Expanding our Capacity to Love and Serve: Parish Pastoral Center

OUR PARISH – OUR CHALLENGE

We, the people of St. Edward, are the Church. The buildings of our parish: the church, chapel, school, and Knight Hall, are sacred spaces because we encounter God through prayer, service and community in them.They play a vital role in the mission and ministry of our parish to bea House of Prayer and House of the Poor.

Our capacityto grow in love and knowledge of God, and our capacity to serve others,is currently being limited at our parish by the lack of meeting (or function) space. Unlike many parishes which have shrunk or closed, our parish has grown dramatically since the original church (now called Knight Hall) was built in 1971 by the founding pastor, Fr. Louis Knight, and parishioners.Our thriving community, with its growing number of parishioners and ministries, has outgrown the space we have available to supportthem.We turn away parish groups and those wishing to start new ministries because we don’t have room where they can meet. Every nook and cranny of our hall, church, chapel, and school is being maximized. For example, the office of our Director of Youth Ministry is located in the old confessional in Knight Hall! The only dedicated gathering space we currently have for our youth is the old sacristy in Knight Hall, a room designed for a priest and a couple of ministers to prepare for Mass.

THE BACKGROUND

In 1999, our parish conducted a capital campaign to fund a three-phase master plan which included 1) expanding the school,2) purchasing adjacent land to increase parking, and 3) building a new pastoral center.The school was expanded, the land was purchased and the parking lot was expanded, however, there was not enough money to build the pastoral center. Approximately $660,000 remains from the capital campaign in our parish savings account to build a future pastoral center.

In 2007, the pastor, Fr. Steve Sallot, put together a committee of parishioners who spent over a year planning the design of a new pastoral center.As they were preparing to begin fundraising, the economy crashed.With some parishioners losing their jobs and homes and many families either experiencing or worrying about financial difficulties, plans for fundraising and building a pastoral center were put on hold.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We now have a short window of opportunity to reconsider building a new pastoral center. In 2021-2022 the Diocese of Orange will begin a diocesan-wide capital campaign.Any fundraising for our parish must take place either before the diocesan campaign begins or after it ends (approx. 2025-2026). In other words, if we are going to build a pastoral center, we need to begin the process now or wait until the diocesan campaign is over in about eight to nine years.

I am working with the same parish committee that Fr. Sallot formed to develop conceptual drawings and estimate the cost of a pastoral center. Initial concepts visualize one new pastoral center which would replace three existing structures: (1) Knight Hall, (2) the Ministry Building, which includes the parish offices (former rectory) and possibly (3) the small building where Mary’s Corner, the donut room and bathrooms are located. In addition, improvements are also planned for the area outside of the church to provide a more comfortable and welcoming environment for people to gather.

THE NEXT STEP

I am asking every parishioner to prayerfully discern if we should expand our capacity to love and serve by building a new pastoral center. In June, all registered parishioners will receive a survey in the mail so that they can provide input on this important decision. (Please make sure we have your current contact information). The results of the survey, which will be shared with parishioners in July, will tell us (1) if we want to build a new pastoral center and (2) how much money we are able and willing to raise. The decision to build a pastoral center will be based on your feedback.

If, after your input, we decide to build a pastoral center, we will begin a capital campaign this fall.During the fundraising campaign, architectural plans for the center will proceed with feedback from parishioners, neighbors and the City of Dana Point.

To reiterate, a decision to build a new pastoral center has not been made nor has the center been designed. Instead, in June, we will be taking the important first step of prayerfully discerning together if we want to build a pastoral center so that we can expand our capacity to love and serve.

Yours in Christ,

-Fr. Brendan