Donations to the Building Fund are restricted and will only be used to build the new church. These funds are not assessable by the Diocese, so 100% of your donation goes directly to building the new church.
What have the dollars already contributed been used for?
We paid off the entire mortgage for the Spirituality Center (over $4 million), purchased and set into operation our formation classroom building, and raised an additional $5.2 million, prior to breaking ground on our new church.
Why do we need a “new” church?
Our parish is one of the few growing parishes in the Diocese and we have already outgrown our temporary buildings. The Parish and the Diocese never intended for the Spirituality Center to be a permanent church. We regularly have to “convert” our sacred church space into a hall or cafeteria and our Eucharistic Adoration experiences interruption of Perpetual Adoration due to its colocation within the Spirituality Center.
Building a permanent church will fulfill many of our needs. It will provide a beautiful permanent sacred worship space for Mass. It will make it much easier to give God’s dwelling place the reverence and respect it deserves. It will give us a Daily Chapel for the 11 daily weekday Masses we currently celebrate. It adds a separate Eucharistic Adoration Chapel to allow Perpetual and uninterrupted Eucharistic Adoration. It gives clergy a separate Sacristy area and offers parents of young children a children’s sanctuary to retreat to if they prefer. It will also allow us to repurpose the Spirituality Center for common, non-liturgical needs.
What is the difference between recurring “Mass Offerings” via my envelopes or online through “We Share” and the “Building Fund”?
The Mass Offerings go to support the cost of our daily operations. This includes staff salaries and benefits, expenses related to operation of the rectory, the offices, the formation classrooms, and the Spirituality Center. These include utilities, taxes, insurances, maintenance and repair, etc. The Building Fund contributions are used exclusively for the construction of our new church. We are now using the donations to the building fund to pay off the mortgage as rapidly as possible.
Is my gift tax deductible?
Yes. The amount contributed is deductible to the full extent provided by the law. You will receive a tax deductible contribution statement after the end of the calendar year for all such donations made.