May 20, 2007

Dear St. Francis de Sales Parishioners,

We need your help! Sadly, every now and then the issue of money must be addressed at church. We think you will agree that we don't address the issue of donations for our parish very often.

We are grateful that for many years we have enjoyed a stable and steady stream of donations from you, the parishioners, which has allowed us to successfully maintain and operate this parish, currently supporting over 25 organizations and ministries, and 5 Masses weekly. We are indeed a thriving parish, with a wonderful, largely self-funded and self-sustaining school to provide a Catholic education for our young ones. The Parish itself, however, is in need of increased donations.

This message is not directed to those long-term parishioners who built this church 50+ years ago, and who have supported it ever since.  For those of you who are on fixed incomes, we thank you for your commitment, and for all your years of support and service.  This message is directed to those of us who are in a financial position to do more than we have in the past.

The problem is not that donations have dropped in the last few years; they have not. The problem is that donations have not kept pace with inflation.  There is a tendency to believe that our Parish will always be there, which is not necessarily true, and that our Church is not be subject to the daily pressures of our world. The truth is that Saint Francis de Sales Parish must face the same daily financial realities which worry the rest of us.

The expenses involved in running the church continue to increase yearly. Yet, the staff must be paid and the lights remain on. Here is a simple comparison of some basic costs for 1999/2000 vs. 2006/2007:

                                                                1999-2000     2006-2007
Utilities:                                               $27,996.00      $37,677.00
Fire, Liability, W.C.Insurance:     $36,204.00      $72,321.00
Total:                                                    $64,200.00      $109,998.00

The hard costs for even these most basic expenses in operating the parish have risen dramatically in the last seven years, over 41%, while the collections have remained essentially the same over that same time period. We all appreciate the rising costs of just going out to the movies, but if we are willing to pay more for a movie, we hope that we would also be willing to donate more to support our own church.

There are maintenance issues as well. First, the air conditioner has been hard at work cooling our church since the building was opened in 1959. It needs to be replaced with an energy-efficient, better functioning system. Second, is the parking lot. Resurfacing the parking lot would be but a short lived "bandaid"; it has full thickness cracks and needs to be completely replaced, which should be done during the summer, while school is not in session. Yet, donations are currently about $30,000 under our needed operating budget, to date; the forecast for the year at current donation levels would be a shortfall in the operating budget of around $60,000, and thus we are not currently in a position to address these projects. 

First, let's put things in perspective.  We have over 1,200 families registered at Saint Francis de Sales Parish and many more people who attend Mass weekly who are not registered parishioners. If each family would donate even just $10.00 per week, every week, we would meet our basic operating budget. If parishioners who are able, could regularly give a little more than that, we would be in a position to make more improvements. Historically, not every registered family has consistently given weekly donations. 

We understand that for some of you, $10.00 may be a true sacrifice, whereas others may spend twice that amount weekly at their favorite specialty coffee shop.  A Catholic Community requires that all should give according to their ability so that the whole may benefit fully.  For all of you who are registered Parishioners, we are asking for your help, by donating online, as addressed below. For those of you who are not yet registered parishioners, we welcome you, and whole-heartedly urge you to take the time to formally enroll in our parish, and to get involved.

We've recently made donating/enrolling in the parish easier, by simply going on-line to the parish website: www.saintfrancisdesaleschurch.com. We are very proud of our website and hope you will be as well.  You'll find information on the church, an easy to access reference to all ministries and organizations with information on each and how to join, information on upcoming special events, the week's bulletin, a monthly calendar of all church and SFDS School events, inspirational messages from our Priests, and much, much more.

It's surprisingly easy to arrange for your donations to be made automatically and SECURELY online. When you visit the site, click on DONATIONS, and then on the ParishPay option. Just fill out the form, and submit it securely online. Your donations will be withdrawn monthly [not weekly] from the designated checking account or charge card. You can even make your Christmas, Easter and/or special collection donations with this program as well. Should your circumstances change, modifying your donation is just as easy.

Whereas we hesitate to suggest an amount, we do ask that you consider that if your combined income is $50,000, giving $10.00 per week is only 1.04% of your total income; for those with combined incomes of $100,000, that 1.04% is $20.000 per week, and so on. We realize that many will not be financially able to donate according to this schedule, whereas others can greatly exceed it, but participation by all, giving as much as you feel comfortable given your individual situations, is necessary to maintain a financially strong faith community.

We are asking that you arrange to make your donations online, if at all possible; donating on line is easy, and will give the Parish a better idea of current and future income to meet expenses.  But most importantly, an effective online program will send a message to the Archdiocese about the financial viability of our Parish, during a time when economic viability is one of the factors being considered by the Archdiocese. As economic pressures continue to increase and the number of Priests continues to decrease, this program is one of the most pro-active measures this Parish can undertake, and may in the future prove vital to maintaining our SFDS identity. 

We would like to thank you for your past support, and for your thoughtful consideration of this request in your future donations. For a copy of the Finance Council Annual Report, please contact the parish center. Supporting your parish should not be an obligation, but an opportunity to honor and serve our Lord.

Yours in Christ,

Patrick Mayer,                                                                         Richard Marciniak,

Chair, Parish Council                                                           Chair, Parish Finance