2023 Annual Report

September 2023
I recently received a letter from the Cardinal extending my assignment for six more years. My original assignment began August 1, 2017, and ended July 31, 2023. The letter was a little delayed, but it was explained to me that there was a process that the personnel board goes through, in collaboration with heads of the finance and mission departments, to make certain that a particular pastor continuing at his current parish is a good idea. They then send the letter to the Cardinal who has the final approval to appoint the priest for another term. I know that in other labor situations, reviews are also part of the workplace process. It is a good idea to check in from time to time to assess where one is and where we are going. It is in that spirit that I submit the financial report for the parish for your consideration.
In a word, due to the diligence and careful oversight of Michelle Kolodziej, the finance council, and the generosity of parishioners, we are continuing to be a parish that is recovering from the pandemic, caring for the buildings, and responsibly and carefully retiring debts left from long ago. I remind myself that I was asked to come here and rebuild the community, restore the buildings as much as possible, and retire the debts. Iam most proud of rebuilding the community and hope that as we continue to grow with new and returning peoples, we will see that our welcoming spirit, the efforts to evangelize and heal in Salem, and the work of the Holy Spirit will help everyone see that we are a group of disciples that are centered in our relationship with Jesus Christ in the context the Eucharist, the sacraments and worship.
I am pleased to report that we do not use parishioners' contributions to retire the debts but have been using lease income from the two school buildings to make monthly payments to the Archdiocesan loan
account. (We also agreed to make some balloon payments fi we received any bequests.) Earlier this year, with the help of the finance council, I wrote and proposed a payment schedule that while it will take
some time, affords us the opportunity to continue to support the parish programs, afford good salaries, and pay all our bills in a timely fashion. We are also assisted by the grants) we received and the small but steady stream of parking leases from renters. Of course, the fall tourist season is particularly important for us, and we collect fees at both our parking lots during the height of the tourist season. This extra income has been essential to our continuing financial stability.
I have made it standard practice to include an ongoing report in every bulletin on what projects, large or
small, we have in progress to care for the buildings and grounds. In truth, I am hoping to slow down on the projects to concentrate on the primary work of evangelization and healing. I know why I am here,
and while I know that there are physical realities to address, the most important thing that we do is to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ.
In a recent finance council meeting, one of the members asked me to help him plan the budget we are
presenting to you today. In a word, he wanted to achieve a mission-oriented budget. It includes all the
regular realities of a parish, but the weight of the budget is towards the things that we do to support our
efforts at evangelization and healing in Salem. Finally, upon returning from my trip to Israel, I will be
announcing our Grateful Discipleship Program which will support our efforts towards increasing the
weekly offertory for our upcoming FY 23-24 budget, as wel as encouraging more parishioners to take a more active role in the life of the Church.
I hope you wil see the fruits of al our efforts ot fulfill the mission that we have at MQOA. Thanks again for your generosity and support.

Peace,
Fr. Murray