Happy Advent.  We are one week into our spiritual preparation as we journey to Christmas.  A new church year has begun.  Isaiah is back to speak with the children at the Family Mass on Saturday evening at 5:00 PM.  His excitement and enthusiasm are a true gift to all of us.  In the weeks ahead we will listen to the words of the prophet as God speaks through him with the promise of a savior.  It is a blessing to be able to hear the hopes and dreams of the people of God as they awaited and longed for the coming of the Messiah.  What they longed for we are blessed to have and celebrate; the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior, in our midst!

The signs of Christ’s presence are very prevalent in our parish.  So many people give of their time, talents and resources so we can offer all the services, programs and activities that we have.  As we begin this new church year I ask everyone in the parish to consider two things as far as resources are concerned: that you think about increasing your weekly contribution and that you consider automated giving. Like your expenses at home, ours continue to rise.  The bills for heating and electric are more than $7,000 monthly for the church alone.  Then we have all the other buildings.  We want our church and other facilities to be comfortable and welcoming for all who come with the varied needs to our parish.  The company we use for automated giving is Faith Direct.  We have been offering this option with Faith Direct since last March.  Recently I met with one of the heads of that company and went over the figures with those who are giving this way.  From the 131 families who are using it we have a projected increase in giving from $128,066 to $181,425.  That is an increase in giving from just those 131 families of $53,358.  After paying the credit card fees and the fee to Faith Direct we will have a projected net of $27,559.  Our expenses with Faith Direct are constant and will actually be going down.  So the more people who use this way of giving, the more advantageous it is for our parish. 

Automated giving means using your credit card (as I do) or your checking account to automatically give to our parish on a monthly basis.  Whether you are there or not, the parish benefits from your generosity.  At times people are not present weekly because of traveling, family affairs in another place or other reasons.  But we as a parish do not have lessened expenses when you are not here.  They remain the same and as you know from your own personal experiences and responsibilities, expenses continue to increase.  We have more than 19 acres of property, a school, church, rectory and convent and almost 100 employees.  Each building is being used to capacity.  This is a large parish.  We are always here for you.  Whether you have been away for years or come every week, we welcome you and reach out to you to be of service with compassion and love in the good times and difficult times.

Currently our debt from building the new church and renovating the old church into a gym is $865,000.  We have another four and a half years to pay that off.  We are required to pay $214,000 a year at an interest rate of 5.97%.  That is in addition to seeking to keep everything else going.

There are so many life-giving events and experiences in our parish.  That is a result of your generosity and membership in our parish family.  We need the support of everyone.  Any increase is very much appreciated and will be used responsibly.  I ask you to consider automated giving. The technology of the present enables us to do so many things unthought of just a few years ago.  I am typing this column on my computer.  It is the same instrument I use to communicate and buy items such as books and plane tickets. Automated giving is not something just for the future, it is something we do with so many areas where we disperse our money.  Brochures about it will be given out at mass next weekend.  There is more information about it in the bulletin and in our parish website.  If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.  I don’t like to talk about money, but it is a reality that needs to be addressed for the good of the parish.  Thank you for all you have done and continue to do as part of the family of St.  Patrick’s Parish.

Father Walden