Dear Friends,
Today I am writing about a topic I don’t like to talk about: Sunday contributions! Yet, I am doing it for two reasons: First to thank all of you for your tremendous support – in every sense of the term – of our parish community of St. Matthias. It has been a truly humbling experience for me to see the efforts our parishioners are making, to make sure that the contributions reach the parish. Thank you for the trouble you have taken to drop the envelopes in the collection baskets in the church, mail them, drop them physically at the office, or give online through Parish Giving.
A word about the last method of online giving, which is my second reason! My sincere thank you to over 660 of our parishioners who have signed up to give through Parish Giving, which has helped us reduce administrative costs as well as the costs for printing and mailing the envelope packets, while increasing the overall collections. This also allows us to better forecast our revenues, as the giving is more consistent. Therefore, this is the best method of contribution, though some are reluctant to sign up. Let me address some of the reasons I have heard for not signing up online:
- The fear that giving out your bank info could be dangerous: It is good for everyone to know that the ‘Parish Giving’ company has been providing this service to hundreds of parishes for over 10 years and has in place all the latest security features to ensure that your financial information can never be accessed by anyone. But, at the same time, I wish to respect those who wish to continue the use of envelopes – no matter what.
- The fear that you have no control over the amount once you sign up: Not true. You are in full control of the timing and amount of your donations. You can even login to the system or call the Parish Giving customer service team to make updates or even un-enroll/cancel at any time.
- The fear of embarrassment that you are putting nothing in the basket while others do: True, but there is an easy solution. You can download and print “Collection Plate” coupons right from your account page, so you can still have something to put in the basket.
Therefore, I request you to please consider enrolling in Parish Giving – if you haven’t done that already. It is secure, easy to use and gives us the ability to count on your contributions each and every week, even when you might not be able to join us in person. Simply visit our St. Matthias website www.stmatthias.net and then click on “Donate” at the top. Follow the simple registration steps. Should you need support, Parish Giving is available to answer questions and even help set up your account. They can be reached M-F from 8:30- 4:30 pm at 866-307-7140.
I do appreciate your support to our parish community. Most importantly, I, together with Msgr. Seamus Brennan, Deacons John Radvanski, Russ Demkovitz, and Ron Caimi, look forward to engaging and nourishing everyone spiritually as we grow closer to our Lord wherever we may be in our lifelong faith journey. And our parish staff is ever ready to serve the people of our parish.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal