The parish of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has been a fixture of the Hastings community for 161 years. The church is part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and recently made information available to its members that the local church needs some help. According to a letter released on May 6th and printed in the church newsletter, the parish is facing financial obstacles and has called on the Trustees, Administrators and the members themselves, to determine how the congregation will address the future. Parishioners received the news from Fr. David Hennen, who represented several issues that have been echoed by other churches of all denominations. From aging membership to declining participation, the tradition of a church centered society, is changing everywhere. At least two opportunities have been presented to SEAS parishioners to give feedback and to ask questions of those guiding church decisions. Father Hennen, who came to the parish in 2014, revealed the basic facts in the one page letter, citing a “challenging financial situation” that includes a 100-150 thousand dollar deficit at the approach of the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30th. In addition, Hennen projects a 300,000 deficit which he said are due, in part, to decreased giving and increased costs, such as health care for those employeed by the church and school. Father Hennen was contacted, to provide more information or to respond to our questions of the possible timeline for decision making and when parents might know if students will be impacted in decisions regarding the school. The parochial vicar, Father TJ Mackenzie recently announced that he is leaving the school to take over a parish in Maplewood.
In a written statement to KDWA, Father Hennen stated the letter was the first part of a process to develop a plan for addressing, not only some immediate financial concerns, but also improving the spiritual and financial mission for the years ahead. He continued that nearly 400 people attended the 2 meetings where information was provided about the current situation that includes the realities of increased costs for health care, the cost of living, maintenance and utilities. The next step, according to Father Hennen, is to report the input and questions back to the Parish leadership for review. On the specific topic of the SEAS School, Father Hennen asserted that there has been no decisions made to close the parish school and that they do not anticipate a decision to do so.
