Temporal Administration

Last year was extraordinary to the fullest extent of the word. After some months filled with uncertainty we started to emerge from a global pandemic, vaccines were made available, businesses reopened and life recovered some sense of normality. At the parish level, matters followed the directives of the Governor of New Jersey and our Bishop of Trenton: stage by stage we implemented measures for the safety of our parishioners coming to worship at St Mary. The Parish Office reopened. Religious Education classes resumed in the fall. Parish in person meetings were possible again. Some projects and work in our facilities were also scheduled later in the year. Let’s review the accomplishments and highlights of this past fiscal year.

STEWARDSHIP

During the fall we launched our Offertory Recovery Program with the objective of recovering the revenue we lost when the pandemic started in March 2020 and in the months following. The response and support were tremendous and we were able to close the gap in revenue caused during the months we were closed. Also our operating income (Sunday offerings) reached the amount given before the pandemic. Our Sunday offering weekly average per parishioner household increased from $43.47 to $56.97. We thank all our parishioners who stepped up and made this possible. Other parishioners approached our Pastor to make special contributions for particular projects and other plans:  $138,600 from a parishioner for the Narthex Completion Project - Phase I which included: space acoustic treatment; light fixtures upgrade; dome building; spotlights installation; statue of the Blessed Mother Seat of

Wisdom and pedestal.  $100,000 from a charitable foundation established by a former parishioner for building the Childcare

Center Play Area (planning has begun).  $100,000 from a parishioner who wishes to remain anonymous for the creation of a Trust to provide for future needs of the parish. In addition, the bequest of our late parishioner Mr. Robert Golar was disbursed and the parish received a restricted bequest totaling $260,869 as one of the beneficiaries. Per Mr Golar’s Last Will & Testament the bequest funds have been restricted for: the Buildings fund ($16,304) and for the charitable outreach of the

parish ($244,565) which have been and will be distributed for several years. In response to the above the parish administration has been extremely vigilant and responsible to manage those restricted gifts in the manner intended by the donors and continue to use our ordinary income to fund the parish operation, annual expenses and maintenance projects undertook in the fiscal year. The Diocesan capital campaign Faith to Move Mountains continues on the redemption stage and most major pledges should be completed by 2022. $1,185,611 have been received by 30 June 2021 out of the total pledged of over $1.3 million. 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 clarify that FTMM rebate funds are restricted for the items listed in the case statement which are:

1. Life Safety Updates for Saint Mary Parish Campus, including magnetic locks, emergency exit upgrades, and identification cards.

2. Internal Church Lighting upgrade. 3. Emergency and Stewardship fund to help provide parish support during times of emergency or financial strain (Irrevocable Trust). The Annual Catholic Appeal was launched in February with the same goal as in recent years of $75,000. At the time of preparing this report 186 households have pledged to the ACA raising $78,426, including one gift of $20,000. A total of $65,693 has already been paid to date. We are on target to reach our goal this year and receive a rebate in the winter. As it was reported in prior years, we did not make goal the past 2 years. We would like to remind our parishioners it is important to support the Annual Catholic Appeal as it provides funding for the diocesan ministries and programs which benefit the larger church, while at the same time our parish receives a rebate every year we reach our goal.

FACILITIES

The following are some of the capital projects we have completed this past fiscal year at our facilities: Parking lot patching, sweeping and re-striping: In the fall we continued this project we started a couple of years ago and we had repaved the remaining section of the driveway exiting to Route 34 and adjacent damaged areas in the north parking lot. In the spring right before Easter we had a major sweeping of the entire parking lot and re-striping of lines, traffic arrows and handicap signs. This staged maintenance should last for some years until we are ready to repave the entire parking lot while also re-pipe underground storm drainage from our buildings. New LED lights for sign on Route 34: The original sodium lights illuminating the parish sign were already showing signs of decay, fixture stands were breaking and becoming a maintenance nightmare. We asked a lightning consultant to search for the ideal product for this application. New LED fixtures, new photocell sensor, GFI outlets and new time clock were installed in the fall making our sign more prominent at night and attractive for those driving by our property. Meeting room: The rooms next to the Spiritual Center chapel (originally intended to be used as confessionals and crisis ministry room) had become storage for liturgical articles, office supplies and old furniture. The plan was to convert the 3 rooms and hallway into one room for clergy to meet with individuals, couples or staff. The existing concrete block walls between the rooms, 8 ft high sheetrock ceiling and old lights were demolished; walls to outside were insulated and vapor barrier; the entire room was sheetrocked and painted;

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Luke 12:48 7

a new ceiling grid was installed at 9ft with new ceiling tiles and LED light fixtures; new electric outlets and switches have been installed. In addition, the oak desk which was originally used in the church office at Heyers Mill Rd has been refinished by parishioner Catherine Love and will be placed in this room. New carpet tiles are scheduled to be installed in the next few weeks both in the clergy meeting room and the adjacent chapel, which has been repurposed as a meeting room because it is not large enough to accommodate increasing attendance at daily mass throughout the year. Detention basins inlets/outlets maintenance: It had been a number of years since the inlets and outlets in the detention basins were maintained and the grassy areas around them were all muddy, collecting debris and difficult to reach by the landscaping contractor. We had the stone removed, new dirt brought in and set with the appropriate pitch to drain and fresh rocks were added to properly filter storm water collected from the buildings and parking lot. Parish house backyard grading and re-fencing: When the parish acquired the property in late 2016 to serve as the residence for the clergy, it was clear we had to do some necessary work to address maintenance deferred by previous owners. The backyard had a slight grade pitch towards the house and moisture was setting in the basement. The flag stone walkway connecting the outside gates with the back doors to the yard was poorly installed, had failed and was cracking the mortar joints. The fence around showed years of neglect and had rotted due to rain, snow and strong winds. We budgeted the funds to address all of the pending issues for several years and were unable until now In addition, we were able to install new underground electric conduit for future service upgrade; upgrade the existing well pump and main feed to the house; install additional irrigation lines to the planting beds; and replace damaged stone walkways and grass with architectural turf as a case for future application in areas of the main campus.

OUTREACH

Our partner organizations assisting the poor and needy in our community resumed their services as the restrictions for the pandemic were lifted. Requests for assistance from St Mary Parish started arriving again, especially as the festivities at the end of the calendar year approached. The Thanksgiving Food drive hit another record of support last year. Parishioners massively supported the thanksgiving food collection and provided monetary donations to purchase turkeys in a true spirit of solidarity, perhaps intensified by the circumstances due to COVID-19. 205 grocery bags for Thanksgiving dinner and over 75 bags of mixed groceries were distributed to the needy in our larger community. Additionally, potatoes, onions, rutabagas, and 180 turkeys were donated. The Tree of Love, Sponsor A Family and our direct Charitable Appeals support made Christmas last year very special for hundreds of children and their families. Also, new outreach efforts like the Fishers of Men food collection for Ash Wednesday and the soap collection to support the Soap S.A.C.K organization were innovative and engaged families in the Religious Education program through an intergenerational activity.

selection of community building events such as Agape, Halloween Halls, Advent Pancake Breakfast, or the Easter Egg Hunt. However, we hosted 2 successful parish grounds cleanups in the fall and spring. We had not had that level of participation for a few years. Dozens of volunteer families and teens helped us rake leaves, collect brush, clean planting beds, plant flowers in the spring and tidy up our property in preparation for the major Holy Days of Christmas and Easter.

We want to close this report acknowledging the efforts and stewardship shown by our parishioners this last year. The above would have not been possible without YOU. As we enter a new year with certain skepticism for the COVID-19 reports of new strains, we are confident that God will continue to guide His Church on its mission. We have plans to continue doing work in our facilities, both for maintenance and upgrades which require your continued financial support. These projects include: continue LED lights upgrade throughout campus; Church lighting upgrade with seed money from Faith to Move Mountains; and Narthex completion – Phase II through a generous gift. If you are interested in knowing more of our plans and how you can help us, please contact me by email at temporaladmin@stmaryscoltsneck.org or by phone at 732-780-2666 extension 312 .

Extraordinary Gifts to the Parish of Saint Mary

$260,869

$138,600

Bequest of Mr. Robert Golar

Restricted for the Buildings & Mortgage Reduction fund ($16,304) and the Charitable Appeals/Poor & Needy fund ($244,565). Buildings & Mortgage has been fully expensed. Charitable Appeals/Poor & Needy is being expensed yearly as stipulated by Last Will & Testament until gift is depleted.

In Memory of Iris Giuffre

Gift of parishioner Ignazio Giuffre restricted for the Narthex Completion Project—Phase I. (Completed)

$100,000

Gift of LPR charitable Foundation

Restricted for the construction of a Play Area for the childcare center. (Completion estimated Spring 2022)

$100,000

Gift of a bonafide parishioner family who wish to remain anonymous

Gift allocated to establish a trust (in consultation with Parish Finance Council) creating a restricted endowment for the Parish of St. Mary. Trust established March 2021

Thanks to our parishioners and benefactors who supported us these difficult times! May God Bless you.