From the Pastor...

January 29, 2012

I continue to have productive discussions with many parishioners about the major repairs and upgrades to our parish buildings that we will need over the next 5 to 10 years.  We have previously described these needs through several parish media, but it is helpful to speak of them again.

The parish Facilities Committee, assisted by various consultants and parish staff, and after conversations with many interested parishioners, has identified a number of major repairs and improvements that are necessary if our parish buildings are to continue to serve the mission of the parish well into the future.  These include:

Church – interior painting, relocating and redesigning the baptismal font; refinishing pews; repairing the stained glass windows.

Upper and Lower School – improving and expanding restroom facilities; installing improved fire protection and alarm equipment; making the buildings fully accessible to the disabled; adding additional classrooms, tutoring spaces, and offices; repairing exterior masonry; replacing the upper school roof; and renovating the theater to make it a true multi-purpose facility.

In addition to these improvements to our existing buildings, most of which are intended to maintain their basic integrity and usefulness, many parishioners have expressed a strong desire to construct a gymnasium for use by both the school and larger parish community.   (We are currently in conversations with Georgetown Visitation to determine the feasibility of building a gym on its property.)

The cost of all these projects, including the gym, may approach $18 to $20 million.  Even if we decide only to repair and upgrade existing facilities and not construct any new space, the cost may be close to $10 million. 

There is little disagreement that each of these projects is desirable and would contribute to the mission of the parish.  However, there is not yet a consensus among parishioners regarding their relative priority and whether the parish can pay for them and still remain financially healthy.

Since maintaining harmony within the parish is an essential part of the mission of the parish, I will not go forward with any of these improvements unless I am confident that there is a general consensus in the parish to do so.  Consequently, I will continue to consult with parishioners and to invite them to express their points of view and to listen attentively to others.  I am pleased that these conversations (unlike those on Capitol Hill) have so far been characterized by reasonableness, mutual respect, open-mindedness, and flexibility. 

As we continue our conversations in succeeding months, we will not only be asking specific questions about project priorities, financing strategies, construction scheduling.  We will also be asking weightier, more important (and very Ignatian) questions like: do these proposed improvements further our parish mission, including our call to proclaim the Gospel to the poor?  is this the best way to expend our parish resources? and what is for the greater glory of God?

Fr. Mark