Dear Parishioners,
Bishop Caggiano has announced that December 4, 2022 will be “Accountability Sunday” in the Diocese of Bridgeport, when every parish will publish on its website its comparative financial results, in a standardized format, for the fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2022. This format differs slightly from the format the parish normally uses to report financial information each quarter, but the financial results are consistent. In addition, we are including the quarterly financial statements as of September 30, 2022.
Our financial results show some improvement in our offertory collections as we continue to emerge from the pandemic. However, our expenses have been increasing as utilities and many vendors have increased our costs between 10 and 30%. In these inflationary times, our expenses have been exceeding offertory collections. St. Catherine of Siena School uses the McClinch Family Center every weekday for classes, athletics, and other activities. As the primary user of the Family Center, St. Catherine of Siena School on July 1, 2022 assumed responsibility for much of the Family Center’s utility and inside maintenance costs, commensurate with its usage of the building.
Throughout the pandemic, our focus has been on offering the best liturgical and ministerial services possible, as this is essential to the spiritual growth of the parish. We also need to provide a safe and comfortable campus for our community to worship together. Offertory collections and the Annual Parish Appeal are urgently important for us to maintain our day-to-day parish operations. We deeply appreciate every family that uses online giving or mails in their offertory envelopes. The Parish Finance Council respectfully asks each family to prayerfully reflect on their level of weekly offertory giving and to implement its intentional level of giving for the new year by signing up for online giving or strengthening its online giving level.
We would like to thank the parishioners who are participating in the We Stand With Christ campaign or have made a special gift to support the capital needs of the parish. In the past three years, these gifts have been used for necessary improvements to the church, including:
By achieving the 2021 Annual Parish Appeal goal, we were able to replace the pew cushions and kneelers. If we are able to reach the $150,000 Annual Parish Appeal goal this year and next year, we will have enough money to replace the side parking lot, which is crumbling, and address needed repairs to our sidewalks. The money raised through the Annual Parish Appeal remains at the parish to support the operational needs of the parish.
The parish is also focused on reducing the amount due to the Diocese. From 2005 to 2015, the parish accumulated cathedraticum (the monthly tax levied by the Diocese on each parish) debt and amounts due to the Diocese of over $547,000. Over the past seven years, the parish has paid over $287,000 to reduce our debt to the Diocese. In addition, we are keeping current with our monthly cathedraticum obligation to the Diocese and, each quarter, we have made an additional payment to pay down the remaining arrearage.
Please do not hesitate to approach any of us with any questions.
Respectfully submitted by the Parish Finance Council,
John W. Diercksen, Parish Finance Chair
Father Joseph A. Marcello, Pastor
Members: Carol Donnelly; Mark Gurevitz; Michael LaBella; Edgar Sewell.
Kenneth M. Martin, Jr., and Marian Whiteman, Lay Members of the Parish Corporation.
Kenneth M. Martin, Sr., Director of Parish Operations; Mary Dineen, Parish Accountant.