Q: How are we going to pay for future renovation or rebuilding?

A: A parish isn’t defined by money, but it needs money to exist and to operate. When we did our Parish Visioning in 2005 & 2006, we concluded that we wanted to be identified as a parish with:
1) Welcoming and inspiring Liturgies,
2) Personal Growth in Faith Opportunities,
3) Faith in Action experiences,
4) Effective Communications, and
5) Financial Stability.

Money is at the bottom of the list, but technically it is required for everything we do.

If you check our “Parish Collection ” box in the Sunday Bulletin, you’ll see that the we are collecting close to our budget.

The Mainstreet School of Performing Arts starts their fourth year in September—and we are blessed to have a strong tenant in our remodeled school. However, our loan will not be paid off until 2014. Thus, we are not currently in a financial position to secure any additional loans for future renovation or remodeling. So what does this mean? Whatever we do to the church campus – we have to come up with the money in advance. That will mean a Capital Campaign. St. Joseph’s has had minor fundraisers over the years, but not had a full-fledged Capital Campaign since 1956.

The Facilities Committee is assessing the current state of our buildings and taking all the necessary steps to make a thoughtful, informed decision about what needs to be done. We are optimistic that our parishioners take pride in St. Joseph’s and will support what needs to be done to keep our parish strong.

The facilities team keeps the goal of “Financial Stability” criterion before us at all times. We are working on a plan that will allow St. Joseph’s to continue to thrive and grow, without putting church into financial risk. We hope to have a preliminary plan to give the parish sometime this fall.