Summer Parish Potlucks and The State of the Parish: Part III

V. The Centennial Year

Toward these ends, we are preparing to celebrate our centennial year of campus ministry at the University of Colorado. It was in the 1908-09 school year that Father Agatho Strittmeyer OSB began the Newman Club. Forty years ago, 1968, St. Thomas Aquinas was elevated to the status of a parish to serve the needs of the University better and it was twenty years ago, 1988, that our church was rededicated after the fire. One hundred year, forty year and twenty year milestones…seems like a year for a celebration! We have many things planned for to mark this year but it will be anchored by three events. The first is an all parish Mass on Norlin Quadrangle on September 7th at Noon with the Archbishop as the main celebrant and, hopefully, some Paulist priests as concelebrants. We are hoping for at least 2500 to be in attendance. The second event will be a party in honor of the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas in the beginning of February and the third will be a closing Mass and appreciation dinner for all of our volunteers and benefactors.

The goal of this is celebrate, to be grateful to God for all the blessings he has bestowed upon on us but also to look forward into the future, toward all those things that He wants to accomplish through us. Included in this will be to think strategically about our future, especially in terms of our facilities.

VI. Strategic Planning

We are so blessed by all those who have gone before us in providing us with a church, rectory, youth house, student center, pastoral center and foodbank. We have the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to make sure that we do the same for ourselves and those who follow us. The buildings are aging and need many improvements, repairs and renovations. This is very necessary and we should all recognize and embrace it. What these improvements and renovations look like is very much up to all of us. This is your parish but it also belongs to all those who come after us.

For those of you who are new to the parish, and those who participated and contributed, I’d like to address Faith on the Hill in this context. Faith on the Hill was a beautiful and ambitious plan of Fr. Paul Huesing and many parishioners to address the many capital needs of our parish and an accompanying capital campaign. The plan was a great idea, it addressed all of our needs, and I support its aims. However, the plan and campaign didn’t work out as well as was hoped and for a number of reasons. The plan was very expensive. The neighborhood and city, in order to halt the project, declared our property “historical.” Furthermore, the campaign wasn’t supported by enough parishioners and pledges. In the end, it raised $1.1 million over a three year period, the goal had been $3.5 million. By the time I arrived in June, 2006 the money had all been spent on fundraising, architectural costs and a house two doors down from the church. The house was to be demolished in order to expand south along 14th Street but halted by the city. Also, the needs of the parish changed dramatically during the campaign with the purchase of the new student center by the Archdiocese for our use. This greatly alleviated our space needs and called into question the size and scope of our renovations. Lastly, the number of resident community members and students began decreasing in 2001, again, lessening the need for such a big project in many minds.

As I mentioned, I support the aims of Faith on the Hill and see its value. The house on 14th Street will never be used for anything other than the capital improvements for which it was intended, either by selling it and using the money for capital improvements or demolishing it for expansion. If I am convinced that the vast majority of parishioners support it, that it is possible and that we can afford it, I will support it and fight the city to make it a reality to the best of my ability. But I am very skeptical of its practicality and feasibility.
This is not the end of the story, however, I believe that we can address the same needs in an excellent manner but on a much smaller scale. I have a number of ideas, as do others, of how to do this. This is not something that needs to be addressed right now, but rather a conversation that needs to be started. Looking at our capital needs, the discussion that is needed, the planning and the fundraising, it is clear that we will not be able to do anything on a large scale for many years, most likely three to five years. In the meantime, there are some pressing and urgent needs.