Fr. Louis Bulletin Letter - October 9, 2005 - The Role of the Parish Finance Council
As you will recall from my first days at Saint Peter, it is Bishop Listecki’s practice to appoint a priest first as “Parochial Administrator” of the parish before naming him “Pastor.” The Bishop is now prepared to name me the Pastor of Saint Peter and will be coming to Stevens Point for the installation ceremony. Bishop Listecki will celebrate a Pontifical Mass at Saint Peter at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 18, the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist. At that Mass after his homily, the Bishop presents me to you as your new Pastor. Then he presents to me my brother priests here at Saint Peter, our parish staff, plus members of the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils and their respective Committees in addition to officers of our parish organizations. Next, the Bishop has me lead you in the solemn Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed) after which I take the Oath of Fidelity. Priests of the Deanery will be invited to concelebrate the Mass and all of you are warmly encouraged to participate in this special occasion of prayer. Following the Mass there will be a reception in Kolbe Hall allowing Bishop Listecki the opportunity to meet as many of you as possible. Also, the Bishop will be inspecting our sacramental record books as well as our finances and then remain with us over night.
The Bishop gave me another bit of good news this past week as he is naming a new Parochial Administrator for the parishes in Junction City, Milladore, and Blenker. Effective October 11, I am relieved of those responsibilities towards our neighbors to the west. May the Lord bless them and their new shepherd!
Last week in the explanation of consultation in the parish, we focused on the Parish Pastoral Council and its Committees. We conclude the series this week looking at the Parish Finance Council, which is “a consultative body that helps the Pastor to act justly and prudently in the administration of the parish’s temporal goods . . . The ways by which it fulfills its shared responsibility are: the spiritual enrichment of the members; formation of financial policies, including devising and regular monitoring of a parish budget, and of policies for the proper maintenance of the buildings and grounds of the parish; long-range financial planning; preparation of an annual financial report; and attention to civil law pertaining to the administration of the temporal goods of the parish” (Bishop John. J. Paul, On Consultation in the Parish and Deanery, pp. 24-25). In order to assist the Parish Finance Council in fulfilling its responsibilities, there may be several permanent committees: Budget Committee, Building and Grounds Committee, and Cemetery Committee. Because the parishes of the area established in 1973 the Stevens Point Area Catholic Cemetery Association, Saint Peter’s has no need of its own Cemetery Committee. In addition, our parish does not have a Budget Committee distinct from the Finance Council since Saint Peter’s is not a behemoth or complex operation that demands this. Rather, the Finance Council itself carries out all budgetary responsibilities. Finally, Saint Peter’s does have an excellent Building and Grounds Committee that is very pro-active in caring for our aging physical plant.
Thank you to those who serve so faithfully in these areas! Saint Peter, pray for us!