The St. Mary of Vernon Finance Council assists the Pastor in the administration of the financial health of the parish. They work closely with the Pastor on the annual budget, facilities’ maintenance and construction and financial planning. The members meet monthly to review the financial reports, monitor construction /improvement projects and provide the parishioners with periodic written reports on the parish’s financial position. The members have two year term limits.
AN INTRODUCTION FROM FR. JOE TO OUR SMV ANNUAL REPORT:
JULY 1, 2017- JUNE 30, 2018
Our St. Mary of Vernon parishioners are the absolute best! Amen! Alleluia!
Spirit of Stewardship –
Gratitude to God shown through sharing of Time and Talent
Reflecting the vibrant life of faith of our people, our 2017-2018 parish year was filled with dedication and purpose in our awesome variety of ministries and activities. The Archdiocese asks of each parish some simple statistics about parish life. The numbers of parishioners and specific sacraments received is merely a quick snapshot of some of the ways that the Spirit of God is alive and well and working in and through our parish faith community.
Our Life in the Spirit:
Registered households - 2145
Active and contributing households - 1143
Estimated unregistered households - 250
Estimated number of unregistered parishioners - 350
Total number of parishioners – 6834
Baptisms – 96 children
Professions of faith – 4 children / 1 adult
First Communions – 82 children / 6 adults
Confirmations – 58 children / 2 adults
Marriages – 24
Christian Funerals – 42
Ongoing Transformation:
Our parish life and spirit, of course, go way beyond a simple list of numbers. Several years ago, we spent 3 months in extensive parish planning to be forward looking and to better fulfill our part in the mission of Jesus. Our SMV Mission Action Plan which emerged continues to provide a wonderful vision with practical steps to move that vision forward. Our Parish Pastoral Council, Pastoral Staff and our various ministries continue to focus on three major building blocks of vitality and parish life: Evangelization, Missionary Spirit and Catechesis.
Renew My Church:
We continue to be encouraged by our Cardinal Archbishop’s launching of an Archdiocesan effort called Renew My Church. He invites parishes to work together to make their own the very theme which inspired St. Francis of Assisi. He has invited all of us to embrace the Lord’s desire that his Church reform and renew itself in every age. Our “grouping” parish is St. Joseph’s in Libertyville and so we have begun to informally connect more as neighbors in Catholic life. We had a joint gathering of pastoral staff & parish council members which was energizing and affirming. Our deacons have begun gathering informally together with St. Joe’s deacons as well. We face many challenges as this local Church of Lake and Cook Counties. Moving into the future together, building relationships with one another and being proactive in addressing needs will allow us to embrace and follow the spirit of St. Francis.
Gratitude to God for the Spirit of Stewardship:
We are blessed with parishioners and staff who share of their time and talent in developing our spiritual lives; in serving the poor and the needy through our human concerns; in offering opportunities for Catholic education and formation for all ages; and in building up parish life and community spirit.
Financial Stewardship Amazing:
It continues to be encouraging to witness the consistent generosity of our parishioners. Yet, as the report explains, for the first time in a long time we have taken in less regular Sunday income than budgeted. On the other hand, we were able to make this up through our higher Christmas, Easter and Catholic Appeal donations.
Thank you for your generosity which is expressed in and through both our regular and extraordinary outreach collections throughout any given year. Our Finance Council has outlined and explained the details in the attached year-end report.
Yes, we are still reeling and are genuinely angry about the extent of the abuse crisis and the lack of transparency and rightly so. But I invite you to join me in renewing our fundamental commitment to Jesus Christ and the spiritual richness we share as the Church, with the Eucharist, the sacraments and ministries that are honest and straightforward, and which touch our lives and the lives of so many near and far.
Thank you for keeping your parish and its needs in your weekly and monthly planning. Thank you to everyone who shares their gifts of time, talent and treasure so generously.
Fr. Joe Curtis
P.S. Try Using “Give Central” as a way of sharing your regular contributions: Most individuals and families now handle their regular payments of bills, etc. by use of electronic giving rather than writing checks. Perhaps now is the time for you to switch to “Give Central” as a way to contribute in a consistent and simple way. www.givecentral.com provides an electronic way to donate by direct ACH withdrawal or by credit card. You can donate to the Sunday collections and all the special collections that take place throughout the year.
Highlights of the Annual Financial Report 2017-2018
These Financial Reports are for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2018. The following reports are separated by Ordinary Parish Operations, Religious Education, Parish Ministries, Sharing Hands, and Balance Sheet.
The report will show that there has been some decline in the finances of our parish. Our Sunday income has decreased by 3%, returning us to the same income we received 4 years ago. Through careful stewardship of our parish resources, our expenses only increased 3%. Fortunately, our Christmas and Easter Collections were higher than expected affording us extra capital to meet our expenses. Also, our Annual Catholic Appeal Rebate was $88,821, which we were able to use both in covering expenses and capital improvement projects.
(1) Your generosity enabled us to reach beyond our parish through collections for the wider Church. In all, $158,598 was collected to support St. Angela’s School, numerous Archdiocesan Collections, Catholic Charities, Lenten Almsgiving charities, Catholic Relief Services, and Seminarians Ministry. This year we withdrew money from the Parish Endowment account to pay tuition for four employees who are working toward Master’s in Religious Studies or Certification in Religious Education.
(2) Financial Reports for our Parish Religious Education programs for children and teens are also included. The 2018 deficit of $138, 411 for the combined programs was $11,600 higher vs. 2017’s deficit. Enrollment in both our PREP and Youth Ministry programs continue to decline. In any given year, tuition and fees alone do not cover the full cost of the PREP program or youth ministry events. The deficit is covered each year through our parish’s ordinary income and expresses our parish’s investment in the religious education of our young people.
(3) The Parish Ministries Report includes income and expenses for Golf League, Seminarians Ministry, Men’s Club, Scouts, and some of our smaller ministries.
(4) The Sharing Hands Report combines the Sharing Hands Food Pantry, Furniture Ministry and PADS as one ministry. It is important to note that 100% of donations go directly to this Ministry.