Almost 18 months have passed since I arrived at Holy Spirit and I continue to be honored and humbled to serve as your pastor.  I am proud of what our parish accomplished in the past year, despite the challenges we faced.

Every year, we publish a financial report to the parish.  As you will read in this report for fiscal year 2020-21, we have been able to maintain our parish facilities and operations.  Despite of the continuing rise in costs, and through conservative and judicious spending, we are in a stable financial position and have the ability to celebrate and share our faith.

In June 2020, the situation of COVID-19 was still up in the air.  As a parish, we had hopes that we would be able to invite the community back into the church for Mass, resume ministerial functions, and even start mission trips and external programs by no later than the start of the 2021 calendar year.  The budget was created with these expectations in mind.

As you may recall, the situation remained tenuous.  We kept most functions remote or at reduced levels, so we anticipated less revenue and expenses than what was budgeted.  This is most obvious in Collections and Programs and Events Income.  But through the generosity of this community, we exceeded our expectations in “other donations” to the parish.  In addition, the parish received a rebate of $26,691 from the Annual Diocesan Appeal.  The parish realized a total income of $2,557,603 which was 96% of budget and down 20% from the prior year.

As mentioned above, less activity also meant that we would spend less.  The staff and volunteers at Holy Spirit stepped up to the plate to do their part to operate at the appropriate level.  They worked safely and effectively to serve the parish and managed expenses to keep the parish on solid footing during a difficult and challenging time.  The good news is that expenses were down 28% from last fiscal year and 84% of budget.  Holy Spirit exited FY 2020-21 with a net operating income of $21,240.  This surplus will help fund our facilities projects, including the repaving of the parking lot which is scheduled to be done in 2022.

The Parish truly did improve its financial position in the last year.  The efforts in operations mentioned above resulted in a slight improvement in cash balances.  This is a testament to the efforts of the community to give electronically and to the staff who helped parishioners transition to electronic on-line giving.

An increase in cash combined with a slight decrease in liabilities shows that the increase in cash is not temporary but a true improvement in our position. We also received good news at the end of the year with our unfunded pension liability decreasing by approximately 40%. The dramatic decrease was a result of irregular stock market patterns through COVID-19 and a catch-up from last year’s market dip.  Going forward, annual reductions in the liability will be smaller.  It’s important to know this income is a non-cash item, but exciting nonetheless to see the reform plan work.

COVID-19 has certainly impacted our parish operations.  However, in the past several months we were able to resume indoor worship, parish ministries, outreach to the needy, office hours, hospitality, faith formation for both adults and children and some facility work.  I am indebted to the many experienced, dedicated, and knowledgeable parishioners who have advised me on finances and facilities management.  Much of what we have accomplished is in large part due to the many volunteers who give so generously of their time, talent, and treasure.  Their enthusiasm, commitment and faith inspire me daily.  Most of all, I am very grateful for all of you and your continued generosity and support.

As always, please be assured of my continued prayers for you and your loved ones.  The more we stand together in faith, the stronger we are and the more the Lord can do through us.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this financial report, please contact the Finance Council through the parish office at (408) 997-5101.