Let’s Talk Numbers

Seeing and supporting the blessing of our parish

02/21/2021

1 Peter 3:18-22 Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Ever since Fr. Daniel arrived last September, I have watched a lot of Shark Tank – a lot. Are you familiar with that TV show? Five famous investors called “sharks” listen to sales pitches by potential entrepreneurs for their products. Sometimes, one or more of the sharks will “bite” and make a deal with them. The sharks give them money in exchange for a percentage of their company. The most shrewd shark of all the investors sits in the center, named Kevin O’Leary. He is clearly the “Alpha Shark.” His nickname is “Mr. Wonderful” and his famous line is: “Let’s talk numbers.” Before he makes a deal with anyone, he wants to know the number of sales, the number of orders, the number of inventory, the number of buyers, the number of their debt, and so forth.

Today, I am taking my cue from Mr. Wonderful, and I will talk some numbers with you about our parish. In other words, try to think of this church today as “shark tank,” where you get to be the sharks, and I am the potential entrepreneur trying to get you to buy a stake in the company I represent, called Immaculate Conception Church. This analogy is not as far-fetched as you might imagine.

Every day you listen to people who make sales pitches for your money: to buy this smart phone, to wear those shoes, to visit that vacation spot, to eat at this restaurant. And every day, like the sharks on the show, you either decide to give them your money, or you decline and say, “For that reason, I’m out.” So, today, you get to be Mr. Wonderful (or Mrs. Wonderful) and I will talk numbers, and see if you will bite and invest in this parish with your money.

You should have received a letter I sent on Ash Wednesday providing a panoramic overview of our parish finances for last year, 2020. Because of the pandemic, it was an economically challenging year for most people, except maybe the liquor stores. In response to lower collections, our staff reduced expenses as much as possible (even slashing some of our salaries), and we tried to live within our means. We also received the PPP loan to help with payroll and utilities. Still, it was a struggle. Let me just share three numbers with you from the financial report to show you what a great investment Immaculate Conception Church is for your money.

First, the overall church budget for last year was $1,900,000, and that does not include the school, whose budget is $2,400,000.  Folks, this church and school is a multi-million dollar organization, and I am the CEO! Just kidding, actually, the bishop is the CEO. That large budget number should not surprise you when you remember that I.C. is the fourth largest Catholic church in Arkansas. There are 130 churches and missions in our diocese, and we are the fourth largest in terms of membership, with about 1,800 families, which equates to roughly 6,000 individuals. If you always attend that same Sunday Mass, it may be hard to believe you have so many spiritual brothers and sisters in your parish family, but you do. Hence our budget is so big. So, the first number is our budget of over $4M (including church and school).

Secondly, under expenses, you will notice that we spend 33% of our income on Catholic schools for a total of over $550,000. Some of that 33% goes to I.C. School, and some of it goes to Trinity Junior High. Some people may be disappointed or even disagree with spending that much on Catholic schools, but not me. Why not? I am convinced my priestly vocation was deeply influenced by the Catholic schools I attended: the priests, the nuns, the lay teachers, the religion classes, the Masses I slept through, and confessions I made, and especially the friends I cherish to this day. In other words, Catholic schools sort of made me a “spiritual shark” who wanted to take a bite out of my faith, and so I invested everything I have for a percentage in the priesthood. Catholic schools try to make all our students "baby sharks," spiritually-speaking. The second number is the 33% (or $550,000) that we spend of Catholic schools, and this priest is proud of that number.

Third, you may notice an unusual category under expenses called “Diocesan Support” where we spent almost $150,000 last year. That is basically a “diocesan tax” that all parishes pay in order to support the bishop and the diocesan offices and ministries. Now no one likes to pay taxes, but this tax is not all bad. Why not? Our diocesan support tax is a very concrete sign that we belong to the Catholic – that is universal – Church.

You see, the bishop is a successor of the apostles. And therefore, supporting the bishop puts our money where our mouth is so we say at the end of the Creed with conviction: “I believe in one, holy, catholic and APOSTOLIC Church.” Bishop Taylor is our connection to the apostles. Paying our diocesan support, makes our parish a "shark" that takes a bite of the universal Church, and we get a percentage of the Church that Jesus established on his Apostles. So the third number is $150,000 without which, we could not really call ourselves a “Catholic Church.”

In the second reading today, St. Peter also “talks numbers” describing Noah’s Ark. St. Peter, the first pope said: “God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.” The key number is 8. That is, Noah’s ark held 8 people who “were saved through water,” a symbol of baptism. Have you ever noticed how traditional Catholic churches looks a lot like “arks” in which we find safety from the “waves of the world,” and where, we, too, are saved by the waters of baptism?

In other words, the number 8 symbolized not only Noah’s family, but all those who are saved, meaning me and you, and that makes this church where we are baptized our ark. So, be a shark today, and take a bite of this ark by investing in this parish with your tithe. Why? Because in the end, the only number that will matter is the number of the people who are saved.

Praised be Jesus Christ!