16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners,

     I wanted to give you an update on the progress we have made on maintenance around our campus.  Four years ago, as I began my pastorate here, we decided to address a lot of deferred maintenance around the Sacred Heart campus.    I think it is good to see how far we have come and the amount of money we have spent as we anticipate a capital campaign in the fall. These are round numbers not calculated to the penny. Here is the list:

Capital Projects Log Beginning in summer of 2014

2014      Tuck pointing of the Northwest side of the Church                                    27,000

2015      Tuck pointing Northeast side of Church                                                    40,000

             Doors on East side of church and Parish Center                                         8,000

             Seal Parking lot                                                                                            5,000

             Replace one furnace on north side of Culemans Hall                                12,000

             Replace second furnace north side of Culemans Hall                                 9,000

West Side of Elementary School tuck pointed                                                        15,000

Doors replaced in school                                                                                          5,000

2016 Tuck point East and West side of Bell Tower                                                 50,000

Repair flashing and tuck pointing on roof of Parish Center                                    10,000

Replace Furnace on north side of Culemans                                                           8,000

Replace northwest doors of Church and Parish Center                                           8,000

Seton School replaces roof on south end of Culemans & air conditioners          230,000

Seal Parking lot                                                                                                        6,000

Repair Organ in Church                                                                                           5,000

2017 Tuck point North and South Side of Bell Tower                                            50,000

Replace Concrete in front of church and Parish Center                                        10,000

Repair Flashing, drains and build deck and ladders in Bell Tower                        15,000

Seal Roof on North Side of Culemans Hall                                                             9,000

Install new air conditioner on top of Parish Center                                                  8,000

Replace last three air conditioners on north side of Culemans Hall                      24,000

2018 Improve Sound System in the Church                                                          25,000

Upgrade air conditioner in the Church                                                                   63,000

Seton School replaces windows in the elementary school                                  210,000

Total as of July 15, 2018

     People might ask where has the money come from to complete all this work?  The answer is that it has monies have been contributed from our endowment appreciation, our Heart to Heart Fund Raising and from bequests that have come our way. Seton School has received gifts and has borrowed from their endowment to do necessary repairs, i.e. the windows in the school.  The windows were literally falling out of the building. We have done all this work without sacrificing the financial position of Sacred Heart Parish or Seton School.

     We have tried to pare down the long list of maintenance items before engaging in a capital campaign.  Now it is necessary to take a big step forward to take care of other deferred maintenance.  I thank all those who remember our parish and school with gifts and bequests.  There has been a lot of time spent planning and orchestrating the above work by a lot of people.  I would rather be doing other things and I am sure those who have helped me would as well, but to refuse to address capital repairs would be bad stewardship. 

     Let’s pray that we can continue to take care of our campus and that we have the resources to offer pastoral services and outreach.  God has taken care of our needs so far and hopefully the Lord will do so in the months ahead.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark