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St. Ignatius Church Annual Report
July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003
In this spirit of optimism, the following pages highlight acheivements during the year at St. Ignatius
Parish.
Parish Mission & Vision
Early in 2002, the Pastoral Council had begun a strategic planning processes, involving parish leaders,
staff and parishioners-at-large. A series of sessions were held to identify the parish’s current situation
and to hear in what direction various constituencies would like to see the parish head. Because of the
challenges faced by the parish, the Pastoral Council felt it was imperative to move quickly to complete
the strategic plan. The goal was to create a plan to meet the needs of the community and to provide
guidelines for making important decisions in the today and into future.
In the spring of 2003, members of the Pastoral Council, led by Rusty Reily, put this information
together and developed a “Parish Vision for 2014.” The group also updated the Mission Statement—
which had been written when St. Ignatius first became a parish—to better reflect the parish today. These
statements were presented to the parish in October, 2003. Parish leaders will now work with their
programs to develop specific goals and objectives that will propel us toward our vision.
Our Parish Community
St. Ignatius Church ended the year with approximately 1,300 registered parish families. You may
notice that the number has decreased from last year (1,800), but this is not due to a “mass exodus”
from the parish. Rather, the parish updated its database to include only those who consider themselves
current members of the parish. Our numbers are smaller, but we believe that more accurate information
enables us to better serve the parish community.
Liturgy & Music
Providing high quality liturgies has continued to be a high priority at St. Ignatius Church. Because of
several changes in the music department, the parish was challenged to find new ways to receive input
from the community and to involve more people in decision making. The Worship Commission’s
leadership and guidance has been invaluable as we adapt to changes and explore ways to meet the
musical needs of the community. In June, 2003 we welcomed Tim Murphy as the director of the 9:30
and 5:00pm contemporary ensembles.
Social Ministries: Our Faith in Action
As a Jesuit parish, social justice has always been an important part of parish life. Our social ministries
program is built on three tenets: direct service to those in need, educating the parish about issues of
importance and advocating for justice and peace in our communities and the world.
Due to budget cuts, we lost our director of social ministries this summer. The Social Ministries Council
has “stepped up” and is now overseeing current programs such as food drives, Las Vecinas de El Salvador,
Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, Ministry to Nursing Homes, Tutoring at Sacred Heart/St.
Dominics and more. In addition, the Council is exploring new initiatives to bring together the hearts,
souls and energy of our parishioners to serve those in need.
One of the cornerstones of our parish’s service to the needy is the St. Vincent De Paul Society. For eight
years, members have quietly provided material assistance, guidance and emotional support to those who
come to our doors for help. Highlights of their work include:
Children’s Faith Formation
One of the parish’s most admired and successful programs is the CFF program. CFF provides
religious education and formation to children from preschool through post-confirmation. The
program includes formal faith formation classes, RCIA Adapted for Children, as well as the very
popular Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the 9:30 Mass. Last year more than 220 children
participated in classes, which were taught by more than 15 talented volunteers, including USF
students. We would like specially recognize those teachers who have taught for more than four
years—Rusty Reily and Phil Warren, who lead the highly-respected Confirmation class; Vanita Louie
and Melissa Patterson for their First Communion preparation; and Greg Fox for preparing children
for initiation into the church.
Adult Faith Formation: Bringing Together Religion & Art
Recognizing the profound connection between art, religion and spiritual experience, Fr. James
Blaettler developed a series of programs which bring these elements together. “Painting the Word”
explored how artists provide visual commentary on the Bible (“visual theology”). During Lent, “Faith
in Film” focused on how spiritual conversion has been treated in classic and current religious films.
In the spring, Fr. Blaettler teamed up with Jonathan Dimmock, our music director, to discuss Bach’s
St. Matthew Passion, and the visual traditions used to help meditate upon Christ’s Passion. This
series of programs, as well as many other opportunities for faith formation, will continue.
Annual Parish Financial Report
Fiscal 2003 (July 1st 2002 through June 30th 2003)
Due to a declining trend in income over the last three years, St. Ignatius Parish experienced serious
financial difficulties this past year. However, through major spending reductions and thanks to your
generous donations, we have been able to meet our financial obligations and restore a portion of our
cash reserves.
In March 2003, expenses were reduced approximately 16% from their prior level of $105,000 per
month in order to bring the ongoing income and expenses into balance. At the same time, collection
income temporarily improved, allowing us to reduce our loss for the year to $50,000.
The expense reductions included a general staff reduction of 22% in April and a cut-back in some of
the music programs. Financial Outreach was reduced to less than 5% of collections due to lack of
available funds. A debt to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal continued to accrue for three years,
resulting in a total debt of $104,000. This debt was recorded in 2003, although full payment was not
made.
Budget Fiscal Year 2004 (July 1st 2003 through June 30th 2004)
The Budget for fiscal year 2004 was developed on a more conservative basis than prior years in order
to reduce the likelihood of an operating deficit. Collection income was budgeted at the levels of last
May and June in order to set expense levels that we were confident that we could fund. Church staff
and programs were maintained at their reduced levels from fiscal 2003. Based upon these
assumptions, we expect to break even for the year.
Although we have budgeted collection income at a conservative level, our goals for collection income
are about 10% higher and more consistent with collections before the decline in May and June. If we
achieve our collection goals of $15,000 per week, we will continue to build our operating cash reserves
and be able to restore some programs. Since collections represent almost 80% of our total income, it
is essential that we maintain our giving level in order to fund current programs.We hope to increase
collections in order to restore various programs.
On the expense side, we will continue to function with the 20% reduction in Church staff, which will
maintain our current programs, but will provide less programs and services than in prior years. Some
of this reduction will be supplemented by volunteers. In addition, $45,000 has been budgeted for an
expected shortfall in the 2003 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. Other expenses remain at similar levels
to last year.
A number of capital requirements have not been included in the operating budget above, such as reflooring
and carpeting the Church and upgrading the sound system. These projects will require
additional fundraising, gifts and utilization of a portion of the Capital Fund (money left over from the
Restoration Campaign that were designated for capital projects). Fundraising programs, such as the
benefit with Andrea Marcovicci, will help fund these capital expenditures.
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| Operating Financial Statement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual 2002 | Actual 2003 | Budget 2004 | |
| Operating Income | |||
| Collection & Seasonal Gifts | 883,000 | 864,000 | 827,000 |
| Other Gifts | 62,000 | 46,000 | 0 |
| Sacramental Offerings | 112,000 | 112,000 | 104,000 |
| Parish Programs & Services* | 86,000 | 116,000 | 119,000 |
| Investment Income | 50,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Income | 1,193,000 | 1,138,000 | 1,050,000 |
| Expenses: | |||
| Administration | 423,000 | 397,000 | 350,000 |
| Liturgy & Music | 278,000 | 288,000 | 274,000 |
| Physical Plant | 180,000 | 139,000 | 175,000 |
| Parish Programs & Services* | 323,000 | 218,000 | 166,000 |
| Financial Outreach | 72,000 | 42,000 | 40,000 |
| Archbishop’s Annual Appeal | 21,000 | 104,000 | 45,000 |
| Total Expenses | 1,297,000 | 1,188,000 | 1,050,000 |
| Surplus/Deficit | (104,000) | (50,000) | 0 |
| *Parish Programs & Services include items such as CFF, RCIA, Shelter Meal, Hospitality, Sunday Bulletin, candles, etc | |||