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February 24, 2022 madisoncatholicherald.org
WE SHALL OPEN THE WAY FOR THE GOSPEL
From the Diocese of Madison the Office of Parish Administrative Services
T
he Office of Parish Ad- ministrative Services serves as the "back-of- fice operations" for parishes in the Diocese of Madison. Its mission is to assist parishes with the administra- tive aspects of parish life. Consistent with the Go Make Disciples plan, the Of- fice of Parish Administrative Services provides compre- hensive accounting, human resource, and capital project management services in order to further the ability of parishes to focus on their pastoral mission. A critical part of our mis- sion is to help parish staff un- derstand and navigate the regulatory and compliance is- sues associated with the ac- counting, payroll, and human resource aspects of their work. It can be difficult for the pastor to find someone who has experience in these mat- ters, so he relies on us in the Office of Parish Administra- tive Services to fill in the gaps. Our assistance can help parishes avoid the hazards in compliance matters, which can save the parish much frustration and money. The following testimony is from a member of the finance council at one of the rural parishes we serve: Russell came to the rec- tory last Friday to assist us with accounting and Quick- Books issues that we have been having. We want to let you know what a terrific job Russell did working with us to ad- dress those issues. He listened carefully to our concerns and offered good suggestions. Furthermore, his knowl- edge of QuickBooks was a big help in correcting a num- ber of items associated with our financial statements. After meeting and work- ing with Russell, we feel very comfortable reaching out to him again should we need his expertise. Russell, from our perspec- tive, is a very valuable dioce- san resource. Another testimonial: John has been incredibly helpful to the parish and me, personally, in better under- standing the non-profit ac- counting world versus my many years in the for-profit world! He is definitely an asset to the diocese and I am sure many of the small parishes within the diocese. I suspect you sometimes "cringed" when you saw an email showing up with my name, but you have always been so professional and helpful even when we viewed things a little differently. Anna has also been a delight to work with. A testimonial from a parish business manager: Thank you all for the work you do to make our parishes run smoothly and more effi- ciently! Contributions to the An- nual Catholic Appeal help support the Office of Parish Administrative Services, which in turn provides sup- port to your parish. This support can give com- fort to your pastor knowing the administrative aspects of his parish are being properly handled, freeing him up to focus on the pastoral care of his flock. Proper management of the Church's temporal goods can lead to a great good in ac- complishing the Great Com- mission to "Go and make disciples."
Supporting parishes in the diocese
Donate online at madison diocese.org/ch
BY DAMIAN LENSHEK
Diocese of Madison Director of Cemeteries
H
ow easy is it to buy a grave at your parish? When you look in the bulletin, is the sexton's contact information there? What about the website? Communications best practices are just one of the topics covered in the annual Parish Cemetery Seminar of- fered by the Department of Cemeteries of the Diocese of Madison, made possible by your contributions to the An- nual Catholic Appeal. Each September, pastors, sextons, business managers, and anyone else involved in the operation and manage- ment of parish cemeteries are invited to attend an after- noon seminar held at the diocesan offices. Many types of issues are addressed, from theological and legal to financial and land management. Theological topics covered include the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, why the Catholic Church has cemeteries, why St. Anthony the Great is the patron saint of gravediggers, the impor- tance of praying for the dead, and the Church's teaching on green burial, cremation, and other less-common ways of disposing of human remains. Civil cemetery law is mostly found in the state statutes, although there are sometimes local ordinances that can impact burial prac- tice. So the seminar reviews key points of Wisconsin cemetery law, such as the various categories of ceme- teries - Catholic cemeteries are classed as religious ceme- teries, which is made clear by their being operated by the parish and not separately in- corporated. Sometimes the diocese has discovered that a parish cemetery has been separately incorporated, often for now- obscure reasons, and helps regularize those situations. The importance of pre- serving the religious classifi- cation is emphasized by reviewing the many regula- tory exemptions enjoyed by religious cemeteries. Some are surprised to learn that the state of Wis- consin does not require vaults or embalming - those decisions are made by the cemetery authority. Financial issues covered include insurance concerns, grave pricing, multi-cemetery parishes, and perpetual care fund management. Deterioration of tall monu- ments is the number one in- surance concern associated with cemeteries, and options for addressing dangerous sit- uations are discussed. Deterioration of roads is a close second among insur- ance concerns, given the in- creased risk of injuries due to falling. Road maintenance is a part of the cost of running a cemetery and must be bud- geted. Cemetery prices need to account for all the perpetual care that cemeteries need and should be reviewed an- nually for adequacy. Options for increasing the total possible burials per acre - thereby extending the life of a cemetery - are dis- cussed. When a parish has more than one cemetery, there are opportunities to streamline operations and finances, but there are also certain chal- lenges. Two special concerns with perpetual care funds are that they: (1) be invested in a way that reflects Catholic values, and (2) offer a return greater than the rate of inflation. Land management issues include tree maintenance, re- sponsibility for grave marker maintenance and damage, and the approval process for new grave markers. The discussion of how to handle the delicate situation presented by questionable grave marker design is often lively. Parishes of the Diocese of Madison operate 125 ceme- teries. Your ACA pledge makes it possible for the diocese to offer this annual educational opportunity to parishes. Video recordings of past parish cemetery seminars are available at www.madisondiocese.org/ parish-cemeteries The next parish cemetery seminar is planned for Tues- day, Sept. 13. All who have responsibility for a parish cemetery in the Diocese of Madison are wel- come. More details will be avail- able at the parish cemetery website at www.madisondiocese.org/ parish-cemeteries
Annual parish cemetery seminar made possible by the ACA
a n n f When you make a gift t to the Ann nu ual Cat tholic Appeal (ACA),
you are enabling ministries throughout the Diocese of Madison to help those in need. With your gift, you are allowing many to know, love, and serve the Lord. Above are just a few ways you are helping our sisters and brothers in Christ.
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