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Commitment Weekend:
Prayerfully Evaluating Your Weekly Offertory Contributions

Letter from Fr. Gerry Creedon | Current Contributions by Household | 2006 Budget | Suggested Weekly Offering

October 10, 2005

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

I am very proud of the generous response of St. Charles to Katrina. Our families have opened their homes, our school has provided an education to five children displaced by the hurricane, and our members have given over $40,000 to our Katrina Relief Collection. While reaching out to others we have continued to meet the needs of our parish mission.

At this time, I'd like to reflect with you on the ongoing call to share our gifts ever more generously. Generating financial support is an important though difficult part of my pastoral leadership. Let us consider together what we give in the offertory. By sacrificing for our community we live more simply so that others may simply live.

We all must address finances as we look to the future. Without sufficient financing, little else can happen. This is as true for a parish as it is for each individual and family. Future income, living on a budget, and spending our money wisely is part of our daily life and a test of how we live out the values of the Gospel.

While our parish has provided a new community center and met its operating costs, we have continued to tithe for the poor at home and abroad. Yet, we need to plan for our future. We know that costs are escalating dramatically for all of us in some areas. We need to address the stability of our parish and ministries despite the ups and downs of the economy, and to provide a living wage for all the hard working employees who assist in our parish's mission. To accomplish this, St. Charles needs a dedicated commitment from each parish family.

Effective long range planning will be required. Working in conjunction with the Finance Committee, and with the endorsement of the Parish Council, St. Charles has decided to institute an annual request to our parishioners to examine their weekly offertory giving. Prayerfully reflect, "Am I giving too much? Just enough? Too little? " Let each of us respond accordingly.

At all Masses on the weekend of October 15th and 16th, we will ask each parish household to make a specific commitment to weekly offertory giving. The activities on that weekend, and the follow-up process to contact those who do not respond, will stress the need for every parishioner to contribute regularly using their parish envelopes. A habit of regular giving will enable us to plan, administer, and grow as a parish community.

In the past, individual weekly offertory has changed little. Long ago most of us developed our giving habits and continue them week-to-week. Rarely have we been asked to consider how much we give. The annual process that we will use does not specifically ask for an increase in giving. Rather, we are asked to consider what gifts God has given to us and to decide if what we return each weekend is enough, too much or not enough. Then, based on prayerful reflection, each of us will decide whether to increase, decrease or continue the commitment we are currently making. If you decide to change the amount that you give, please plan to begin giving the new amount on the first weekend in January 2006.

I hope each of you will welcome this appeal and accept the call to reflect upon whether our financial gifts represent an adequate thanksgiving for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.

In the event you have any questions about our parish offertory program, please call the parish office and I will be happy to answer them. Let us respond to this request with generosity and love.

"Feel the Spirit!" Thank you!

Rev. Gerry Creedon, Pastor
St. Charles Borromeo

Current Offertory Contributions

Parish offertory envelopes are sent out to about 2,900 households each quarter. Last fiscal year, approximately 2,230 households contributed to St. Charles parish weekly offertory donations. An analysis of the offertory donations over FY 2005 showed that almost half of these households gave less than $1 per week.

The giving pattern of our parish for an average Sunday is shown in the following chart.

Average Weekly Contributions by Number of Households
July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005

I ask that every parishioner consider the gifts that God has given to him or her. Then, compare those to the amount that you return in gratitude for those gifts.

Reflect your spending on items such as cable/dish TV subscriptions, movie rentals, dinning out etc. Think about the ratio of these expenditures to your support of our parish. A look at the above chart will indicate that the average St. Charles parishioner probably spends more in a week on movies and cable TV than on assisting in the mission of our parish.

Ask yourself if the portion of your income that you give to the work of the Lord is enough, too much, or not enough. Look at the Suggested Weekly Offering Table and the sample commitment card that is on the last page of this brochure. Then, decide what amount you will indicate when you receive the card for your household at Mass this coming Commitment weekend.

Without receiving a commitment card from each household, we have no way to predict our annual income. It is our firm belief that through sound planning, we can avoid any financial crisis and preserve our parish's well being now and in the years to come. We pray that parishioners will carefully review the chart above and the succeeding pages of this brochure and will respond generously.

See the parish's FY 2006 Operating Budget Summary

 

Commitment Weekend

At all masses this weekend you will be asked to indicate the amount that you wish to give weekly. If you give monthly, quarterly, etc., please indicate the average weekly amount of that gift. A sample of the offertory commitment card is shown at the bottom of this page.

Please carefully consider the gifts that God has given you and contribute part of them to help with the work of the parish. Come prepared to complete the commitment card that will be provided at each Mass. If you change the amount that you give, please begin giving the new amount on the first weekend in January 2006.

How Much Should We Give?

Many people ask whether or not there is a standard for giving. Each person, or family, must arrive at that conclusion independently. However, the following table is provided in order to serve as an informative guide for those that are interested.

Suggested Weekly Offering

Annual Family Income	4%	3%	2%
$10,000	7.00	5.00	4.00
$15,000	11.00	8.00	6.00
$20,000	15.00	11.00	8.00
$25,000	19.00	14.00	10.00
$30,000	23.00	17.00	12.00
$40,000	31.00	23.00	15.00
$50,000	38.00	29.00	19.00

The following is a sample of the card that you will receive at Mass this weekend. Please determine which member of your household will complete the card and what your commitment will be before coming to church.

Sample Offertory Commitment Card
Commitment of Treasure

"GIVE TO THE MOST HIGH AS HE HAS GIVEN TO YOU, GENEROUSLY, ACCORDING TO YOUR MEANS, FOR THE LORD IS ONE WHO ALWAYS REPAYS, AND HE WILL GIVE BACK TO YOU SEVENFOLD." SIRACH 35:9-10

I understand that St. Charles Church is asking all parishioners to review the amount that they give to the parish offertory and to determine whether that amount is enough, too much, or not enough. My/Our new average commitment per week for the next 12 months is:

( ) $100.00 ( ) $75.00 ( )$50.00 ( ) $40.00 ( ) $35.00 ( ) $30.00 ( ) $25.00 ( ) $20.00 ( ) $15.00 ( ) Other $________

( ) Please check to indicate if you're interested in using our Direct Deposit Electron Fund Transfer.