Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: September 06, 2015
Again this year we share our annual breakdown of Cathedral finances, for the just-completed 2014-2015 fiscal year. Please note this is broken down in categories as required by the Finance Office of the Diocese of Baton Rouge. If you are interested in more detailed figures, just call the Parish Office; we will be happy to provide more detail.
As you can see from the pie chart (you can see these in our weekly newsletter), our main source of income is our weekly offertory collection ($651,157.89). Our Parish’s identified givers gave $531,525.82 and our unidentified givers offered $71,700.32, which are both up a bit this year (thank you!); and monies specifically identified for our monthly “Maintenance Collection” totaled $47,931.75 (which was down a little!). We appreciate everyone’s financial Stewardship, and encourage all to continue their generosity as we foresee other large maintenance expenses for the upcoming year. The second biggest income-source for us is that of “Special” Donations ($64,736.50); these are memorial donations, bequests left to us in wills, and other gifts.
Wedding fees of $40,800.00 and parking lot rental fees of $14,982.50 provided other Parish income, and were up from last year due to that previous year’s construction. The category of “DBR Reimbursements” ($27,669.94) is income to us, but offset exactly by costs of the same amount (spent by us on behalf of the diocese, mostly on liturgical expenses).
Now, on to expenses: as you can see (also in our weekly newsletter), “Lay Employees” ($258,536.30) remains our largest expense, consisting of salaries and benefits, including FICA, insurance, retirement, etc. The “Liturgy” category($114,633.06) is proportionally much greater here at the Cathedral than at other parishes, for it includes our paid choir as well as more ordinary musical expenses and worship items. “Pastoral Services” ($21,317.50) includes most other costs, including our special celebrations (such as “Grand Day” and “Bishop’s Day”), Sunday coffee & donuts, religious education programs, and donations to the Outreach Center and other charities.
The “Insurance/Parish Share” category ($197,858.00) is a sizeable cost, for it includes both our monthly diocesan “tax” and our property insurance premiums. We have been lucky for many years with not much increase in Property Insurance, however, with the expansion of our Parish Hall, we do expect a sizeable increase in the future. “Repairs” of our physical plant are always a major concern for us, since maintenance of our aging “mother church” can be unpredictable and expensive. While this past years numbers were not bad (new construction is warrantied!), we’ve got several very expensive projects coming up soon, such as the waterproofing of the church’s exterior and new lighting and sound (at least) for its interior. The other categories are self-explanatory and pretty much in line with previous years’ expenses.
Due to your generosity – as well as our Parish’s dedicated (trust) funds with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation – St. Joseph Parish’s financial situation remains strong, despite our small size and the fact that our Building Project did deplete our savings accounts. At this time, we ask all parishioners and friends to please continue your good Stewardship by consistent, sacrificial giving in the offertory collection – or, even better, by using your bank’s “Bill Pay” feature – to give your gifts. The Parish staff and Father Paul strive to be good stewards of the Cathedral’s resources. We thank you for your past support and hope that you will continue to do your part in our Stewardship of Finance, for this enables us to continue to build up God’s Kingdom here on earth and especially on our little downtown Cathedral Square!
