CSA supports training of parish
business managers
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 12, 2006
Detroit Karen Roosen used to ply her skills as a certified public accountant in the business world, but now devotes her efforts to helping Catholic parishes keep their records straight and use their financial resources more effectively.
And through a course in parish business management at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, she is preparing to be of even more help to the parishes she works for.
Roosen will be among the first batch of students to complete the course a first-in-the-nation program to certify parish business managers developed by the Archdiocese of Detroit and made possible by support from funds raised by the annual Catholic Services Appeal.
A former corporate comptroller, Roosen says she left the business world for Church work five years ago, not only because she had ethical concerns about some of the things she had been asked to do at a private employer, but also because she liked the flexibility of the hours she would have as a Church bookkeeper. "I can work four days a week, instead of 60 hours a week," she says.
Roosen knew something of the alternative world of parish work, because her mother Janet Van Elslander is a semi-retired parish bookkeeper working part-time for St. Paul (Albanian) Parish in Rochester Hills and St. Justin Parish in Hazel Park.
Now, Roosen apportions her time among Divine Child Parish in Dearborn, St. Basil the Great Parish in Eastpointe, and two southwest Detroit parishes Our Lady Queen of Angels and St. Stephen/Mary, Mother of the Church.
She recently completed the seminary's bookkeeping topics course, designed to acquaint parish bookkeepers with some of the special issues involved in bookkeeping for non-profit organizations as well as specific requirements of the archdiocese; and is nearing completion of the parish business manager course.
The Archdiocese of Detroit is the first diocese in the country to offer such a training program for parish bookkeepers and business managers, and is seeking accreditation of the program from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explains Fran Ashe, director of Parish Support Services for the archdiocese. The Detroit program could become a model for dioceses throughout the country.
The business manager course seeks to take parish bookkeepers to a higher level, so they can become advisors to the pastor on financial matters and other aspects of parish operations, Ashe adds.
"The business manager has to be able to manage the business and administrative operations of a parish, and has to be a financial analyst to the pastor, assisting the pastor in understanding the financial status or the parish, where it is going, and what has to be done to keep it financially sustainable," she explains.
"And because it is a parish, the business manager has to do all this within the context of the parish mission and Christian stewardship," adds Ashe, a member of Prince of Peace Parish in West Bloomfield Township.
The course includes presentations by archdiocesan officials and consultants in areas such as stewardship, planned giving, building maintenance, human resources management and employment law, and insurance claims reduction.
"Certainly, the pastor is the ultimate decision-maker, but you're helping provide input, being another set of eyes and ears, and familiarity with different approaches," Roosen says.
Ashe points out that, when there were more priests assigned to parishes, it was more likely that one of them might have a talent for financial and administrative matters.
Now, however, with most parishes having only one priest or share one even if he has the talent and skills for such matters, attending to them would cut into time needed for his pastoral ministry.
That there is a need for training people to become parish business managers was evident from the response to the courses, she continues. "We held the first class to 30 participants, and had to turn 80 away that's 80 who had sent their money in; we actually had to turn about 100 away," she says.
The inclusion of maintenance and insurance claims issues stem from the archdiocese's experience of the value of scheduled maintenance programs, "because it's cheaper to keep something maintained than it is to fix it," says Ashe, who adds that the highest number of insurance claims also involve poor maintenance.
Roosen says she loves the work she does, and sees it as not just a job, but a form of ministry. "It's not just about money-saving, it's about effectiveness. Stewardship isn't just about protecting the money, it's about how you use resources, including the time, talent and staff available," she says.
And, at times, the job involves more traditional forms of ministry. "You might be the only one there to hand someone the box of Kleenex," Roosen says.
Actually, Ashe says the archdiocese envisions business managers becoming more knowledgeable about ministry, but not just in case they're the only person in the office when someone shows up to arrange for a funeral: "Our long-term vision for business managers is for them to also have degrees in pastoral ministry so they can have an even broader, longer-term view, so they can become even more of a right-hand person for the pastor."
The bookkeeper and business manager program is among the CSA-subsidized programs that seek to develop lay leadership to better serve the Church as the number of priests continues to decline.
CSA dollars also help to provide priests through funding of the archdiocesan Vocation Office and support for seminarians, as well as providing funds for Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
Last Sunday was the annual CSA Sunday, marking the kick-off of the annual CSA campaign in parishes throughout the archdiocese. Each parish is striving to meet is individual target. The overall CSA goal for 2006 is $17.06 million.
For more information about the parish bookkeeper and business manager certification classes, call Fran Ashe, at (313) 237-5903.
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