Father Tim Lemlin
The life of this parish isn't hidden and neither is it easily seen. It isn't often felt and neither is it easily missed. The life of this parish isn't found in perfection and often is found in our imperfection. It is mysterious and fully revealed. It isn't generated by us; it's something in which we participate. It dwells within each of us and it is larger than all of us.
It is easy for me to focus on one component, or even seven components, helpful as they may be, but they aren't the life of this parish. When I make them the life of this parish, I begin to live life filled with anxiety. No, the life of this parish isn't its buildings, the actions of individuals, or even the sacraments. The life of this parish is God loving each one of us and each one of us participating in this love.
This past week I have struggled. I have struggled with speaking about the specific needs of the buildings and property. These are secondary to me. I know that they serve a purpose, but they are not the heart of who we are. We are each a child of God. This is our life. If we are investing in this, and many of us are, then we are making our lives available to be transformed. We are imitating Christ, our primary purpose in life. I also know that we need buildings in order to keep the rain off our heads. It is from this perspective, and hopefully with this balance, that I offer the following.
Our Lady of Good Help Parish has a number of projects to our buildings that need to be addressed. Your generosity has enabled several projects to be completed in the past six years without the parish going into debt. Volunteers, for example, painted the interior of the church, put in a lift, and re-pointed the chimneys on the school and the church. Others have donated money to help defray the costs of projects or needs; for example, a new copier when the old one died. There are several projects staring us in the face, however, that are too big for volunteers. The church and school roofs, church structural concerns, emergency lighting and fire alarms for the church building, and parking lot maintenance and repairs are some that come to mind. We also have other projects that possibly could be done by volunteers, such as the repairing of the garage, and refinishing the church hall floor, but we still need money for materials.
I have consulted the finance committee, the heads of ministries committee, as well as several individuals, concerning these needs. We are keeping our operating costs as low as we can, and still we are finding it very difficult to put money aside to complete these projects. The alternative we explored was a capital campaign. I want to re-emphasize that this is not about putting money in savings. This is about raising money in order to address specific needs. If this is agreeable, we will look to begin this campaign next September. If anyone of you would like to speak to me about this idea, I am ready to listen.
Our Lady of Good Help Parish belongs to each of us, and each of us belongs to God.
