Letter From Pastor 11-15-2015

One of the things I noticed almost immediately when I arrived here in our parish was the fact that we have space issues! I guess you could say that we are “spatially challenged.” The beautiful addition that Monsignor Bierster added in 1995 was originally intended for parish offices and meeting spaces but has gradually been taken over by the needs of our school, REP and youth ministry. And, of course, we have grown through the years in parish staff, ministries and organizations. Don’t get me wrong!

Growth is a good thing and is a sign of vitality in a parish. But it is becoming more and more difficult to schedule our facilities because so many groups are vying for the same number of limited rooms. How does the CCW set up for their Christmas Bazaar when the school children are having lunch in the cafeteria? How does RCIA or Pastoral Council or the Boy Scouts meet when there are ten other groups wanting to meet the same night? If only we could find more space!

One of the spaces that has been underutilized is our parish convent. There are three Sisters living in a convent that was built for at least 18. That is roughly 11,000 square feet of space that is not used. In the past month or so, a wonderful opportunity has arisen for our parish. At the corner of our property is a small house owned by a longtime parishioner, Rose Resanovich, who is graciously offering to sell us her house. She would love to see the parish use her family home as a convent for our three Sisters. They are excited about living in a small, cozy home as well! The vision is to buy the house from parish savings for the Sisters and to renovate the convent to be used as office and parish space.

The school offices would move into our present parish offices and would help alleviate some of the space issues that both the parish and the school are having. Let’s move forward with confidence as we plan for the future and make Saint Joan of Arc Parish the best it can possibly be!

Father Al