Notes from the Finance Committee Meeting

September 2023

The combined Finance Committee met on Tuesday, September 5.

The Finance Committee welcomed a new member: Susan Charrette. Susan is a member of the Family Mass Community. She is currently a Spanish instructor but has also served as the Operations Manager for the Civic Federation, a Research Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a professor at Brown University. Susan has a PhD in Economics.

The committee reviewed the 2022-2023 Profit and Loss Statements for St. Catherine-St. Lucy and for St. Giles. In the unification process, the two legacy parishes are still using their own set of QuickBooks (accounting software) while waiting on the archdiocese for a combined QuickBooks which would streamline the process. In the meantime, the majority of the accounting for both campuses passes through the QuickBooks at St. Giles.

Some of the highlights from the meeting:

  • the capital expenses at both campuses were reviewed with the recommendation that the Operations Director, Matt Brophy, break out the capital project expenditures for the last fiscal year for both campuses and also indicate the source of funds that paid for each project.
  • the Sunday collection report will also list the weekly budget goal and indicate any shortfall or overage. The weekly budgeted Sunday Offertory goal is $30,000. The parish has been running at an approximate deficit of $6,000 per week. The forecasted annual parish deficit based on weekly giving is $312,000 as well as a school operating deficit due to decreased enrollment.
  • it was recommended that Sunday Mass attendance be listed in the weekly bulletin. It will be listed per Mass. Also listed will be the total donations received for any of our Second Collections.

At the Finance Committee meeting on September 5, it was recommended that Operations Director Matt Brophy give a detailed listing of all capital projects and expenditures at both the St. Catherine – St. Lucy Campus and the St. Giles Campus. Below is the list of capital projects as well as some other projects at both sites from June 2023-Present. Each project is listed by campus name, project name, scope of the project, cost of the project and source of funds for the project. If you have any questions regarding these or any other projects on either campus, please contact Operations Director, Matt Brophy at mbrophy@archchicago.org or 708-383-3430 ext 102.

Capital Projects Update – Jun-Sep 2023 (PDF)

The next Finance Committee meeting will be November 7.

Any questions regarding finances please feel free to contact Matt Brophy (mbrophy@archchicago.org) or Carol Coleman (ccoleman@archchicago.org) at the parish offices.

Newly Formed Parish Finance Committee

The Parish Finance Committee assists the pastor in the administration of parish temporal matters. An active, well-formed finance committee is, therefore, a key element for promoting the financial health of the parish and supporting its mission.

Canon 537 introduces the Finance Committee as a mandated body having an advisory and consultative role with the pastor. It states:

“Each parish is to have a finance committee which is regulated by universal law as well as by norms issued by the diocesan bishop; in this council the Christian faithful, selected according to the same norms, aid the pastor in the administration of parish goods with due regard for the prescription of Canon 532.”

Every parish, therefore, is required to have a Finance Committee, both by adherence to the Code of Canon Law and by local norms issued by the diocesan bishop. To be effective, the Finance Committee should meet regularly with specific agendas and should have access to all relevant financial information and policies of the parish. These guidelines are designed to aid pastors and Finance Committee members in the effective functioning of the committee by supporting the pastor in his stewardship of parish resources while being accountable to the parish and diocesan bishop.

Fr. Carl formed a new parish Finance Committee which has now met two times. The first meeting consisted of introductions and discussion of the work of the Finance Committee. Most of the members have served on parish finance committees in years past. Two weeks ago, they met for a second time and the discussion focused on the combined parish budget of St. Catherine – St. Lucy and St. Giles along with the budget for St. Giles School. St. Catherine – St. Lucy School is operated by the Big Shoulders Fund, although Big Shoulders does not cover the total costs of school expenses. More information about the parish costs relative to the school will be forthcoming.

Members of the newly formed Parish Finance Committee and their legacy parishes are:

  • Carolyn Burke – St. Giles Parish
  • John Bruun – Family Mass Community
  • Sharon Bresnahan – St. Giles Parish
  • Daniel J Delaney – St. Giles Parish
  • Kevin Kell – St. Catherine – St. Lucy Parish
  • Stephen Legatzke – St. Catherine – St. Lucy Parish
  • John Milder – St. Giles Parish
  • Thomas Schouten – St. Catherine – St. Lucy Parish
  • William B. Sullivan – St. Catherine – St. Lucy Parish

Meet the members of our new Parish Finance Council

John G. Bruun – I am a life-long resident of Oak Park. I received First Communion and Confirmation at St. Catherine of Siena Church. My wife, Theresa, and I were married there in 1968. I graduated from St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa with a degree in Business Administration. We have been members of the Family Mass Community of St. Giles since 1973. For the past twenty-five years I have been a volunteer with the AARP TaxAide program helping seniors and low-income people file their income taxes. I have my own business, Bruun Tax and Bookkeeping Service, LLC. I have managed the finances of the Family Mass Community since 2002 and have served on the parish Finance Committee and the Facilities Committee.

Dan Delaney – Dan Delaney and his wife, Maureen, have lived in Oak Park for over 30 years; they have two daughters, Kiley and Caitlin, who are graduates of St. Giles School. Dan served on the Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Committee at St. Giles, serving as the chair of the Finance Committee for the last ten-plus years. Dan grew up in Elmhurst, where he attended Catholic grade school and high school. He is an attorney who works on commercial litigation matters at a large law firm.

Kevin Kell – Kevin and his wife Peggy have lived in Oak Park since July 1977. Both are retired now enjoying grandchildren and being active. Upon moving to Oak Park, they became members of the St. Catherine of Siena–St. Lucy Parish. Kevin’s involvement with the Church has been with the Pastoral Council, Facilities Committee, Finance Council, Eucharistic Minister, and a member of the Renew My Church Committee. He is looking forward to assisting in Building a New Reality.

Thomas A. Schouten – I was born and raised in Chicago in the far south side Roseland neighborhood. I married Susan Olsen at St. Catherine of Siena Church in 1975. St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Parish and Oak Park have been home for us ever since. We have three adult children and four grandchildren. At St. Catherine-St. Lucy, I have been and continue to be a Lector, Eucharistic Minister and Altar Server. I have also served on the Parish Council. For 32 years I worked for the Social Service Dept of the Circuit Court of Cook County as a Caseworker, Supervisor and Administrator. Following this I worked for five years as a self-employed handyman. I retired in 2008 and for the past 15 years have been a regular volunteer at the Oak Park River Forest/Beyond Hunger Food Pantry. I am looking forward to helping to build our vibrant, new parish community.

Judge William B. Sullivan – Bill Sullivan is a lifelong and fourth generation member of St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Parish. His great-grandparents co-founded the parish in the 1880’s. Bill lives in Oak Park with his wife, Cheryl, the Principal at Beye School in Oak Park, and his three children: Cali (second year law student at Columbia University in New York); Patrick (2023 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); and Megan (2023 graduate of Miami of Ohio University). Bill is a Circuit Court of Cook County Judge, having served in the Chancery Division for the past seven years. He was a long-time member of the St. Catherine-St. Lucy Finance Committee prior to the parish merger.

Sharon Bresnahan – My husband, Tim, and I joined St. Giles Parish when we moved to Galewood in 1986. We have two daughters who attended St. Giles School from 3-year-old Pre School through 8th grade. During that time, we both served on the St. Giles School Board. I have worked at the Parish since 1994 in a variety of roles. I was actively involved in our last two capital campaigns: The Shared Cup and Foundations of Faith helping to coordinate volunteer outreach, communications and accounting. Currently, I am responsible for Parishioner Accounts and the coordination of Parish Baptisms. I also serve as a Eucharistic Minister and Altar Server at weekend Mass. I enjoy the opportunity to meet and interact with so many of our wonderful parishioners.

Carolyn Burke – Carolyn Burke has served as Exron Capital’s Chief Financial Officer since 2019. Carolyn began her career as a Certified Public Accountant with KPMG in Chicago and spent her entire career working in the financial services industry. After KPMG, she spent three years at Van Kampen American Capital. In 1995, she joined Brinson Partners where she served as Secretary, Treasurer and Vice President the Brinson Funds. She then moved to the investment side of the business where she spent seven years as Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of the UBS Global Asset Management Global Fixed Income Team. Carolyn joined Mesirow Advanced Strategies in 2009 where she served as Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the $16B hedge fund-of-fund business.

Carolyn received a BBA with a concentration in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and her MBA with concentrations in finance and strategy from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She is an active volunteer and serves on the Boards and chairs the finance committee for three not-for-profits. Carolyn is an avid golfer but her greatest joy comes from spending time with her twin boys.

Stephen Legatzke – Steve is long-time parish member from the St. Catherine-St Lucy branch since 1992 and has served in a number of positions on that campus, including being a catechist and confirmation teacher, member of the parish pastoral council, altar server, usher, Praise Choir member, and co-chair of the To Teach Who Christ Is campaign. He also has served on various commissions and focus groups for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He and his wife, Andrea, have two daughters, Hannah and Ellen, each now out of the house working in St. Paul, Minnesota and Washington DC. Steve is an attorney, practicing tax law, for over 30 years. Like it or not, he is still a Notre Dame fan, where he obtained his undergraduate degree in government and finance, in the same year that Notre Dame won its last national championship in football. He is a recovering triathlete but still runs (if you can call it that) three times a week with a running group of Longfellow school dads for the last 15 years. He is excited to work on the parish’s finance committee to support the spiritual growth of the parish and make investments in each other and in future parish members.

John Milder – John Milder has been a Parishioner at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy and St. Giles Parish for 12 years. He and his wife, Laura, are active supporters of both the parish and school communities. John and Laura have three boys (two Sophomores at Fenwick and a 7th grader at St. Giles). He served on the St. Giles Finance Committee for ten years and has been on the St. Giles School Board for eight years.

John attended Loyola University of Chicago where he studied Economics and Political Science. Shortly after graduating from Loyola John served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, Africa for two and a half years. His career in Financial Services has included posts in Chicago, Boston, London, Seoul and San Diego. He is now a Financial Advisor at MLM Wealth Management, a Naperville-based wealth advisory firm.

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