Assisi Bound
All good things come to an end. As you may have heard last week, Fr. Martin and I received a call from our Provincial informing us that Fr. Martin was needed in Assisi Italy. He will assist the thousands of English speaking pilgrims that regularly go to the birthplace of St. Francis. Fr. Martin’s gifts make him perfect for his new ministry assignment. He is fluent in Italian, has lived in Italy off and on for several years, he loves pasta and his warm personality will be well received by the many visitors who come to Assisi every year to learn more about St. Francis. Our loss is Assisi’s gain. God Bless you, Fr. Martin, and know that you are always welcome here in Kensington. We will not forget “many are cold, few are frozen.”
Fr. Provincial informed me that Fr. Raymond and I will need to hold down the Fort until Fr. Peter is ordained in August. As you can understand, this is no small task. St. Paul’s is a big parish with lots of obligations, but I promised him and I promise you that we will do our best.
The Envelope Please
We have just started the long overdue process of cleaning up our census. We began taking anyone who has not used their envelopes, off the envelope list. As you might imagine, this will be a considerable saving for the parish and the environment. Over ½ the envelopes that we currently send out are not used. We realize that some might have stopped giving because of advanced age, simply moved away or for whatever reason choose not to use the envelopes for contributions to the parish. As we continue with this huge project, we will eventually send letters to everyone we haven’t heard from in a year, asking them if they are still active members of our parish community.
The Annual Report
Next week I will give the Annual Report on the state of the parish. It will include a complete accounting of our finances, a report on new members, and a study of parish involvement. I will also present the list of the capital projects we accomplished last year and the projects we are considering for this year. There will be a report on our school and the religious education program. Our staff works very hard to produce the Annual Report and I hope they know how informative this is to you.
Finance Council Meeting last week
I met with the Parish Finance Council, a very talented group who care very much about the parish. I listen very carefully when they speak. They reviewed last year’s financial reports and approved the budget for 2012. We discussed future capital projects and our options to provide more parking. They approved the financial statements which you will receive in the Annual Report. The Finance Council was pleased with our accomplishments last year.
Great News!
We just received news that our School has been reaccredited until 2016. The reaccreditation letter contained a lot of encouragement and many compliments on newly established programs. What an honor for our parish and our school. Please join me in congratulating our very dedicated teachers and administrative staff for a job very well done.