Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are blessed at St. Jerome with our beautiful church where we have our most intimate encounters with the Lord. This is His house and it comes as a gift from current and past parishioners and we take very seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of this gift which we have so gratefully received.
For close to a year the Finance Council, with support from the Diocese, outside experts/consultants with expertise in building and construction and considerable comments and suggestions from parishioners, has been working on determining the best option to replace our failing church roof.
We have determined that the only option is to replace our roof with an enduring metal roof which will meet or exceed all State and Federal requirements for wind resistance and would last as long as 50 years.
We now have bids from multiple roofing contractors. They have a heavy amount of work at this time and that is reflected in the bids. The best bid came in at $1.2 million which is higher than we expected. After discussion with our consultant and contractors we are seeking rebids next year when the backlogs drop, and contractors can meet our guidelines with competitive bids.
Some parishioners suggested that we put a shingle roof on because it was much cheaper. Initial estimates may have supported this idea. However, our latest estimate for a shingle roof is $804,000. One of the reasons is that much of the cost is the labor in replacing the roof not the material. Hence putting a 15-year life shingle roof on does not make sense especially considering the high cost. Comparing apples to apples we would have to replace a shingle roof twice compared to a metal roof. A metal roof also offers significant savings in energy costs over the 40 to 50-year life of the roof. Getting revised bids will push out the date when we can get the roof replaced but should result in saving in the cost. Because we are pushing out the replacement, like it or not, we need to do some extensive temporary repairs to the existing roof, in order to prevent further damage to the interior of the church. There is nothing but a thin layer of tar paper protecting the interior in many places where shingles are missing. There is already some damage to the interior of our church (peeling paint and drywall). Fortunately, this is mostly around the Plexiglas skylight at the very top of the church roof. If we do get a significant amount of moisture through the shingles, the damage to the interior of the church could be extensive.
We have also been working with the Diocese and banks and have been able to obtain very favorable financing costs and terms.
I know we all love our church and feel confident that all will step up and support our “Raise the Roof” Campaign. This is borne out by the fact that we already have $109,000 in our Raise the Roof fund and we really haven’t been publicizing it much. Because of the major financial impact, we will kick off a formal “Raise the Roof Campaign” with a goal to raise $600,000. We will kick off our Raise the Roof Campaign after the first of the year. You will be hearing from members of the Finance Council who will further explain the Campaign and will have pledge cards available. $600,000 sounds like a lot, but if you divide it by the number of active families it comes to $375 per family. It’s an achievable amount particularly when spread over three years. It is important to mention that this is a separate campaign, in addition to our regular offertory giving. We still have to maintain our campus and programs. We need your financial support. Given our faith and our desire to give thanks to the Lord there is nothing we can’t accomplish. As we await the coming of Jesus, it is my hope that you will prayerfully consider contributing to the success of our “Raise the Roof Campaign”.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Reverend Thomas Morgan
Pastor
We are blessed at St. Jerome with our beautiful church where we have our most intimate encounters with the Lord. This is His house and it comes as a gift from current and past parishioners and we take very seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of this gift which we have so gratefully received.
For close to a year the Finance Council, with support from the Diocese, outside experts/consultants with expertise in building and construction and considerable comments and suggestions from parishioners, has been working on determining the best option to replace our failing church roof.
We have determined that the only option is to replace our roof with an enduring metal roof which will meet or exceed all State and Federal requirements for wind resistance and would last as long as 50 years.
We now have bids from multiple roofing contractors. They have a heavy amount of work at this time and that is reflected in the bids. The best bid came in at $1.2 million which is higher than we expected. After discussion with our consultant and contractors we are seeking rebids next year when the backlogs drop, and contractors can meet our guidelines with competitive bids.
Some parishioners suggested that we put a shingle roof on because it was much cheaper. Initial estimates may have supported this idea. However, our latest estimate for a shingle roof is $804,000. One of the reasons is that much of the cost is the labor in replacing the roof not the material. Hence putting a 15-year life shingle roof on does not make sense especially considering the high cost. Comparing apples to apples we would have to replace a shingle roof twice compared to a metal roof. A metal roof also offers significant savings in energy costs over the 40 to 50-year life of the roof. Getting revised bids will push out the date when we can get the roof replaced but should result in saving in the cost. Because we are pushing out the replacement, like it or not, we need to do some extensive temporary repairs to the existing roof, in order to prevent further damage to the interior of the church. There is nothing but a thin layer of tar paper protecting the interior in many places where shingles are missing. There is already some damage to the interior of our church (peeling paint and drywall). Fortunately, this is mostly around the Plexiglas skylight at the very top of the church roof. If we do get a significant amount of moisture through the shingles, the damage to the interior of the church could be extensive.
We have also been working with the Diocese and banks and have been able to obtain very favorable financing costs and terms.
I know we all love our church and feel confident that all will step up and support our “Raise the Roof” Campaign. This is borne out by the fact that we already have $109,000 in our Raise the Roof fund and we really haven’t been publicizing it much. Because of the major financial impact, we will kick off a formal “Raise the Roof Campaign” with a goal to raise $600,000. We will kick off our Raise the Roof Campaign after the first of the year. You will be hearing from members of the Finance Council who will further explain the Campaign and will have pledge cards available. $600,000 sounds like a lot, but if you divide it by the number of active families it comes to $375 per family. It’s an achievable amount particularly when spread over three years. It is important to mention that this is a separate campaign, in addition to our regular offertory giving. We still have to maintain our campus and programs. We need your financial support. Given our faith and our desire to give thanks to the Lord there is nothing we can’t accomplish. As we await the coming of Jesus, it is my hope that you will prayerfully consider contributing to the success of our “Raise the Roof Campaign”.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Reverend Thomas Morgan
Pastor