Pastor’s Letter: January 8, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: January 8, 2023

6 Jan 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

The January 8 bulletin is available online.

Dear friends,

I hope your new year is off to a good start. As you know, the Parish Center had a water issue at 12 am on Christmas Eve. Many people have asked me several questions about the situation so here is an update.

The brisk 50 mph wind was blowing against the northwest corner of the Parish Center, the location of my office. While the temperature remained in the 50s and 60s in the office space, the temperature above the dropped ceiling reached a freezing temperature. The fire prevention sprinkler head about my desk froze, and then burst when it thawed. The fire department turned off the fire suppression system. At that point, the water had sprayed for about 25 minutes. The water flowed from my office into the hallway, the banquet room, two other offices, two storage rooms, down a stairwell, and through the ceiling into two basement classrooms. The water was removed by 6:30 am with the help of Hoerr Carpet Cleaning and Restoration. Dehumidifiers and fans were installed to dry out the building over several days. Fortunately the building was dried quickly so we didn’t lose any walls or carpeting. Everything needs to be professionally cleaned by Hoerr. The vinyl base on all water affected walls will be replaced by Columbia Rug. McClanahan Painting will paint all the damaged walls. Maloney Cleaning Services will clean and wax the VCT tile floors. Several parishioners helped move furniture and supplies, and will be needed when the repairs are finished. All in all, the damage is much less than it could be. Insurance will cover all of our costs. The worst parts are the amount of office paperwork lost in my office and the disruption to the use of my office, the Banquet Room, the John Paul II Library, and the Basement. While we don’t have a date yet, it looks like a couple of weeks before we can get everything back to full functioning order. Thanks for your patience and prayers. Fortunately, I had moved the kind Christmas Cards to my Rectory prior to the water leak, so I was able to enjoy those Christmas messages. I did lose my meeting calendar, all the papers on my desk and many items inside the desks. It is possible I will lose track of communication some may be expecting. Please reach out if you need anything from me or feel a communication was missed.

As we begin the New Year, the news of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is certainly sad for the global Church. Benedict gave such a wealth of knowledge to the Church throughout his priesthood. For all the many roles he fulfilled and the theological writings he produced, the Church will long be grateful. His resignation was one of the more humbling decisions I’ve seen in the clergy. Please join me in praying for the repose of Pope Benedict and for peace for all those mourning.

God bless,

Father David