As you all know, about 8 months ago, after a lot of careful consideration and a lot of consultation with our parish leadership, we borrowed money from our reserves and the Knights of Columbus to purchase the KGS property.
This purchase was a huge step for our parish and the neighborhood.
When I announced to you that we had purchased the property, to my relief you clapped at every one of the Masses. The people (you guys) at the 4 o’clock Mass clapped three times.
Not one person has come up to me and said, “Fr. Robert what are you doing?” (at least about the KGS purchase) There has been a very broad level of support for the purchase. I would call it an exceptional level of support.
In my heart I know it was the right decision for us.
We bought KGS.
Because we have been using it like we owned it for many years,
we even plowed it.
We bought it because when people cannot find a parking spot, many simply keep driving.
We bought the KGS property to protect our neighborhood and our school from excessive development.
We can’t forget that the developer wanted to build 8 three story buildings in addition to apartments within the school on just over two acres of land.
Most of all, we bought the property because in a time of decline in many parishes, for some reason our parish is still growing. As you’ve seen every month, more and more people ask to become members here at St. Paul. If you look in the bulletin, 6 new families joined us this week. I was amazed.
As I’ve told you many times before, this purchase was not cheap. We had to spend ? of our reserves, just over $400,000, and went into debt to make the purchase. We now have a $200,000 loan to the National Office of the Knights of Columbus to pay off.
As you can surmise, the removal of asbestos, lead paint, the demolition and the site enhancements will also be very costly.
Sadly, we all know that the building is beyond repair and just not safe. It must be abated and torn down.
I’ve been told that to abate and rehabilitate that building is simply too costly (close to 5 million dollars).
If somehow we hit the powerball and could afford to rehab it, the structural design of the building would not give us the large open spaces and flexibility future parishioners will need. The gym in the KGS is smaller than our gym.
While we’ve cleaned up the property, with the generous help of parishioners, we have to move sooner rather than later to bring down the building and begin the site work.
Now is the time to act, before some kid breaks into that building and gets hurt or the darn thing falls down. The old section from 1903 facing Grove Hill is very weak.
20 years ago we had the chance to do just that at a lower cost and we missed it because we were afraid.
We cannot be afraid anymore. We all have to do our part.
This project won’t get any cheaper if we wait.
So today, as many of you can guess, I am announcing the beginning of a capital campaign to abate and tear down the KGS property and begin the site work necessary to integrate it with our beautiful campus.
The goal is 1.3 million for the cost of abatement, demolition and site improvements. The flyer in the bulletin has conceptual drawings of what we hope to accomplish. It’s beautiful!
It will provide us with 102 parking spaces, a small peaceful prayer garden and a large parish green for parish activities with adjacent parking.
The Parish Green will give us a beautiful outdoor place to gather for prayer, possibly celebrate Mass and hold summer concerts or movies. It will allow our school children to play on grass and not the back parking lot.
But most of all this property will also provide those who follow us in the future with the space they will need to expand.
Right now there is just no room on our property for any expansion at all. We are land locked, kind of like a size 10 foot in a size 9 shoe. You can get your foot in there, but it isn’t comfortable.
The Capital Campaign Committee has also encouraged a challenge goal of an additional $400,000, which would not only allow us to do everything I mentioned above, but also enable us to pay back the loan to the National Office of the Knights of Columbus, and pay back our reserve fund.
When you dream, you have to dream big.
Believe me I know 1.3 million is a lot of money, but the consultants who have studied our stewardship records assure me that it is well within our reach if everyone participates.
In your campaign brochure, which you will receive in the future, you will see a suggested donation to the campaign.
This is based on your annual support of our parish.
Although many of you are very generous, some of you might suffer sticker shock when you see the suggested offering.
I remind you that your sacrificial gift can be paid over time.
When you look at the amount suggested, take a deep breath and prayerfully consider if you can make a sacrificial gift for the future of our Parish.
Listen, please listen.
If the suggested pledge is just beyond your means, I trust you. I trust you completely. Just do the very best you can.
When my Dad died, my little Mom bought a memorial for him at our parish in Buffalo and it took her three years to pay it off. She took me two times to see his leaf. Now I’m buying one for her because I want her name to be forever in the church she loved so much. It is going to take me three years
to pay it off, but it’s worth it.
If everyone is willing to make a sacrificial gift, whatever that may be, I have been promised our goal will be well within our reach.
As you will see, the committee has also lowered the offering for a memorial. During the last Capital Campaign the most reasonable memorial was $5,000. In this campaign you can remember your loved ones in a stone paver or brick for $1500. All of this will be explained in the campaign packet.
Just 100 years ago to the year, Fr. Brennan and a much smaller group of people from this parish took a big risk and gave us this beautiful property.
They were a bunch of brick makers and farmers who sacrificed and scrimped and saved until they could build us this church, which we still use today.
Following generations gave us the friary, school, the new wing and the convent, which is now used for meetings and parish offices.
You all know that we have maxed out this property. There is simply no more space to expand or enhance our facilities, and yet we continue to add members.
This is a great problem to have..
Now it’s our turn to leave something for those who will follow. Just like Fr. Brennan and his faithful few.
I’m not afraid of the future and you can’t be either.
I have faith in the future of St. Paul Church and I have complete faith in you and your generosity.
I feel blessed to be the Pastor of such a beautiful community. “We’ve stuck together through thick and thin,” as my mother would say.
If everyone makes a prayerful sacrificial gift, I know we can make our goal.
We have a lot to be proud of and be grateful for here at St. Paul Church.
I assure you that once we finish this campaign and get that building down, the best is yet to come.
Thank you for listening and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you in advance for the sacrificial gift that you are going to make…to our Faith in the Future campaign.
God bless you.
God bless your families,
and God bless our beautiful parish, St. Paul Church. Amen