St. Andrew by the Bay Catholic Community

Parish Mission Statement

Formed by God’s Word,

Called to be disciples of Jesus Christ,

Empowered by the Holy Spirit,

The parish community of St. Andrew by the Bay

Seeks to be

A Joyful Sign of God’s Reign

As a baptized community of faith

In the Roman Catholic Tradition

We celebrate and witness to God’s Presence through:

Overview of St. Andrew by the Bay

St. Andrew by the Bay is a wonderful parish of great cultural diversity, with many lively and dedicated ministries. Our parishioners and ministries are involved beyond our parish boundaries and welcome all, no matter age, ethnicity or spirituality. We thank everyone who has contributed to our success and ask those who partake in our facilities, programs, and missions, to continue to help us fund and improve our ministries and community involvement.

We are a strong, active and growing Catholic community of over 1219 families. A large portion of the money received through generous donations helps fund our youth, adult, and local community efforts as well as future projects. This Annual Report for the year ending June 30, 2006 provides a summary of what we accomplished during our last fiscal year.

At the end of the fiscal year 2006, Fr. Gosnell remains our pastor with Deacon Jim Monaghan as our pastoral associate and a permanent member of St. Andrew by the Bay staff. There is one other part-time deacon to assist Father Gosnell with all facets of the parish ministry, Deacon Larry Wilson. Sr. Mary Teresa and Ronnie Wiedenhammer continue to serve as pastoral ministers and Dr. Kathleen Dejardin is our new Director of Liturgy and Music for our Parish.

There are many, many contributions that are made by our parishioners that draw little or no moneys from the Parish revenues. These include hundreds of food donations by the St. Ambrose Casserole Project, food donations by individual parishioners to the Lighthouse Shelter, thousands of dollars in gifts and donations through the Tree of Compassion, hundreds of labor hours donated to Habitat for Humanity, hundreds of services to Chores and More, and many others both large and small. St. Andrew by the Bay parishioners donate their time and talents in addition to sharing their food with the less privileged with little or no monies drawn from Parish revenues. Their contributions increase our Outreach to the poor and disadvantaged by more than 80%.

We provide Worship and Prayer to the members of St. Andrew by the Bay community through the efforts of the Liturgy Committee. The Liturgy Committee plans and prepares each week, for the Sunday Liturgy, as well as the Christmas season, Lent and Easter.

• During the week, there are three masses and two morning communion services offered. During the weekend, there are four masses (reduced to three during the summer months), including the 5 PM Saturday evening mass, that fulfill the weekly Sunday mass obligation. The average attendance on a weekend is over 1130 individuals.

• At each of these celebrations, the parish enjoys the efforts of volunteers who provide music, lectors who read the scripture, altar servers, and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.

• There are approximately 170 lay ministers including Health Care Ministers, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, and Bereavement Counselors.

The Christian Formation Committee consists of the Parish Library, Sponsor Couples, RCIA/RCIC, Disciples in Mission , PREP, Baptism Preparation, and Adult Faith Formation. This Committee plans for and responds to the spiritual needs of our Parish and continues to learn and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• The Right of Christian Initiation of Adults and Children (RCIA and RCIC) had 3 adults and 3 children in the program this past year. They were formally welcomed into the faith at the Easter Vigil Celebration.
• There were 68 infant Baptisms during the year.
• 78 children received their First Eucharist this year.
• 66 young people were confirmed
• Our 11 trained Sponsor Couples provided marriage preparation for 11 engaged couples this year. They also recruited two new sponsor couples for the program and hosted a training session for sponsor couples in February 2005.
• Vacation Bible School enrolled 54 students ages 4 to 10 for a fun packed week this summer. A total of 31 adults and youths volunteered many hours to provide a great experience for the students. There were Bible stories, crafts, music, and church time. The students learned about people in the Bible and met new friends.
• The Christian Formation Committee sponsored a Ministry Fair.
• The Parish Religious Education Program (PREP) enrolled 644 students in the preschool through grade 12 programs. There were 86 volunteer teachers and aides.
• Our Parish preschool continues to serve well the needs of young children. Classes were provided by 13 teachers and aides for 87 three, four, and five year olds.
• There was a “Mom’s Morning Out” during which care is provided for two to three year olds. The day includes playground time, stories, free play, and a snack.
• The Adult Faith Formation Program provided multiple learning opportunities with great speakers as well as our own clergy and parish members. Their offerings included Mary of Magdala by Andrea Johnson and Jo Ann Valaske, and the Mass: Its Meaning and Its Symbols by Fr. Gosnell. This year our Parish Mission featured Fr. Joe Muth.
• The Adult Faith Formation Program also purchased and distributed 400 booklets titled “A Year of Sundays,” prepared and provided 100 Advent Family Booklets per week, 100 Lenten Family Booklets per week, in the Potter’s Hand Seminar, and Jesus, an Historical Portrait, by Daniel Harrington..
• Jo Ann Valaske displayed her 16+ nativity scenes from around the world for everyone to enjoy.

The Health Care Ministry has 21 ministers, 15 of whom participate on a regular basis visiting shut-ins in their own homes, offering them companionship and comfort, routine blood pressure measurements, and bringing them the Eucharist. The Health Care Ministers also visit patients in the Future Care, Annapolitan Convalescent Center, Anne Arundel Hospital, and Skyway Manor Facilities offering them companionship and comfort and bringing them the Eucharist.

Based on current estimates it is imperative that we meet or exceed our current budgeted collection of $60,000 per year in order to fund future capital replacement projects as they are needed. Therefore, please continue to give generously to our Building and Maintenance Fund collection (blue envelope) on the second week of every month.

Thank you for your support of the Building and Maintenance Fund to date. Your continued support will help ensure that the facilities and property of St. Andrew by the Bay will continue to operate and meet our needs now and in the future.

St. Ambrose Casserole Committee (103 parishioner participants) provided approximately 30 - 40 casseroles per month to feed the hungry through meals provided at the St. Ambrose Family Outreach Center in the Park Heights community of Baltimore City . Each casserole typically provides eight to ten meals. Sometimes hamburgers and hot dogs are prepared instead of a casserole. In addition, our parishioners bake and donate cakes, pies, and other desserts. Parishioners are free to choose a specified recipe for either a meat entrée or a dessert (e.g. pie or cake, etc.) to prepare and donate. These very generous donations of food from our parishioners, although not included in the stewardship statistics specified below, increased our outreach to the poor and disadvantaged by 20%.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society received $13,173 in contributions mainly from the Poor Box, Lenten Fish Dinners, and private donations. $2600 of this amount was used to help 22 Clients with Eviction Assistance, $7,362 to help 71 Clients with Utility Assistance, $775 to help 31 Clients with Food Assistance, and $2,436 to help 34 Clients with Other Financial Assistance. The St. Vincent de Paul Society members also conducted 188 visits, 54 of them were Home Visits, 21 Prison Visits, 28 Hospital Visits, 57 Nursing Home Visits, and 28 Mentorings.

The Respect Life Committee strives to create and sustain respect for human life from conception through natural death. The Committee participates in every effort available to educate members of our Parish and across the U.S. The Committee participates in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Respect Life Month Program in October to educate on life issues; makes donations of books, tapes and videos to our Parish Library; prepares the weekly Respect Life Corner article and inserts educational materials in the Parish Bulletin; and provides educational materials in the Narthex for women who are in a crisis pregnancy or in need of post-abortion counseling.

The Respect Life Committee assists in influencing public policy directed toward establishing a structure of justice providing legal protection for human life at every state of its existence and in every circumstance. The Committee participates in: the Annual March for Life in Washington D.C. to stand in solidarity with others across the nation to urge our legislators to reverse Roe v Wade which legalized the killing of innocent unborn children; encouraging parishioners to participate in the Maryland Catholic Conference’s Legislative Action Alert through their web site in order to promptly contact legislators on bills pertaining to the sanctity of life; and the Maryland Catholic Conference Lobby Night.

The Respect Life Committee supports needy mothers, fathers and their babies through its finances, fundraisers, counseling, etc. More specifically the Committee has supported:

Gabriel Project: Counseled, educated and prayed for several mothers in crisis pregnancies who were considering abortion, and through our intercession, these moms choose life for their babies. Donated to the GP through our Respect Life budget. Provided clothes, baby furniture.

Birthright & Mary’s Center: Donated to Mary’s Center from our Respect Life budget and to Birthright through our Baby Bottle Boomerang and provided material support through our October Baby Shower and the Christmas Tree of Compassion.

Mother’s Day: Held our annual Mother’s Day Rose Sale.

Project Rachel: Donated moneys to help women in need of post-abortion counseling.

The Respect Life Committee likewise promotes prayer through its: monthly Rosary for Life & World Peace; annual Prayer Service on the Feast of the Holy Innocents for anyone who has lost a child through stillbirth, miscarriage, abortion, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), illness, or accident; and Spiritual Adoption Program.

The Youth Ministry of St. Andrew by the Bay membership has increased as has their leadership, service and faith formation. We have had an active Youth Council, consisting of 19 high school students who meet monthly. These youth were empowered with the leadership to plan and run all middle and high school social/service events, including the monthly middle school drop-ins and high school chill-outs.

Two of our youth, Mike Muth and Pat Terranova represented us on the Archdiocesan level. These young men took on leadership roles in planning Archdiocesan events including a state conference in Atlanta that 13 of our Youth Council members attended. The Youth Council also published a quarterly newsletter (L.I.F.T.) to share the outcome of all events and advertise upcoming events. Four of our youth, Britani Fox, Lyz Fox, Rachel Franceschini, and Max Weinecke became peer ministers who lead the Middle School summer services projects. Two of our youth, Theresa Rebecca Anderson and Brent Tomchik received the Archdiocesan Eagle of the Cross Award for their leadership services.

Our youth devoted many hours of service in their commitment to be disciples of Christ. Middle school students prepared 100 lunches for the Lighthouse Shelter and visited the Annapolitan Convalescent Center eight times, hosting bingos for the residents. At Christmas, they made stockings for all the people at the Homeless Shelter. In the summer, they had a week where each morning they provided service to the Annapolitan Convalescent Center , the Sunrise and Moveable Feast.

Our High School students prepared 3,600 lunches for the Happy Helpers and received an award from Gov. Ehrlich for this service. They also served at parish functions such as the Tree of Compassion, Breakfast with Santa, My Brothers Pantry, and the Winter Homeless Shelter.

In the summer, 47 of these youth spent a week at Catholic Heart Work Camp serving the needy in Pittsburgh, PA. To raise the $22,835 that Work Camp cost, the youth held the following events and raised the respective funds: Puppy Love Cafe, $2,100; Basket Bingo, $9,000; Golf Tournament, $6,125; Registration fees $7,050 and Donations $700.

We continued the work of faith formation, with 230 youth enrolled in the weekly middle and high school prep classes and 66 youth being confirmed. Our youth had the opportunities to participate in retreats, prayer services and monthly youth liturgies. Our youth leaders took active parts in the ministry roles of the liturgy, youth Stations of the Cross, Holy Week services, and the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage.

The Social Committee, during the past fiscal year, hosted the Oktoberfest, attended by 80 people, the Shrimp Feast, attended by 125 people, and the second Parish Seder Dinner, attended by 100 people. The Committee donated a portion of the proceeds from each of these events to the Youth Ministry.

The Committee also prepared and served the Lenten Fish Dinners on five Fridays during Lent, each of them attended by 200 to 225 people. The Committee donated the $5,000 proceeds to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The Social Committee also assisted in hosting the Covenant Mass Reception, a Youth Work Camp fundraiser (the Puppy Love Café), the annual Parish Picnic, and the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. The Social Committee purchased and donated some much needed equipment for the Parish kitchen including new coffee pots and trays for the warmer. The balance was donated to PREP and towards the purchase of a new organ.

In this past fiscal year, the J&P Committee concentrated its efforts on fostering the Sister Parish relationships with the Transfiguration Catholic Community (TCC) of Baltimore and San Francisco de Asis in El Salvador , various Catholic Social Justice issues, other Justice and Peace topics and issues, and the Christmas Tree of Compassion.

In support of our Sister Parish of San Francisco de Asis (SFdA), the J&P Committee invited and funded, with the assistance of St. Peter’s Parish in Kansas City (also a Sister Parish to SFdA), a visit by two of our Sister Parish’s parishioners to foster a better understanding of their plight in El Salvador and to join with them in solidarity, to share religious experiences with them, and to join us in our 25^th Anniversary celebration. The J&P Committee likewise sent a delegate, Helen Maher, to our Sister Parish in El Salvador to witness their plight first-hand, to exchange ideas and experiences, and to join them in their 50^th Anniversary celebration. The J&P Committee also collected a free will offering for SFdA relief from Hurricane Stan damages.

In support of the TCC Sister Parish relationship, the J&P Committee, in conjunction with the Social Committee, planned and coordinated our 25^th Anniversary Parish Picnic including the set-up, cooking, food serving, games, and clean-up. St. Andrew’s parishioners and TCC parishioners enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at Sandy Point State Park . Some of our parishioners likewise attended TCC’s Parish Picnic in September 2005, Cultural Heritage Festival in February 2006, and Good Friday Stations of the Cross in April 2006.

In October 2005, TCC joined us for a Sister Parish Covenant Celebration Mass followed by a social gathering afterwards. In February 2006, some of our parishioners joined TCC for their Covenant Celebration Mass.

St. Andrew by the Bay provides $6,000 per year to each Sister Parish to assist them with their financial difficulties.

The J&P Committee continued to provide, often at the personal expense of some Committee members, updates to the Social Gospel Kiosk, in the Narthex, with messages pertinent to the Social Gospel. In addition, the Committee completed a 7-part series on the Catholic Church’s teachings on Social Justice. This consisted of reading and discussing Catholic Social Teaching documents and raising awareness on issues of Human Dignity, the Preferential Option for the Poor, Solidarity, (inherent human) Rights and Responsibilities, Dignity of the Worker, Promoting Peace, and Care of God’s Creation (environmental responsibilities). The Committee is also investigating the feasibility and desirability of hosting a weekly Latino Mass and identifying the required logistics.

The J&P Committee also hosted a Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Sponsorship Sunday resulting in 115 children and 5 adults being sponsored by our parishioners through a monthly $30 donation per sponsored child or adult.

The J&P Committee again coordinated the Tree of Compassion efforts to provide 776 individual gifts and gifts to organizations for further distribution, food baskets to 27 families, 39 “Goody” baskets to the YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter, 158 gift certificates ($1,047) to the Winter Relief Homeless Shelter guests (98 Fast Food Gift Certificates, 28 Movie Passes, 32 Department Store Gift Cards), and $7,516 in donations to various organizations. These very generous gifts and donations from our parishioners, although not included in the stewardship statistics below, increased our outreach to the poor and disadvantaged by 40%.

This is an all-volunteer, non-profit, ecumenical organization supported primarily by nine congregations on the Broadneck Peninsula . Our Parish donates moneys and food items on a regular basis. In an average month, My Brother’s Pantry distributes more than 2800 items including vegetables, beans, soup, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, spaghetti sauce, meat, tuna fish, cereal, muffin/bread mix, fruit and other items to approximately 110 families. I addition, during the Christmas Season, they provide an additional holiday dinner basket to 39 families.

SPAN is sponsored by 14 local area Churches, including regular donations by our Parish, and provides assistance to those people in our community who are facing a crisis situation. SPAN provides financial assistance to those unable to cope with court ordered evictions, utility turn-off notices, and emergency medical or prescription needs. In addition SPAN provides food from its food pantry, referral services, and budget counseling.

This is a support service for the Broadneck Community staffed by volunteers from eight congregations of Broadneck Peninsula Churches. Twelve volunteers staffed the office at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church for a total of 173 days, 3 hours per day. Thirty six volunteers provided over 220 services (primarily transportation to medical providers or for shopping), mostly at their own expense, to approximately 25 clients. Approximately 40% of the volunteers are from St. Andrew by the Bay.

St. Andrew by the Bay parishioners volunteered to assist Habitat for Humanity (HTH) on three separate construction projects, providing a total of 228 hours by a total of 26 parishioners who sanded, painted, did rough carpentry (cutting lumber, nailing, etc.) Some HTH volunteers have the basic skills, others are inexperienced. For HTH volunteers, it is a great opportunity for some to learn basic skills and for others to sharpen their skills working side-by-side with expert HTH Site Managers and Project Leads.

From a financial perspective, we continue to steward the gifts that God has given us. Envelopes continue to provide the highest percentage of our income. As indicated in Table 1, in the past fiscal year, the parish income (revenues) exceeded $1 million.

Table 1. Parish Revenues

Figure 1. Parish Revenues – As a Percentage of Total Revenues

Approximately 67% of all of the Parish’s revenues was from Sunday collections (Envelopes and Loose Offertory), Holy Day collections, and Electronic Giving. Another 3% of the revenues was from PREP tuition. The Preschool Revenues are separately accounted and self-supporting of the Parish Preschool and Mothers’ Morning Out Programs. The Miscellaneous Revenues include income from Parish Hall rentals, sacramental fees, Poor Box, individual donations, Lenten envelopes, bulletin ads, etc. Diocesan Collections and Special Collections are pass-throughs i.e. all of the revenues from those collections are paid out to the diocese and to the organizations for which the collection was made.

The Building and Major Maintenance income was derived from the monthly second collection for major repairs and capital equipment replacements. In some years, the revenues exceed the expenses. In other years, expenses exceed revenues. However, a separate set-aside account has been established, based on major maintenance and capital equipment replacement forecasts, and is being maintained to ensure that funds are available to offset those expenses as they occur.

Table 2. Parish Expenses

Figure 2. Parish Expenses – As a Percentage of Total Expenses

In the past fiscal year, the Parish expenses, identified in Table 2 and Figure 2, exceeded $1 million. By far the greatest Parish expense (30%) is for personnel. These costs include the Parish office personnel, the clergy (pastor, deacons, and weekend assistants), the Director of Religious Education, the Music Minister, the Maintenance Supervisor, the Sacristans, etc. PREP salaries, however, are included in the PREP portion of the Program expenses. The details of the Program expenses are provided in Table 3 and Figure 3.

The Properties expenses were primarily the church and parish center utilities, cleaning services, routine maintenance services, grounds maintenance, snow removal, property insurance, and rectory expenses. The Extraordinary Repairs and Maintenance expenses were held to a minimum this year in anticipation of the pending renovations and roof repair requirements.

The Parish is required to contribute a portion of its revenues (an archdiocesan tax) to the archdiocese to offset archdiocesan expenses. The relationship (independent set-asides and self-supporting nature) of revenues and expenses for the Preschool and Extraordinary Repairs and Maintenance were explained above.

Table 3. Individual Parish Program Expenses

The primary Parish Program expenses (25.3% of the total expenses) were for PREP (11.7%), Outreach (2.7%), Liturgy (2.4%), and several others ranging from 0.2% to 1.9%.

Almost 51% of the Outreach expenses was for Justice and Peace initiatives, primarily for Sister Parish initiatives. Almost 24% of the Outreach expenses was for Respect Life activities. Approximately 12% and 7% were for the Severna Park Assistance Network (SPAN) for aid to local poor and needy families and, in fulfillment of our covenant with them, a grant donation to Habitat for Humanity respectively.

Table 4. Parish Surplus – Excess Revenues Over Expenses

The $13,012 surplus was transferred to the Reserve Account that the Archdiocese requires that each parish maintains for emergencies. St. Andrew by the Bay’s Reserve Account remains well below the archdiocesan required level. However, the Parish Council, Committee Chairs, and the Administrative Committee continue to strive to pare expenses to achieve compliance.

It is important for all parishioners to see the great work that St. Andrew by the Bay is doing. It is through responsible stewardship that the Administration Committee is able to provide you with this Annual Report. It is our goal to inform you of how your contributions are expended.

As St. Andrew by the Bay continues to grow, these activities and other activities that are formed to fulfill the mission to help us continue to be a joyful sign of God’s reign will require your time and talent as well as your generous donations. The cost of funding general upkeep as well as funding projects continues to increase each year.

By your ongoing, and even increased support, our Parish can continue to develop into the best community we can be, with the grace of God and the intercession of St. Andrew.

We need each person in the parish to contribute what they can of their time, talent, and generous donations to help us fund our next fiscal year as well as the years to come.

Please contact the Parish office at 410-974-4366 or via e:mail at SABBanna@archbalt.org with any ideas or

suggestions for next year’s report or to volunteer your time and talents.