January 26, 2025
On Monday an important event took place in our country – the inauguration of a new President of these United States. The inauguration typically takes the place of a yearly event called the State of the Union Address; the new president may decide to speak to a joint session of Congress in February. This address has been the occasion for a sitting president to reflect on the previous year, and the year to come. Many promises are made, and some far-fetched ideas might be floated, yet the core of the address sets the tone for what the President sees as looming challenges and important opportunities. In a parish assignment, years ago, the pastor would present an annual State of the Parish homily. His homily, much like the State of the Union, focused on where the parish had been, but more importantly on where the parish was going. I liked the idea, and I’ve attempted to replicate it at my first assignment as a pastor, and I do so again this weekend. In this homily, I want to touch on three important topics: finances, parish staffing, but most importantly parish mission.
Finances – In this homily, we will certainly talk about finances. There is no way to avoid it, money is necessary to make things happen, and, as we’ll talk about, money is essential when making staffing decisions. We’ll have an opportunity to look at the financial record from the 2023-24 fiscal year and have an update on where we stand for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Reviewing this information will help us in fine-tuning the 2025-26 budget. To assist in forming the new budget we will conduct a stewardship process in the coming months where we will ask you to: (1) make a pledge on your tithing for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, (2) update your contact information to improve our communicates and (3) volunteer for a variety of parish ministries.
Parish Staffing – A few months ago we hired a new parish bookkeeper – Patrick McMurray. He has been hard at work learning the ropes and getting acclimated. I am so glad that he has joined us. Tammy Manley, our parish admin. assistant will soon be retiring. She initially indicated that she would depart at the end of January, but I have asked her to stay on for a few weeks while we bring the new hire on board. I look forward to introducing her and sharing some ideas for her position as we will take Tammy’s 31 hours and turn it into a 40-hour-per-week position. This increase ties back to the communications aspect that I have already hinted at.
Mission – Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? These are important questions that I ask myself all the time. We will take the time to discuss the Great Commission, what it means for each of us in our baptismal call, and what it means for the work of the parish. I am excited to have this conversation with you, and I trust it will kickstart the conversation about what we want our parishes to look like in the next decade.
Two Parishes, One Heart
Fr. Adam