Dear Parishioners of the Assumption,
The Parish Council has been working hard since the General Assembly on April 30 to collect the pledges we need to be able to secure Metropolis approval to sign with a contractor and begin construction of our new Fellowship Hall, which includes classrooms for Sunday School, administrative offices, a commercial kitchen, and a banquet hall for receptions and celebrations. Here is an update.
First, THANK YOU!!! to everyone who has offered a pledge since we held our General Assembly. To date, we have raised over $650,000 in new pledges. While on the one hand we still have a way to go to reach our target, on the other hand this is a monumental achievement in just a few weeks. So thank you to each of you who have stepped up, who have responded to our phone calls or texts or emails, and who have helped us advance toward our goal.
For everyone who is still mulling it over, still hesitant to commit, or still trying to decide how much, let me take this opportunity to underline what we asking.
Right now, we are ONLY asking for pledges. In order to gain Metropolis approval for our project and have the authority to sign a contract, we must secure $2 million in new pledges, in addition to what we had raised between 2014-2020.
50% of the amount you pledge will be due the day we begin construction.
25% will be due 6 months after we have begun construction.
25% will be 18 months after we have begun construction.
The reason why the Parish Council decided to offer the above payment schedule is twofold. First, ever since we began the Capital Campaign in 2014, several people have expressed doubt that it would ever come to fruition, and that doubt became for some a reason not to contribute to the campaign. We will only ask you to pay on your pledge WHEN CONSTRUCTION BEGINS. In other words, we will only collect your money when the project is indeed going to move forward. Second, the Parish Council is hoping that, if everyone realizes that they may pay their pledge over an 18 month period from the beginning of construction, they will give more generously and sacrificially. That is to say, someone may have a limited amount they can give in 2022 because of other commitments they have already made, but when they look toward 2023 and the start of 2024, they may be able to commit a larger amount to this project. The immediate target is to secure $2 million in PLEDGES.
As we continue to reach out to the members of our community—at the General Assembly we stated that we would love to have 100% participation from the community!!—the Parish Council is also working on identifying other possible avenues of funding. Ideally, we would as a community hit the $2 million target, and any additional funds we can obtain will allow us to complete the project in its entirety without ever having to pause. We also continue to search for possible ways to reduce the costs of construction—for example, does someone know an electrician who would do the work at cost—and will keep doing so until the project is completed.
I hope this answers some of the questions some of you may have. If you have additional questions, if you have not yet offered your pledge but are now ready to do so, if you want to express your opinion or offer suggestions, please do not hesitate to email or call me or, if you prefer, reach out to any member of the Parish Council. I include my contact information below.
Thank you again to everyone who has helped us advance toward the realization of this project. I look forward to hearing from/speaking with every one of the rest of you. Working all together—in community—we can and will succeed.
In Christ,
Evanthia Speliotis, Parish Council President of Assumption GOC (espeliotis@bellarmine.edu; 502-500-7904)
