I am excited to report that there is great enthusiasm when it comes to the issue of moving forward on a New Parish Hall! Our survey about building a Hall for OLPH has given me a good impression of what many parishioners think. I am grateful to everyone who responded. I appreciate those who came to attend the presentation last week, asked questions and made remarks. A total of 196 people filled out the survey which is equal to about 8% of Sunday attendance. 79% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that building a Parish Hall is important at this time. 73% of the respondents say they will give extra to make up what is needed for the project. The rest of the results of the survey are available at our website.

I am confident about building a New Parish Hall at this time, and the survey indicates fellow parishioners are committed, too. The Pastoral Council and the Finance Council are confident it is time and should be done, too. All this being the case, I am directing OLPH to enter an agreement with the general contractor and architect. Then we can finalize the Hall’s design and set in motion the four-month-task to produce the construction drawings. When the drawings are finished actual construction can begin as soon as possible in the spring.

I am calling this the PARISH HALL CAPITAL PROJECT. It will cost $4.2 million. OLPH has $2.7 million for the project. We need to raise $1.5 million more in the Capital Fund to make up the balance. Constructing a Parish Hall will be a beautiful gift to our community and future generations of the OLPH Parish Family. It is our 125th as a Catholic Community, and a large gathering space will make a special gift. Please give some thought and prayer about how you can help with this Capital Project.

Fr. Jeff Pehl