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January 18, 2009 Dear Marystown
Parishioner, More than 5 years
ago, a committee was formed to identify projects within our parish that
needed attention. The
committee identified that the stained glass windows were in desperate
need of attention, the parking lots needed to be paved since so much
dirt was being tracked into the church and parish center and we needed
plaster repair as well as new paint.
The projects were prioritized in exactly that order and a plan
was set forth. Money was
donated and pledged by the congregation and it was determined that we
would have enough money to cover the stained glass window repairs and
the parking lot paving. There
was money left over but not enough to pursue plaster repair and paint.
Those funds have drawn interest, continued to grow through
donations and remain dedicated to being used for plaster repair and
paint. Currently, that
account has an approximate balance of $70,000 in addition to a recent
pledge commitment of $25,000. At the direction of
the finance council, a new committee was formed in the summer of 2008.
We came up with a wish list of projects in addition to the need
for plaster repair and paint. It
has been 30 years since our church was last painted.
It is our intent to preserve our church and parish center for the
future. With the conclusion
and recommendations of the envisioning team, we are fully confident in
the viability of the future of our church.
We have attached land, in a location where development will
continue, with no parish debt and now we hope to take the next step in
continued improvement and upkeep of our parish buildings.
Parishes that have “thrown in the towel” so to speak with
regard to upkeep are generally the ones that have been closed in the
recent years. Marystown has a
history of self sufficiency and commitment to “doing it right”.
This is evidenced in our beautiful parish center, the tasteful
landscaping and our new cemetery entrance and sidewalk.
Now we would like to complete the interior of our church to a
degree that everything is fresh, not just the plaster and paint.
We have tried to maintain the heritage of our country church by
bringing back the scripture on the main arch, moving the statues of Mary
and Joseph up to the front and offering varying degrees of stenciling
while at the same time trying to establish a clean finish. In addition to the
top three priority projects of plaster repair, paint and carpet
replacement, we have identified several other areas that make sense to
address at the same time. They
are: new lighting throughout
the church along with wiring and electrical panel upgrades, repair and
repainting of the stations of the cross, refinishing of the pews and new
light weight kneelers as well as a new front alter as depicted in the
renderings to match the refinished back altar and lectern, statue
pedestals and altar seating to match. The total cost of
the redecorating project as a whole is $315,000 Amount currently in
the capital improvement fund
- $ 70,000 Recent commitment
pledge -
$ 25,000 Project
balance
$220,000 Basically, we are
looking at a $300,000 complete project with 1/3 of that amount in hand.
The archdiocese would require us to have 50% in hand and
financing in place for whatever degree of the project we determine we
are capable in moving forward with.
We have the option of cutting some projects out that are not
within the top three priorities. There
is the option of someone or a group of people stepping forward to head
up stripping, refinishing and repair of the pews through volunteers
while the other work is in progress.
That would reduce our costs by $27,500.
Or we have the option of postponing the project as a whole to a
time when we have the complete funds in hand.
We as the committee would like to complete the scope of projects
as a whole. If it is
determined we can move forward with some or all of the projects, work
will commence in the spring and masses will be held in the parish center
up until the parish festival. We have provided three paint schemes from which to choose. In all three options, the dome over the altar has been completely changed. The statues of Mary and Joseph have been returned to the front of the church and the scripture over the main arch has been returned. Lastly, a new front altar is depicted to match the refinished back altar. In option B and C, a wood floor is reflected on the altar area. If it is feasible to refinish the maple floor underneath the carpeting, we may consider this, but cannot inspect it until we pull the carpeting up. Option A is the most similar to what we have today with most of the stenciling and the canvas above the tabernacle.
Option A Option B condenses the number of colors and replaces the canvas with a cross as well as reduces the total amount of stenciling.
Option C greatly reduces the amount of stenciling, adds faux marbling to the large panels behind the altar and replaces the canvas with a stained glass window. The canvas would be preserved and relocated in the stairwell of the parish center.
In a typical capital
campaign, a plan would be devised in which certain people would be
singled out as potential major donors.
Then those people would be contacted and/or visited and asked for
support. We will not be
going that route for this project. There
will be no pressure or expectation from anyone.
We simply ask you to carefully and prayerfully consider your
support of this project, your financial position and dedication to the
Marystown community. Then
make a determination as to what extent you are willing to contribute to
this project. Financial
commitments to this project should be above and beyond your regular
contribution rather than in lieu of it.
It will fall on the shoulders of the Marystown people to
determine if this project moves forward through their choice to step
forward financially. We as a
committee realize we are asking you to make a major decision in a short
period of time and apologize for this.
At this point, after ballots and donation information is compiled
and a determination is made, we would have a window of only 8 weeks in
which to finalize bids, contracts and plan out the logistics of the
projects before work would begin. Our committee is
made up of a diverse group of parishioners.
Some of whose profession by trade has been a great asset to this
team. They include: Steve
Farrell - Paint Contractor Brian
Luce - Electrical Patrick
Link - Building Contractor Ken
Wolf - Woodworking, General Hecker
Haeg - Concrete, General Jess
Haeg - General Char
Theis - Decorating 445-7040 Julie
Welch - Decorating 496-2277 If you have any
questions regarding the proposed projects or would like more specific
information, please feel free to call the members whose phone numbers
are listed. Best Regards, The Redecorating
Committee
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