Dear Parishioners,
Four years ago, as your new pastor, I humbly asked for your help in reducing our monthly costs by decreasing our mortgage debt. Your kind generosity allowed us to repay $5 million dollars of debt. (We still have $7 million to go, however, before a mortgage burning!)
As we emerge from the pandemic, we are now facing a new challenge – after nearly 20 years, the roofs, air conditioners and windows of our church buildings must be replaced. You’ve seen the garbage cans catching water from leaks. You’ve experienced discomfort from the heat resulting from nonworking air conditioners. You’ve seen the deterioration of wood inlays in our windows.
Brothers and sisters, we are faced with replacement costs and cash replenishment of approximately $1.75 million.
Now I humbly come to our faith family and ask for help again.
With the help of our Parish Finance Council, we’ve created a campaign and ask that you participate in the Renew and Restore Program - Renew your Faith, Restore our Church. As part of the “Restore our Church” part of the program, we are asking all members of our parish community (registered and unregistered) to pledge an incremental recurring amount so that we may raise the funds needed to restore our church. We continue to need your weekly donations to keep the church operations going along with this additional sacrifice.
This is our beautiful church building, the house of our Lord, our place of worship.
As we recover from the impacts of the pandemic, we also share with you some additional information about offertory and our financial situation. A pledge sheet is also included to facilitate suggested amounts and how to give.
As part of the “Renew your Faith” program, we sincerely hope that, if you’ve paused your attendance to mass, we miss you. We welcome you to obtain the sacramental gift of Reconciliation and receive the Holy Eucharist at daily and weekly mass. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life … if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14) Our good Lord wants a relationship with you and I hope that you will join us in praising God, obtain wisdom from God’s word and receiving the bread of life in the celebration of mass.
For those of you seeking joy in acts of service, we are also hopeful that you explore our ministries so that you may experience the joy of giving of your time and talent. Our ministries are here for you to give and receive. St Francis of Assisi says it best, “for it is in giving, that we receive.”
Blessings on your head,
Fr. Jimmy
Pastor
What needs to be renovated?
- Our flat roofs are deteriorating and are overdue to be replaced. The church building has several areas of flat roofs and the church office is in need of replacement.
- We are in the midst of replacing our air conditioners in the church building. The church office, parish center and chapel all have air conditioners that are coming to the end of their lives.
- All of the windows in the church building were constructed with wood that is deteriorating. The most prevalent windows in need of replacement are to the left and right of the church front doors.
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How much will the renovations cost?
Estimates renovation costs range between $1.20 million and $1.45 million. We are also looking to replenish our building and maintenance reserves that have been depleted during the COVID pandemic.
$650,000 - $750,000 Replace Flat Roofs
$250,000 - $300,000 Replace Air Conditioners
$300,000 - $400,000 Replace Windows
$300,000 - $300,000 Maintenance Fund Replenishment
$1,500,000 - $1,750,000 Total Renew and Restore Goal
How did we get to this point?
- On average, the church collects and raises approximately $1.3 million in offertory (first collection) and in 2021, the second collection amounted to just under $0.6 million. The second collection has been used to pay the mortgage debt service of principal and interest payments of $0.7 million.
- Fundraisers like the Carnival and others, and gifts typically help fund offertory shortfall. During the pandemic, fundraising campaigns were significantly down and reserves were depleted.
- While expenses have been cut since the pandemic, the Church has been operating close to breakeven when you take our mortgage payments into consideration.
Active Giving is trending down for St Mark
- The number of families actively giving to offertory is trending down.
- In 2018, there were 2,100 actively giving families. For the period ending June 2020, actively giving families tracked by offertory was down 18% and through September 2021, another 24% down. Since 2018, there are nearly 800 less families giving to tracked offertory.
- In 2020 and 2021, less than 150 families supported 50% of offertory dollars.
We are encouraging families to prayerfully consider increasing their support for our church needs.
OUR APPEAL IS TO ACTIVELY GIVE OF YOUR TREASURE TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH IN THE FIRST AND SECOND COLLECTIONS
“Where your treasure lies, there will be your heart.” Luke 12:34
CLICK HERE to donate via WeShare
OR
Click the image below to download a "Pledge Form"
Complted forms can be emailed HERE.
