St. Catherine of Siena Church

State of the Parish Address

January 27, 2008 

Notes of the meeting: 

A power point presentation was given with Fr. Stef presenting the Parish Life section, Wade Smith presenting the financial information and Fr. Stef presenting the Goals and Challenges we face in the future. 

53 Parishioners were in attendance. 

Parish Life 

Demographics of the parish were given as follows:

Our number of households has increased to 745.  28 new families joined the parish this year.  The breakdown is 429 Catholic households, 306 Mixed households & 10 Non-Catholic or Unknown Religious affiliation.   

We have 2,487 members in this parish of which 1176 are male and 1312 are female.  1,048 people are over the age of 40, 634 are between the ages of 20-39, and 804 are 19 years of age or younger, which leads to an average age in the parish of 34 years old. 

St. Catherine School enrollment has increased to 191 students up from 175 last year which is a positive trend considering most Catholic schools in the diocese are experiencing a decrease in enrollment.  Fr. Stef credited the School Enrollment team for this growth. 

During the calendar year 2007, the following Sacraments were administered - Baptisms - 21, First Communions 47, Confirmation 31, Weddings 4, Funerals 9. 

Mass attendance is trending downward over the last 15 years.  Each October the diocese requires every parish to count all the faithful in the pews and an average is taken with the three largest attendance weekends for the month.  From 1992 attendance was at 1052 through 2007 where mass attendance is now 715.  However, 2006 was 691, so we were up from 2006.

Plant 

In 2007 we completed the following capital improvements for an approximate cost to the parish of $26,000:

-                     Handicapped restroom in McCrystal Hall

-                     Updated light fixtures in all classrooms of the school

-                     Sealcoated the parking lot

-                     Purchased a new stove for the cafeteria

-                     Replaced hinges on Church doors (Rossford entrance)

-                     5 Smart boards donated to the school

-                     Lever door handles replaced in parish center 

Capital Improvements suggested by facilities committee

-                     On Demand water heaters for church/cafeteria (approved by finance committee on Jan. 18^th)

-                     New Freezer for cafeteria (approved by finance committee on Jan. 18^th)

-                     Replace McCrystal Hall Ceiling

-                     Retile McCrystal Hall floor

-                     Replace/Repair Hinges on all church doors

-                     Replace School windows

-                     Church sound system needs updating

-                     Parish center has air distribution problems

-                     Install coaxial cable connecting all televisions in all classrooms for unified broadcasting

-                     Handicapped entrance - power door opener

-                     Repaint parish center

-                     Update school restrooms

-                     Stained glass window repair

-                     Backlight stained glass

-                     Light ramp walkway leading to McCrystal Hall

-                     Replace rectory roof 

Comments regarding the capital improvements were as follows:

            Publish this list on the website - attach dollar figures to it.  When people see there is a need, they will fund that need. 

Fr. Stef commented on the St. Catherine Athletic boosters and how they have made it possible for any St. Catherine student to play a sport for free.  He compared this to the public school cost of $100 per student per sport and what a great benefit this is for the students. 

Of the 191 students in the school, 176 are participating in some sort of school sponsored sporting activity. 

School 

The school is currently going through the accreditation process which involves a self analysis of programs and show compliance with the many indicators and demonstrators that are listed in their long range plan.  Every non-public school must do this every five years.  The entire school community takes part in the through surveys and membership on the different component committees.  The self-study looks at areas such as plant and facilities, curriculum, school climate, instruction, governance, etc…  

Three site visitors, usually principals who have been trained in the accreditation process, visit for two days.  Through study of the self-study binder, conversations with individuals and groups within the school community, and their own observations, the visitors verify all indicators and demonstrators.  Based on the visitors' findings, commendations and recommendations are given to help the school make improvements for the future.  The process allows all members of the school community to be involved in long range planning. 

New this year - St. Catherine School has hired a part time guidance counselor.  Cathie Stapleton works 2 days per week and is working with the students on things such as character education (conflict resolution, harassment, rumors and leadership). She is also assisting students who are struggling academically because of extra-school influences (emotional, social or family issues). 

We are continuing to promote within the school the discussion of our Catholic Identity.  Our students continue to measure up favorably with other students in the diocese.

The last three valedictorians at NCC have been St. Catherine School alumni. 

Finances 

Wade Smith presented the financial information and data for the last fiscal year ended June 30, 2007 and for the first six months of the current fiscal year ended December 31, 2007. 

Highlights from last fiscal year included ending the year with a surplus of $21,743.  Special mention was made regarding the need for fundraising because in total, the fund raising brought in $124,283.  Fr. Stef would like to see us eventually use the fund raising money to do something "extra" instead of helping to sustain our everyday operating expenses.  Wade encouraged once again parishioners to use scrips whenever possible because it brings in a substantial amount of money.  Our income analysis showed that our Sunday collections are down 1% from the past year.  

Social Concerns for the year ended June 30, 2007 made contributions to the following organizations:

-                     Catholic Extension

-                     ECHO

-                     Healthy Moms & Babes

-                     Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (HONK)

-                     Interfaith Hospitality Network

-                     Literacy in Northern Kentucky

-                     New Hope Pregnancy Center

-                     Our Savior Parish

-                     Welcome House

-                     Women's Crisis Center 

Social Concerns for the first six months of the current fiscal year has contributed to individual families within the parish and outside of the parish through the Brighton Center.  To date, we have spent $5,470 on family assistance and made one contribution to the Catholic Extension in the amount of $300. 

The current fiscal year update offered the following positives:

-                     The Offertory Program showed good results with 394 parishioners pledging up from 284 last year.  Total pledges are $857,939 up from $633,265 last year.

Where does our money come from?

Where does our money go?

*Diocesan assessment is 11.75% on the prior year's income.  The majority is paid in the 1^st quarter of the year 

This year, we received a bequest in the amount of $196,470.  These funds will be placed into an endowment to help fund capital projects in the future.  The finance committee approved setting aside $23,000 for the assessment that will be due on this bequest. 

Questions from the evening: 

In the reporting of the financial statements, the School/CCD PTO income is misleading.  Can this be corrected? 

Mary responded:            In the future, the Love Boat (which is currently being split between the PTO’s to help fund their budgetary expenses) will be reported under fund raising and not in the income for each of the PTOs. 

Questions/Comments on the bequest: 

1.                  One parishioner stated that if each person left 1% of their estate to the church in their will, our parish would be able to carry on for a considerable amount of time.  He stated that we should offer programs for parishioners to learn more about this option.

2.                  How do I restrict my donation to avoid the parish having to pay an assessment on it?

a.      Fr. Stef's response is that we have a responsibility to the larger church, so it isn't fair to always try to avoid that assessment.

b.      Another response given by a financial planner is that you could simply state in your will that the donation is restricted for use by St. Catherine Parish for what the pastor deems necessary at the time of usage.

3.                  There was much concern over the amount of people who have not pledged anything or even responded to the offertory program requests for information.  Questions were asked regarding contacting those people and asking if they wish to remain a member of St. Catherine Church.

a.      Fr. Stef’s responded with the idea of a committee reviewing the list and possibly making phone calls, however, we must take into consideration that there are three types of parishioners –

                                                               i.      Those who pledge and give

                                                             ii.      Those who do not pledge (and don’t wish to pledge) and give

                                                            iii.      Those who do not pledge and do not give

We must also take into consideration that we are a church,  referring to

 Though a parish could not sustain itself if every parishioner did not pay, we can't really tell people how much they should pay.

4.                  How much does it cost to be a parishioner (not associated with school)?

a.      The calculation shows $923 per family. 

Fr. Stef spoke about the Goals and Challenges we as a parish face - they are as follows:

• Develop a capital improvement plan to ensure proper maintenance and funding for capital expenses.

• Create spending program for the endowment

• Continue to monitor spending and keep costs under control

• Begin Wednesday night project (Ongoing Adult and Youth Ed, outreach, community building activities)

• Endowments

• Campus beautification

• Sisters/Convent (hopes to bring consecrated religious to the St. Catherine campus and have their presence within the school and church and be able to house them nearby).

• Vocations - (Fr. Stef spoke to the group about encouraging vocations within their own households.  He suggested to them not to discourage any child who feels called to the priesthood or religious life.  He stated that he has talked to two people from the parish who are considering the religious life.  Fr. Stef has a strong sense that there are a few more vocations within the parish.)

• Outreach/Evangelization

• Evaluation (would like to develop an employee and program evaluation program)

• Pastor, Pastoral Administrator, Worship Commission - (Fr. Stef spoke of how many assignments he has in this diocese and the need to be able to delegate some duties for parishioners to take on.)

• Parishioner Involvement/Commitment - We need to invite more parishioners to get involved in some small way.  Commitment to individual ministries is very important. 

There are many ministries to get involved in - CRHP, Men's Group, Praise & Worship, Boosters, PTO, Bereavement, Worship, Festival, Social Life, Stewardship, Love boat, Finance, Board of Education, CCD, Liturgical Ministries (lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Servers, Decorators (art & environment), Cleaners) CLOW, DPAA Chair. 

How can you get involved?

 Fr. Stef closed by reading the following prayer from the Parish Dedication brochure from May 3, 1964:

 After reading this prayer, Fr. Stef mentioned that we are not building a physical church, we are now working on building a parish.  It is each of our responsibility to build this parish community.  That is our challenge now.  We are in line with those who have gone before us that have been answering this call and build up this parish. 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Mary Brzinski