Statement to Parishioners Oct. 2010
The following statement was read to the community each of the weekend Masses, 23rd/24th October 2010:
My name is….. and I am a member of the committee set up by Fr Rory to push forward the new church building project at St Wilfrid’s.
Most of you will remember that the new church project was approved at a parish meeting in the first part of last year and the documents were submitted to the Diocese for approval. There seemed to be a long delay and so Fr Rory set up the special committee in May of this year.
We have met with the Diocesan Financial Secretary, with Bishop Kieran and have had two meetings with the architect. Although we still have some unresolved matters we thought we would make a presentation to you today to enable you to give us your opinions. We will take these into account when we write to the Bishop in November.
This talk is going to be fairly short because we have prepared a leaflet which we will give to you on your way out of church today/tonight, together with a comment form which we hope you will take away and hand back next week.
Briefly, we need a new church because the present one is too small and the wooden lean-to sacristy is falling down and lets in rain. The church does not meet current access standards. The little church hall is not really big enough for anything.
Felix Chetwynd and Mary Garner both left the parish some money when they died and this is now worth about £506,000. However, the approved new church costs more than twice this amount and part of the shortfall was to be made up by selling off the priest’s house in Hailsham. Earlier this year we told you that the Bishop did not like that suggestion and wanted us to develop the site of the presbytery by building 5 houses there, with one of them being reserved as the priest’s house.
However, we found that this option would only realise a profit of less than £200,000, and, with the Bishop’s permission, we have gone back to the original plan that was approved by parishioners last year which was to sell off the priest’s house at Hailsham and the parish priest would then live in the house at Polegate. This will cause a loss of rental income to Polegate parish. When the Bishop wrote to us recently, he asked that we seek the views of both communities — which is what we are now doing.
The new church will seat 140 people easily and, although the chairs will have no kneelers, we can provide hassocks for those who like to kneel during Mass. It will provide 3 meeting rooms and have toilet facilities for all. We hope it will be used by the whole community, not just by the parish.
The cost of the development remains our greatest concern and the leaflet will show you how big we expect the shortfall will be. We have to convince the Bishop that the Parish will not be left with a huge debt that we cannot repay.
This is the responsibility of each of us and we welcome your comments and suggestions on any matters concerning this project. If you have any expertise that you could offer us then we would be pleased to hear from you.
The plans and artists impressions are available for viewing in the hall after Mass and some of the committee will be available to answer your questions.
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The following History of the Project, the Treasurer’s financial assessment and the Comments form were given to the members of the community at the end of Mass:
ST WILFRID’S PROJECT NEWS OCTOBER 2010 – PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
The history of the Project is long and varied. Two legacies were left to the parish in the late 1990′s and Fr Tony Shelley had some plans drawn up for a new church. In October 2006 all parishioners were invited to a meeting with Bishop Kieran to discuss these. However, these plans turned out to be too expensive. Fr Shelley retired and matters were put on hold until Fr Rory was appointed. A new architect prepared plans for a combined church/hall in 2008. However, this design was completely rejected by the Diocesan Arts & Architecture Committee. The architect was asked to prepare new drawings and that same committee examined these. After taking their comments into account, he presented the revised plans to a meeting of parishioners in February 2009, who gave their approval.
The new church project was submitted to the Diocese in March 2009. Later Bishop Kieran appointed Deacon Aidan Lynch to look at the project in detail. In May 2010 Fr Rory appointed Bob Waters, Brian Winter, Aim Fielder, Mary van Breda, Geoff Stone and Deacon John as a Project sub-committee to try to speed things along. Deacon Aidan was contacted and he submitted a Report to the Bishop in the same month.
In June 2010 the sub-committee discussed the project with Bishop Kieran. The Bishop had many questions and was very concerned about the costs of the project but at the end of the meeting he told us to go ahead with looking into the feasibility of the project. Since then the sub-committee have been examining the project as a whole and has twice met with the architect. We are now making this short report to parishioners to enable everyone to give their views. After that we will make a Report to the Finance Committee before sending a revised project proposal to the Diocese.
In June 2010 the sub-committee discussed the project with Bishop Kieran. The Bishop had many questions and was very concerned about the costs of the project but at the end of the meeting he told us to go ahead with looking into the feasibility of the project. Since then the sub-committee have been examining the project as a whole and has twice met with the architect. We are now making this short report to parishioners to enable everyone to give their views. After that we will make a Report to the Finance Committee before sending a revised project proposal to the Diocese.
The current situation is as follows:
The approximate costs of demolition,
rebuilding, etc. are……………………………£1,300,00
If we sell the presbytery we might obtain……..£300,000
The two legacies now amount to…………………£506,000
Fund Raising has amounted to…………………..£ 80,000 886,000
We still need to raise about………………………………………………£414,000
Our expected fundraising for next 7 years….£200,000
Estimated income - letting meeting rooms…20,000 £220,000
Shortfall at end of 7 years (not including interest) £194,000
rebuilding, etc. are……………………………£1,300,00
If we sell the presbytery we might obtain……..£300,000
The two legacies now amount to…………………£506,000
Fund Raising has amounted to…………………..£ 80,000 886,000
We still need to raise about………………………………………………£414,000
Our expected fundraising for next 7 years….£200,000
Estimated income - letting meeting rooms…20,000 £220,000
Shortfall at end of 7 years (not including interest) £194,000
So what would we get for our money?
1. A new church, and centre for our community, that will last at least 80 years.
2. Flexible seating for more than 140 people.
3. 3 meeting rooms available for use by the whole community.
4. New toilets + disabled toilet.
5. Parish office and a large entrance hall..
2. Flexible seating for more than 140 people.
3. 3 meeting rooms available for use by the whole community.
4. New toilets + disabled toilet.
5. Parish office and a large entrance hall..
What are the disadvantages?
1. The proposed seating is not sufficiently greater than the current 126 seats.
2. Meeting rooms might be a bit small for some social events.
3. Priest will be living at Polegate so there will be a loss income there from house letting.
4. The church will have chairs only — no kneelers.
2. Meeting rooms might be a bit small for some social events.
3. Priest will be living at Polegate so there will be a loss income there from house letting.
4. The church will have chairs only — no kneelers.
What is the next step?
Do these plans meet our needs? Can we raise the money needed? We would like your comments, please.
Please talk to one of the sub-committee or use the form attached. Please return the form by next weekend.
Please talk to one of the sub-committee or use the form attached. Please return the form by next weekend.
ST. WILFRID’S CHURCH – PROJECT COMMENT FORM
Please use this form to make your comments on any aspect of the Project to build a new Church and return it by next weekend We have included a few headings and notes.
Reason for building a new church:
The present one is too small if Hailsham grows in size or if it had to be reduced to one weekend Mass in the future.
The sacristy is in poor condition and the roof lets in rain.
The church roof and walls need repair and internal decoration.
The entrance hall is too small.
There is no toilet for disabled persons in church or parish room.
The parish room is unfit for purpose.
There is frequent flooding outside the church.
The sacristy is in poor condition and the roof lets in rain.
The church roof and walls need repair and internal decoration.
The entrance hall is too small.
There is no toilet for disabled persons in church or parish room.
The parish room is unfit for purpose.
There is frequent flooding outside the church.
Presbytery
The priest’s house at Hailsham has to be sold to help raise money to build the new church. The plan is for the Parish Priest to be resident at Polegate and for the Parish Office to be situated in the new building at Hailsham.
Polegate parish would lose income from letting the house but would receive money from Hailsham towards the maintenance etc of the house.
Polegate parish would lose income from letting the house but would receive money from Hailsham towards the maintenance etc of the house.
Finances:
How do we raise the money needed? It is a very large amount. It is like climbing a mountain. The answer is we do it one step at a time.
We would not expect to start building until one year after the Diocese gives approval. If we have not raised sufficient funds by then, we would expect the Diocese to lend us the balance of the money needed. (But we will have to pay interest!)
We would not expect to start building until one year after the Diocese gives approval. If we have not raised sufficient funds by then, we would expect the Diocese to lend us the balance of the money needed. (But we will have to pay interest!)
Building works will take one year and we have then at least 5 years to repay any loan from the Diocese. So we estimate that we have the next 7 years to raise over £400,000 but based on current projections we only expect to raise about £200,000. This still leaves a shortfall of £200,000, plus interest estimated at £80,000.
Some parishioners might want to make gifts towards the cost or to buy items such as a new tabernacle or a chair, a brick or make a donation in memory of a loved one, and we welcome such support.
We are currently exploring the possibility of obtaining grants from charities, etc.
Opinions:
Please give your opinion on our future action:
Most importantly, we need to PRAY for God’s guidance for the Project.
It would be helpful if you could give us your name and address.