Greetings Fellow CTK Parishioners:
This week we are providing our annual summary of CTK financial performance for 2020 and our budget for 2021. We started last year with a great deal of concern about how we would survive as a parish with the pandemic preventing indoor worship. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded as you kept up your financial support to Christ the King Parish. We ended the year in the black and remarkably, a little over our original budget for income. We did this without cutting our staff and by finding ways to continue our many ministries with adjustments for health and safety.
It goes without saying that 2020 was a challenging year even without the pandemic. We witnessed:
• Civil unrest in our world with the recognition of social injustices to our black brothers and sisters.
• Power shutoffs due to fire danger.
• Extensive fires, smoke, and heat, impacting our use of outdoor space for safe services.
• Divisiveness and hatefulness surrounding our election.
• Jobs lost with some that will never return.
• Families struggling to put food on their tables and pay their rent or mortgage.
• Working from home and learning to connect online.
• Children at home doing “remote learning”.
We are grateful to God for the resilience of our parishioners and their ability to adapt to all these challenges hitting at once. We are also grateful to our parish leadership, under Father Paulson, who took the position that our church is not about the buildings we inhabit but the message of Jesus Christ and finding new and creative ways to get that message out.
Here are some of the things that made a difference:
• Online services: We invested in technology for providing live streaming of services through both Facebook and YouTube and storing them for viewing at any time. This investment includes cameras and technology additions in the church so we can continue to live stream services once we are back inside.
• Outdoor Services:
o At one point we offered 7 outdoor masses each weekend.
o A generous donation of a large tent allowed outdoor services regardless of weather.
o Services broadcast locally over FM radio station 106.7.
o Wi-Fi coverage available over the entire parking lot.
• Outreach:
o Introduced a weekly email newsletter rich in content.
o Called parish members, checking on their health, or just reassuring them.
o Updated contact information for our parish members.
• Added Services:
o Nightly rosary.
o Thursday night speaker series.
o Thursday night mass.
o Spanish Language Mass.
• Staff Agility: Our staff and several parishioners stepped up their contributions of time and talent to help in livestreaming, contact information cleanup, weekly email communication, bilingual and Spanish masses.
• CTK “Brand” Development: Created a single look across communication channels and on the campus. (Still being rolled out).
• Tackled Deferred Maintenance Projects:
o Cleaning, painting, repairing, replacing trellises around the Hall,
o Replacing the defective concrete patio in front of the church,
o Removal of dangerous Eucalyptus trees.
• The CTK School and St Stephen parish were also highly active in finding new ways to perform their mission safely and effectively.
Some Results of Our Efforts
• Attendance at both weekly daily masses and Sunday masses more than doubled our historical numbers based on online views. We also reached folks well beyond our parish physical boundaries and in other countries.
• While many could not travel in person to attend weddings, funerals, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, etc., our streaming services allowed relatives and friends to attend these events remotely.
• Fr. Paulson, Fr. Lee (who joined us in July), Fr. Brian, and Deacon John, all focused their ministries and sermons on what we were facing in the world and in our homes. They provided a consistently reassuring message on how best to continue to live our lives according to God’s will.
• Donations exceeded our original budget, even with a closed church, and limited in-person outdoor attendance.
In looking at the financial summary you will see that, thanks to your donations and hard work by staff to control expenses, we experienced a 7.5% positive net for 2020. You were also most generous to our St. Vincent De Paul Society who are active in helping the poor. SVDP has been able to serve the many needy families who come to our doors and they are now able to offer rent assistance. Your generous support for our Technology investments, which are shown as part of the Building Fund, have allowed us to offer a professional online presence.
The start of this year, 2021, continues much of the challenge of 2020. Hopefully 2021 will see us all back together again in our church. Regardless, with your generous support, we will continue to thrive, and our many ministries will continue to serve the diverse needs of our parish.
On behalf of the CTK Finance Committee, thank you for your commitment and generosity to Christ the King Parish.
Greg Thornbury
Chairman, CTK Finance Committee
Email: gmthornbury@outlook.com
CTK Annual Financial Summary - click Here
St. Stephen Annual Financial Summary - click Here
