In 2009, we launched the “We Must, We Can, We Will” campaign to complete Phase I of our Master Plan for facilities. Gifts to this campaign enabled us to complete some significant planned improvements:

• Our school received air conditioning, asbestos abatement, renovated bathrooms, security upgrades and a new playground with landscaping and fencing.
• We painted the Parish Center cafeteria and installed a new ceiling, and the gym received a new heating unit, new lighting and roof repair.
• Our church received new lighting, too, along with some needed maintenance.

In 2012, we had a minor setback when we learned we needed to replace our church roof. We took care of it and also launched our 2nd campaign, “Future Generations Now.” Gifts to that campaign enabled us to replace the sound system and lighting controls in the church and to set aside nearly two and a half million dollars—just over half of the estimated cost to complete Phase II of our Master Plan. This allowed us to get approval from the Springfield Diocese to move forward with our project, which addresses the following needs:

The Need to Make Our Buildings More Accessible and Welcoming

We saw that many of our buildings or parts of them remain inaccessible to anyone physically challenged and that we didn’t have a space adequate for offering hospitality or gathering before or after Masses.

• When the highway expansion eliminated parking in front of our church, more people began entering and leaving the church from the side doors. This doesn’t help build community as people come and go their separate ways. We also lost the use of the front doors for funerals and weddings, and these were the only doors with a good drop-off area. With few handicap-parking spaces near our other entrances, getting to and from the church has become more challenging for some of our members.
• Stairs are the only way to get to the basement. This limits the three basement meeting rooms to activities that don’t or can’t involve the physically challenged.
• The gym and the cafeteria in the Parish Center aren’t handicap-accessible either, nor are they connected to the church. This limits who can participate in activities there and also makes them a poor choice for offering hospitality after Mass.
• Besides being inaccessible, our gym lacks air-conditioning and therefore doesn’t get used at all in the summer time. It also needs a new sound system. Combined, these limit our ability to offer our parish and community a comfortable space for casual fellowship events or summertime sports activities.

The Need for an Accessible Fellowship Hall

A fellowship hall suitable for funeral gatherings, wedding receptions and other parish ministry and social functions was a critical need identified in our Master Plan. Neither the gym nor the cafeteria offer the space or the atmosphere suitable for these types of activities.

The Need for a New Parish Office

Our Parish Office was located in a building that needed major renovation to be compatible with today’s technology, security and accessibility standards. The building’s design and the asbestos materials used to construct it made renovating it a very expensive proposition, and the resulting offices would still not have had the efficiency and security features required in today’s world.

The Need to Upgrade Our Church Interior

We saw that our church interior also needed improvements to make it more energy efficient, attractive and in line with current standards for church design.

• We’ve replaced the roof, but signs of the previous water damage are still evident and need painting. In fact, the entire interior of the church hasn’t been painted in 30 years and needs to be refreshed.
• Church doors that open to the outside were designed and installed long before energy efficiency was an economic or environmental concern. Their inefficiencies negatively impact both the comfort of worshipers and our utility bills.
• We have a hot tub for a Baptismal font. While it’s certainly effective, it reflects neither the sanctity nor the mystery of this holy rite of initiation into Christ’s holy Church.
• Like the Baptismal font, the Ambo doesn’t appropriately reflect its important role in Catholic liturgy.
• To conform with current liturgical design, our altar railing needs to be modified so as not to stand as a visual barrier between the congregation and the altar.

Parking Needs

Finally, we saw that parking has become an issue and more of a challenge with the expansion of Highway 159 and needs to be addressed.