THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for Canadians to give thanks for having the good fortune to live in a bountiful, free country, and to celebrate that day by feasting with family and friends. There are many among us, however, who have a difficult time making ends meet and are forced to visit our local food bank each month. La mie de l’entraide, situated at 422 Pine Street, provides food assistance to approximately 300 people every month and the Director of the food bank indicates that, as a result of the recent economic crises, the numbers are continually rising.

In keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving, the Transformation Committee is requesting that parishioners support the less fortunate by bringing in non-perishable food donations at the Thanksgiving masses. All the donated food will be forwarded to the local food bank in the days following Thanksgiving. Thank you for your continuous generosity.

DEVELOPMENT & PEACE

As you can see in the poster at the church entrance and on the above logo, the motto for this fall’s Development and Peace campaign is “Working our land, fighting for our rights.”

The food crisis affects one in six people in the world today. In the next few weeks, you will receive information from Development and Peace about small-scale farmers in the Global South and how they are feeling pressure from industrial agribusiness companies. This will lead us to our annual action campaign at the end of October. Watch for more information on how “Together we can make a difference!”

OLV Financial Update 2009

Enclosed in this week’s bulletin is an updated financial statement. The far right column outlines last year’s final report; the other column outlines our present financial situation to the end of August. As you can see, once again we are facing the prospect of a significant deficit.

The wardens would like to highlight the challenges we are facing:

1. Collections – Our main source of income are the collections (regular, clergy and fuel). As of the end of August, collections totalled $26,344.00.
   
   
2. Key Expenses – The key operation expenses the Parish incurs are priest’s salary, contract staff (caretaker, secretary) insurance and heating. The total cost for these activities to date is $ 40,449.00.
   
   
3. Capital Expenditures – While we have to continue to be prudent in our financial management, at the same time, we need to continue to invest sufficiently in our buildings, so as not to let them run down to a point that costs will skyrocket. So, we will be drawing on our reserves to fund certain key capital projects. We will be reviewing the possibility of replacing the garage door and roof. These two items would cost in the neighbourhood of $9,000.00 and are not included in our financial report.
   
   
4. Financial Reserves - While the parish does have a financial reserve to cover this year’s potential deficit, these funds are not unlimited.

Conclusion: It is apparent that, with our dwindling attendance, we will have to seek sources other than collections to balance our books. That is why the wardens are looking at maximizing possible rental space in the Rectory. We are asking parishioners who can, to increase their weekly financial contributions, as well as supporting our fund-raising events, as they occur.

In addition, we are trying to control expenditures as much as possible and are always looking for new funding opportunities. We would like to hear from parishioners who have new fund-raising ideas and who would like to take responsibility for organizing such activities.

We will continue to update you on our financial situation as the year progresses.