Big things are happening at St. Andrew’s!

Letter from our Rector on July 18, 2024

I’d like to take a moment to bring you up to date on one of several major changes coming to fruition this summer, and celebrate together the accomplishments of our Property Committee, who have worked with our vestry for three years to transform our relationship with our property so that it can significantly contribute to our ability to serve God.

Please join me in thanking: Doug Riblet (chair), Ralph Cleale, Bob Ebert, Bob Frankievich, Caren Hibbitts, Randy Hill, we remember with gratitude all the contributions of former members Pete Morris, Jaf Baxter and Bob Hampson, and give thanks for new members Jay Bayliss and Ray Zebrowski. If you’d like to join the team, please reach out to chair Doug Riblet.

Four Initiatives Underway

At the Annual Meeting in June, the wardens and I discussed four exciting undertakings that have been years in the making:

  1. Using our physical assets to serve God’s mission

  2. Hiring a new full-time Community Life Associate

  3. Deepening and expanding our music ministry

  4. Making the Parish House a center for education and hospitality

In this email, I want to celebrate together the progress over the last three years in using our assets to serve God’s mission – and you’ll be hearing more about the others in the coming weeks. A LOT of exciting changes are coming this summer!

Using Our Physical Assets to Serve God’s Mission

In 2021, we embarked on a two-fold planning process for the church that included creative design around mission and ministries, and intensive work with property consultants about our campus. Our goal with the property consultants was to stop draining money for underutilized buildings just for the sake of keeping buildings.

The consultants assessed our seven buildings to 1) give us a comprehensive set of recommendations on urgent and longer-term work that was needed by each building; 2) make recommendations about our management and systems; and 3) help us consider how to maximize our campus for ministry through the use, sale, and/or rental of our buildings.

This assessment affirmed that the church could significantly benefit from keeping our buildings – IF we were willing to make the changes needed to preserve and maximize them. The Property Committee and especially Bob Frankievich have led us in making good on that IF. Since the assessment, we have:

  • overhauled the Rectory for private rental,

  • gradually revamped the Parish House as an education and hospitality center for our church and wider community, and

  • used the increased proceeds from our three private rentals to help resolve deferred maintenance that threatened the preservation of our buildings.

The last piece of the essential basic preservation work laid out by the consultants is being completed now – the repointing of the church and portions of our other buildings in order to protect them from continued water and weather damage.

Thanks to the Property Committee

While this work is never “complete” – after all, we own several buildings that are over a century old, and the needs of the parish community and parish are constantly evolving - THIS IS A HUGE MILESTONE! It represents three years of dedicated work by our Property Committee and vestry to strategically weigh and work through projects, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Well done, good and faithful servants!

Peace,

Hilary