Greetings in Christ!
I am very excited to give you an update on the renovation of our worship space. What’s going on with the building renovation? First of all, thank you for your patience. It has been quite a whirlwind joining such a vibrant and active parish, one like no other parish in the Diocese. Next, a great thank you to those of you who are faithfully keeping your commitment and redeeming your pledges. Most of you are aware that we wanted to start building this year, but that did not happen. Here is why in a nut shell.
I have spent the last three months gathering information about our building renovation. I want to be careful and prudent with the gift of your donations. I know that every penny our beloved parish has is a result of your sweat and your sacrifice. I don’t wish to treat such a gift poorly in order to be expedient; in short, I want to be a good steward. I have taken this time to gather all the information regarding the renovation plans and treat it with respect. With that said, here is what I have learned: Holy Family was one of the first parishes to embrace and tackle the diocesan wide campaign called Witness to Hope. Since we were one of the first parishes, we had to rush a bit. We had to determine within about a 30-day window how much it would cost to renovate the church, draft conceptual plans and kick off the campaign. The cost of the renovation was estimated to be about $2.7 million. The campaign moved along quite quickly, and praise be to God, we were able to surpass our Diocesan goal. Wow…thank you for your generosity! With all that said, here is where we stand.
Last year the Parish Building Committee met month after month working with the architect and the City of Grand Blanc to move our conceptual plans to actual construction plans. As we evaluated the needs of a church building that has not seen a major restoration or major repairs since the 1960s, we realized that the $2.7 million projected budget was inadequate. Msgr. Vincke, with the approval of the Parish Building Committee, asked for a plan that fixes the current problems in our worship space, including adding space for more worshipers and a bigger parking lot. The current plan costs approximately $3.9 – $4.2 million for the church and $500,000 for the parking lot, leaving us significantly short of the funds necessary to “do it right.” The updated plans have been and are posted in the church, the Fr. Bush Parish Center and the St. Joseph Center if you want to take a closer look again.
How are we going to get to the point where we can “do it right?” We are kicking off the campaign called Restoring the Temple based on the scripture Hab. 2:3 “the vision will not disappoint.” For those of you who wanted to pledge or donate only to the Parish – here is your chance! For those of you who previously gave a one-time gift—we are asking to consider giving another one time gift this year in the same amount.
For those of you who are new to the parish, we are inviting you to join the hundreds of other families who are already supporting this project with their ongoing pledge redemptions and make a three-year pledge to Restoring the Temple Campaign. And for those of you want to give more, please give. Our goal is to raise the funds to “do it right.” It is really up to us, Holy Family Parish.
In the next few weeks, some of you will receive a personalized letter asking you to prayerfully consider pledging to Restoring the Temple Campaign. Our campaign goal is $2.0 million, $1.5 million for the church and $500,000 for the parking lot. This campaign will end December 31, 2018. At that time, we will proceed with renovation plans solely based on the total committed pledges and gifts to the parish through this campaign and the prior campaign and break ground in the spring.
Finally, as part of any good work, prayer is the cornerstone of success. Therefore, I invite you to pray our Restoring the Temple prayer with me daily:
Lord, you have entrusted this sacred space to our care.
Through the intercession of the Holy Family, we ask you to
Bless our efforts to sacrifice and restore Your temple.
Through the intercession of the Holy Family,
Fr. Joseph J. Krupp