"CONFESSIONS ARE AVAILABLE EVERY SATURDAY AT CHURCH FROM 3:00 PM TO 3:45 PM" or by an appointment.

WELCOME TO CHURCH

Maintain a social distance of at least six feet (families may sit closer). 

Wear a face mask or scarf (except for receiving holy communion).

Use hand sanitizer before receiving Holy communion. Weekend Masses: Saturday 4 pm and Sundays at
8 am and 10:00 am at Church. Normal schedule during the week.

FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2019/2020

Because of the pandemic and delays with meetings, we are a little late with this report. I want everyone to know that the finance committee is still committed to transparency with the Parish finances.
Fiscal year 2019-2020 basically ended at a break even. We had roughly a $2,000 surplus and around the same amount as a surplus carryover from the fuel account.
Two major capital projects also occurred during the year. With the help of a $130,000 grant from the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation, a $50,000 Parish fundraiser, and a $60,000 loan from the Diocese, we were able to repoint and seal the exterior of the Church, reset the side entry steps, reseal the front steps, reseal the front stained glass windows, fix the ceiling in the choir loft, and refinish the entry doors. Another project that started late in the fiscal year and carried over into the current fiscal year was the replacement of the boiler. What started as a quick repair ended up as a complete replacement, once the boiler was fully inspected and found not to be repairable.  The entire replacement costs of $16,000 were funded by a few key individuals that chose to remain anonymous, so thank them in your prayers. Also because of the volunteer labor we saved around $45,000 on the project. The names have been mentioned before but I will mention them again, we owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Connor, Bob Betourney, the Connor family, and Joe Bulger for all of the work they did on this project, saving the Parish thousands of dollars.
Moving on to our current fiscal year, we find ourselves in a financial dilemma because of the pandemic.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, we have missed one of our 2 largest fundraisers already, the Christmas Bazaar. We also don't know if we will be able to hold the Strawberry Festival this coming June. Because of a sharp drop in Mass attendance, weekly collections are dramatically dwindling.
We have made several cuts in this year's budget, totaling approximately $20,000. This year's budget plan calls for $3,640/week in collections to break even, up slightly from last year because of our Parish loan. Our average weekly collection is running at $2,940, leaving a $700/week shortfall. Multiply this by 52 weeks and we come up with a yearly shortfall of around $36,400. (Just for reference our average weekly collection last year was $3,565.)The good news is that through the efforts of many of our parishioners, we are ahead of our fundraising budget by $12,000. This leaves a shortfall of $24,400 that still needs to be covered. We still have 9 months to go in our fiscal year to raise this by (a.) continued fundraising efforts and (b.) hopefully an uptick in attendance and in weekly offerings as the pandemic subsides with the vaccine. If our weekly collections continue to trend downward, we will unfortunately need to start considering more budget cuts.
It is always uncomfortable and hard to ask parishioners for more, but during these unprecedented times with the ongoing pandemic, if everyone would consider giving an extra dollar per week we could generate an extra $7,000 alone. Any extra given toward the monthly fuel and restoration collections would have an impact as well. Any donation large or small would be greatly appreciated.
We have been fortunate to have many parishioners come forward with new fundraising ideas and they have been well supported. Hopefully we will continue to have successful fundraisers that will engage the broader Winchendon community. Again, we need to give these people a big thank you for all of the extra work they do to support the Parish
Also of note, we have applied for a grant from the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation to convert the heating system from steam to forced hot water, which would result in significant savings in fuel. Not to mention that the pipes that run from the boiler through the Church are well over 100 years old, and if they are in the same shape as the pipes in the boiler room, they definitely need to be replaced.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Renee via the Parish office and if she can't answer your questions, she can put you in touch with me or one of the committee members.
The committee wishes to thank all of you for everything you do to support our Parish.
Mr. Glenn Hunt, Chair - Finance Committee