Important Message from Our Finance Council

     As you know, we are in the midst of making our pledges to The Appeal. This year's diocesan theme is "Together in Mission" which embodies our collective effort to live the Gospel and grow closer to God as a diocesan family which, of course, is made up of all the parish families. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is and has been outstanding as a parish family for years. It's time to commit to helping our parish family again this year by committing to a pledge to The Appeal.

     Our parish family has been through some tough financial challenges in the last couple of years. The unexpected total renovation and furnishing of the rectory would have financially devastated a less committed parish, but because of your consistent support for so many years, we were able to totally cover the cost of the rectory and its furnishings. No loans —no interest! That money came from your repeatedly surpassing our goal for the Appeal so that we got the surplus money back to use for our needs. We don't pay an assessment to the Diocese on Appeal surplus like we do on our offertory either and that offertory assessment (tax) rate goes up to 10% in September.

     From last year's Appeal, we realized $83,000.00 back from our paid pledges. That's pretty amazing! As of now, we are less than half of that at about $38,000.00. We are lagging behind our pledge participation rate, too, which means that there a good number of OLMC people who pledged last year but just haven't gotten around to it this year. Also, if you are new to the parish, please join us in this family endeavor. NOW is the time.

$83,000.00 seems like a lot of money. Where did it all go? This past year it went to the rectory project cost as did a good chunk from our parish reserves. So, moving forward, we are looking to:

1. replenish our reserves;

2. address projects to get our church ready for our 100^th anniversary in 2028;

3. upgrade other areas in the church, social hall, kitchen, and bathrooms.

     Yes, the carpeting and floor coverings are in the plans. We promised you a couple of years ago we would get to that, and it will happen. In addition, we are working on a plan to refurbish the pews so that they will last us another 100 years. We are also seeking other funding sources such as grants and fundraisers to help with the cost of all of this.

     We are in the crucial part of this campaign. It's crunch time. Remember you can spread the pledge amount over 10 months. You can also use the online option, scan the QR code, do an Electronic Funds Transfer, or even (for the chronologically enhanced crowd) make a donation directly from your Required Minimum Distribution and avoid paying tax on the amount of the donation. Information on these options is available by calling the parish office at 740-928-3266, or there is a flyer available on the cantor stand by the choir. For information on the RMD, please see Theresa Kucsma after the 8:00 or 11:00 mass on Sundays.

 If it's not the year for you to be able to give, no worries. Just please let us know that. Follow-up calls will be starting in August, so think about taking care of this now. Thank you so much for your past generosity and for the efforts you will make this year and in the future.