Presented at Weekend Liturgies by Father John Sullivan on April 16 and 17, 2005
PDF: Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Mission Pledge Form
We built this church to accommodate the request of the people and growing needs of our parish. Many attempts to work with the City on expanding the existing property failed, so, in order to respond to the needs of the parish, this church (The Heart of the Parish) was built with the eventual goal of moving all facilities, including the school, out to this site.
Approximately $5.9 million was borrowed through the Archdiocese Loan Deposit Program to fund the construction of the church. The Archdiocese loaned this money based on contributions received at that time and pledges for future contributions.
Unfortunately, many of the pledges made were never collected. In addition, with the deteriorating economy, the weekly offertory declined, which made funding the costs of two campuses very difficult.
For four and a half years now, we have not been able to cover the interest cost of the loan, and as a result of the unpaid interest being added to the principal balance, our debt now sits at $7.1 million, an increase of $1.2 million over where we started, and it’s not getting any better. We will fall short of being able to pay for interest once again this year when our fiscal year ends on June 30.
The Loan Deposit Program, through which we funded the construction of the church, is now overadvanced by 60%, meaning 60% more is lent out than funds on hand. The shortfall has had to come from other areas. As you all know, the Archdiocese is taking a hard look at parishes and schools around the Archdiocese and taking actions where the drain has become too large to bear.
Dan Oliver, Associate Director of Finance of the AOD, presented to the Debt Reduction Committee at its first meeting and communicated that OLGC is “on page 1” of the parishes with significant debt issues.
I never cease to be amazed at how well this parish comes together to fulfill a need. When St. Al’s or PB&J requests certain items, the positive response from our community is consistently met. We get a full hallway of what was asked for, and then some. Our parishioners minister to the needy in so many ways and in so many places, including outside the country.
The debt reduction is another instance where we will need to come together to achieve a goal. Our debt issue not only threatens our ability to maintain many of the wonderful programs we have within the parish but also what we do for the community.
We are a parish family, which means the debt is an issue for every one of us. No longer can we ignore it or assume it will just go away. If we all contribute whatever we can, the debt will be eliminated in no time.
Next weekend (April 23/24), we will officially kick off the campaign to retire the debt once and for all. It will be simple and straightforward. We are looking for contributions from each parishioner to eliminate the debt. Pledge forms will be handed out at mass as well as mailed to each parish family.
The CSA campaign, which kicks off at the same time, will be rolled into this campaign. That way people won’t feel overwhelmed and feel they have to decide one way or another. The first $183,669.00 collected will go towards our meeting our 2005 CSA goal from the Archdiocese and the rest will go straight to retiring the debt (monetary support will also be donated to St. Vincent de Paul, St. Aloysius, and the PBJ Ministry).
We are also going to try to make it as easy as possible for people to contribute. You can provide a one-time contribution and/or an ongoing contribution on a monthly, semiannual, or annual basis over the next three years. We have also set up EFT to allow contributions to be automatically deducted from your checking or savings account so you can handle it the same way as any other bill.
Our goal is to receive contributions from every parish family. Right now, only 900 or so of our 2700 registered families contribute anything to the weekly offertory. We would need an average of approximately $8,000 from each family if only these 900 families contribute. Imagine how much quicker we could eliminate the debt if all 2700 families contributed something, instead of just 900.
In addition to pledges and contributions to eliminate the debt, we will also be soliciting support in the form of pledges to complete the move of the remaining parish facilities to this site. If we receive enough pledges, we will undertake more detailed planning activities to turn this into a reality. We have to be very clear, however: no activities related to the completion of the move can occur until the entire debt is retired. Therefore, pledging money for the move and not contributing to the debt reduction will not get us there.
Our goal is to have the debt completely eliminated by this time in 2008, if not earlier. In the upcoming weeks, you will see signs posted in the bulletin and other locations to report on the status of pledges and contributions received to date.
Members of the debt reduction committee and parish council will be available after each mass next weekend to answer any questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions you would like to have answered as you determine what you are able to contribute.
If you have questions for me regarding this matter, please contact me via Jeff Masters, our Parish Manager. He and I meet daily to discuss current issues, and I promise you an efficient response. With only two priests, Fr. Siaosi and I are spending more time on the road so I find myself relying on my staff to address concerns that are out of the realm of the pastoral nature. I assure you that the response you get from one of my staff is often discussed with me, so the response comes from me.
Our task is a large one, but I am confident with a lot of prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit we will accomplish our goal like all others and continue to carry out the mission of OLGC as we grow into the future together.