Please click here for Fr. Barry’s CHRISTMAS 2023 LETTER
CHRISTMAS TIME REPORT ON HOW WE ARE DOING BUSINESS WISE IN THE CHURCH
A page here is enclosed with my Christmas greetings which lays out below the parish’s money health going into 2024. Bottom line: I am calling for a Step-Up in giving, in increase for past giving numbers (change the bank withdrawal number or up the credit card amount per week/month, or increase the check or cash amount). In cash, Andrew Jackson is still calling out for people to move him from one’s wallet to the parish collection weekly. (‘Remember that pitch? ☺)
We sent out the annual financial report in October to you, commenting that we were running about $33,000 behind in operations (Sunday Mass giving). As December mid-point, we are arriving $57,000 short in the Sunday collection for operations., as reported in our finance committee meeting, and from Calibre accounting. As for parish numbers, we are about the same as in 2022-23, in 1100-1200 households, with some less in Riderwood, but a good number more in Resurrection. Our last “October count” at Masses was a healthy one for parishes: an average of 1,108 persons each weekend. Riderwood averaged 153 into that figure total of their two Masses.
In a start, I should say, as like other ADW parishes, we don’t get over half of our parish households to be giving in some regular plan that can be tallied (envelopes, bank or credit card gift, checks or cash in mail). We wish that more would participate. I can think of the young boy in a recent gospel who went to Jesus and His apostles in an act of sharing. He had the family picnic dinner—a few loaves and fishes—and it was offered to Jesus in a sharing or support to His mission. Look at what happened with the gift. See Matthew 14. Mark 6. John 6.
We are still invited to share with Jesus’ mission. We do offer the collection basket again in Mass for all types of giving. Some are giving in other supportive ways, like prayer and volunteering time and effort. Thanks, as well. One recent fundraising effort at Winterfest (Dec. 1-2) netted us $31,355. Our volunteers got a bit overrun with working it (average age=retired)—we thank them dearly for the effort.
The main reason for a Step-Up Giving call is that we have two new employees that we had not on our staff last year. Each were greatly needed, and it was hard to not have them working for us before. We got by without a parish secretary until mid-June in 2023. We have one now, but hired as a parish manager, who is Anne Lee. She is full-time. She is employee 1. We have added a parish priest or parochial vicar to the staff a couple of weeks ago. He is full-time. He is Fr. Dan Gallaugher. He is employee 2. Many of you saw me working hard alone as the ADW priest here, recommending such an addition. Well, we got him! He will take some work off your 66 year old pastor’s over-full plate. Well now, we need to pay their salaries. It will take a little more for the parish in 2024 to do it.
Another reason for the Step Up expectation is just recognizing, as you see in your own home and personal finance, that costs have been rising up, so we hope that parishioners will update in giving to cover it for us.
Other add-ons in 2022 or 2023 to Resurrection’s responsibility have been music helpers for liturgies, our in-resident chaplain for White Oak Hospital (Fr. Pius—here to just cover that), and how we have a part-time database manager, Jennifer Wright, now working in the office. We have Wednesday volunteers and Eucharistic minister helpers to Riderwood Catholic community, to assist the work of Fr. Virginus and myself there (and now Fr. Dan). It’s nice that they did this work as retirees for free for us, as we also have some helpers in the office like that.
As you also saw in October’s finance statement, we got more now in our reserves and “big” maintenance accounts for future expectations and need. It’s nice to have it there, since 7 years ago we were borrowing terribly from it to meet operations and payroll, along with trying to pay down a $900,000 debt for the Keffer Center, passed on to my new pastorate. We are using it to work in a money account for us right now, in some real change of life for this parish—my past parishes in Bowie, Laurel and Colesville always had investments making money for extra parish income. –Lest you think our reserve amount is a cushion, here’s what bills may soon be down the road. ♥Carpet and sanctuary floor expenses ahead (which could be a $200,000 bill). ♥More roof maintenance (most of our roofing is dated—hundreds of thousands must be ready for that time)….♥Parking lot coating (it has been since 2017 for the main part that was done). ♥ The Heat/Air unit over the church (besides the front commons) is pretty dated, too. It will also be “a pretty penny to spend. “Thus, with only those four mentioned things, that’s already showing reason why we have that saved aside from the operating costs. We’re going with an assessment of the whole plant soon, too, to look wisely ahead. We don’t have a maintenance committee going in the parish, but I keep a list of things and my eye on everything. We are using the monthly collection (one envelope now, since 1/1/23) for our ongoing Facility and Capitol Improvement funds. We just did church lights, refrigerator, hall ice machine, bathroom repairs, computer updates, and other things with those monthly donations lately.
I’ve told folks before that if we could get back to full strength in parish staff, then its cost would need to be met. Our fine music program is expensive here, so it is quite vulnerable to downsizing if the giving trend goes down, so we want to save that from happening. Their ministry is quite good, as you’ll hear in the Christmas Concert and in many liturgies of Christmas and Sundays in this season. My parishes of St. Nicholas (pastor) and St. John’s (assoc. pastor) made sure a good music program was funded by them, for great liturgies to the Lord. The Step-Up is a call to rise up for such to go on here ahead, as we have had in the past. Then we can offer full-service out. Realistically, I know these are unsure times, and I hope all will work out for us, and more the reason to keep up our parish as our refuge in The Lord to gather His own.
People say that Christmas is the season more of giving, than of receiving. Hopefully, for the better of us, this is true. We want to give—for love is outward, and Jesus directed us to love of one another and to neighbor. This Lord Jesus of the season and of The Father and Spirit have been giving to the world since the start, and each Christmas we are reminded of the great Gift of the Son from the Father and in the Spirit. We have received life, love, help, salvation, and blessing from Them (The Trinity). So we seek to give back. We start with giving attention to the coming of Christ, which is Christmas. It is a feast and season, and the One in the center of it is the Lord of The House, or “the Head of the body, the Church. (Col. 1). What does He receive in all of this? Of line of The Psalms asks: “What return can I make the Lord for all the good He has done for me? The cup of salvation, I will take up, and I will call upon the Name of The Lord!”
It’s a verse that is so related to Christmas. Let us come and worship and give thanks at Christ’ Mass of the Nativity, and go serve the Lord’s ongoing mission to save souls and love people and lead them to the path to the Glory of God and Heaven.
Fr. Barry