A Plan with a Purpose for St. Mary's Church
As a faithful Catholic and active member of our parish family, you are no doubt aware of the cultural trends that are drawing people away from our faith, the Catholic Church, and St. Mary's parish. Fewer Catholics are attending Mass and joining parishes. This is especially noticeable among our young people. Over the last several years in the Diocese of Springfield, at our parish, and at churches across the country there has been a steady decline in Mass attendance, First Communions, and Confirmations.
Fortunately, St. Mary's in Longmeadow remains a strong and vibrant parish. Costs of building maintenance, utilities, energy, and staffing are ongoing. Should operating budgets decline, cuts in programming and maintenance will necessarily follow. We remain steadfast in our faith and commitment to our Parish mission, and hopeful that with the engagement of our parish family, St. Mary's will serve the faithful long into future as a center of worship. We need a plan.
A Plan with A Purpose
ln keeping with St. Mary's Parish mission we must:
- More purposefully reach out and welcome new parishioners as well as returning Catholics and those seeking our faith.
- Ensure a reliable financial endowment fund for St. Mary’s Parish for the years ahead. This will require having financial resources in reserve so that in lean times St. Mary's parish can provide religious education and meet the Sacramental needs of Catholic families.
Taking the Lead
Our St. Mary's Finance Council in consultation with the Diocese of Springfield is addressing these challenges. This is why we are asking you and other parishioners to consider including St. Mary's Parish in your estate plans. Recently a longtime member of our parish family passed away leaving the Parish a bequest of $20,000. Combined with other such bequests the funds are conservatively invested through the diocese in a legacy endowment account to support future needs of our parish that cannot be covered through the normal operating budget. Her legacy gift will have a lasting impact on St. Mary's parish.
Consider including St. Mary’s Parish in your Estate Plan.
Please give this request your prayerful thought. If you wish to do this, simply ask your attorney to update your will to include a bequest to St. Mary's Church in Longmeadow. It is a simple process. The suggested language is:
I give, devise, and bequeath to St. Mary's Church in Longmeadow the amount of (insert percentage, amount, or nature of the gift you intend) to be used for general parish ministry and/or parish capital needs at the discretion of the pastor and the parish's Finance Committee. The tax identification number for St, Mary’s Church at 519 Longmeadow Street, Longmeadow, MA 01106 is 04-2156920.
Thank you for considering this request.