A Report on the Parish Initiative, the Master Plan,
and our
by Fr. Paul J.
Niemann
The
Parish Initiative fundraising is going fairly well. Because of the Initiative,
we have made significant payments toward the debt on the
As
promised, the next step in our parish improvement plan will be the paving of
the gravel road between our present church parking lot to
Pledges
have not yet reached half of our goal, so it seems that our property debt will
be with us for quite some time, and any plans for new or expanded buildings are
on hold.
———
Another
improvement you have all noticed is the repair of the interior walls of the
Church. This repair is not part of the Initiative program, but was paid
for from our reserves and other donations.
When
the Church was renovated for her centennial in 1995, the exterior was not
repaired, and water damage quickly appeared. We had the brick walls tuckpointed in the summer of 2003 (at a cost of $10,300).
This past summer, our maintenance men examined the roof, the copper gutters and
the galvanized metal cornices below the gutters. They made a number of repairs,
and sealed and painted the gutters and downspouts. They also began to apply Siloxane, a waterproofing sealant, to the exterior brick
walls. The mechanical lifts that have been loaned to us have saved us many
thousands of dollars in scaffolding costs. The fact that we can do much of this
work ourselves has also been a great advantage. I’ve personally been everywhere
a man can be in and on our Church building, and if Channel 9 ever runs a
program called “This Old Church” I could offer a few pointers.
Our
19th century brick walls readily absorb moisture from the ground as
well as from rain or snow. Eventually, this moisture is taken up by the
interior plaster. (The cracked and peeling paint above the altar was the result
of damp plaster and mildew in the canvas that was applied to the walls before
painting.) As we were confident that all water leaks were stopped, we hired the
Max Autenrieb Church Decorating Company to repaint
the damaged areas. As you could see, large areas had to be re-plastered and
sealed before painting. So far the bills for this restoration have totaled
$11,000.
However,
this is not the end of the story. I have been told that the southeast corner of
the Church (the front, near the pre-school) continues to settle, resulting in
the many cracks visible from the balcony and stairway. Some of the cracks
repaired in 2003 have re-appeared, with further potential for water damage. We
will have to consider some ways of strengthening this area and preventing
further movement.
A
recent water stain on the Church ceiling, due to damp plaster, caused some
concern. We discovered some water-soaked and rotted wood in the Church attic
(yes, our Church has an attic, about 15 feet high at the peak) where the
gutter, roof and wall meet. We have repaired and sealed this area as best we
can. This is not a dangerous problem, but is an example of how a small leak
from long ago still plagues us. Due to the high humidity in our area, and the
minimal movement of air in the attic, whatever wood becomes wet from a leak
stays damp for a long time. We will pay close attention to this.
We
have also added some drain pipe to the downspouts, so that rain water will not
accumulate near the base of the Church walls.
Our
plan is to pay close attention to the Church building, and to develop a
photographic and written record of current and potential problems, so that we
can repair them as quickly as possible.
This
winter we learned that our 1966 boiler is likely beyond repair. We are trying
to keep it functioning until spring, and meanwhile are studying bids for its
replacement. A new boiler will probably cost us roughly $30,000.
Most churches defer their maintenance to save money, but experience shows that neglect and short-cuts cost more in the long run. We are trying to keep our Church in the best shape possible, and your ongoing support is essential. Thank you again for your generosity.