Parish Announcement regarding fund raising and move to Upper Hall
13-14 March 2010 (Updated 21 March 2010)

As we prepare for Easter in three weeks time, we are also preparing for the dramatic restoration of our Church floor and organ. In four weeks time we will be having all parish services in our Upper Hall, at least for the next six months. I want to briefly share with you an over view of where we are at right now, regarding fundraising, the planned works and our move to the Upper Hall.

Fundraising and planned works

We have raised so far just over £430,000 for the restoration of the church floor and installation of under-floor heating. We have raised around £80,000 for the organ. The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded the parish £237,000 for the organ.  This is a nominal amount.  In reality they will reimburse us for 61% of the actual organ expenditures.  All these generous gifts have allowed us to confidently commit ourselves to restoring the organ and refurbishing the floor. Our last mass in this church will be Easter Monday, at our 10 am mass.

On this past Wednesday a small team explored in great detail the tender from the contractor firm that provided the lowest bid for the floor. After the detailed examination it was recommended to the Finance Committee to accept their tender offer, subject to some specific issues still needing to be ironed out. The Finance Committee met Thursday morning and after due consideration approved the recommendation. The church should be handed over to those contractors on Monday 12 April. At the same time the organ restorers will commence removing the part of the organ that needs to be taken to their workshop. In addition, the church pews will have been taken away and will be restored and ready to be put back on the new floor in early October.

The timetables appear to have meshed nicely in that we should be out of the church for only six months and assuming we are in by early October we would hope to have the completely restored organ operational for our Christmas Midnight Mass. Our continual prayers will be needed to encourage this favourable outcome.

Where are we therefore with matching our funding and these significant capital expenditures?

We will be spending just short of a million pounds when we combine the floor and organ work as well as the needed work on the pews. When we consider all the conceivable contingencies we are £210,000 short of being able to complete this work. We have arranged at a very favourable interest rates a three year loan of £200,000 so we can very confidently assured that we will be able to complete these projects.

But £210,000 is the realistic new target that I would hope we could be raised by next Easter. We have over the past year averaged around £20,000 a month. So the expectation to have raised the remaining funds I hope is very achievable. I would hope that the actual funding gap is really closer to £150,000. But we must remember that we still owe the Society of Jesus £250,000 from the work we did in the halls. My hope would be that by achieving that £210,000 we could have started on a down payment to pay the Jesuits back.

Regarding the generosity of the parish so far, I must say that I am really humbled. We are striving to reconstruct a major portion of our beautiful church for many generations to come, assuring a building into the 22nd Century. Many people and organizations have worked with great dedication and sacrificed much for us to be in this position. A small number of people have given tens of thousands to this effort. Many parishioners have given significant sums over a number of years. Some of the more financially modest members of the parish have given extremely generously. For all that I am more than thankful, I am truly humble. But of all the many occasions for me to be thankful I clearly remember one special day when I opened a letter given to me by a young girl outside the church one Sunday morning.

This is the letter and it says (with the names altered):

Dear Sacred Heart Community,

Jane and I, Jill, baked some cakes to earn money for the church. We are year 6 pupils at Ursuline Prep School. We have earned £11.75. It is not much, but we thought every little helps.

From Jane and Jill

This letter and the effort done by these two girls is enough to celebrate in itself. But I think it also indicates the generosity embedded in this community that it naturally draws this humble act of generosity from the young who are the most attuned to prevailing attitudes. I think their act is a good barometer to see the generosity of the whole community. May it encourage us to continue on.

We have accomplished much in the past few years and between now and Christmas we will accomplish ever more. But know that I do not presume your generosity and discount it in thinking of evermore grand projects. I am very aware of the sacrifices made and after we have accomplished these great acts I will be very hesitant to come before you again for such significant sums. As an accountant I am fully aware money does not grow on trees.

Move to the Upper Hall

Next week I hope to have a special sheet concerning our upcoming move to the hall. In greater detail I will discussed what has been arranged. But a few things need to be said now and often.

As of 6 April all church services will be in the Upper Hall. It will be our permanent place of worship for the six months. The Blessed Sacrament will be reserved permanently in the hall. My hope is that people will feel welcomed enough to continue to use our parish for a place of prayer and fellowship. We need to add an additional mass to satisfy the numbers who come here on a Sunday. The upper hall only accommodates around 370 people, which is significantly less than the normal attendance at the 9:45 and 5 pm masses. The new mass schedule is the following:

Saturday at 6:30, Sunday at 8, 8:50, 10, 11:30 and 1, 5 and 8 pm, as well as the 8:30 mass at the mass centre at Sacred Heart School. I encourage those nearer the school to take advantage of that mass, where up to 150 people can be accommodated.

This as well as all the compromises needed to make this work in the next 6 months is provisional. We are 'camping out' for six months. No doubt some changes will have to be made in mid-stream. But despite the temporary discomfort and compromises needed to camp out, I also hope it will be a time of special joy and surprise. I am looking forward to that period when we can interact with one another in a different way and experiencing the communal celebration of God’s Love that is at the heart of this community.

See also:

• arrangements for replacing the church floor
• notes on church moving to the upper hall