News

Happy New [fiscal] Year

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

Happy New Year! Yes, you read that correctly. Tomorrow, July 1st, we begin the new fiscal year here at Our Lady of the Wayside and across the archdiocese. Along with the New Year comes a new, recently completed annual parish budget. After many hours of calculations, deliberations and number crunching we have managed to produce a balanced budget.

To accomplish balancing the budget, we have a very significant ‘ask’ of you, our faithful parishioners.
We are asking for each family to increase their weekly offering by $6.

We currently have approximately 2,050 families registered. 1,000 of these actively support the parish via weekly envelopes or online giving. If all 2,050 families were to contribute an additional $6 per week, the parish would realize a $639,600 gain, which would result in a surplus of $315,000 – money we would invest and hold for future needs. On the other hand, if only the current 1,000 families that support our parish increase their offering, the parish would see an increase of $312,000, the exact amount we need to balance the budget. If you are not contributing now and choose to start, we would be most grateful.

I fully realize we are living in a time of rising prices. The demand for our monies is greater than in the past. It is no different in running our parish. Everything we need to efficiently operate the parish is also increasing. The Parish’s only true source of income is the Sunday offerings made by you our faithful parishioners.

In the six months I have had the privilege of being your Operations Director I have tried to counsel and advise Fr. Arthur on the best ways to most efficiently utilize our funds. The cost of day-to-day operations is increasing, and we still have challenges ahead. Our special projects, long overdue (bathrooms in middle school, windows in rectory, raising of sidewalks, landscaping), are costing more than originally budgeted. And the list of things still needing attention is growing too. For example, we have nine more bathrooms in the grade school (dating back to the 1950s!) that need updating. Based on feedback we’ve received, I believe our parish is headed in a positive direction. Many parishioners have commented that they like seeing the improvements we are making.

Taking all of this into account, I also believe that YOU, the parishioners of Our Lady of the Wayside, will step up and support us in this quest. Is it not worth $6 more a week to continue to see our parish grow?

Thank you for your ongoing and increased support of our Parish.

Vivat Jesus,

Patrick j. Fitzgerald
Operations Director