Parish Annual Report 2024
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August 10, 2024With profound gratitude and overflowing joy, I report to you the significant growth we have seen in our beloved parish this past fiscal year. The fiscal year 2022-2023 was already a great year as we strived to rise from the stifling effects of the pandemic. But the fiscal year 2023-2024 proved us that things can go even better.
In the Stewardship of People, mass attendance grew by16.97% with the average addition of 823 more peopleattending our masses every weekend based on theAnnual Mass Count directed by the Diocese. Young andadult disciples who enrolled in our Catechetical Classesgrew by 15.67% from 970 to 1,122. The growth goes handin hand with parish registration as we have received 332new ones. In the spirit of justice and human dignity, wehave given our 31 employees their well-deserved salaryraises. We have increased our subsidy to the Food Pantryby 50% to cope with the rising prices of commodities andpeople in need.
In the Stewardship of the Gospel, we successfully initiated two new ministries – the Upper Room Healing Ministry and the Restore Young Adults Retreat Ministry – to accompany vulnerable sectors of our community. We publicly proclaimed our faith in the Real Presence of Christ through two Eucharistic Processions (one that consecrated the whole city from the hilltop and another that went around the City Hall blessing our local leaders). We culminated the Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival through a 10-week retreat on Ignatian Spirituality that was participated in by more than 540 people – the biggest crowd the program has everseen. In order to allow the Mass to penetrate the heart and mind, we have added a weekly mass in Vietnamese that now serves 200-300 faithful.
In the Stewardship of Temporal Goods, our total operating revenue reached new heights with a 9.15%increase due heavily to the 10.95% increase in your weekly and holy days contributions. Meanwhile, our belt tightening measures as well as judicious spending practices effectively allowed us to end the year with bigger savings that now would be earmarked for more evangelization programs and major physical improvements. The annual tax letters we automatically generated reflected a 16.89% increase with the addition of 283 recipients.Finally, we are now the biggest parish contributor to the Diocese for its Development Fund.The space is limited to list down everything. The joy that fills our hearts is overflowing. If you ask me how thesehave become possible, I can only recall the Eucharistic Revival Prayer we said every Sunday for the whole year –“Grant that as we lift you up during this time of Eucharistic Revival, your Holy Spirit may draw all people to join us at this Banquet of Life.” Everything that we have accomplished is the fruit of our communal prayers. And so, in humility, we give back to God, who is present in our midst when we gather, the praise, honor and glory, always and forever. Amen.
