From the Heart of the Shepherd
From the bulletin for The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2026 Oct 18)
October 18, 2026 - 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Annual Parish Financial Report
“But Father, tell us how the parish is doing financially!”
In my three years as a pastor, no one has ever said that to me. I suppose that the new arrivals see that the roof is not caving in and Masses take place as scheduled, as so things must be fine. And perhaps those who have been around figure that though the parish is in steep debt to the Archdiocese and year after year projecting a massive deficit, by the grace of God we seem to manage. So we all let sleeping dogs lie.
And there is something true about both perspectives. On top of that, we are not here to make money anyway, but spend it generously on the most important of purposes: the glory of the true God and the salvation and sanctification of souls. We want to do that responsibly but it will always remain a “losing endeavor” in the evangelical sense of the Apostle’s words, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Phil 3:8).
Even so, St. Robert Bellarmine, a doctor of the Church, considered temporal prosperity to be one of the marks of the Church. Not that he adhered to some proto-prosperity Gospel. This was a man who refused to have a private collection of books and so would always check out the volumes he needed for his theological projects from the community library… and return them before the end of the day. Yet he recognized that, at least when given a respite from persecution, the Christian life results in human flourishing, and the generosity of the faithful combined with the prudent administration of their gifts ordinarily will result in a holy sufficiency of temporal goods and an abundance of spiritual riches. But St. Paul already said as much when he told the Corinthians in his fundraising letter to them, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8).
Therefore, I am very grateful to be able to share with you the financial figures in this year’s Annual Report. Hopefully not for the first time since 1889, but certainly for the first time in recent memory, we are projecting a balanced budget. For newcomers, this may seem like no great thing; common sense even. For those who have been around, you know that this is worth at least a few chest bumps and a lot of alleluias.
It was just summer of 2025 when the Finance Council decided to begin meeting more frequently because it had declared a state of financial emergency. We were consistently projecting major budgetary deficits (in the ballpark of $150K). Each year was bringing with it major unexpected maintenance projects (a busted boiler here, a sagging roof there), and we had only been surviving because of large one-off windfalls which we could not reasonably expect to keep receiving.
It was good that we took the matter as seriously as we did. Thankfully, we elected to do what could be done for the time, avoid any drastic cuts in our parish operations, and continue to trust in Providence.
Over a year later, we are breathing much easier. As you can see from this year’s report, far from realizing the projected deficits, we have actually been in the black the past two years. We are projecting to be so again this year.
What’s changed? Well, thankfully last fiscal year we did not have any major physical plant breakdowns or unexpected repairs. Consistent efforts from our business office to reduce expenses are bearing fruit. Above all, however, the story is the generosity of our parishioners. St. Mark’s is a small parish: just 560 souls on average each Sunday. But it is an incredibly generous parish, despite the incredibly low average age of those attending. The generosity of people like you make St. Mark’s a medium-sized parish in terms of its operations, and I would say a “great” parish in terms of the commitment, engagement, and cohesion of its members.
It’s also a growing parish. Mass counts have been increasing thirty to forty souls a year for the past two years, and those each year parishioners depart as they move away, even more arrive. Financial contributions to the parish have been rising each year as our community grows, and as households find themselves in a position to be even more generous.
Crisis averted, then? Not entirely. Prices continue to rise across the board. The St. Paul Seminary’s lease of the convent spaces ends this December. That will result in an over $100K budget impact which is only partially realized this fiscal year, an impact only partially offset by the arrival of TC Swing to our community of renters. The payments made to the Archdiocese in repayment of our $2M+ debt will continue to increase $10K a year for the next few years, putting additional pressure on the bottom line. With the advent of public preschool, our Catholic preschool is struggling to get enrollment back to where we would like to see it, despite the stellar efforts of Ms. Addie and her incredible team. And, given the age of our buildings, a major repair might always be lurking around the corner, even as we try to be better about staying on top of the upkeep of our beloved brick buildings.
Nevertheless, in this harvest season, there is cause for great rejoicing. God has blessed our parish, above all with so many beloved parishioners who, in turn, love and give generously to our parish. Next Sunday we will have our annual Parish Financial Pledge; I invite you to discern this week what you and your household are able to give to St. Mark’s in the year to come. In the meanwhile, know of my gratitude for your support of St. Mark’s. Our budget this year is a historic milestone and a “sacrament” of your generosity. Now let us rejoice, and fix our attention on the weightier things and the riches that really matter to God (Lk 12:21): humble holiness overflowing in loving works for God and needy neighbor.
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