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As the members of the St. Catharine’s Finance Council, we collectively hope this summary, which provides a recap of the revenues and expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, finds you all healthy and hopeful as we continue to navigate a calendar year none of us could have predicted.
In some respects, the past thirteen months seem like a lifetime. Life was what we considered “normal”: our pews were filled, Christmas was on the horizon, and Covid-19 was not in our vocabulary. In early November 2019, Father Tom made a heartfelt plea to all parishioners. The request was simple: 1. consider increasing our weekly offertory; and 2. consider enrolling in Faith Direct if we were not already participating in electronic giving. We cannot thank you enough for your positive response to these appeals because, had we not come together as a parish, this financial story would be much different.
Although our total revenue had a modest increase of 1.7%, the first half of the year saw a revenue decrease of 2.6%. However, in response to Fr. Tom’s plea, the second half of the year saw a 7.6% increase in the Sunday offertory compared to the prior year. This increase is remarkable given that during the last 3½ months of the fiscal year our church did not have any in person Masses. We also had a participation increase of 40%, or 75 families, in Faith Direct. The combination of our parishioners’ increases of their offertory AND the increase in Faith Direct participants helped sustain St. Catharine during the shutdown of late FY 2020 and it continues to sustain us as we still have limited capacity at our Masses.
Equally important, our monthly repairs and maintenance collection increased nearly 11%, while at the same time, our plant costs and utility costs decreased almost 3%. The increased collection positions us to not only handle the day-to-day costs of maintaining our parish buildings and grounds, but also provides a cushion in case major unplanned repairs are needed.
Religious education revenues increased 34% over the prior year due to timing of CCD registrations. First, we launched our first summer CCD program in June 2020 with a large portion of such fees collected in late FY 2020. Second, we had a much larger upfront collection of CCD fees for the upcoming CCD school year at the end of FY 2020 than in the prior year.
Our operating expenses decreased 5.1%. Much of this is a direct result of the church and school being closed for over 3½ months, resulting in a decrease across the board in day-to-day expenses as well as the costs of celebrating in person Mass (altar bread & wine, supplies, flowers, utilities, etc.). We also benefited financially from a mild winter last year. Salaries and benefits continue to represent our largest expense, representing 54% of total operating expenses. We were fortunate to obtain a PPP loan from the federal government to assist with the paying of salaries during our lock down for the employees who needed to continue to work to maintain the day-to-day operation of the church. Please note the PPP loan remains on the church’s balance sheet until it is forgiven and is not reflected in Revenue. The only expense increase of note were $8K in office expenses for new computers needed for the rectory and the religious education offices.
While we are grateful for the results of the past fiscal year, we are concerned with the current fiscal year’s challenges. We continue to operate at a deficit, and we are extremely concerned about our Christmas collection this year. Our Christmas collection represents nearly 10% of our total faith giving for the year. Each Mass on Christmas Eve has historically had packed pews and Community Hall filled to capacity with guests and extended family. However, this year we know it will be different. Our Easter collection experienced a decrease of 33% compared to the prior year’s collection. We are concerned that the Christmas 2020 collection will be substantially diminished as well, given the significant Covid-19 related limitations on in person attendance for all Christmas Masses. We ask you to give prayerful consideration of the unique challenges we currently face when you decide on your Christmas gift this year. If you can increase your gift, please know that it will be appreciated and is truly needed. Our parish has worked hard to continue the many ministries, community outreach services, and religious educational programs that make St. Catharine’s such a vibrant and welcoming parish throughout the challenges brought on by Covid-19, all while doing everything possible to maintain the safety of our parishioners. We have and will continue to manage our expenses to the best of our ability, but there is a minimum threshold of expense that is necessary to keep the physical plant running and maintain the staff required to run the parish that cannot be significantly decreased without drastic reductions of services and programs.
We thank you for your past generosity and support and look forward to continuing to serve the St. Catharine parish community. Let’s pray 2021 will bring us together again, with pews full and all of us together in celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, please remain safe and know you are always in our prayers.
Respectfully,
Michele Theuerkauf Bob Stickles
Ann Boyle Mary Ann Galati- Trustee
Bill Hansen Marty Petraitis- Trustee
Bob Hemmer Fr. Tom
Dennis Looney