Temporal Administration

Temporal Administration Report

Edwin A. Sevillano, MBA

2020 will be recorded in history as the year COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. The mission of the Church remains consistently the same through history and in difficult times like this our faith provides a strong balsam of hope. Work in our parish continued in the midst of the pandemic and thanks to the support of our parishioners great things were accomplished while other areas will need our attention in the months and years to follow. In the following lines we highlight some of what was accomplished this past Fiscal Year 07/2019 – 06/2020 in the areas and ministries under my oversight.

FACILITIES:

Tree relocation: In the Fall we worked in beautifying our campus by transplanting and rearranging trees. Some of them had been planted to close to each other and were not developing properly. Others had died leaving openings. At the same time planter boxes in the center of the parking spaces were removed to make snow removal easier. Tree lines are now consistent in the field along route 34 and next to the driveway to route 34. A new pine tree for “Light up a Memory” has also been planted. More trees will need to be relocated and planted in the coming years as our budget allows. Chapel renovation: During Lent our daily mass chapel functions in Parish Hall which allowed us to do some necessary renovations to Christ’s Chapel in the

Spiritual Center. The walls were covered with insulation and sheet rock to manage better our climate control system. The square-track light fixture was replaced with a round one with LED dimmable lights which makes the space within the octagonal dome more harmonious. The wooden dome was stained with a lighter color to allow light reflection. The sacristy was updated with new cabinets, sink and lights. While the work has finished the chapel is still not being used as such as the space is not in compliance for proper social distancing of those attending daily mass. In the meantime the space is being used as a meeting room as it allows sufficient social distancing. HVAC equipment upgrades: We continued upgrading our Carrier HVAC rooftop units in the Spiritual Center which we started last year. Economizers have been installed in the chapel, theatre and office & classroom units which allow fresh air intake and make the equipment run more efficiently. This is especially crucial now to ventilate our rooms for sanitary reasons. Office ceiling tiles and light fixtures upgrade: While our offices were closed to the public we had the opportunity to do some work indoors. We replaced the original ceiling tiles which had been installed in the 1980s and had water stains and mold, repainted the grid white and upgraded the fluorescent light fixtures with new LED fixtures which provide better lighting, require less maintenance, and are more energy efficient. As we had done in prior years with Madonna Hall and the Theatre, this time we upgraded the offices, meetings rooms and hallways in the Spiritual Center.

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“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Luke 6:38

Temporal Administration Report (cont.)

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Parking lot maintenance: We continued what we started last year patching sections of our parking lot. This time we worked in the driveway to route 34 and some areas in the parking lot which showed more deterioration and had potholes. As resources become available we will continue recoating other sections of the parking lot.

Other projects that were in the plans but had to be postponed include the regrading and well upgrade of the parish house and the conversion of the small rooms by the Chapel into a multipurpose meeting room.

STEWARDSHIP:

The first half of our fiscal year we continued showing an increase on the Sunday collection as a result of the increased offertory program launched in the fall of 2018. A number of our parishioners continued their commitment and we achieved a 10% increase in our Sunday offerings compared to the amount collected in the same period before the beginning of the program. This trend however was short lived. COVID-19 stroke us in March, we were forced to suspend the celebration of masses and that impacted negatively our main source of income which is the Sunday collection. Many parishioners switched their offertory to our online giving platform during those months and others started mailing in their offertory while Masses were suspended. This was crucial in those critical months: without income we would have had to lay off or furlough our staff. Fortunately the government through the Small Business Administration launched the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and for the first time ever churches and 501 (c)(3) nonprofits were eligible to apply to this federal assistance. We learned early on of the PPP and were amongst the first parishes to receive funding. Right at the time of the lock down for the pandemic we had launched our Easter Collection. We were unable to celebrate the Sacred Triduum with the faithful during the most important time of the year for our faith. The response of our parishioners was incredible and we received many Easter donations by mail and thru online giving. The Easter collection was only $6,185 under budget, which is an extraordinary witness of our parishioners’ faith and role as stakeholders of the parish. At the same time we were unable to gather for mass, we could not celebrate baptisms, weddings, nor masses of Christian burial. First Communions were postponed. All of this also hurt our stewardship deeply. It is also important to mention we did not receive a rebate for the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal as we did not reach our goal but got a $10,000 gift from a generous parishioner to supplement the income lost. Overall at the end of the fiscal year our income showed a decrease of $135,000 as compared to the prior year. The PPP grant funded $113,500. The road ahead of us remains uncertain. Our efforts should be focused to bring our income back to the offering levels we had reached before the start of the pandemic. We also need to start planning for the future and building a contingency fund in case of an emergency, whether a natural disaster, another pandemic or an unexpected major expense. Bequests and legacy gifts are always greatly appreciated. We pray for our parishioners and benefactors for their continuing support to help St. Mary Parish strengthen as a vibrant self-sustained parish. The Diocesan capital campaign Faith to Move Mountains continued on its redemption stage this past year. From the total pledges of over $1.3 million $1,055,000 have been received by July 2020. We remind and encourage our parishioners to continue making your pledge payments as the parish benefits from the rebates received from the campaign. It is important to point out that FTMM rebate funds are restricted for the items listed in the case statement.

Temporal Administration Report (cont.)

The 2020 Annual Catholic Appeal was launched in February with the goal to raise $75,000, the same as in recent years. Our parish was doing great up until the beginning of COVID-19 then things slowed down. At the time of preparing this report 188 households have pledged to the ACA raising $46,865. With several months till the end of the year, we urge those parishioners who have not made a gift yet to support the 2020 ACA.

OUTREACH:

While some of our partner organizations serving the poor and needy had to shut down due to the pandemic, we continued supporting other organizations which remained offering assistance in those critical months especially food banks. Other programs earlier in the year operated successfully such as the Thanksgiving Food Collection which provided 227 grocery bags and 180 turkeys for those less fortunate in our midst, the Tree of Love which provides Christmas gifts to many children in need, and Sponsor A Family and Adopt A Family programs which strive to connect our religious education families with families in need of the larger community. More recently we have established a new cohort collaboration with St. Catharine Parish of Holmdel as we are now providing our food collection to their food bank. Please know your donations to our food cart in church are always welcome.

COMMUNITY BUILDINGS EVENTS:

Our community events and service events were also impacted by the social distancing rules and the limitation on the number of people gathering. The events that happened earlier in the year were: Agape: our “Coffee & Doughnuts Sunday” was offered 5 times from July thru

February. Saints & Heroes/Halloween Halls was offered on Saturday October 26 with the participation of about 200 children of all ages. Many children attended the 4 pm mass wearing their costumes. The Advent Pancake Breakfast was another success this past year with close to 600 participants and dozens of volunteers of all ages. Fall Grounds Clean up: we gathered many volunteers to help us rake leaves, pick up brush and take care of our property in preparation for the winter months. At the time of writing this report it is uncertain when we will be able to offer any community building events during the pandemic. In summary this was a year with many good things but also with a dose of uncertainty. We look forward to return to the normal flow of activities and count on the generosity of our parishioners to continue to care and provide for their parish. Please feel free to contact us if you want to help with something or if you need more information. Many thanks to all of you for your continued support! God bless you.

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