Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

One of the obligations of a pastor is to make sure that the parish receives an annual statement of financial accounts. In the fall we published details in the bulletin, though a straight ledger format doesn’t necessarily make sense to everyone. Hence, a more detailed use of presentation with more visuals – graphs and pie charts – seems to be more in order.

We are blessed here to have a strong Finance Council filled with professionals and experts in a variety of areas of business, administration, accounting, budgeting, investments, and insurance. To be able to tap in to such a variety of professionals so readily is a product of where we live.

This weekend you will have a brief presentation from the chair of the Finance Council, Tim Sullivan. Tim assumed the chair of the council last summer and has reorganized the structure of the council in a way that seems to make sense given the various competencies that the council governs.

We had intended to make this presentation in February or March, but a variety of other commitments and events, both in the parish and in Tim’s professional life, made every weekend a bit of a problem. We want to make the presentation before we hit the summer and all of the weekends of May look too complicated as well.

So, unfortunately, the best available weekend is one on which I am away on vacation. This was not the intent, but it could not be helped. In either case, while I am ultimately responsible to the diocese for the financial status of the parish, I am not the expert, and I prefer that professionals and fellow parishioners – i.e. the stakeholders – are the ones that speak heart-to-heart on these issues. I am the steward of the parish in a formal sense, and in a legal sense the parish and its assets and debits belongs to the diocese. But the present and the future belong to those of you who invest in and are committed to the parish as a legacy of your faith and family.

I ask that you listen carefully to what Tim has to say, ask him – after Mass in the narthex – those tough questions that we need to consider, and prayerfully consider your response to his presentation. We have many great blessings here to be sure, but there are also some short term and long term issues that we need to face.

I am confident that as a parish we can respond to the challenges and take advantage of the blessings. Working together we can best prepare for the future as we continue to meet the goals and opportunities that lie ahead. Any challenge is viewed either as a problem or as an opportunity. I always prefer to see opportunities instead of problems.

Together we can make sure that St. Benedict is secure, not just in the present, but in the future as well. Upon my return I will be happy to speak with anyone about the concerns, opportunities, and challenges that might develop from the presentation.

Thank you for your generous support and commitment to our parish.

In St. Benedict,
Father Garry