Just a quick update on the Sneak Peek for the vestibule expansion. I’m happy to report that things look very positive for this project. The comments that I received from parishioners about the planned vestibule expansion were really helpful and very enthusiastic. So many people spoke with great excitement about the ability to have gatherings after Mass, as well as the convenience of having a meeting room and the Food Pantry right there in the vestibule. I was particularly heartened by a number of long-time parishioners who said, “We’ve needed this for a while.” I’m so grateful that the donors we consulted in advance have made it possible to undertake this project without a huge fundraising campaign.
I’m also excited by the number of people who came to the Sneak Peek in the church. We didn’t count the number of folks who were there, but my guess is that more than 125 people total came to see the renderings and ask questions about the plans, which was very exciting. Many people also chose to take advantage of the opportunity to make their donation before the end of the year, and I’m happy to report that we’ve raised about $200,000 of our $500,000 goal. This sets up extremely well, and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to exceed our goal. This would be tremendously beneficial, allowing us not only to absorb any cost increases that occur in this really volatile market, but also allowing us to save any money raised over our goal towards a new church roof. (We’ve been told we’ll need to replace the church roof in about 3 years, so I am very grateful that we can start saving for it now.)
We’ll do our formal, parish-wide fundraising for the vestibule expansion in mid-April. You won’t hear many updates before then, but rest assured that we’ll be hard at work during that time finalizing the plans, securing a contractor and making preparations for (hopefully) a June groundbreaking. (At that time we’ll have a lot more specific information about how the construction will affect entrances, exits and other things that people will want to know.) In the meantime, please know of my gratitude for your support of this project. I’m so excited about all of the potential benefits that this expansion will yield for our parish, now and for generations to come.