In the fall of 1995, we embarked on a series of building projects to address a rapid growth in parish membership. Over the next eight years, our historic and beautiful church was expanded, offices and meeting rooms were built, a gymnasium was constructed, and the size of the school building was more than doubled. After nearly a decade of planning and construction, our beautiful campus was completed to provide space for the many activities and ministries that take place here.
In the classic baseball movie, Field of Dreams, the hero states: "If you build it, they will come!" This has certainly been true of our expanded campus. Literally 2,900 events, classes, meetings are scheduled each year, not to mention the regularly scheduled classes of St. Joseph Elementary and Middle School. But when I think about our beautiful campus, I do not see fieldstone and timber, bricks and mortar. I see the faces of the children in our faith formation programs. I hear the voices of adults at prayer and asking questions in Bible study sessions. I see grieving families sharing funeral lunches in Marian Hall.
There is no doubt that the incredible investment of time and money has been a huge benefit for our active parish. However, it has also placed an ongoing strain on our yearly parish budget. Servicing the mortgage that resulted from the decade of expansion has not been easy. With so much of our weekly offertory collection being applied to the principal and interest of our debt, we continue to be limited in the ways that we can fund our growing ministries and programs. Changing Lives Together provides us with a wonderful opportunity to address the vitality and future of our parish.
The parish financial target for this initiative, set by the Archdiocese of Detroit, is $1,500,000. Thirty percent of all monies raised will be shared with The Archdiocese of Detroit; seventy percent of all monies raised will stay in the parish and be paid directly to our debt. It may seem on the surface that a campaign such as this could not come at a worse time. But even in the midst of economic hardship, it is important to work toward financial health for our Church.
I ask for your prayerful consideration and support of this process. Though it is not an easy task in front of us, it is one I am confident we can accomplish together.
