-
December 18, 2011
December 18, 2011
Dear Fellow Parishioners:
It’s been another year of growth in our parish, as we welcome people from all age groups and walks of life to our vibrant community.
We have the largest enrollment in decades in our Sunday School, preparing over 100 children for the sacraments and to grow as faithful and enthusiastic Catholics. Fifteen adults are preparing to join the church and receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil. Our University members actively worship at all masses, and pack the pews at the joyous 6pm mass each Sunday. The soup kitchen feeds over 600 every Saturday of the year. Each week we attract new members.
All of these activities are sustained only with your generous support. Amazingly, this Parish functions on a total budget of $800,000 a year. This pays our lay staff and priests, provides a remarkable liturgical music program, supports education and service activities, and maintains a very large, and very old, physical plant. We have no savings to speak of, nor endowment. To be blunt, we survive on what we receive in the collection plate.
You can request a summary of St. Joseph’s financial condition by calling the Parish Office at (212) 741-1274. This document highlights that we received some special one-time financial blessings this past year. A few generous individuals gave some large special gifts, and a long-ago parishioner left us a bequest of over $100,000. Though we have finished the year with a surplus, there are serious financial needs; we can’t build our ongoing programs on the hope of one-time gifts. Looking towards next year, we see a substantial reduction in our rental income with the opening of the new NYU Catholic Center, as well as ever increasing operating expenses.
To sustain and grow our parish life, we must increase our regular collection income by at least 10%.
We ask for you to consider two things:
- A generous end of year Christmas gift to the Parish. The annual Christmas collection is the most significant source of income of the year.
- Increasing your ongoing giving to the Parish. We recommend the use of Parish Pay, an effective and convenient method of making regular donations online. For more information please visit the parish pay website at www.parishpay.com.
With all best wishes for a Blessed and Merry Christmas, and gratitude for your continued support,
St. Joseph’s Finance Council