The Finance Council recently discussed the need to add a few members to the Council. Several members are generously serving the Council beyond their term and the council has importing work pending that will require a greater number of members.

The goal is to bring in 3-4 new members in the next few months.

The commitments for a member of the Finance Council are as follows :

• Attend one monthly meeting, which is the third Thursday of each month.
• Participate as a member in one of the three subcommittees of the Finance Council:

• Audit & Reporting – Prepare and communicate financial information to the Finance Council, Parish and Archdiocese, and audit financial information for accuracy
• Budget & Planning - Prepare annual budget, develop process to connect the ministries to the budget process, and incorporate property plans and capital planning in the budget process
• Treasury and Stewardship – Oversee the management and investment of the parish funds and identify and oversee the growth of funds through Fundraising and Stewardship activities

Prayerfully consider if the Lord might be calling you to assist in this capacity. Also, feel free to mention this and then recommend someone else who, you feel, might be qualified but has not considered this call. Let me know why you feel this person would be a good servant of the parish. Call me at 610-644-0110 or contact me via e-mail at [email protected] by October 31. Thank you.

 

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Please let me review the parish update on a number of recent developments from last week’s post:

The parcel of land immediately next to the rectory was recently sold. The amount provided to the parish was approximately $70,000 and was earmarked to reduce the amount of parish debt. I would personally like to commend and thank Dave Gratz on this endeavor. The parcel required the careful, and very time-consuming, negotiation of numerous, detailed variances over many months. The Parish of Saint Monica is grateful for his selfless and professional service in completing this contract.

With this influx of cash, an analysis was then performed of the parish finances, the amount of liquidity in our accounts, any significant projected short-term maintenance and repairs as well as the amount of reserves that the parish should keep on-hand to cover any unforeseen financial challenges (We like to keep enough funds on hand to cover 6-months of parish operating expenses). After this analysis, the Parish Finance Council recommended to me that we take sufficient funds from our reserves and pay off the remainder of the parish debt, to which I agreed. Thus, after only 2 years, the parishioners of Saint Monica have provided the means to fully pay off the parish debt to the archdiocese. This is an occasion for which the parish can be proud and thankful and I thank the current, and previous, Parish Finance Councils for their work in accomplishing this very important goal.

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One of the capital improvements that we were recently able to complete was the much needed replacement of the Parish Center roof. We will finish off this job with the replacement of ceiling tiles in all the affected areas. The total cost for the replacement of the roof was $35,000.

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The Parish of Saint Monica was recently named the partial beneficiary of a generous bequest from the estate of Bill Ward. The documents for the receipt of this gift are currently being processed. Bill’s generosity sparked two conversations within the parish leadership.

The first conversation involved one of the aspects of our Parish Vision (give 1% more this year than last year to charity/the church) and our biblical call for stewardship. My personal feeling is that this unexpected and generous gift from Bill Ward is ultimately from the Lord and is provided for us for use to build up the Kingdom. Certainly some of this will go to directly benefit our parish as he had wished. I also think that, according to biblical principles, a portion should go to benefit others. Thus, after consultation and on the recommendation of the Parish Finance Council, I will be apportioning 10% of the bequest and giving this to the various parish ministries/organizations with the proviso that they pray and discern how they can use these funds to “sow some good seed” by offering aid and assistance to a charity or need, OUTSIDE of the parish of Saint Monica. My hope is that this will bear “good fruit,” will provide our various parish ministries/organizations an opportunity to model what generous stewardship “looks like” and allow the Lord to show us how he will work in mysterious ways when we give back. I can’t wait to hear the stories!

The second conversation involved bequests. Consider leaving a legacy to future Catholics at Saint Monica. A planned gift drawn into your will can help ensure that there is a Catholic presence in Berwyn for generations to come.