Dear Friends,
Over these last two weekends, I have spoken at all of our Masses at Our Lady of Mercy (OLM) and St. Francis Xavier (SFX) to update you on the financial status of our parish, which is required annually in all parishes of the Archdiocese. This helps to provide for accountability and transparency in how we are using our resources. In brief, last fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) Our Lady of Mercy Parish brought in about $2.15M (million) in revenue. The main sources of income for our parish last year were rental income ($916K) and then Sunday collections ($729K). Our expenses last year came in at $1.7M with salaries and benefits for parish staff making up $748K. This left us with a surplus last year of $447,148. This money is in the bank earning interest income for the parish. This surplus was a bit unusual, and there are a few reasons to explain that. During last year, we experienced the recovery of our Sunday collections from the pandemic, which greatly helped. We also received rental income from all three properties in our parish boundaries after Renew My Church (RMC): CPS renting the school at OLM, and charter schools renting both SFX and IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) properties.
Our financial projections for this year are significantly different. CPS has decided not to renew their lease with OLM school, which is a major loss of income for us. The IHM property has now been sold, so we will no longer receive rents from that tenant. Also, the outcome our OLM Gala was less than expected, earning about $61,000 this year. All of this means that we expect to receive $1.62M in income this year, which is a 25% decrease from last year. Our expenses also will be right around $1.62M, which means that we are projecting right now to lose about $19,000 in this year.
To address this situation, I have already been making cuts in our expenses where we can. Some examples are stopping our cleaning company for the church, so please know that we will be making more use of volunteers now. This will save us about $36,000 per year. At present, I have cut expenses by about 5%, but as I continue to understand our operations, I will continue to make decreases in our expenses. Some very good news is that we received $2.5M from the sale of the IHM property and that money is now invested with the Archdiocese. This will have the effect of earning us more funds that we can use in parish budget to replace our lost rental income. My intention is to safeguard this income so that it can continue to provide for the needs of our parish for generations to come.
In short, please know that we do have many projects to address in our parish, and a break-even budget will not be sufficient to provide for long-term financial viability. We are grateful that we continue to maintain the lease of the school at SFX, which provides a significant source of income for the parish as a whole. More cuts in our expenses will be coming. Also, I am asking everyone to consider signing up for online giving (instead of putting cash in the basket). If our Sunday collection would average out to $10/person each Sunday, we would have more money than we need, and we would not need to do any more fundraisers. Please prayerfully consider your Sunday offering as a way of giving thanks to God for all that you have received.
With gratitude for your generosity and trust, I look forward to continuing to serve you as your pastor. .
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Thomas J. Byrne