Thank you to all who took the time to fill out the parish survey!
Every survey was read and discussed by the entire parish council.
The most common suggestions that were received had to do with costly improvements to the parish building. It was agreed unanimously that these improvements should be made as soon as we receive the money to do so. The suggested improvements were the construction of an elevator to link basement and church, renovation and expansion of the washrooms, replacement of the heating system, a new sound system and the addition of bells in the bell tower. The costs of these improvements in our old church building would be well over two million dollars.
For those who do not know, our parish is already attempting to pay off a debt of over three million dollars. We do have some very generous donors. Thank you to those who do support the parish so generously. There are also a significant number of people who donate $5.00 a week. Today it is difficult to do anything with $5.00. As we barely pay our bills from week to week, there have been cutbacks in office hours and other services as a result of rising costs.
The suggestions made in this survey would require a major financial campaign that the council did not feel would be appropriate in these difficult times. These expectations do make very real the financial constraints on our community. If you are one of the many people who are donating $5.00 a week, perhaps consider what you can buy in today’s world for that amount. Even a movie is close to $20.00. Inflation has touched every area of our lives. We suspect that those who are still giving $5.00 a week are doing so because that is what they have always done. However, in order that we might attempt to do some of the things that parishioners expected to be done for them, please consider providing your parish with the financial means to do so.
Thank you again to all who filled out a survey. In the coming weeks, the parish council will report back and continue to respond to the suggestions and concerns.
