Thank you to all parishioners who give of their
time, talents, and treasures to our parishes.
Minutes from Parish Finance Council, January 31, 2023.
Attendance: Bernie McDonell, Lorne Stang, Monica McLean, Dean McDonell, Kevin Rayburn, Fred Leroux, Chris Kupczyk Fr. Jonathan Blake (chair)
Absent: Ivan Coleman
- Prayer & Check in! Everyone shared their highlights from 2022.
- On New Members. Similar to last week’s Parish Pastoral Council, in order to follow along with diocesan protocols we’ll be implementing 3 year terms for all members of the Pastoral & Finance Council, with one year possible extension if needed. There will be clear and simple explanations of the responsibilities for each member. While the pastoral year will run from September to September, the financial year will follow the calendar year from January to January, with 4 or 5 meetings during the year. Some of our members will be leaving shortly, and we need new members from each of our 4 parishes. If you are interested, please speak to someone on the Finance Council about your interests. Again, we need two people from each parish minimum. Fr. Jon will be appointing new members before our April meeting.
- St. Catherine of Sienna 2022 financials and 2023 outlook.
Motion to approve the financials: Chris Kupczyk; second: Kevin Rayburn. All in favour.
A common theme for many parishes, the cost of heating has greatly increased, this year $21140, and electricity at $910. We had a loss of about $20000, which needed to be covered by our reserves from the diocese.
We are discerning ways to bring back a few fundraisers this year to help with expenses, and hope to break even this year if there are no major repairs.
4. St James 2022 financials and 2023 outlook.
Unfortunately there was no representative from Maxville available. Ivan will complete the Financial details this week, and our Finance Council will meet again next week to discuss, and approve. Possible changes to our ParishSoft account going forward, with the help of our financial secretary, Kayla Vander Wielen.
5. St Anthony 2022 financials and 2023 outlook.
Motion to approve the financials: Fred Leroux; second: Monica McLean. All in favour.
There was a small decrease in collections last year, while our auto donations really helped during the pandemic. The Christmas Tea fundraiser was a success, and we donated $3500 to St. Vincent de Paul.
Oil heating continues to see a big increase, and it is very concerning to all involved. The current tanks are 20 years old, and we’ll need addressing sooner than later. *NOTE*: Following the meeting, Dean and Kevin followed up. The tanks have been tagged, and are now condemned. A project to discern next options will begin shortly.
- St Finnan 2022 financials and 2023 outlook.
Motion to approve the financials: Dean McDonell; second: Fred Leroux. All in favour.
Collections increase, but expenses still need to be paid. Accounting is now done in conjuction with Maison Shalom House, and St. Finnan’s Basilica pays all parish staff, while Shalom House reimburses St. Finnan’s for a portion.
Questions regarding all parish cemeteries came up. Note: Bernie followed up with Deacon Pierre Aube, and our parishes are not financially responsible. All is done through Tracy Cameron, and the Cornwall office.
We discussed new projects, especially the possibility of putting in a new elevator, to help with access. Some parishioners have already mentioned to us their difficulty with the stairs. Also, the idea of relamping all lights with the church will need to be addressed. We are also hoping to implement auto donations this year.
- Maison Shalom House 2022 financials and 2023 outlook. These do not need to be approved, they were shared because of our parish office sharing the location, and parish staff. The Shalom House Board members will be approving these financials.
Lorne Stang, Director of Evangelization and Parish Growth, share how retreats have been coming back, and revenues are increasing as well. We still have some work to do, however. There will be a special collection for Maison Shalom House in June 2023, in all our North Glengarry Parishes.
We are also repairing the current kitchen, repairing the walk-in fridge and buying a new need compressor. There are still expenses and salaries to be paid back to St. Finnan’s Basilica.
8. Major projects. By 2025, all parishes will need to be handicap accessible. St. Finnan’s Basilica has been discerning a new elevator now for a few years. We are now preparing a draft Class D estimate to be submitted for a government grant. We hope to share some of the details soon, as well as begin a fundraiser. The scope of the project has been between $300,000 to $1.5 Million. We are working closely with the company who is creating the draft drawing to reduce as much costs as possible.
Finally, when all financial statements are approved, we’ll be presenting the details via our Annual Report to all parishioners. Our hope is to present the Pastoral and Financial plan and details the weekend of February 25/26.
9. Next meeting: to be determined.
