Exciting Times at Sacred Heart
Dear Parishioners,
These are exciting times at Sacred Heart. We have had a lot of interest in our RCIA program. We have had new students join us for our public school religious education classes. Seton School is in full swing, so we have the sound of children on our campus every day. We also have the ongoing construction of our new Gathering Center.
The building is now fully enclosed. Concrete is being laid for the ramps that will allow all parishioners to access the church. We look forward to Bishop Tylka coming to bless the building in March. This is a complicated undertaking given the state of the economy. We are lucky that there have been no supply chain issues so far and that the weather has been ideal. God has been good!
However, we still have a hill to climb. We will be starting a new Centennial Debt Reduction Drive this month. The Today Tomorrow Together Campaign was a great success. We made our goal and exceeded it. But as we have explained these last few months, due to inflation, we will have to borrow money to complete the project. We have a line of credit with the Diocese of Peoria for $700,000. We hope that we will need to borrow less (possibly $600,000).
We will be starting what we call our Centennial Debt Reduction Drive which will be an effort to pay down debt and furnish the new building. Opportunities will be available for people to sponsor items in the building. This April will mark the 100th Anniversary of the dedication of our Sacred Heart Church, back in 1923. The new addition will offer accessible entrances, modern amenities such as ADA bathrooms and changing stations for infants, bride’s room, Blessings Gift Shop and more that will bring our church into the 21st century.
One hundred years ago the parishioners of Sacred Heart took a huge risk and built our Gothic Church. It took them 23 years to pay off the debt they incurred. It would be wonderful to pay off our new debt in a lot less time. Brochures will be available with sponsorship opportunities. There will also be information on our website page. Please consider what you might be able to contribute.
Blessings,
Fr. Mark