in the late 1960s, the parish began experiencing demographic decline, financial struggles, and political strain. the parish correspondence files in the archdiocesan archives reveal conflicts about the implementation of vatican ii reforms at the parish during 1970 and 1971. one of the parochial reforms urges pastors to increase lay participation in the management of parish finances. parishes now created lay 'parish boards' or 'councils' which were supposed to meet with pastors regularly. after only one year in existence, the st. albert the great parish board wrote a letter to the archdiocesan moderator of councils requesting that he use his influence to encourage the church's pastor to involve himself more in board activities. although the pastor was the council board chairman, the letters, signed by eight lay board members and two priests denoted as spiritual directors, indicate that the priest stopped showing up after the first board meeting, and was avoiding and ignoring all the board members. the letters indicate this is not merely an issue of communication, stating:"the majority of parishioners in st. albert's parish share the knowledge that the parish is in a state of decline. they are discouraged and disillusioned and are confused as to where they should turn now. the only chance for survival for the future of this parish is throughout cooperation with the pastor. we need the guidance and direction of the pastor as recommended by the writings of vatican ii."during the years that followed, a new pastor brought greater openness, but with this new transparency the board and parishioners discovered just how drastic the financial situation was. with budget shortfalls and outstanding debts to the archdiocese, the parish engaged in a number of fundraising drives. by 1976, a parish team was going house-to-house distributing new envelopes and a parish census as part of the pastor's new "increased income appeal." the pastor's written explanation on these forms emphasized the need for donations to keep st. albert's financially stable, saying:"please remember this appeal represents a sound investment in our wonderful parish with its excellent programs and fine facilities that will reflect the love and generosity of all parishioners. it will guarantee a renewed and fiscally-sound st. albert's parish. the parish is counting on you!"these fundraising efforts provided some short-term relief, but within a short while, the parish was in hot water yet again. it became clear to the board that with weekly collections as their only source of revenue, the parish could "scarcely keep even." by the mid-1970s, the parish was relying on social activities and gaming like "beano" in the parish hall to keep its finances afloat. by 1980, parish leadership warned churchgoers not to let the few dedicated "beano" volunteers become overworked, because the profits from hosting the game had "paid for all our major improvements and supported the various programs of the church." the situation at st. albert's had become so drastic that by the late 90s, under the leadership of father lawrence j. borges, 'giving' had been integrated into the parish identity. the title of a 1999 parish bulletin read: "st. albert the great: a stewardship parish." the weekly bulletins during this time regularly featured a "stewardship corner," where exceptional acts of giving or requests for donations were recorded. in 2001, the pastor, father john j. nichols, and the finance committee released a quarterly financial report containing the following message:"father nichols and your parish finance committee want to thank you for your generous response for increased offertory contributions. we are not surprised as you have always responded when we asked. asking for money is always difficult and really should not be necessary. we all have a personal obligation to support the church as would be appropriate given our individual circumstances, as disciples of christ. just as there is a price to pay to live as free americans, there too is a cost to worship where and how we chose [sic]."