri-Parish Stewardship Report – December 2019
Learn More
Want to learn more about parish stewardship and finances? Click on the links below to listen to witness talks presented by members of the Finance Council at Mass in August 2019.
- August 25, 2019 Stewardship Witness Talk by George Lane– Part 3 of 3 (homily unavailable due to technical issues)
- August 18, 2019 Stewardship Witness Talk by Todd Ward– Part 2 of 3 after Fr. David Mulholland’s homily
- August 11, 2019 Stewardship Witness Talk by Brian Marlow– Part 1 of 3 after Fr. David Mulholland’s homily on Maintenance to Mission
