A message from Fr. Jack:
Summary: We had a plan. We knew that with the expenses of the Capital Campaign as well as unexpected costs for church maintenance (parking lot repaving, boiler in the parish office), we would not do well financially during the first nine months of the fiscal year. Still, April would bring Easter; we had events scheduled in Friendship Hall with anticipated revenue. So, we could make up some lost ground by the end of the fiscal year. We anticipated a loss of perhaps $50,000-$60,000. The school was solidly enrolled with 184 students, so their deficit would be much smaller. That was our plan - until COVID hit. No public Masses, significantly reduced offertory, refunds for cancelled hall rentals!

We ended with an enormous loss of $144,206 in the parish and $23,093 in the school. The Federal Payroll Protection Program allowed us to keep our staff on payroll when everything was shut down and so frightening. Those ftmds were exhausted in early August, and with the guidance of the Archdiocese, we are finalizing the documentation for the loan forgiv(?ness application. We have reduced staff positions in the school and parish offices and continue to reduce expenses in every possible way.

Ongoing Uncertainty: The number of people coming to Mass increases slowly each week. By the end of September, we had reached about 33% of our customary attendance. Offertory for the parish remains down 29% from pre-COVID offertory in the first quarter of FY 2021. The Capital Campaign continues, and we will soon be able to begin replacement of the roof on the parish office, school, and Church sacristy. 2020 has been an awful year with continued restrictions and uncertainty, but thanks your continuing support, we can stand together to get through this.

A message from Pat Schratz, Principal of The Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle: The pandemic has had a significant impact upon the school as well. The teachers, with the support of our school parents and parishioners made a valiant effort to continue to teach remotely after the school shut down suddenly on March 13th • The summer was spent devising a reopening plan and improving technology to offer an excellent academic experience for our students, many of whom are learning from home. Many of our families have experienced loss of employment and new financial hardships. Our enrollment fell from 187 to 154, resulting in a significant loss of income. New families who were excited about coming to Saint Matthias have opted to wait until next year, as most students in grades 1-8 are learning remotely. We have opened school for our Pre-K and Kindergarten children, which incurred unanticipated expenses to ensure additional safety measures. We are blessed with very dedicated and hardworking teachers and great families. We are working together to ensure that our school, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year, will weather this current storm and continue to provide an education steeped in the Gospel values and committed to forming saints and scholars, who will lead our church and society in the years to come.