Sacred Heart Church needs extensive and expensive roof work. The slate is showing the wear and tear of 113 years. Much of the flashing and the gutters need to be replaced as do 25% of the slates. The cost of this work has been estimated at $285,000.

If you look closely at the Church’s interior, you’ll see where water has leaked in. The walls must be repaired and repainted. The painting will cost about $75,000. This figure includes both the upper and lower church. The outside of the Rectory is also badly in need of paint at a cost of $20,000. New carpeting will improve and further beautify the interior of the Church at an additional $20,000, and repair of the kneelers will cost $12,000. The entire cost of the proposed renovation comes to more than $400,000. To be prepared for all contingencies, we must raise enough money to cover the unforeseen costs of any renovations; therefore, our campaign goal is set at $500,000.

With such a large amount of money to be raised, the first question that I have been asked by concerned parishioners is whether all this money will stay at Sacred Heart. My answer is a resounding “Yes it will.” WE are raising these dollars for our parish and for our parish alone. None of the money raised will go to the Archdiocese.

Many people have asked, “Why don’t we sell Saint Andrew’s property and use that money to fix the roof?” The proceeds from the eventual sale of Saint Andrew’s will be used to endow Sacred Heart Church and School for the future. These endowments will provide stability and will safeguard against bad economic times.

The Project Slate campaign begins on March 5 and continues until September 1, 2006. You can make a pledge to Project Slate at anytime. All parishioners will receive a mailing in early March, complete with a pledge card, detailing the campaign and asking for your investment in the future of Sacred Heart. Pledges can be paid over one, two, or three years.

The gift you offer is between you and the Lord. Please take time to consider what you and your family can afford to contribute to this effort. This occasion calls for a gift of sacrifice from our generation to benefit the next. Consider the gifts made by those in 1893. They were the gifts that built our church. In the 1950s, families sacrificed to build our school, and again in the 1960s, to renovate the church.

Those who came before us have given to ensure that we have this sacred space in which to worship. It is now our turn to give in order to ensure that the generations to come will have the same benefit. Whatever the size of your gift to Sacred Heart, I ask every one of our members to join in this effort for our Church roof.

May god bless you for your generosity.