Dear Parishioners, I am happy to announce that the first phase of our Restoring Beauty project has now been fully funded with the help of another very generous donation from an anonymous donor. We have now reached our Phase 1 goal of $391,000 in pledges and donations since we kicked off fundraising only four months ago. 

   Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially and in service to the Restoring Beauty project to help us move so quickly on making our vision a reality. We could not have made this happen without your encouragement and support, your fundraising efforts, your attendance at all our fundraisers, and your financial contributions of all amounts. 

   It’s now time to start the work, which officially begins on Monday, March 10 when we will remove several pews from the front of the church, and move the existing altar, ambo and tabernacle forward into the nave of the church. The sanctuary will be curtained off by plastic for the demolition and reconstruction to begin. Mass will still take place in the church.

   Phase 1 includes new altars and ambo, communion rail, installation and design of the large stained-glass window, statue restoration, and all new lighting and interior painting. It will also include new flooring in the nave and the sanctuary. Jolene, our project manager, and I have recently had planning meetings with the architect, contractor and lighting consultant. The new altars are being built by Whit Baker, and they look beautiful. The restoration of the statues is almost done, and the stained-glass window is in the final design process.  

   We are still continuing the fundraising for Phase 2 of the project, to take place after Phase 1. Our initial estimates of Phase 2 will cost about $130,000 to include additional infrastructure improvements like realigning the stairs to the choir loft to improve safety, adding air conditioning to the church, and lighting and painting the steeple as paint is currently peeling. Our next fundraisers for the Restoring Beauty Project will be the Mardi Gras Dinner and Dessert Auction, the quilt raffle, and a Parish Cookbook project. 

   Thank you again to all who have supported this vision of Restoring Beauty to our sanctuary and our church.