Why is the Church constantly asking for money? Between pulpit appeals and fundraisers, it never seems to stop.
Money is an ongoing challenge for most parishes and schools. In my role as episcopal vicar, rarely a day passes without a pastor reaching out for help paying for broken boilers, failed plumbing or leaky roofs. Many of our structures are aging, and money is required to fix them. Added to that are the parishes with schools that struggle to pay their teachers. The money has to come from somewhere, be it tuition hikes, fundraisers or assistance from the archdiocese.
Most priests I know hate to ask for money, and I am one of them. That being said, we run on the generosity of the faithful, and it is to the faithful we most often turn when needs arise. We do it because we know the consequences when there isn’t enough money. Ministries shut down, people are laid off and the pastoral and charitable outreach to the larger community diminishes.
I’ll never forget my first experience of this. I was an associate pastor, and, thankfully, I rarely had to think about money. One day, I came to the office and discovered two staff positions had been cut due to budget issues. When I sat with my pastor, he explained how parishes function and the difficult decisions that need to be made when the money runs low. Later, when I became a pastor myself, our parish school was facing serious financial issues. I had to conduct a pledge drive where parishioners permanently increased their monthly giving. The generosity of the people blew me away. They stepped up, and we were able to set the ship aright without raising tuition beyond what our families could afford. It was also a good reminder to me of the importance of financial transparency. Pastors have an obligation to ensure that parishioners are kept abreast of the parish’s financial state and how the money is being spent. For that reason, canon law requires that every parish have a finance council to advise the pastor and review accounts.
The need for generosity goes beyond the Sunday offertory. Every year, the archdiocese holds the Annual Catholic Appeal. The money collected helps support schools, housing initiatives, health care for the disadvantaged and struggling parishes. When I became pastor of an inner-city parish, I came to appreciate deeply the Annual Catholic Appeal, because without it, we would not have been able to carry out the types of repairs needed to prevent irreparable structural damage to our church.
While no one likes to talk about money, it is a fact of life, and it goes back to the beginning. As we see in the New Testament, the apostles carried out their ministry due to the contributions of the faithful. That has been the case for 2,000 years. As a priest, I am grateful for whatever contributions are made for the health of the parish and larger Church, be it the gift of time, talent or treasure.
Father Scott Jones is the episcopal vicar for the Northern Vicariate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
