May 20, 2011

Fiscal management conference to assist parish leaders and volunteers

By Sean Gallagher

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis is sponsoring a conference next month that will help parish staff members and other Catholics involved in stewardship and finance councils.

The 2011 Fiscal Management and Discipleship Conference will be held on June 9 at the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis.

After participant registration from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the conference will begin with a Mass celebrated at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral.

A keynote address will be given by Jeffrey Stumpf, archdiocesan chief financial officer. The rest of the conference will be made up of three series of workshops dealing with issues that range from human resources, grant opportunities, capital campaigns, planned giving, building and renovation projects, and state legislation affecting Catholic schools.

“We have a full agenda this year, and are excited about our offerings,” said Julie Shewmaker, archdiocesan controller, who is helping organize the conference. “The workshop sessions have so many options [that] parishes should plan to send a couple of folks to make sure they cover the relevant areas.”

Shewmaker said people ministering in a wide variety of areas at parishes will find the daylong gathering helpful.

“The conference is geared toward pastors, bookkeepers [and] business managers at the parishes plus volunteers from parish stewardship and finance committees,” she said. “We cover various areas that impact our parishes, like health care and retirement topics, risk management and insurance issues, education and school tuition, and expense topics.”

The registration fee for the conference is $30 per person and includes lunch. Those interested in participating in the conference must register by June 2.

(For more information or to register for the 2011 Fiscal Management and Discipleship Conference, log on to www.archindy.org/finance/fmdc.html, send an e-mail to Charlie Feeney at cfeeney@archindy.org or call 800-382-9836, ext. 3374, or 317-236-3374.) †

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