A Summer of Building

Dear Parishioners,

There is much activity happening around our campus. Capital projects are taking shape, a new roof is being put on our Middle School building, and our Gathering Center foundation is in place. Many people have stopped by to look.

The good news is that some initial costs that we thought would be very high like bringing in fill to stabilize the site are not as bad as we thought. The bad news is that the economy continues to wobble along. It would be nice if we were building in a time of prosperity. As the old cliché goes, “There never is a good time to build.”

Once the new Center is in place and we start to reap the benefits of having it, then the fears we have will hopefully dissipate. I have noticed many people stopping by to see what is happening. There was a wonderful spirit at our groundbreaking ceremony. It truly was a historic day.  

What we must do now is pray that we can carry the project through to completion. Completion would mean having the building paid off so that we do not carry a long-term debt. At this point, the debt might be up to $600,000. The hope is that our debt is much smaller..  

We ask the patron of our campaign, St. Damien De Veuster to intercede for us over the next six months as the building continues. He was the epitome of unselfish service to the gospel. If we follow his example, we will succeed in our efforts.

Bless you,

Fr. Mark

P.S. Thank you to all who turned out to celebrate my 40th anniversary in the priesthood on the July 17th. I appreciate all the cards, kind words, and gifts. I will make a donation to our building campaign from what I received.