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Dear Parishioners of Blessed Sacrament,

As we present our financial report for the 2025/2026 fiscal year, I am pleased to share a broader account of our parish life. This year's report is not only financial but also pastoral, reflecting our shared work and service.

First and foremost, I thank every parishioner of Blessed Sacrament-adults, youth, and children-for generously sharing your time, talents, gifts, and resources to sustain our parish ministries in so many ways.

Your spirit of collaboration strengthens our life together and helps us become more fully engaged disciples as we strive to know, love, and serve God, in keeping with our parish mission statement.

Through your collaboration and support during the 2025/2026 fiscal year, we reduced expenses by $435,000, paid off all our debts, transitioned to the new diocesan accounting system, welcomed 70 new families, and donated nearly 850 Christmas gifts to children who receive daily meals through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. These accomplishments reflect your generosity and commitment to our parish and the wider community. Your participation in our Lenten and Advent missions and Communal Celebrations of Penance was equally inspiring, as was your support for the Fish Fry sponsored by the Knights of Columbus during Lent. Together, these efforts enriched our parish life.

As you may recall, our priority during the second half of the past fiscal year was to enrich our liturgical celebrations by strengthening our music ministry and increasing participation in liturgical ministries. We have seen encouraging growth in both the quality of our choir's music and the number of its members. I am especially grateful to those who faithfully attend demanding rehearsals twice a week, devoting their time and talents to music that supports our prayer and enriches our worship. Please know how deeply we appreciate your dedication and generous service to our parish.

I am equally grateful to every parishioner who has answered the call to serve in our liturgical ministries. Several new volunteers have joined these ministries, as the statistics below indicate. Our small team of audiovisual volunteers deserves special recognition for operating the system we reinstated last year. Their faithful service and this technology have helped foster fuller, conscious, and active participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass.

Our young people also deserve recognition for serving at the altar, proclaiming the Word of God, ushering, and presenting the gifts during the offertory. Let us continue to encourage their participation in these ministries. Through these opportunities, we help them develop a lasting commitment to service and an active role in the Church's life and mission.

We can all agree that our investment in the church's sound system has been worthwhile. Thanks to your generous support, the sound quality and clarity have improved significantly, making the Word of God more audible from the pulpit and enhancing the celebrant's voice during services. This improvement has subsequently enriched our worship experience.

Our preschool playground has also improved in response to recommendations from the state inspection. With generous support from our donors, we removed the existing wood chips and installed a new rubberized safety surface, providing a more suitable and comfortable play environment for children. We also added new play structures, further enhancing the playground and creating a more engaging, enjoyable, and child-friendly space for our young learners.

While we celebrate these achievements, we recognize there is still room to grow. For example, among last year's 1,270 donors, 20% provided more than 80% of our offertory income, while the remaining 80% provided approximately 20%. These figures highlight how heavily our parish relies on a relatively small share of donors. Some parishioners contributed little, while others did not contribute financially. I invite each of you to prayerfully consider how you can support our parish, according to your means, as we work to meet your spiritual and pastoral needs.

Financial contributions, however, are only one part of sustaining parish life. We also need volunteers to answer office phones, assist with parish events, support faith formation, serve in the gift shop, and participate in other areas of parish ministry.

Even as we acknowledge these needs and challenges, we give heartfelt thanks to God for all we have accomplished together. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. Your support and encouragement throughout this difficult year of transition have meant more to me than words can express.

I look forward to continuing our collaboration and your support as we journey together through the 2026/2027 fiscal year.

In God's service and yours.

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