St. Rose of Lima

1. The parish has never had a facilities committee in the past.  Why do we have one now?

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For years, the St. Rose of Lima has functioned without a full-time priest servicing the parish.  Recently, we have been fortunate enough to have dedicated part-time priests through the diocese and now a full-time resident priest leading St. Rose of Lima and St. Patrick’s parish.  As Father Barlett settled into the new parish, a number of facilities concerns were presented to him. As such, he, with the help of some long-term parishioners, assembled a facilities committee in the fall of 2018 to review these concerns and set strategies to assess, enhance, repair, and/or replace the existing systems/facilities.  The committee is intended to be temporary in nature, existing long enough to offer and enact on facilities improvements as necessary. 

 

Much of the discussion within the committee has regarded the need to house a full-time dedicated priest/parochial administrator at St. Rose.  An announcement was made in November 2018 that the diocese approved St. Rose to construct a new rectory, per the recommendation of this committee.  This generated much discussion and many questions throughout the parish, and rightly so. This handout was created to address some of the more frequently asked questions.

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St. Rose of Lima Rectory/Facilities Committee Purpose

 

• To assess the current state of the systems and facilities of St. Rose of Lima Catholic church

• Carries the authority to make decisions on the parish’s behalf

• Carries the responsibility to address concerns and determine the long range strategies that balance fiscal responsibility with long term benefits.

• Priorities currently being reviewed:

  1. Permanent resident priest housing

  2. HVAC concerns in the church

  3. Resurfacing of the Parking Lot

  4. Replace the church roof

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2. Why is the rectory layout so big? 

 

The current rectory layout was developed through much dialogue within the committee combined with input from the diocese, who offers final approval on any plans.  The diocese has recommended that the rectory have room to house 2 priests in the future (or priest and a seminarian) along with a guest bedroom for visitors.   The committee recommends building a 3 bedroom rectory in the unforeseen circumstances that the house is sold in the future (3 bedroom homes offer resale advantages over 2 bedroom homes).  

 

It should be noted, that this is a Rectory, not simply a house.  While there are a lot of similarities, there are subtle differences between a rectory and a house.  Having separate bedrooms with dedicated bath is common in rectories.  Creating space that maintains privacy, allows for communal living while maintaining privacy between housemates, in the case that the housemates might not get along with each other (yes…there are priests that do not get along).

 

In addition, the committee seeks to create a dwelling that is welcoming for all parishioners and visitors; a place that current and future priests feel confident to invite parish families or groups for prayer, meetings, and other gatherings. It is important to note that the current layout is not final.  However, the general layout will likely remain similar throughout future versions. Thus, we are seeking your input through town hall meetings, one on one discussions, and more your concerns and solicit your feedback

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3. Why not renovate the Rose House?

 

This is a fair question, and one that was discussed at length with the committee.  The Rose house is 80+ years old, and renovations have been conservatively estimated to cost $75-$100K.  After much debate, the committee opted that investing this much into an older home did not have the best interests of the long term viability of St. Rose of Lima Parish.  There are efficiencies in constructing a new home that lower the building costs, and create a cost effective dwelling to maintain over the long term.

 

In addition, there have been several donors who have expressed excitement at how a new rectory would complement the church building.  This excitement motivated them to pledge generous amounts to the construction of a new rectory.  One such donor offered a substantial amount of money to demolish the current house (at their expense), haul away all debris (at their expense), and give the construction site back to the parish IF the parish agreed to build a new Rectory.  The amount this donor pledged was equal to the estimated net proceeds of selling the rose house, and building between.

 

To date, we have acquired approximately 30% of the estimated construction costs pledged to this project.

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4. Why is there a basement?

 

By building on a hillside (the current Rose House location), adding a full basement is very similar in expense as backfilling and compacting the ground to support a slab home.  While the drawing depicts a partially finished basement, it is unclear if the parish will finish it immediately or at a later date.  It is commonly most cost effective to finish a basement at the time of construction; it’s just more painful.

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5. Why are there only 7 people on the rectory committee?  Why isn’t the rest of the parish involved?

 

There is always a challenge in determining the “right” size of a committee. While the committee has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the parish, it also has the responsibility to do what is the in the best interest of the parish.  Thus, we are seeking your feedback.

 

Over the last 6 months, several meetings were held where the rectory project was discussed, debated, reviewed, and debated again.  At times the conversations became heated and intense as differences were debated and compromised.  One thing is certain through all of these meeting . . . . . the passion that each of these committee members have and their desire to do what is right for St. Rose of Lima should never be questioned. 
 

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6. Why is there a chapel in this house when the house is so close to the church?

 

There is a long tradition of priests having the Holy Eucharist in a rectory, and Bishop Johnston has approved this rectory to house it.  A priest is called to constantly pray for his people, and having a chapel in the rectory allows him to do that no matter what is going on in the church.  Although the distance from the rectory to the church is not long, a thriving parish has many events at its church throughout the week that would impede resident the priest from praying at certain times.  While this may appear as more of a “desire” than a need, there is great spiritual benefit for the parish at large.

 

The committee’s view is that the chapel will be built as a third bedroom on the main floor.  It can serve as a chapel or can be converted as an extra bedroom if needed in the future, or for resale purposes.

 

 

7. How can we pay for this if we can’t pay for monthly bills? 

 

On Father Barlett’s very first day, he was told by many “Don’t worry about the finances…..we always get the money when a project arises.”  This has been evidenced many times over in the various projects over the years.  It often seems more exciting to give money to something tangible than to donate money for monthly bills, salaries, and operating expenses.  As such, there are those in our parish, who currently do not give during the week who might be willing to begin an offering.   Likewise, there are some parishioners who give regularly, and might be inspired to give more.  In addition to monetary donations, we are seeking men & women with skilled trades experience who would be willing to donate their time and skills for this project. 

 

The brutal facts are, all of these projects will need to be addressed at some point in the next 5 years.  Part of having a thriving parish involves caring for the facilities.  It is a common practice to develop a long term strategy of maintenance, and ultimately replaced in time.

 

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8. Why move the grotto?

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At one time, we had discussed moving the grotto.  That is not being considered at this point, and the grotto will remain untouched throughout construction

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Still have questions? See below:

 

There are ground rules within the committee, that discussion and dialogue is welcome, even if it results in disagreement, so long as we continue the dialogue to a final resolution.  We seek your feedback as well, and there are multiple avenues to have that dialogue.  First and foremost, Fr. Barlett is available to discuss the project and its details. Secondly, Jason Sarsany has agreed to be spokesperson for the group and is open to phone calls, meetings, email, text, and more.  See their contact info below:

 

Jason Sarsany

Email (put St. Rose Rectory in the subject line)

Meetings: Can meet at my office, your home, or other site.  All conversations are confidential.

 

Fr. Joshua Barlett

E-Mail

Office: 816-324-5700