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Dear Friends,
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began, St. Jerome launched the “Raise the Roof” capital campaign to provide much-needed funds to replace the church roof. During that campaign, however, we experienced not just COVID, but severe economic concerns, hyper-inflation, hurricanes, and other challenges. Despite all that, Mass attendance is returning, and our final position is improving. In addition, we exceeded our initial goal for the campaign and currently have over $600,000 in the roof savings account (see update to the right). As pastor, I am most appreciative of all of you for your continuing generosity in supporting our parish and Diocese during the past three years. But there is more work to be done. These last two hurricanes have put added stress on the church roof and have made it imperative at this point to raise the remaining funds to replace the roof – soon and very soon! Prior to starting our campaign, our Building and Maintenance Committee determined that replacing our shingled church roof with a metal roof was our best choice for several reasons. First, the warranty for a metal roof is at least 40 years, which is over double the lifespan of a shingle roof. Second, metal roofs withstand a category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds and 180 mph gusts. Third, metal roofs have reflective properties making them energy efficient which can reduce cooling costs by as much as 25%. Due to inflationary pressures, our roof project will now cost us about $1.4 million. The goal of the campaign is to raise the remaining funds of a little under $800,000 by the end of December 2023, so that we can begin replacement of the roof in the first quarter of 2024, the slower time for roofers which could provide discounts on the costs. You might be thinking that one year is a significantly short time, but it is very important to get our new roof on and avoid the continued costs of patching an already worn-out roof. We know St. Jerome is a place where parishioners come to be fed by the Lord and, in turn, are eager to support the needs of the parish. Our time is now and if we collectively support our new campaign, we WILL HAVE that new roof in early 2024. Thank you for your continued support and may God bless our efforts! |
Donated funds will go toward replacing the present church roof with a new roof system. While the Diocese is managing this campaign, we have been given permission to provide this payment convenience to our Online Giving parishioners. Your funds will be forwarded to the Diocese for reporting purposes.
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