LAST NIGHT THE COMMON COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT! 
Congratulations and thanks to our Director of Operations and Finance, Dean Weyer, for his work on this.  The next step is making sure the project details fit the city’s requirements.

As of February 1st, our Salvatorian Sunday collection totaled $3,957.  I thank all who so generously responded in supporting my community.  God bless.

Wauwatosa Catholic School hosted their virtual open house last week.  Families who attended met the staff and learned about all that the school has to offer including the International Baccalaureate Programme.  Please continue to promote our school whenever you can.

The Pastoral Council meets this evening.  I ask that you keep this intention in your prayers.

Have a good week and stay safe.

Don’t forget! Wauwatosa Catholic’s virtual open house is tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm.  Please join us and learn more about our wonderful school!  Click here to register. 

The bishop has issued a theological reflection to be used “for prayerful reflection” with the people of God in the diocese.  It reminds us of the importance of Sunday worship and of taking a day to rest and to be with family. (Some of you have mentioned to me that one positive of the lockdown has been more family time!)  There is also a “personal study and group reflection” guide accompanying it. 

​After consulting the Parish Leadership Team, I have referred these materials to the Formation and Evangelization Commission for study and recommendations, possibly for doing something in the fall when, hopefully, restrictions are in the past and we can gather again.  Please keep this process in your prayers.

The next update will be Wednesday, February 3rd. Have a good week and stay safe.

Sunday is the deadline to sign up for The 99 Experience.  I urge you take advantage of this opportunity to grow in your faith life and connect with other parishioners.  Please pray for its success.

Great news about the development project!  It was presented to the Wauwatosa Common Council last evening and no one from the public spoke in opposition.  As is normal, it was referred to the Community Affairs Committee for their meeting this coming Tuesday.  Additional public input will be accepted at that meeting and they will debate the merits of the proposal.  Options there include sending it back to the Common Council with an up/down recommendation or holding it to that committee’s next meeting to allow Cardinal Capital additional time to address any issues or concerns the committee may have.  The project has previously received the support of the City Staff (assuming normal contingencies are met) and of the city’s Plan Commission.  Please continue to pray for the success of this project.  I thank Dean Weyer for all his work on this.  Good job!

We pray for our new president today, that he may find a way to lead us to unity and care for the most vulnerable.

The next update will be Wednesday, January 27th. Have a good week.  Stay safe.

Things continue to go smoothly, thanks to all the ministers who contribute to our liturgies (live and virtual), those who continue their ministries and meetings by ZOOM, and those who financially support the community. May God bless you.

Please consider signing up for The 99 Experience, which will be held virtually later this month. More information on the program can be found at http://bit.ly/The99Experience.

The Formation Commission is meeting this evening by ZOOM and one item of discussion will be how to offer other faith formation opportunities to parishioners during this time. If you have any ideas, please share them with me.

The Liturgy Commission met last evening to discuss Lent and Holy Week services. The diocese has promised new guidelines for how to conduct services, but we have not yet received them, so most decisions were put off until the March 8th meeting. The timing for Holy Week and Easter services will be the same as last year.

The next update will be Wednesday, January 20th. Have a good week. Stay safe.

Wauwatosa Catholic School serves a diverse community of learners by teaching our students to live Christ-centered lives, to embrace Catholic values, and to excel academically, while developing leaders who have a passion to serve and create a better world.
 
Are you interested in registering a child at Wauwatosa Catholic School? 
 
A Virtual Open House is being held on Thursday, January 28th at 7:00 pm.  You will learn about the unique benefits of an International Baccalaureate education matched with Catholic values.
 
To register, call the school office at (414) 258-9977 or visit www.wauwatosacatholic.org/about/contact-us.cfm.

Join us for Dick's 24th Blood Drive, sponsored by Wauwatosa Catholic School!  The need is greater than ever due to Covid-19, but it is still safe to donate.  Versiti will be taking all necessary precautions and they are asking all donors to wear a mask (or one will be provided). 
 
Please make an appointment to minimize waiting time by calling 877-232-4376 or Mary Serrano at 414-915-4147, or going online to https://donate.wisconsin.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/197840.

Card Sunday will be November 29th.

Click the image below for more information.

Gift Sunday is on December 5th & 6th.  Click on the links below for more information and to place an order for gift cards.

The private funeral Mass for Sr. Carol Grandlich, SSSF will be held at 11:00 am today. To watch the funeral live visit https://video.ibm.com/channel/school-sisters-of-st-francis.
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Please keep Sr. Carol, her fellow religious sisters and her family in your prayers.

Leaf Raking
Do you, a neighbor or a family member need help raking this fall? We can help! On Sunday, October 25th a group of our middle school and high school students are willing to get all those leaves out of your yard! Houses must be within reasonable distance of our three parishes. Contact Sarah Daszczuk in our youth ministry office for more details at (414) 258-2604 or daszczuks@christkingparish.org.

Wellness Calls to Seniors
Eras Senior Network, Inc. is looking for more volunteers to make wellness calls to older adults. Volunteers make weekly calls to clients to make sure they have enough food, medications, and to keep them connected. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Marisa Strothenke at (262) 522-2402 or marsa.stothenke@eras.org.

Fall Yard Clean Ups
Teams of volunteers will be raking leaves and cleaning yards for clients of Eras Senior Network on Saturday, November 7th. To find out more about this and our various volunteer opportunities, please call (262) 522-2402 or e-mail info@eras.org. For those age 60 and over who are interested in becoming an Eras client and receive this service, please call (414) 488-6500.

St. Vincent de Paul
he St. Vincent de Paul meal program needs your help as they continue to serve to-go meals at their south side location. Please drop off donations at the parish office during normal office hours. Donation requests: toilet paper juice boxes fresh fruit individually wrapped desserts or prepackaged desserts If you would like to volunteer to help at the meal site preparing to-go meals, please contact Jen Sumiec at (262) 510-6683 or jensumiec@gmail.com, or sign up here: www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b49aca82ca3f85-cross.

Knitters Needed
La Causa Crisis Nursery & Respite Center in Milwaukee is in need of hats, mittens and scarves again this year. We will be collecting them in early December. Keep an eye out in the November issue of the newsletter, website, and future bulletins for more information. 

The Combined Collections: Catholic Global Ministries will be held October 10-11, 2020, supporting five causes important to Catholics throughout the country:

• Catholic Relief Services supports charitable organizations that provide international relief and promote solidarity efforts.
• Catholic Home Missions Appeal supports missions in Appalachia and the Deep South, the Southwest, the mountain west, along with dioceses of the Caribbean and the Pacific.
• Peter’s Pence assists Pope Francis in maintaining the administration of 700 million Catholics and the special needs in Third World countries.
• World Mission Sunday funds missionary groups and activity around the world, including initiatives in our own archdiocese.
• The Church in Central and Eastern Europe collection funds the restoration and renewal of the Church in areas suffering from persecution, religious discrimination, or extreme poverty.

This collection offers a wonderful opportunity to support hands-on efforts to help people in need. Please give generously … your gift does make a difference!

To donate online visit www.archmil.org/giving/Combined-Collections.htm.

On September 26th & 27th we will have our annual collection for our sister parish, Santa Marίa, in Guatemala.
 
Your donations are appreciated and help them buy material for construction and renovations, which they do themselves.
 
Envelopes will be placed at the back of church and in the bulletins the weekend of the 19th and 20th. 
 
Please either return the envelope it to the collection basket or drop it off or mail it to the parish office.  Donations can also be made online at https://bit.ly/StPiusXDonations.
 
Thank you for your generosity!

Below is the summarized financial  statement for our fiscal year which ended June 30th.  I’d direct your attention to columns 3 & 4 (inside the boxes) for a comparison of the year’s planned and actual values.  The rightmost column reflects the plan for this new year (July 2020 to June 2021). 
 
For the year, our net operating surplus exceeded the plan/budget by $31,650.  We were able to pay all our bills on time, continue our debt payments and for the first time in some years, boost our cash  reserves. 
 
While there were numerous line item variances, the report reflects that most income and expense  categories experienced minor variances to the  budget/plan.  I would highlight the following: 
 

• Even considering the COVID crisis, parishioner giving was just shy of the plan! 
  
• We received $26,000 in unplanned donations from a couple non-parishioner Pius supporters. 
  
• The Pandemic Assistance monies were used to cover shortfalls in offertory contributions and fundraising (SCRIP) and to ensure that our staff could be retained and paid during this crisis. 
  
• Facility rental income and facility use charges (credits to B&G costs) increased substantially as Kingdom Prep is now using both floors of the school. For 2020 we were also able to continue other 3rd party gym rentals ($70,000).  However, going forward, these outside gym   rentals will be minimal as the school’s needs/use increases. 
  
• In accordance with the corporate relationship between Pius, Wauwatosa Catholic School and St. Bernard, subsidy and facility use charges were renegotiated for 2021-2023. 
  
• An increased Pastoral/Liturgy cost over recent years is due primarily to our phased in approach of fully reimbursing the Salvatorian Order for the cost of having a full time priest/pastor. 
  
• One of the elements of the increased Admin/ Stewardship spending is our investment in the creation of a new full time staff position (Office Manager/Communications Coordinator). 
  
• In the B&G Maintenance/Supplies/Services category, we took advantage of the increased rental income the past two years to invest back into our buildings: we contributed toward some of the improvements for Kingdom Prep and    addressed some long deferred maintenance to our multiple furnaces, boiler, air conditioner and air handlers.  This will pay dividends down the road as these pieces of equipment now operate more efficiently.   

 
Before we get too comfortable with what for us is a nice cash reserve, I need to share that looking       forward our next significant expenditure/investment will be the roofs.  While they are maintained annually and are patched when leaks occur, both the convent and school roofs need to be replaced in the not too distant future at a likely cost of $100K - $200K .  
 
On another positive note, along with the normal  expenditures as reflected in the financial statement, there were additional outlays from restricted funds that are not reflected in the statement: $4,000 was collected via the Angel Fund envelopes and was passed on to our school, Wauwatosa Catholic, for tuition assistance.  We collected and sent $7,680 to our Sister Parish; $45,100 was collected for the  Living Waters Campaign (a record!) and $23,630 was spent for the security system (cameras and an  electronic door lock system) from the FB&G  Improvements Fund (take pride in Pius brown  envelopes). 
 
A huge THANK YOU to all who contribute their time, talents and financial resources to the operation of St. Pius X Parish Community and all our ministries! 
 
- Dean Weyer, Director of Operations & Finance 
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The results from the Disciple Maker Index Survey are in!
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Click on the link below to view the results, and feedback from the Parish Leadership Team and Fr. Paul.