A Note of Gratitude and Stewardship
We are deeply grateful for the generosity of all who support our parish. Your gifts, whether through envelopes or online giving, make a tremendous difference in supporting our ministries, outreach, and ongoing parish needs.
Thanks to our recent envelope audit, we were able to reduce unused envelope expenses from $1,466 every two months to $378 every two months, resulting in over $6,500 in annual savings — while still maintaining the level of collection we have traditionally achieved. We are not looking to eliminate envelope usage. If you like and use your envelopes, we are happy to send them. The same goes for anyone who would like to begin using envelopes.
Similarly, the generosity of our online donors provides steady support for the parish. Processing these gifts involves small fees. If donors choose to cover the small transaction fees in addition to their gift, or give through their bank bill pay, we could potentially direct an additional $12,500 back into parish ministries. Combined with our envelope savings, this could bring the total impact to nearly $19,000 a year — all going directly to support the mission and work of our parish and achieved without any major change to any individual’s current giving.
For those who give online, you now have the option to cover the small transaction fees by updating your online giving profile. Alternatively, if you’d like to avoid fees altogether, you can arrange for your bank to send regularly scheduled checks on your desired dates, indicating any designation for funds in the memo, payable and mailed directly to St. Mary’s.
The archdiocese is also making changes to its second collections.
They will be moving to one annual appeal in July for all their second collection topics. As a result, starting in January, several causes — Catholic Home Missions, Catholic Relief Services, and others — will be removed from both online giving and envelopes. Automatic payments and envelopes for 2025 will remain and then be removed for the next annual cycle. You will still have the opportunity to give to those worthy causes in the July appeal.
Would you like assistance setting up your donations or making changes to your giving method? Please contact our Business Manager, Claudia Miller— we’re happy to help you find the approach that works best for you.
Every gift, in every form, makes a meaningful difference. Thank you for your continued generosity and care for our parish community.
Stay Tuned for the Stewardship report on November 23, 2025.
