For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit
down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete
it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish,
all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began
to build and was not able to finish. Luke 14: 28-30
Your participation is needed in a discernment process that St.
Thomas’ is undertaking, a process whereby the parish’s needs and wants
for physical space and facilities are recognized, identified, and
communicated. In other words, a process that answers the question:
What is God calling St. Thomas to accomplish in our building?
This process will be carried out by a committee with the following
members: Clinton Anderson (Chair), Matt Cloninger, Dan Costello, Jan
Fetter-Degges, Jeff Franke, Mary Hager, Dennis Hobb, Kurt Jacobs, John
Johnson, Kristin Jones, Hardee Mahoney, Missy Morain, David Perez,
Kristen Queen, Jon Radulovic, Pepin Tuma, Nate West, Amy Whitford, Ron
Wilson, and Ryan Winfield. Others may join the Discernment Committee
or its five subommittees. We want as many people involved in this
process as possible!
The Discernment Committee, in collaboration with the Vestry, has decided on the following mission statement.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Discernment Committee will listen to
the congregation and the greater parish community, being respectful of
our heritage. We will discern and articulate the needs, wishes and
desires of our parish in response to current and anticipated growth
through an open and transparent process.
There will be five subcommittees:
Worship Space. This subcommittee will address worship space
needs to address crowding, accessibility, space utilization, music,
technology, and preservation of our sacred space and heritage.
Non-Worship Space. This subcommittee will address space needs
to address non-worship spaces such as offices, kitchen, infrastructure,
outdoor space, eco-friendly building methods, parking, and vesting
space.
Parish Programs. This subcommittee will address space needs for
our parish programs including adult and childrens education, nursery,
outreach, classrooms, and rehearsal space.
Financial. This subcommittee will explore financing options
available to the parish including donor development, sale of assets,
use of the insurance money given to the parish after the fire that
destroyed the sanctuary, debt, revenue generating options, and grants.
Communications. This subcommittee is responsible for reaching
out to all members and subgroups within the parish and communicating
the work of the Discernment Committee.
The subcommittees will have some members from the Discernment Committee, but other members as well.
There are sign-up sheets in the Guild Room where you can sign up to
participate in one or more of these subcommittees, or on the
Discernment Committee itself. We will be working intensely in the
subcommittees beween now and the beginning of the summer, The
discernment committee will take the reports of the subcommittees and
prepare a report for theVestry by the end of the summer. This report
will convey a vision of the parish’s needs and wants for space and
facilities and provide an itemized estimate of the costs.
On the basis of the vision for the building that the discernment
committee delivers, the Vestry will have to make a decision about
conducting a feasibility study for a capital campaign, a fundraising
drive to raise funds to support the vision for the building. If the
Vestry decides to move forward, the feasibility study will tell us what
we can afford, in other words how much money we are likely to raise.
The Vestry has contracted with a consultant, Eleanor Weis, from the
Episcopal Church Foundation, to guide us in the discernment process.
Once the Discernment Process is completed Eleanor will also work with
the Vestry to decide whether or not to conduct a feasibility study for
a capital campaign. If the Vestry decides to conduct the study,
Eleanor will conduct that study during the fall of 2008. The outcome
of the study will be a realistic estimate of how much money we will be
able to raise from within the parish membership.
The Vestry has also contracted with an architecture firm, AURAform
Inc, located in Old Town Alexandria, whose principals are Matthew
Jarvis and John Riordan. They will conduct an investigation of our
current support systems and building structures as well as render some
simple architectural drafts of possibility in response to the
discernment process.
These two steps of discernment and architectural evaluation will
help us determine if St. Thomas’ is in a position to move forward with
either a renovation or a capital campaign.
News and resources related to our discernment journey are available online at our dedicated web site, Conversations: A Discussion About Growth At St. Thomas'.
Please join us in this joyful work. There are sign-up sheets in the
Guild Room or you may click on one of the links below to join one of
the subcommittees.
If you have questions about the Discernment Committee or its work, you
may email committee chair Clinton Anderson. To learn more about the discussions
held at the recent listening sessions, visit Conversations: A Discussion About Growth At St. Thomas'.
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