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

What of mortgage payments, cost of icons, secretarial help, cost of keeping a parish house, etc. I simply can't believe that any parish can operate for much less than $100,000. Doesn't any parish give anything to missions?

CDL

Exactly Dan, not even the smallest parish could exist on $100,000 a year.
Actually the million did not inculde the million plus for the School. So we are running somewhere over 2 million a year Operational Costs.
Stephanos I
The salaries alone for the parish staff with health insurance, social security, taxes and employees retirement benefits runs to about $500,000

Father,

How many parishioners does your church have?

This is my last post on this subject...I simply shake my head...Fr. Stephanos' parish is definitely not the norm (and is far from it) in the BCC, with $500K in parish staff expenses alone...

Sorry, but I am located in Fairfield County CT, as I'm sure everyone knows, one of the highest cost of living areas in the nation...I know my parishes $65K is not unique, I know at least 2 other parishes in the area (both Orthodox with parish councils watching the money and approving expenditures) both having comparable budgets...two of the three parishes are growing, only 1 of the 3 is "losing ground"...it reminds me of the Federal Government, don't be innovative, just throw more money at the problem and it will be solved...look at the federal budgets and the BCC and it's pretty clear that doesn't work...(this coming from a democrat )

In regards to CDL's questions of mortgages and missions...
We need to remember that most of the BCC is located northeast quatrant of the US, these parishes are older and most don't have mortgages any more, haven't for years...(general statement, some do)...I realize in the mid-west, south, & west...this is an issue but that is not the norm in the BCC...In regards to missions...do you think this needs to be an assessment that parishes pick up the tab? Or, if there is a group of people who want to "start a mission" should that group not have enough to begin their mission? and begin with laity (reader services) with an occational DL (laity involvement would help foster vocations as well)...much in the way our parents and grandparents did when they came to America...I think parishes should definitely take collections for the missions and help...but should not necessarily be a line item in each parishes budget...if you are referring to missions outside the USA I feel the same way...they should be supported thru free will offerings...and it is the job of those running the missions to make a case to the people for support...not something which is expected...

One final note...having seen finances in BCC and Orthodox parishes (much more limited in Orthodox parishes)...one thing I have found interesting (I'm sure it's not the case in all BCC parishes (I know many great priests in the BCC)...I compare the giving, financial return to the parish, to be much greater in the Orthodox Church (by their clergy)...by that I mean, not only weekly offeratory given, but priests who insist on paying for a ticket to affairs and refusing "a free meal"...since they see themselves as part of the community not apart/above it...believe me, I am not necesarily for "fleecing the priest", I think they should be "guests of honor", but even when $$$ is refused for "a ticket" the $$$ still finds it's way back...but I am pointing this out because, unfortunaely in the BCC small things like this have become "entitlements" which have removed many of the clergy from being with the community and viewing themselves above the community.

Job,

I imagine the issue does involve how much is not included in the budget. Still, $65,000 isn't much even when one excludes mortgage and missions. A stipend of $25,000 for a priest if all housing, travel, pension, and insurance is paid by the parish isn't much but those items should still be in the budget. Those items alone would amount to another $25,000. That's $50,000 dollars. That means that there would only be $15,000 left for all other salaries, all utilities, all maintenance on the Church building, all insurance on the Church, and all educational and ministry expenses of the Church. I can't imagine that that is enough to pay for all of that. That also means that any mission work is purely happenstance.

O well, what difference does it make in the long run? Very few people take starting new Churches or any kind of mission work very seriously anyway.

CDL

Bingo! NO I am not advocating bingo as a source of income. LOL.
I think Job is overlooking one simple fact!
I once served a parish in the North East part of the country.
Mind you it was years ago around 20 to be precise and I have tucked in the back of my filing cabinet somewhere a bill for the heating for that year alone. (heating was once way less expensive) It cost somewhere around $25,000 just for the heat then. Imagine what it would cost today.
Stephanos I

I suspect, Father, that you had a large 19th century church building with that kind of heating bill. I also suspect that your share of the parish budget didn't come close to the heating bill!

Our parish has about 130 "pledging units" each of which could be a family or an individual. The budget for this year is about $107-110,000.00 with a very recent revision. Of that, a bit over $90,000.00 is directly attributable to having a full time priest and includes his stipend, car allowance, housing allowance, full insurance coverage for him and his family, telephone allowance, pension and social security. The remainder goes for heat (and we are way up north so it gets real cold), lights, telephone, maintenance, yard care and snow plowing, Sunday School, church supplies and our metropolis assessment (which is way too high, but that's another story). We do have our charitable work, but that is mostly financed by the Philoptochos (Ladies' Society)out of their funds. Its always tight and means we need to work together; tonight for example we will be running our monthly public supper (fish and spanikopita as it is the Nativity Lent, $8.00 a plate with dessert).

We have no mortgage (pd off by Bingo years ago!) and we are growing so it can be done on comparatively small money, so long as one isn't saddled with a 19th century brick ark to heat and maintain.

I don't think 100K is much at all. One reasonable sized parish I know, with a full time priest has a bill of over $200K a year. That's about $1400 a year, or around $115 per month, $27 per week for a postulated 150 "pledging units".

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Oh Lord although I desired to blot out
With my tears the handwriting of my many sins
And for the rest of my life to please thee through sincere repentance;
Yet doth the enemy lead me astray as he wareth
against my soul with his cunning!

O Lord before I utterly perish do thou save me!

What do they do with all that money?

Haven't the slightest idea. Even if it was my parish, I'm not on the finance committee. I think most of it goes to bills, assesments mortgages and things like that.