Dear Friends:

Back in the early part of the year, a financial review was conducted on both our parish and our school. This is a normal event, mandated every three or four years. The goal is to assist the pastor in proper implementation of financial controls and procedures as set down by the Archdiocese of Hartford. The results of our parish and school review were generally positive and recommendations for changes were made. Those recommendations, for the most part, have been implemented already or are in the process of being implemented.

I write about this because one of the recommendations made for our parish is that we need to change the way parish collections are counted, tallied, and prepared for deposit in the banks. For many years, going back even before I came to Milford, there has been a team of four people, usually paid by the parish, who come in on Monday mornings to open the envelopes, separate the cash and the checks, count the collections for each Mass, and then prepare the funds for deposit. This system has worked well, but the Archdiocese insists that it must be changed.

Therefore, I am asking for help. I will need several teams of people willing to come in to count the collections going forward. It will have to be on a volunteer basis, as we are no longer able to have employees count collections. Given that we are reducing our Mass schedule to six Masses in the new year, it is possible to have two teams each week come in, one team of three on Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 11:30 and another on Monday mornings from 9:00 to 11:30. It can all be done on Monday morning, if need be, but it will take longer than two and a half hours. The collections for the 4:30 PM vigil Mass on Saturday, as well as the 7:00, 8:15, and 9:30 AM Masses on Sunday can be counted Sunday morning. The collections for the 10:45 AM and 4:30 PM Masses on Sunday can be counted on Monday and the final bank deposit compiled and prepared. The thinking behind this is that some parishioners who work on weekdays might be free to help us on Sunday mornings. Those who are retired or do not work can do so on Monday. In the end, I would think that twenty-four people (or more, given the need for substitutes), would work well. Two teams of three would count each week, and no team would be needed more than once a month.

The requirements for this are clear. Anyone who wishes to help us in this work must be honest, able to keep information confidential, and reliable. In accordance with the policy of the Archdiocese of Hartford, background checks will be made and we will arrange for proper VIRTUS training, all in keeping with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults. I ask anyone who is interested to speak to me or to call the parish office at (203) 878-3571, leaving your name and contact information. I may also approach individuals whom I think would be good candidates to ask them to consider helping the parish in this way. Come the new year, it is my hope that we will have a meeting for purposes of orientation and then implement the new system of counting collections no later than Lent, which begins in March.

Know that I am grateful for your generous support of the parish and that I consider it to be a serious trust that I have to be sure that the money given to the parish is properly and carefully used.

Have a good week!

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