Stewardship Spotlight: Living in Gratitude

As business manager at Saint Helen, I am charged with the management and monitoring of all accounting and finance functions of Saint Helen. I advise both Msgr. Tom Nydegger and the Finance Council, who in turn advise Msgr. Tom on the financial position and status of the parish and recommendations moving forward.  Paramount for all of us is the exercise of good and responsible stewardship in faithfulness to our parish vision and mission. Msgr. Tom, our Finance Council, and I  are keenly aware of the incredible generosity of our parish family, and vigilant about our expenses, including maintenance of our large physical plant.

To be good stewards of our parish’s financial and environmental resources, we research and implement cost-saving measures as they relate to all aspects of our budget, including our 4 buildings and 10 acres.  While we are presently preparing our comprehensive annual financial summary for the parish, I wanted to provide to you a few factors which will be detailed further in our November report:

• The parish has employed cost-saving environmentally friendly measures in the following ways: solar panels, high efficiency HVAC units in the church, economized HVAC systems for Burke and Meaney Centers, and LED light fixtures with timers and sensors throughout the campus.
• The parish secured a $100,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security for our parish through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in 2020. This grant was used to upgrade our security cameras, replace the doors in Meaney Hall, and install automated locks on the doors throughout our campus.
• The parish has benefited greatly from bequests in the past two years totaling $890,253, through the generous stewardship of personal resources by two parishioners through their estate plans.  This has proven to be vital, as we have unfortunately seen utilities increase by 41% and insurance by 85% in the past two years.

I have been privileged to witness generous expressions of giving from grateful hearts, understand and address the expenses and fiscal realities of our parish, and remain mindful of our common call to be good stewards of our resources.  I share my gifts of enthusiastic discipleship as well as my accounting experience and skills with our community of Saint Helen.  The Lord invites all of us to do the same: in gratitude, sharing our gifts and talents with each other and the community. May we walk this journey together: continuing to grow in faith, service and understanding of each other.

Carolyn Colonna
Business Manager