Building the Lord's Kingdom - A Parish Construction Update

The Gospel relates that the foster father of the Lord Jesus was a carpenter. The actual word used in Greek is “tekton”, which means a builder. I suppose you could say that Our Lord was raised in the construction business! Two thousand years later we are still engaged in the building of the Lord’s Kingdom. The practical process of building requires many things to be done. We use our buildings for so many events and ministries that they need to be repaired and maintained.

During the summer, we have been refurbishing the Activity Center (adjacent to the church) with new tile flooring, new wall finishes, and room enlargement and consolidation. We will be remodeling the restrooms to make them comfortable for those with disabilities or in a wheelchair. We have sealed windows and seam line joints throughout the Activity Center and church and power washed the brick to remove many years of stain. This is the first phase in refurbishing the older buildings.

Please take a look around each of our buildings to see what improvements have been made thus far. We have a few more improvements to make regarding the parish hall and kitchen in the Activity Center. We also wish to correct some issues with the air conditioning system in the current worship space. Most of the current air ducts were made of a substance known as “duct board” which deteriorates with time. We need to replace the ducts and create a system to maintain them easily. This will be temporarily inconvenient in using the church when we construct the needed walking ramps, or “catwalks,” that will service the ducts.

Some years ago a plan was developed to construct a new church. However, the guidelines of our Diocese for financial planning, the taking of loans, and future construction have changed since that time. Additionally, we will need more adjacent property for parking if we build a new church. Please remember that a new church that seats a thousand people may possibly cost between $12,000,000 and $20,000,000. Such a project seems impractical at this time, particularly in the current economy.

Meanwhile, we hope to improve our current worship space with better lighting, refurbished restrooms, new flooring and pews, a new organ, and an improved choir space. The total cost for these improvements may be approximately $1,000,000. Actual improvements to be made may change according to what resources are available.

We are not planning a formal capital campaign, but we are asking that you consider making a special gift this year to move forward with these improvements. Please consider a one time, possibly year end, gift. You may wish to increase your regular giving to assist the parish in accomplishing these goals. The generosity of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish has always been outstanding. Thank you for prayerfully considering helping your parish community make these improvements in a timely manner.