Where does our income come from?
The heart of our parish life is the Sunday celebration of Mass. The Offertory is an important part of that as a symbol of our giving of ourselves to God. It is the money we give as part of the Offertory along with other sources of income that allow the parish to pay its way. As well as the offerings received through the regular collections in cash and Planned Giving envelopes, there is income from standing orders or other donations, the Christmas and Easter Offerings, stipends for masses, baptisms, marriages and funerals, payments from the sale of votive candles, newspapers, repository items. Finally there is money raised through specific fund-raising activities and the tax rebate we receive from the government for offerings that parishioners Gift Aid to the parish.
How is it spent?
Our income is split 3 ways. Firstly, there are the day-to-day running costs – wages, heating, lighting, telephone, postage, housekeeping, printing, insurance, car expenses etc. Secondly, there is the amount which the diocese assesses as being our contribution to the costs of running and maintaining the diocese and providing central services: currently diocesan parishes pay 29% of their assessable income to the diocese. Finally, there is a need to build up a maintenance and reserve fund to meet the costs of regular maintenance as well as providing for the cost of dealing with unexpected emergencies.
What about salaries?
The priest’s living expenses – housekeeping, mileage allowance etc. are met from parish income; however the priest’s salary is paid for from the stipends received for celebrating masses, baptisms, weddings and funerals plus the annual Christmas and Easter offerings. It is a widely-held misconception that the Christmas and Easter offerings are our Christmas and Easter presents to the clergy. This is not the case; they actually go towards paying their regular salary. However, the diocese sets a minimum salary, updated each year, which all priests are paid if the stipends etc. are not sufficient. The diocese also sets salaries for parish employees – secretaries, housekeepers, catechists etc. based on the demands of the job and the hours worked. As with priests’ salaries, these are up-rated annually.
Financial management
In accordance with the Church’s code of Canon Law, the parish has a Finance Committee which meets quarterly to monitor our income and expenditure and advise the Parish Priest on financial matters. At the time of writing, thanks to efforts to keep down our basic running costs, we are able to put cash into our reserve fund. If you are interested in seeing more about the parish finances, summary accounts are posted every six months and can be found at the back of the church near the inner doors.
What of the future?
we must face the fact that the church porch is showing its age and needs to be replaced; Fr.Sean would like to make changes to the Sanctuary; the Parish Rooms and the Presbytery are not easily accessible for people in wheelchairs or with prams or buggies and the priest’s accommodation needs updating. However, the reality is that we cannot contemplate embarking on these projects without significant fund raising. At the same time, the Diocese is undertaking major fund raising activity as funds for the training of priests, the care of sick and retired clergy, and the establishment of a ‘Caritas’ agency to guide parishes’ charitable pastoral work.
Retiring collections
Parishioners often complain about the number of retiring collections that are taken and we have sympathy with that point of view, however, the majority of collections are set by the diocese and comparatively few are for the parish.