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Diocese of Jefferson City weathering financial storm caused by COVID-19


The Diocese of Jefferson City is facing reduced revenue streams as COVID-19 has kept people out of churches. (Noah Brown/KRCG 13){p}{/p}
The Diocese of Jefferson City is facing reduced revenue streams as COVID-19 has kept people out of churches. (Noah Brown/KRCG 13)

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When Gov. Mike Parson lifted the state-wide stay-at-home order May 4, churches and other religious institutions were among those allowed to resume operations.

As with other businesses, however, the Diocese of Jefferson City knew that reopening would not be the same as a return to normal.

"We’re doing okay, but we’re feeling the pinch," Bishop Shawn McKnight said. "It’s about a 25 to 30 percent reduction (in revenue). My worry is that the more the economy turns south and unemployment becomes more of a long-term issue, that’s going to affect everyone, including the churches."

The reduction in revenue stems mainly from a significant decrease in the number of people attending church and celebrating every week. The bishop has extended the dispensation of the duty of attending through the end of June, which means parishioners are not required to attend.

They are still encouraged to do so, however, and the Rev. Louis Nelen, pastor at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, said his church has seen a steady increase over the last couple of weeks.

"The first weekend (after reopening), people were cautious. The numbers were small," Nelen said. "This weekend, the numbers have gone up noticeably. Some of the families wanted to make sure it was safe ... so they checked it out, saw we were taking proper precautions and came this week."

The Office of the Bishop has ordered all churches in the diocese to require face masks for entry, enforce social distancing while in the church, remove hymnals and other shared items from pews and several other preventative measures to reduce the chance of spread.

Even though the diocese is doing what it can to make people feel safe enough to return, McKnight said some parishes are operating with below 50 percent of their normal revenue. On average, each church in the diocese is operating with 75 percent of their normal budget.

This isn't just a local trend, either. The Archdiocese of St. Louis had to close three of its schools because of a lack of funding due to coronavirus.

With more than 30,000 new unemployment claims in Missouri during the first week of May and long-term concerns about the economy, the bishop said he is worried for some of the schools in the diocese.

"Catholic school systems just make it on a shoestring (budget) to begin with," McKnight said. "I have a few schools that have been struggling even before the pandemic, and I am worried. As of today, plans are for all of our schools to open in the fall, but we’ll have to see."

Nelen said the diocese is doing everything it can to make sure its employees are taken care of.

"We’ve made it a priority that we’re going to take care of our faculty and our staff at the schools," he said, "to keep them paid, make sure they have their health insurance so that they don’t suffer."

With precautions in place and more people returning to church every week, McKnight said he's hopeful the diocese won't face too challenging of a financial recovery in the coming months. Still, he said it's going to be a long road back to any semblance of normalcy.

"I think we just have to be patient with one another," McKnight said. "We’re all so eager to get back, but we have to be prudent and we have to do what’s best for the common good as well as for ourselves."

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