From Fr. Steve

While the news headlines regarding the scandals in the Church has died down for now, it’s important for you to know that this doesn’t mean that the issue is being ignored.  The U.S. Bishops met last month, and putting in new protocols to deal with abuse allegations was at the top of their agenda. Their original hope was to vote on new standards of conduct for Bishops, as well as on the creation of a new commission to review complaints against Bishops for violating these standards.  Their agenda also included proposals for a third-party reporting mechanism, as well as protocols for Bishops who have resigned or were removed because of abuse.

Unfortunately, the Vatican requested that the Bishops postpone their vote until after February.  The Pope is calling a meeting in February for the presidents of all the Bishops Conferences throughout the world, and he indicated that he wants these types of protocols to be consistent across the world.  He also wants to make sure that these proposals conform with canon law.

The Bishops expressed disappointment with this request.  The President of the Conference said that “We have accepted it with disappointment…We have not lessened in any of our resolve for actions. We are going to work intensely on these items of action. We can’t vote on them totally, but clarify them, get them more intensely canonically well, so that Rome will see that. We’re going to keep pushing and moving until we get to a point where they become action.”

I had hoped that there would be something more definite to report to you after the November meeting, but I think it’s important for you to know that concrete actions are being discussed at the highest levels […]

This week’s column will summarize the feedback that the parish survey yielded regarding music.  Music often tends to attract the most comments and impassioned responses when people talk about liturgy, and our parish survey was no exception!  Jessica and I are very grateful that so many people offered honest and constructive comments in this section.  Here’s a summary of your answers.  (Answers were on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree.)

Our cantors are well-prepared and do an effective job leading the congregation in song: 3.9
Our musicians (piano, organ, choir) are well prepared and do an effective job leading the congregation in song:  3.9
I like the hymns we sing at Mass: 3.3
I am able to sing along with most of the songs and responses we use at Mass: 3.7
Most people around me sing at Mass: 3.0
I can hear and understand the music clearly: 3.9
Cantors are easy to hear when they are singing in the front of the church (the ambo and cantor stand): 4.1
Cantors are easy to hear when they are singing from the choir loft: 3.7
The two antiphons sung at Mass (one before the opening hymn and one before Communion) add to the liturgy:  3.4
The choir adds to the beauty of the liturgy: 4.0
Overall, the music at Christ the King helps me to pray better during Mass: 3.4

The most frequent comments suggested that the music overall has too somber of a feel (88 comments to this effect), whether due to the selection of songs or the tempo at which they are played.  The other most frequent comment (made by 83 people) regarded the song selection […]

December 11, 2016

Dear Parishioners,

In today’s bulletin, you’ll find a summary of our year-end financial statements.  First and foremost, thank you for your generous stewardship.  Your support allows our parish not only to function but also to thrive, so hopefully this brief summary gives you a better idea of how your contributions are being used.  Our fiscal year ended on June 30, 2016, but I wanted to wait until the statements were finalized and reviewed by the Finance Council before publishing this information to the parish.  Please take a brief moment to look through the insert in today’s bulletin.

Our parish is in good shape financially.  We continue to be debt-free, and our balance in savings and endowment has grown during the fiscal year.  As you can see, the church side of our operations continues to run a surplus, which helps us to fund the school.  The school is the largest ministry in the parish, and we depend on the support of the entire parish in order to maintain this vibrant ministry.  Therefore, the church contributes a considerable subsidy to the school each year, which allows us to offer a discounted tuition rate for parishioners.  Your generous support of our educational ministry is greatly appreciated and allows more of our parishioners to give their children a Catholic education.  It’s a big investment, but it’s one of the most important investments we can make for the future of our Church.

We have also worked hard to contain expenses.  We have a long-term facility plan that has allowed us to keep our physical plant in good shape, while spacing out major capital expenses so that they don’t cause too great a shock to our budget.

I’ve also included a couple of […]