Dear brothers and sisters,
How beautiful it is to celebrate today the Feast of the Pentecost together with all of you. This celebration is a great reminder to each of us about the gift of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us for the benefit of the church community. As we look at the dynamics of our parish in this ambiance of Pentecost, we have countless things and achievements that we are very grateful for. But as you can imagine we never stop working to improve our facilities in order to be able to carry out our mission. On the occasion of the Feast of Pentecost, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some projects that are undertaken.
The first big project is the renovation of the Parish Hall. For those who have seen the Hall recently, it is very obvious that there is a great need to do some major repairs and upgrades and even to bring to code some areas. The hall is a great asset for the school and has been used for different purposes. For the restoration, the school was able to secure from two different Foundations an amount of $200,000.00. The total cost for the restoration will be $368,482.00 not including a new AC Unit and new furniture.
The second project is the installation of New Roofs at Four buildings: the Church, Cafeteria, Saint Joseph House (Old Convent), and the School Offices. All these roofs were damaged by hurricane Irma in 2017 and are covered under the insurance however our deductible will be $143,600.00. As stewards of your generosity, the finance council and I want to assure you of how careful we are in handling the day to day finances of the parish. For this reason I decided to present to you today these projects that we are going to undertake and hope you can generously help us to cover part of the cost for the remaining balance we have to pay out of pocket.
Even though most of you might have an idea of our financial situation, it is imperative for me to assure you of my commitment to carry out my responsibility to the highest standards of accountability. I am very aware of the sacrifices you have made to provide generously for the parish in order to fulfill the corporal and spiritual works of mercy to the people entrusted to our care. I wish these projects will resonate with you since they are some type of urgency for our parish. I anticipate thanking you for your support and comprehension. I pray that God our Father will grant you and your families his countless blessings.
Fr. Ducasse François, Pastor