Monday- Friday 8 am

Except First Fridays, No 8 am Mass
Mass is at 12 pm every First Friday

* * *

Saturday 5 pm 

Sunday: 7:30 a.m. (no livestream)

Sunday 10 am 

Sunday 5 pm (no livestream)

                      CONFESSIONS 

         by Appointment: 973-635-0625 
          phone extensions:

152 Fr. Bob                     156 Fr. Artur
fr.bob@st-pats.org        fr.artur@st-pats.org

To make a one time offertory donation, click here to access our GIVING page on our website.

     The Saint Patrick Parish office is open Monday through Friday, 9 am-1 pm.

Saturday, January 23 at 5 pm with Fr. Bob 
Sunday, January 24 at 7:30 am with Fr. Bpb
Sunday, January 24 at 10 am with Fr. Artur
Sunday, January 24 at 5 pm with Fr. Artur 

Finance Report 2019-2020 Fiscal Year

            One day a man went to an auction. When an exotic parrot went on the auction block, the man decided he was going to buy it regardless of the amount he would be forced to bid. He wanted the bird so badly that he didn’t think twice about the anonymous bidder who was outbidding him. The man just kept bidding higher and getting outbid, and bidding higher and higher until he finally won the bird at a price that most people would call overpriced. Despite his disappointment in the price the beautiful bird was his at last. As he was paying the auctioneer for the parrot, he asked the auctioneer, “I sure hope this parrot can talk. I would be so disappointed to have spent so much money for it only to discover that the parrot cannot speak!” “Oh don’t worry,” said the auctioneer. “This parrot is a real talker. Who do you think kept bidding against you?”  

This week the parish provides a financial report for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which may be found in the back of the bulletin as well as on our parish website and weekly flock note. It consists of a synopsis of income/expenses for the past three fiscal years as well as the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 budgets. Included are revenues from Sunday collections, school tuition, faith formation, and youth ministry programs, plus revenue collected for the buildings and grounds. Expenses in the report cover salaries and benefits for school and parish personnel, diocesan assessments, administrative operating costs and maintenance expenses. Unlike the man who purchased the parrot, the parish and school have worked extremely hard to keep their expenses down.

Like most churches, corporations, families and everyone else, we were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our weekly collections dropped dramatically once in-person masses were cancelled. Thankfully, the majority of our parishioners started to contribute through online giving. We currently receive 60% of our Sunday collections through online giving. Thank you for your generosity. Nevertheless, our collections are down year-over-year. In order to minimize the impact of the lower collections, we eliminated most discretionary spending for the remainder of the year. As a parish we were able to exceed our budgeted result, due to increased enrollment at the school and their control of school expenses.

The school continues to have success as enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year is higher than last year. Additionally, as provided for in the CARES Act, we applied for a loan through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and we were approved for a loan of approximately $480,000. PPP loans are forgivable as long as the loan proceeds are used to pay eligible expenses (primarily payroll and related costs). We anticipate this loan being forgiven during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The PPP loan forgiveness will partially offset the higher COVID-19 cost we are experiencing this year. Any questions or comments that pertain to the financial report are welcomed and appreciated. Please feel free to contact me, or our finance manager, Mr. Mike Vogel at mvogel@st-pats.org for any clarifications of the report.      

On behalf of our Parish Finance Committee, in particular Mr. Kevin Guckian, finance committee chairperson, and Mr. Mark Armstrong, I thank you for your ongoing financial support of our parish through your presence, blessings, skills and financial commitment; as well as donations to the annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal and St. Patrick School Appeal. In this weekend’s reading from the Book of Samuel, (1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19) God comes to each of us, inviting us to respond with the words of Samuel: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Sacrificial giving nurtures the spirit of the giver to hear the voice of the Lord, and at the same time helps build a better world. May God bless you throughout 2021 with authentic joy and prosperity that gives happiness to each day.

 
In Christ's Love,
Fr. Bob

WEEKLY E-EDITION