Rebuild to Serve: Strengthening Our Foundation for the Future

THE NEED

Our current Fr. John Giuliani Parish Center has been problematic since being built in 1998. Beginning with the damage to the roof caused by the “storm of the century” in 2004, the building has just never been “right.” Even after some initial repairs, over time, the cost to repair the center had ballooned to over $2 million — and with our current economic challenges, the cost of repairs will only increase. Even still, the Parish Center would not meet our current or future needs. With the Child Development Center occupying the building Monday through Friday until noon, that leaves little opportunity for other ministry activities. Quite simply, there’s no place for parish ministries to grow.

REBUILD TO SERVE

After months of prayer, study, and consideration, the leadership of the parish decided to move forward and rebuild the Fr. John Giuliani Parish Center on the existing location and build a new Child Development and Activity Center.

With the new Parish Center building, we will ensure the faith life of our parish family, both today and tomorrow for generations to come, and provide an unrestricted opportunity to carry out the mission of our parish — to form a church family dedicated to continuing the ministry of Christ. The proposed building will provide much-needed additional space for evangelization, outreach, hospitality, youth and adult formation, ministry growth, and community opportunities.

Many years ago, our parish leadership felt the prompting of the Lord to begin a faith-based early child development center. This has become part of our educational mission at St. Philip Neri. At our child development center, we believe that each child is unique and a special gift from God. We focus on developing social and school behaviors in a nurturing Christian environment while gently guiding each child to his/ her potential spiritually, socially, and academically. The new Child Development and Activity Center will help us better carry out our educational mission and provide a place to expand our ministerial and formational footprint in the parish and the local community.

STRENGTHENING OUR FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE — OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

These buildings have been on the minds and hearts of our parish leadership teams for several years. This past year, the Building Committee looked into what it would take to build our new Parish Center and Child Development Center. The group met with architects, engineers, and contractors. After careful consideration by the Building Committee, Property and Facilities Committee, and the Pastoral and Finance Councils, we have finalized our plan to administer the project and are now ready to begin to Rebuild to Serve: Strengthening Our Foundation for the Future.

The cost of the project is an estimated $8 million. In order to pay for this, we plan to raise $6 million through the Rebuild to Serve capital campaign. The remaining $2 million will be provided for from the parish’s savings ($1 million) and Future Growth and Expansion Fund ($1 million), to which parishioners have so faithfully been contributing over the past three years. It will be a great joy for so many to see the fruits of these generous donations Growth & Expansion Fund.

With the theme, Rebuild to Serve: Strengthening Our Foundation for The Future, we are launching an ambitious $6 million campaign. Ultimately, this campaign is not just about money or buildings — it’s about God’s people. It is about how can we be fruitful and grow our faith community to serve the mission set forth by the people of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church. This is a serious and important challenge for our parish community. All of us must pray for the success of the campaign, lend our many God-given talents to its completion, and make a financial commitment on all our parts to make it happen.

In the months that follow, you will receive a Rebuild to Serve brochure that will provide detailed information on the project. In addition, our website will be available 24/7 as a resource for Rebuild to Serve information, project updates, and to track campaign progress.

Thank you for all you have done to make St. Philip Neri Catholic Church such an incredible parish community, as well as your generosity in this endeavor.