As of July 1, I completed 11 years as your Pastor. As I indicated in a previous article, my term will end next June. Fortunately, we will have the luxury of an assigned priest at that time, so that we can work for a smooth transition before he becomes the Pastor in the fall of 2017 or beginning of 2018. In some ways it seems like I am still new to St. Hubert, in other ways it seems like I have been here forever.
In addition to the hundreds of parishioners who happily volunteer to participate in a ministry, we have been blessed with a wonderful staff and great deacons. There has been no turnover in staff for at least
10 years and most have been here longer than I. Clearly, our parish could not be the thriving parish it is without their ministry. I am deeply grateful to them and to all of our parishioners for their support and generosity with time, talent, and treasure.
As a parish, we have been blessed with many faith-filled and generous people. Unfortunately, we have had a paucity of bequests throughout the years. Many parishes supplement their Sunday donations with bequests, which help our budget and loan payment.
First, I encourage you to have a will, perhaps a trust, power of attorney, and one for health care. I know that we don’t like to think or talk about these things, but it is imperative for us to deal with this reality while we are still able. Spiritually, it is God’s way of reminding us that we have to continually surrender as we prepare to die. Paradoxically, when we face this issue of our mortality, we are then able to live more fully and enjoy life.
Secondly, I invite you to consider having a discussion with family members about funeral arrangements. Since I deal with families all the time, I see how many people wait until the last minute to be anointed, (and a priest may not be available), or family members who don’t have a clue as to what their love one wanted regarding the funeral Mass, funeral home, cemetery and other arrangements. When proper planning is done, it makes it much easier for the bereaved family to mourn and pray during the funeral process, rather than spend many hours trying to figure out what to do.
Finally, I encourage you to leave something for St. Hubert in your will or trust. If you would consider leaving just 5% of your assets to the parish it would help us tremendously with our $4 million budget and outstanding loan of $2.6 million.
Reaching out and extending your blessings beyond your own life is an intrinsic part of good stewardship. In addition to providing tax benefits for your estate, remembering the church in your will or trust can help accomplish several goals to further God’s kingdom here at St. Hubert.
This gift does not jeopardize current financial security, it will help support underfunded ministries, expand our mission and outreach and reduce taxes on your estate.
If you have any questions about this, you can contact me or our business manager, Teresa McCutchan.