My Dear Friends:
Thirteen months ago, we began our Centennial Campaign and a great many things have transpired during that time. I believe now is a prudent time to update you on all the things that have been going on behind the scenes with all our projects as our 100th birthday inches closer and closer.
Church Projects:
Our new pipe organ’s visual design is now complete. This instrument is going to be stunning and something that parishioners will listen to well into the next century and beyond. Engineering for the reinforcement and preparation of the choir loft is complete, and the General Contractor has been signed and construction documents and plans are heading to the city for approval.
Now this is the part that will affect all of us next summer: work will begin in the church late in the spring of 2025, continuing all summer, to include the balcony reinforcement project, interior repainting of the church, the touch-up and restoration of the reredos, and installation of the new pews.
In the spirit of celebrating our past, starting in mid-June 2025, we will be back into our “original” church (Comber Hall) for a few months while this complex work is ongoing, set to return to the church in the fall of 2025. We have asked parishioners who are interior designers to re-imagine Comber Hall so that it can be a worthy worship space for us next summer.
The organ is set to be completed sometime next year and will arrive here in February 2026. Stay tuned for a potential “organ crawl” next fall as we head back to Gloucester, Massachusetts for an “open house” to see our completed organ before it gets packed up for delivery along with visits to New England churches who have the same mechanical action organ that we will soon have.
School Projects:
The new Multi-Purpose Building received its first major approval from the Coral Gables Board of Architects two weeks ago, allowing us to move on to the Historical Preservation Board before the plans can be presented before the Commission. Though there is no firm timeline yet on a potential ground-breaking or start of construction date, the project continues to move forward through all necessary channels in City Hall. It is not going at the speed that we would have hoped to, but we are working diligently with city officials to make this beautiful building a reality.
With St. Theresa School celebrating its 100th next September, Centennial Naming Plaques for classrooms and offices in our existing buildings will move into production by the end of this school year, to be installed ahead of our first of many Centennial celebrations next school year.
Fundraising Update:
A little over 1 year into our campaign, we now have over $9 million secured in pledges and close to $3.5 million in monies received. That’s over 25% of our goal raised! Thank you all for your generosity and support!
Though new pledges and new gifts continue to come in on a weekly basis, this end-of-year giving season is an opportune time to recommit to building on our legacy as a parish community. Our campaign progress as it stands today is sufficient to cover our church projects and the pre-construction phase of the STS Multipurpose Center, but we will all need to dig just a little deeper to hit our overall goal of $13 million to get us into the construction phase of the project.
· To those who have not yet given, please consider a two-year gift starting today.
· To those who are actively paying a pledge, please consider whether you are able to make a sacrificial increase to either your overall pledge or to your scheduled payments.
· To those who have already completed a pledge, please consider a new pledge for this next year of the campaign.
· And to those who are unable to make a pledge but give something weekly or monthly from what you can give, please continue making those little sacrifices,
as every dollar donated to the campaign makes a difference!
I can’t thank this community enough for the dedication to making our Centennial not only a memorable event to be celebrated, but keeping up and making sure the beauty of this church which speak to the divine is kept alive for generations to come. Speaking of celebration, early next year we will begin to unveil all the celebrations that will coincide with our 100th anniversary which begins when the school turns 100 on September 15, 2025, and runs for 13 months until October 2026 to celebrate the founding of the Church of the Little Flower. There is still much work to be done, and I pray you join us in helping build on the legacy of this extraordinary parish and school.
God bless you all,
