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Building
A Future Of Hope – Update
In the months since Commitment Weekend
occurred in late November, pledges to the Building
A Future Of Hope Campaign have amounted to
approximately 40% of Holy Spirit’s goal.
The Archdiocesan campaign is unique in that parishes
will be able to retain 50% of what is raised
during the campaign and 75% of any amount
raised in excess of 110% of the goal. Holy Spirit’s
goal is $1.5 million. If the goal is attained,
$750,000 will be available for the parish’s use.
Should $2 million be raised, Holy Spirit will be
able to retain $1.08 million.
The plans for the use of these funds target two key
areas: one is capital investment in the interior of
the church (lighting and pews will be the major areas
of concentration); the other is the retirement of
the parish’s debt through the acceleration of the
repayment schedule. Retiring the debt ahead of
schedule will result in interest expense savings that
may permit the rate of school tuition increases to
be reduced and will allow the parish to participate
in many more outreach ministries.
Church Renovations
Budget constraints have forced a temporary halt to
the renovation and restoration work on the church
exterior that began this past summer. The church
building is the focal point of the parish and much
has been done to improve it, with plans in place to
do even more. The current exterior project is being
completed in several phases and, at this time,
Phase 1, which focused on the church steeple, has
been completed. The steeple tower section was
stripped, repaired and painted (excluding the
leaded copper apex of the steeple). Improvements
were made to the steeple lighting (the light that illuminates
the steeple windows). The leaded copper
apex of the steeple was cleaned and two coats of
Solarguard Hybuild elastomeric coating were applied.
All the steeple windows (including front
apex window) were replaced.
The remaining phases of the exterior renovation
and restoration work are scheduled to resume in
the 2010 – 2011 fiscal year. Those phases of the
project consist of the following:
Phase II - Sides and rear rounded section of
church: The overhangs/soffits/trim on the left
and right sides and the rear rounded section of
the church are to be stripped, repaired, and
painted. This phase included the removal of the
gutters and gutter brackets.
Phase III - Church entrances: All entryways,
windows and the colonnade are to be stripped,
repaired, and painted, as is the galvanized gutter
at the back of the school.
Phase IV - Front of the church: will be stripped,
repaired, and painted. This includes the apex,
ceiling, trim, and columns.
Phase V involves work on the rectory: strip, repair,
paint exterior trim; replace shutters; repair
or replace windows.
The five-phased project began in late August
2009.
The contractor is D & M Masonry - the same
company that performed the extensive renovations
at Southern Baptist Seminary. Two other
companies working on the project are Merrick
Roofing, which has served the archdiocese of
approximately 100 years, and the Johnson
Group, which is handling the lighting aspects of
the project.
The total estimated cost of the project is
$200,000 which includes a contingency fund.
The project is being funded through the parish’s
general operating funds.
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