As the COVID-19 pandemic escalated back in March, the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) of Minnesota established the Minnesota Catholic Relief Fund (MCRF) to provide emergency support to parishes around the state.

The grants made through the MCRF are unrestricted sums of $5,000 to $15,000, permitting parishes to cover expenses that other relief programs may not cover, such as creating a livestream of services, according to an article on the CCF website. Mass attendance in some parishes had already declined by the time the state began restricting public gatherings, and pastors such as the Rev. Neil Bakker of St. John the Baptist in Jordan have had to deal with the declining revenues.

Bakker’s cash flow forecast at the outset of the pandemic already looked bad.

The Rev. Neil Bakker | https://sjsjordan.org/

“We estimated we’d be out of money by the end of summer, even if we used funds dedicated for other things,” Bakker is quoted as saying in the article.

With income cut by up to 70% in some parishes, pastors were not even sure how they would continue to meet basic expenses such as payroll. With an $8,000 grant from the MCRF, Bakker was able to buy the equipment – including a camera, microphones and cables – needed to livestream Mass to a congregation living under stay-at-home orders.

The livestream has been a definitive success, with the church providing ministry not only to members of the parish but also reaching people as far away as the Philippines.

“For the Easter Vigil, we had 4,000 people tune in,” Bakker was quoted as saying in the article. “We only have 600 families in our parish.”

“Doing this really kept us connected to our parishioners,” St. John's Parish Administrator Jonathan Brandtner was quoted as saying in the CCF article. “It’s allowed us to continue growing the fruit.”