Over the next four weeks we will continue publishing a series of updates from Fr Joe. The full and complete update can be found in a printed booklet and available in the gathering space of the church or here.
Update THREE:
Okay, we’re moving through the updates and now we will take a look at our new Church and see where we are and what is left to do.
The first thing to make sure you understand is that we do have significant needs, but we cannot fundraise for those needs for a couple reasons:
· First, we just did that. You all answered the bell and funded the construction of a new Church and I’d like to give everyone a pause to catch their breath.
· Second, the diocese does not allow a new campaign until the old one is done. We still have some faithful people paying their pledges on the Witness to Hope and the Restore the Temple campaigns and, until that is done, we won’t be able to do any official fundraisers for our other needs.
Most of the things that I will list below already have a significant amount of prep work done and even paid for. We designed and built the Church so that we don’t have to pay any money for ripping old things out when we install these items, praise God.
Once we are free, these are the two highest priority items for us to pursue in our Church:
· Organ Pipes: we’ve got the Church set up to receive the pipes, but it is an incredibly expensive venture to move them up to the front. We’ll have hard numbers for you when the time comes, but that is a big priority for us. Holy Mother Church has always asked Churches to use organs where she can in worship, above pianos or any other instrument. We are blessed to have an awesome organ, we just need the money to move it into Church.
· Baptismal Font: We have everything ready here, but again, it’s a matter of fabricating the font we designed and installing it. The font has been designed and the entire area is ready for it to be installed, it’s simply a matter of raising money to have it built and installed.
· UPDATE: An anonymous donor recently offered to fund the completion of the Baptismal Font. The design has been submitted to an artist who is currently fabricating it. Praise God!
The rest of the things l list are in no particular order:
· A Portico- One of the things we are all set for, except the funding, is a portico, a cover above our doors that will allow people to drop off their loved ones in the rain and/or snow to keep them dry. We have the structures in place, we just need to pay for the materials and the installation.
· Our Mary and Joseph statues near the sanctuary of our Church are pretty beat up. It is my fervent hope that we can, at some point, purchase some colorful, quality statues in their place.
· “Saint Wall” – hopefully, you remember that the theme for our Church building contains the idea of “The Cloud of Witnesses” spoken of in the Book of Hebrews. Our Church contains a lot of reminders of the presence of the saints at our Masses: we have saint medals in the floor, statues, and even an amazing amount of old statues and rosaries in the foundation of our Church, particularly under the altar. A long-term goal that I have is a mural of Holy Saints in procession painted on the soffits of our Church.
· Confessionals – we are looking at ways to enhance the dignity and emotional warmth of the penitential side of the confessionals.
So, that is where we are for our Spiritual Home and I am very excited about this! Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to help us build this. We now have a place that our brothers and sisters that use wheelchairs can access, and a place where sound and heating and cooling is integrated into the building. A place of dignity and light. It’s up to us to let God’s Holy Spirit continue to fill it with His love and light.
You are all an answer to my prayers.
Next week we’ll take a look at our buildings and grounds situation.
Your Priest,
Fjk