A CLEAR PATH TO OUR NEW PARISH CENTER

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It’s a great joy to see so many of our young people excitedly preparing for a new school year. This time of the year is a time of transition, as vacations and breaks end and families return to their routines. It’s also a time of great expectation for what is to come in this new season.

Here at Queen of Peace, our parish family is very much in a similar transition. Our Religious Education, RCIA, marriage preparation classes, youth ministry, Friends of St. Adrew and more will be back in session in a few days or weeks. Ministries that took a break during the summer will soon start meeting again. The great expectation for what is to come comes in the Lord’s promise of our new parish center!

We have done a lot of planning for our new parish center, in the last two years. We put together committees, interviewed and hired architects, held listening sessions, unveiled designs for a new building, conducted a feasibility study, adjusted the designs, and took a serious look at our financial possibilities. We are now at a point in which we can begin a capital campaign, which is what we plan to do this fall. Everyone in our parish will be asked to make a pledge - or a commitment - to pay an amount they determine over a five-year period. We are all making a sacrifice based on our financial situation. Different amount, same sacrifice.

There is only one story about the past, present and future of our project. I humbly ask everyone to be responsible and honest in transmitting the one common message which will bring us together in this great opportunity for our faith family. The last capital campaign raised $1.6 million, before it was halted due to the economic downturn of 2008. After architect design and fundraising fees and other costs were paid, $1.225 million were left. In 2013, at the instruction of the Archdiocese of Denver, $609,310 was used for emergency roof replacement of our current parish center. As we continued to receive contributions, there is now approximately $850,000 in the building fund account. All this money is dedicated to our current new building project and cannot be used for any other purpose. Another $1,215,000 are kept in parish savings to be used towards our much needed project.

It’s essential that you are all well-informed of where we stand in this wonderful project, so that we are all on the same page and we don’t spread contradictory and confusing rumors which will jeopardize our efforts. This project, this parish center, this new home belongs to all of us. The Lord is writing a story for Queen of Peace, and it’s one same story. It cannot be different. Queen of Peace has one history, which we all share, regardless of how long we have been here, because this is home to all of us. In the same way, as one family, we will share in the same process to build our new parish center, and we will share in its mission. Remember, this project is a wonderful opportunity to bring Christ to so many many souls who long for Him. An opportunity to grow, to evangelize, to be closer to God and to each other.

In Christ,

Father Felix P. Medina-Algaba

Fr FelixAugust 14, 2017