Groundbreaking!

Dear Parishioners,

Last week we celebrated an historic event in our parish’s history, our official groundbreaking for our new church.  A big thank you to all the parishioners for making this event possible, that is for giving of your time, talent, and treasure so that we could come to the point of building a new church.

The Evangelization Team spear-headed the event, getting the Pita Pit wraps, hosting the drinks, and setting up the tables and chairs as well as put them away. The Altar Society brought desserts while S & B James brought their banner, shovels, and hard hats. Thank you to Tom Hall of S & B James, Dave Thomason, and Bill Bailey who shared their hearts with us. Thank you to Fran Todor for making sure we had good sound set up and Adam Busch for live-streaming the event on our Facebook page. 

As of this writing (Mon., Sept 18), we will be finalizing our bids and then approaching the archdiocesan Building Commission, who, I hope, will approve our technical drawings and, thus be our last meeting with them.  A big thank you should be given to all the engineers, priests, and staff who make up the Building Commission.  They have an incredibly difficult work load with all the projects ongoing in the Archdiocese. Once we have firmed up the costs of our project from the bids that we have committed to, we expect to get approved for a bridge loan from the Parish Funds Trust. This fund is made up of monies invested by the archdiocesan parishes and is managed by experts working in the Pastoral Center in Portland.

Looking forward, we hope to be pouring the foundation of the new church in October. From there, several steel framed buildings will be brought in and put together to create the basic infrastructure for the new church. 

Again, thank you to all parishioners who have been helping make these events possible.  May our prayers and work be for the glory of God and the spreading of the Gospel of Christ.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Groundbreaking Scheduled

Dear Parishioners,

Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ who continues to inspire and work in our Church.  As of this writing, the church building is now completely gone.  The dirt underneath the foundation will soon be removed down to the bedrock, and a new two foot layer of rock will follow.  From that point, the site will be fenced off for safety, and the hole that remains will be off limits.  We will be applying for construction permits, and wait until mid September for more activity.  

Mark your calendars for September 17th when Bishop Peter smith will come for our 11 AM Mass followed by a groundbreaking ceremony. This project needs all of our prayers: prayers for safety, prayers for healing, prayers for those who have been away and are coming back of curiosity, prayers for the continued work of the committees stewarding the project along, andprayers that we will be the welcoming people our mission calls us to be.

If you are involved in social media such as Facebook or Twitter, you may have realized that updates on our project are frequently posted there.  They are, in fact, the most rapid and up-to-date means to maintain clear and transparent communication with people. I will, of course, keep us up-to-date via our bulletin or “pulpit announcements” at Mass as needed. We will continue to do so as a way to help us all journey together and pray together for this work that God is doing in our community of faith.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor