www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Cost of Running a Parish

I just received my letter from the church and pledge card. I was shocked when I saw that the budget for 2007 was over $100,000. And we don't even have a full time priest! I am astounded that it costs that much to run a church and only wish I could give more than I'm able.

Please pray that poor, small parishes like mine will be provided for by God, because these little churches, neighboring megachurches of other faiths and seemingly invisible in comparison, are little flickers of light, and who knows who will walk in one day and be changed.

I assume BC parishes struggle as much as EO. Do RC parishes and Prot ones also struggle to make a go?

WGE:

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!!

I live in a larger parish--701 families--but I can tell you that it's the same here. We have an average of about 250 families who contribute to the support of the parish--about 35%. We struggle to get by, too. Somehow there are lots of people who come to watch and get out what they can, unaware, apparently, that to "worship in spirit and truth" there has to be some physical setting and that it costs money to keep the setting in place. If it's any comfort, last year, at one of our annual fund raisers, enough people took the things being sold and didn't give the parish the money--we took them on faith that they'd bring the money later--and lost a greater part of the profit. This year all the money had to be "up front."

In Christ,

BOB

It cost alot! Ours cost around 1.2 million a year.
Ouch!!!
Stephanos I

Tithing always takes care of it. Does your priest speak on tithing (10%). Or do you exhaust yourselves in fundraisers and still fall short.

CDL

I thithe but it needs to catch on more widely in the parish.
The bulk of the money comes from contributions but we do have some fund raising events.
Stephanos I

I think a few events done each year which raises money are alot of fun and builds community. What might be best is to have such events to raise money to start new parishes or to support some kind of mission aid in other areas of the world. If they are done almost solely to raise money for the parish I would think that they would be draining upon the parish and not raise enough money.

The only person who can really begin a widespread practice of tithing is your priest. I pray that he does.

CDL

He does I can assure you of that, perhaps you should view my profile.
And the parish gives around the world and US 6 times a year and has adopted 250 aged and children living in poverty.
Stephanos I

Fund-raising events/drives work best if there is a specific goal: putting domes on a converted church, erecting an iconastasis, buying some new vestments. Day-to-day costs must be covered by regular giving, not one-offs. If one relies on the latter they end up becoming common place and lose all impact.

Excellent. I forgot that you are clergy. Father, bless me a sinner.

CDL

WGE:

What in heaven's name does your parish spend $100,000 on with only a part time priest? Supply priests get what, $250-300.00 a week? The budget in our small GOA parish is $107,000 for 2007 and we have a full time priest. His compensation of course makes up the bulk of our expenses followed by the "Fairshare" and on down after that. And its tough to get that money. Years ago when I was president of our council, I got us switched to the pledge system and off the old "Decadollarion" dues system. We asked for a pledge of "A dollar a day". Well, those days are gone and we are approaching a time when we need pledges on average of twice that amount, plus two collections on Sunday, plus suppers, plus our festival. We are doing it and the parish is strong and growing. But we are very careful with our money.

Sounds to me like someone should take a good long look at what the council is spending the parish's money on.

Besides hard money, the cost of running a parish is true dedication
of the community and the clergy. Together, even with little hard
cash, with faith, commitment, hard work and dedication the parish
can be a thriving and wonderful spiritual hospital, properly dispensing the word of Truth and living the Gospels and striving
in our daily struggle to live in the image of Christ.

At least 100k appears to be the norm in the BCC...even in parishes that don't have a full time pastor...

Being away from the BCC now almost 14 months...it's now more clear than it ever was...parishes don't need $100k to survive...it's issues with lack of ever needing to balance budget and be accountable...The parish board I am on spent about $65k last year...half of that cost was for the priest...so that simply reinforces the fact that if you were paying a supply priest, $1,000 a month (very generous for 1 1/2 hours a week) the money is probably getting wasted in some areas of the budget...although, don't tell a Catholic priest that :-D

Funny!
Try telling PG & E or other power companies that we shouldnt really pay the bills.
Our electric and heating bill is around $7.000 a month now if I ever learned anything in school 12x7,000 = 84,000.
Well gee that leaves 16,000.
What about snow removal and lawn care?
What about the medical, auto insuarance and retirement of the priest? Or is the priesthood of Jesus Christ not higly held and respected. Maybe you feel you could treat him anyway you want since he ONLY works 1 & 1/2 hours a week. Gee I didnt know a homilly could be whipped up that fast, nor the sick visited nor the dead burried nor children baptized, ad infinitum.
Am I missing something?
Stephanos I

You wrote:

"Together, even with little hard
cash, with faith, commitment, hard work and dedication the parish
can be a thriving and wonderful spiritual hospital, properly dispensing the word of Truth and living the Gospels and striving
in our daily struggle to live in the image of Christ."

Exactly. And all the work on the fundraisers builds that sense of community and more than that, family (even when you get so tired that you want to strangle the big mouth next to you who knows how to cook the souvlakia, or the pastries, or what the "Americans" really like to eat, or put up the tent or light the grill better than you do!).

Let me revise my posting....Fr. Stephananos earlier posted that it cost his parish over $1 million a year...that is definitely the exception rather than the rule...

My revision should state that a great majority of BCC parishes could/should run on less than $100k