October 1, 2009

Dear parishioners,

I love being with everyone at Sunday Mass and parish events, but a parish letter is sometimes the best way for me to try to communicate important matters with everyone. Although some of this information was shared in a recent homily, I hope you’ll take a few moments now to read this message.

As September draws to a close, some of you may remember that I began serving as Pastor here at Church of the Guardian Angel on September 1, 2003. It is church policy that Pastors are appointed for a term of six years. I’m pleased to tell you that, at my request, Archbishop Myers has now re-appointed me for a second 6-year term. (I got the letter in the mail – it’s official!)

Not only over these past six years, but over our parish’s 55-year history, so many blessings have been experienced through the generations of faith, love and service of this Catholic community. You and I each have a mission – to live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. And our parish has that mission too. Fulfilling our mission takes what we call “Christian Stewardship.” That means that each day we seek to become more aware of our gratitude to God, and to respond with a generous and sacrificial sharing of our time, talent and treasure.

In the spirit of stewardship, I am grateful for the opportunity to begin a second term of service as your Pastor. But I also need to be clear with you about what it takes for us to continue to move forward in faith, focusing on our mission. Now more than ever, it will require commitment from all of us to keep this mission going!

It’s no secret that we have been experiencing a national recession, and that we have felt its effects in our workplaces, homes, schools and neighborhoods. But I’m not sure everyone realizes the impact it has had on our parish. Over the past year, our Sunday collections have dropped by about 9 percent, and the Christmas and Easter collections also went down. We saw a reduction in parishioner donations to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal (which means we have not gotten the rebates that we count on to support our parish budget). Additionally, we saw a continuing drop in income from the parish carnival. This happened amidst a basically stable number of people at Mass compared to last year. The result is a $25,000 deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30 and the deferral of necessary work on our buildings and grounds. Collections continued to drop over the summer months. All of this adds up to the need for us to act together now.

            I believe we have a great parish. It is smaller in size than many of our neighbors, and part of what makes Guardian Angel parish special is the unique intimacy and sense of family and unity that can come with being a smaller parish. However one accompanying challenge is that we are more vulnerable to the impact of a drop in collections.

When we look at our expenses we see that we have a small staff, but one that works hard. We do invest in our Religious Education and Youth Ministry staff and programs. I believe these are vital to our parish mission, and they also attract families to our parish and the faith. One side of the equation is our expenses: Our Finance Council helps us watch expenses. Much of our spending is really beyond our control: insurance, utilities, archdiocesan assessments, basic supplies. The other side of the equation is revenues. It’s time for us all to take a look at our level of giving to the parish.

I recognize the financial hardship that many individuals and families have these days. But I also recognize that not everyone is affected in the same way. We are one parish, and now more than ever is the time to come together and work together as one, to help everyone be part of a vibrant faith community. Everyone is welcome – you are not assessed dues to belong here. Families are never turned away from religious education or sacraments because they cannot afford program fees.

My goal is not to make anyone feel bad or guilty; my hope is for everyone to prayerfully reflect on your level of giving to your parish. Across the board – if everyone gave $15 more each week, our deficit could be erased and we would be better able to plan for ongoing maintenance, and for support and development of our parish ministries, programs and outreach to those in need.

With commitment and discipline, it would be wonderful and helpful for each of us to see weekly offerings to your parish as a central part of our personal finances – something we know we need to do – like paying the phone bill or the heating bill. Consider sending an offering on those Sundays when our travel plans require us to be at Mass somewhere else. Many of you do this, and we are grateful.

In our annual stewardship report to the parish every November, we issue an invitation to tithing – the Biblical idea of giving 10 percent back. We encourage people to do this through giving 5 percent to various worthy causes of your choice, and 5 percent to your church. This would be a good time for you to sit down and examine your finances and see where you fall. My guess is that for many, even if you think you are giving an appropriate donation every week, it is not in the 5 percent range. As an example, for a household making $100,000 a year (slightly below the median income for Allendale) 5 percent to your church would be $5,000 – or about $100 a week.

We are not expecting or hoping for the same weekly offering from everyone. We realize that some are on fixed or reduced income; some are unemployed or underemployed. Some are struggling with housing, student or medical debts – or caring for other family members in need. But for those who are not facing these hardships with severity, now is a great time to choose to increase your weekly giving – to support your parish more, especially at a time when someone else may not be able to do so.

            There is another area of financial concern I would also like to mention. A year ago we were about to launch a $1.2-million parish Capital Campaign. An architect was hired and created a “master plan” for the buildings and grounds. A fundraising consultant was hired and created a parish participation campaign. I had raised pledges of about half of our total through initial meetings with individual parishioners. But the new economic realities led us to place the campaign “on hold” and re-evaluate the situation periodically. This summer, we again decided to continue the postponement of our Capital Campaign. We will take a fresh look in early 2010. In the meantime, we are welcoming pledges and initial donations from any who may find this beneficial for tax purposes.

            The recent improvement of all our parish roadways is part of the “master plan” that is on hold, but I am grateful that through several special parish donations, we were able to repave the deteriorated roadways at the front of our property. And we have added several handicapped spots as well, with direct access to the church entrance ramp. More repaving is needed, but that will have to wait for additional revenue.

            As I write this, I am aware of another concern – even more important to me as your pastor: many of our children, teens, adults – even whole families – are not coming to weekly Sunday Mass. May I address you directly for a moment? Happily, our church building is overflowing for Mass at Christmas and Easter – so I know this parish is your home. I wish I knew how to effectively make the Lord’s call … his invitation … his sacrifice … seem clearer or more urgent, more personal or more meaningful. Please consider this an invitation to renew your faith, to let the old habits fade away and be renewed as a child of God – a call you received from your baptism.

            Sunday Mass is where we offer God praise and receive the spiritual nourishment we need. Here at Guardian Angel, weekend Mass is offered Saturday evening at 5:30, and Sunday at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Please make Mass part of your personal or family plan for the week. For families choosing to participate in the numerous school, community and athletic opportunities of our area – please recognize that family members attending different Masses is a solution that is better than family members not coming to Mass at all!

            As always, if temporary or long-term health issues mean you cannot attend Mass, please let me know. I am happy to offer the Anointing of the Sick in your home or hospital room. And we have a team of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion ready to bring the Eucharist to you each week.

            Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for giving consideration to the thoughts I have offered. I welcome any prayers and assistance you can offer.

In Christ,

Father Charlie