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Dear Friends,
Each year at this time, we publish a report on the financial
condition of the parish. As you decide what your commitment to the
parish will be in the coming year, I hope that the information contained
in this report will help inform your decision. The report details not
only the dollars and cents, but also some of the activities and
ministries made possible by your support.
Dollars and
Cents
Our fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. For the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2016, our total parish income was $4,222,940. This came
from:
- Sunday and holy day collections (66%)
- Annual Catholic Appeal rebate (5%)
- Various gifts, grants, bequests, fundraisers (26%)
- Business income (including rental of parking spaces and
reception rooms, Cathedral Bookstore income, etc.) (3%)
Total expenses for the year were $4,584,756. They included:
- Salaries, benefits and other personnel-related expenses such as
security (57%)
- Our parish’s assessment by the Archdiocese (5%)
- Our annual assessment to support five central area Catholic
schools and parish scholarships (8%)
- Various operating costs for the maintenance and improvement of
the Cathedral, other parish buildings, and the grounds (29%)
This left us with a deficit in 2015-2016 of $248,154. While we were
able to pay all our bills by drawing on our modest savings, this ongoing
deficit is a matter of concern to me and to our Finance Council, and I’m
sure it is a concern to you as well. We are anticipating a deficit of
$192,525 in 2016-2017, as you will see from the budget to the right. Our
expenses continue to increase, including insurance premiums, utilities,
assessments, and salaries and benefits for staff people, while our
income has not kept pace with our expenses.
Our Life as a Parish, 2015-2016
We are vibrant and diverse parish with 2,445 registered households,
comprising 5,198 individual members. Our parishioners come from across
Western Washington, from more than 180 ZIP codes. Nearly 1,000
volunteers are involved in around forty parish ministries.
During the past fiscal year, more than 1,100 Sunday and regular daily
liturgies were celebrated, not counting special liturgies for Holy Days,
the Sacred Triduum, and ecumenical and interfaith services. Fifty-two
children and 8 adults were baptized; 17 people baptized in other
Christian traditions made a Profession of Faith and were received into
the Full Communion of the Catholic Church. Around 35 adults are
currently enrolled in our RCIA program, preparing for the Sacraments of
Initiation in the Catholic Church. Twenty-nine confirmations were
celebrated; 28 children received their First Communion. During the year
40 weddings and 27 funerals were celebrated.
Liturgy,
Music, & Special Events
As the Cathedral Church, we are privileged to host special events
which gather Catholics from across Western Washington, including Rites
of Election, the Chrism Mass, Ordinations to the Priesthood, Madre de
las Americas and Simbang Gabi. The Cathedral also hosted Baccalaureate
Masses for Holy Names Academy, O’Dea High School, Seattle Preparatory
School, and Seattle University.
In addition, in December, 2015, in union with the Church throughout
the world, we solemnly inaugurated the Year of Mercy. During this
extraordinary jubilee, the Cathedral has welcomed literally tens of
thousands of pilgrims through the Doors of Mercy. Dozens of special
tours have been conducted for groups of pilgrims from around the
Archdiocese. The beginning of the Year of Mercy also marked the
inauguration of our stunning new exterior lighting of the Cathedral,
which makes the Cathedral a true beacon on the city skyline.
Over the course of the year, there were numerous concerts, recitals
and other musical events held. Among the highlights of the past year
were our New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, followed just a few weeks later by
our “Dome’s Day” Celebration, marking the centennial of the collapse of
the cathedral’s great dome in a snowfall on February 2, 1916. In
addition, the Schola Cantorum Choir Camp in August brought fifty
children to the Cathedral for a week of prayer, service, and singing.
Outreach and Pastoral Care
The Cathedral Kitchen has continued to thrive, with between 150-170
people of all ages and races sharing a hot, nutritious meal, lovingly
prepared and served in the Cathedral Hall each weeknight—around 40,000
meals a year!
The Solanus Casey Center, our drop-in and referral center, is open
four days a week and continues to help hundreds of people each year to
secure their Washington State IDs and to access the many services
available in our local community.
The St. James Immigrant Assistance program provided some 4,522
volunteer hours and served 397 people. The St. James Winter Shelter
provided overnight shelter to 10 to 15 men for 120 nights. Tens of
thousands of sandwiches were prepared by our parishioners and
distributed through St. Martin de Porres Shelter and Operation
Nightwatch.
Our outreach programs to the elderly transported twenty-three seniors
to Mass each Sunday. Many homebound parishioners receive communion in
their homes each week, allowing them to remain connected to the
liturgical life of St. James. Others received the bulletin in the mail
each week, along with a recording of the Sunday 10 o’clock Mass.
Faith Formation Opportunities
More than 160 of our Cathedral children participated in Sunday School
classes, offered September through June. Special events and
presentations for adults in 2015-2016 included a parish-wide study of
Henri Nouwen’s classic Return of the Prodigal Son during the season of
Lent, and a three-week series in the spring exploring Shakespeare’s
Merchant of Venice.
Our Youth Ministry and Young Adult programs continue to be a
whirlwind of new and exciting opportunities for youth, including
retreats, service activities, and social events. A highlight this year
was our Youth Ministry mission trip to an orphanage in Nicaragua last
August.
All this was made possible by your generous contributions. None of
these efforts could have been undertaken without the generous support of
our parishioners and friends. We want you to know that there has been
careful stewardship of the financial resources of the parish. We look
forward to accomplishing even more with your support and with the help
of God’s grace in the coming year.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father
Michael G. Ryan
Pastor
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