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My Dear Parishioners,
The first of July of 2010 will mark six years that I have been here at Holy Name. I am sure that all of you know that I believe that we are a wonderful, welcoming, mixed up place. That is not to say that we as individuals do not have our faults. As a parish I have found it easy to see the Church of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, incarnate here. As a priest, God has blessed me by allowing me to be here with you. Before we go any further, I wish to assure you that I am not planning on going anywhere, except on vacation in July!
Because of the wonderful work that has been done over the last two years in the Church and the Chapel a serious financial problem has been brought to light. This is not a new problem. After going over the parish books for the last twelve years; it can be seen that this problem goes back over fifteen.
In 1991 Holy Name was the recipient of a very generous bequest that at one time was over $750,000.00. This bequest plus a few others gave the parish a fund of over a million. Because of this Holy Name School was not obliged to combine with St. Raymond's School. Eventually, however, problems returned and the Collaborative was formed. Prior to 2004 the parish was drawing off between $120,000.00 and $135,000.00 per year from interest and then capital of this reserve for school and parish.
In 2004 when the Collaborative was dissolved and Holy Name School was closed. All bills connected with the building became parish bills. At that same time, and to create a small endowment for the parish, the remainder of the bequest was entrusted to the Catholic Foundation. There was no proper preparation for the parish to work properly with this new situation.
Foolishly, I did not familiarize myself well with what was going on thinking that since all seemed well all would continue to be well. The truth of the matter is that our parish has not been meeting its ordinary operating costs using its ordinary income for over 15 years. We have been surviving because of the wonderful generosity of older parishioners who have continued to show their love for Holy Name even after death. However, with the entrusting of the bulk of our money to the Catholic Foundation in 2004 nothing was left to continue to cover the hole as had become the custom. At present we owe about $275,000.00 for insurance, medical, dental, pension, etc. During my administration this debt has grown at the pace of about $50,000.00 a year. My financial ignorance and the lack of fiscal accompaniment by the Diocesan Office have resulted in our being in this situation which should have been controlled years ago.
What do we do now? First of all, there is no need to panic. We are a vibrant growing parish and Bishop Tobin has assured me that we are in no danger in the near future. I am hopeful that the Evangelization team that is in formation with Peter Rocha, Maria Rose, Eric Adams and James Lyman will reach out to even more people in our area and beyond. In the meantime we have had to cut down the hours of both our maintenance man, Cliff, and our book keeper, Roberta. We must ask people to volunteer with the gift of their time and talent. This is only the beginning of the long term fix: building up the parish in numbers and increasing the responsibility of volunteers. Every parishioner has a role to play in these two elements.
The school building is also coming under scrutiny: What do we do with it? Sadly the Sisters from Still River will not be able to open a middle school here. I am in contact with several other orders, but these are very difficult times for them. That is why the Parish Rosary Crusade is so important!!! Think of how much our children could benefit from a truly Catholic School in our midst. Yet, something must be done and soon because the building has been a big expense to the parish.
We hear so much talk about Stewardship; what it means and how it can help us grow as a parish of Children of God. The by-words: Time, Talent and Treasure are bandied about and seem to lose their impact. My brothers and sisters, this is exactly what we need! To see in our Time given to God's Church as something of infinite value! Our Talent used for the glory of God as the most important offering of it in our lives! The Treasure that we give as a way of enabling the growth and living of the Gospel here and now and passing it on to the future! Holy Name needs all three and now!
During the next couple of months some materials have been donated to us concerning Stewardship. These will be distributed as they are received. Please take them seriously remembering your response is not to me but to the Lord.
If you have any concerns that I may be able to respond to, please do not hesitate to call the Rectory. I still have no cell phone. If you wish to approach Fr. Jude or myself personally, time will be found to talk.
Above all remember that our Communion with God expressed in prayer and Sacraments will always aid our decision-making. Fr. Peyton often said that the Family that prays together, stays together; how much more true is this of a Parish?
May God bless you always.
Pax in Domino per Mariam,
Rev. Joseph D. Santos, Jr.
Parochial Administrator
8th of May 2010
Feast of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel
