Just like a household, or a business, the Parish has many expenses to meet throughout the year.  It must cover payments for insurance, repairs, electricity, telephone bills, rates, maintenance and hygiene.  In 2021, our insurance bill increased to $22,549 – covering more than 6 weeks of our mass collection!  And given that our Parish Centre is almost 40 years old, the costs for repairs and maintenance are also substantial.

Like many Parishes, we are also servicing a loan when we had the church building renovated in early 2000.  It is amounting to $30,456 per annum commitment.

With the insurance and loan repayments alone, that already equals 3 months of our current mass collection.

The Regular Church Contribtion, therefore, is essential as it allows the Parish to budget, and with some certainty know that it can pay for expenses that fall due during the year.  It also enables the Parish to plan for, and prioritise, specific projects, and highlight where expenditure may need to be deferred or further fundraising undertaken (for example, in the case of the Solar Panels Project).

For the year 2020, our Parish’s recurring expenses were $187,444 (76% of total expenditures).  With cost increases, the uncertainty of ‘loose second collections’ and the cessation of government stimulus, we estimate an additional $ 80,000 income would be required per year.  If all current givers increase their pledge by approximately 10% and give electronically, then we could achieve some of our targets for the coming years.

Further, to cater for the growing number of repairs and maintenance projects and to provide pastoral support for the expanding needs of our Parish community an increase in the number of participants in the Regular Parish Contribution Program is needed.

We do not have any other sources of income apart from the weekly collections.  Fortunately, we have been successful in our grant applications in 2020, but these cannot be used for the current operating expenses.

Most definitely no!

Our Parish exists to support and form its community, and to evangelise the Word of God.  We are extremely fortunate and grateful for the many, many hours of work performed by scores of volunteers – from cleaners to catechists, from collectors to counters, from electrical works to repairs and maintenance works. Nonetheless the reality is that funds are still required to support their work, the work of your Parish staff, and the work of your Priests.  This need increases annually.

• Are you new to our Parish community?  Have you just started attending mass again recently or more regularly?  Do you visit our parish regularly?
• Do you just contribute your loose coins on the plate when you are at mass?  Would you like to consider a more regular contribution?
• Have you finished school or uni and recently begun working, and now feel able to contribute even if only in a small way?
• Do you have children at our Parish Schools, and wish to help support the Parish better?
• Are you a current envelope contributor?  We especially appreciate your continued support and ask if you can consider increasing your pledge or give electronically?

The Diocese allows for direct debits from an individual’s bank account.  This gives the added benefit of allowing a parishioner to tie their contributions in with pay-days if that is more suitable.  It would assist the Parish greatly if many more Parishioners were able to take up this service.

If you are interested, please complete the form.  Frequency can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly on a date of your choice.

To change an existing gift, click the link here.

You can cancel envelopes by emailing us at [email protected].au and we will be happy to help.