By Father Casey

If you've been paying much attention over the last several months, you know that this weekend was to be our first worshipping in Roper Hall. Renovation work in the church was scheduled to begin next week, so we had intended to relocate the work of worship starting this Saturday and Sunday. Well friends, the start date of the renovations has been pushed back slightly – to early June – so we will enjoy the rest of Eastertide in our beautiful Nave.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, we are preparing to perform some major maintenance in our church. The building is 50 years old, and like anything that has existed for half a century, there are some issues that need care and attention. In coming months, we'll be replacing old ductwork under the church, updating electrical and wiring systems, improving lighting, replacing the pews (which are not able to be refinished), creating a side chapel in the south transept, and installing a ramp to the chancel. Additionally, our sacristy (the area behind the altar) will be renovated from top-to-bottom, and even expanded by nearly 50%, so our Altar Guild and liturgical ministers have the space and storage they need to do their holy work. That long list of projects is actually the reason for the shifted start: we were able to better align all the various contractors who will be a part of the renovations, and it means we can move out a bit later.

Once it begins, the projects will take months to complete, requiring our move to Roper Hall for the rest of the year (it is hard to predict a firm completion date, but we should expect it to be close to the end of the year). Dozens of involved leaders have helped us create a great plan for our relocated worship life, and if we can be open-hearted about the change, this season in Transfiguration's life will be a wonderful adventure. But I'm not sad to have a bit more time in our gorgeous church, and my hunch is that neither are you.

This delay to the start of work is a gift in another way, too. We have not yet reached our fundraising goal of $1.5M that we urgently need to successfully finish the Transfiguring Our Foundations campaign. Owing to dramatic price-increases since we launched in 2020, the long list of maintenance and improvement projects that are the centerpiece of this campaign, which we projected to cost $4M, will ultimately cost about $5.5M. Meanwhile, we remain firmly committed to reserving $3M in our infrastructure fund, managed by the Endowment Trustees to provide for the long-term future.

And so we've invited everyone to what we're calling the "Sixth Year." The campaign originally had a five-year timeline, so if everyone added a sixth year to their giving, we would raise nearly all of the $1.5M we need. And the rest of the gap we hope to fill by sponsorships of the new furnishings in the church: consider purchasing a chair, pew, or light fixture in the church. So far, 22 of the 100 new chairs have been sponsored, 5 of the 34 pews, and 5 of the 10 new light fixtures. Consider what a blessing it would be to provide for the needs of future parishioners, who will enter our church and sit on a pew or chair, or beneath a light, that you sponsored. What a marvelous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave a legacy in this place we cherish.

So I'll see you in church this weekend, friends!

Fr. Casey+