October 2, 2011
Dear Friends:
We have come so far as a community. Remember the sign, rusted and bent, that declared “Future Home of the Newman Center”? And the tent to accommodate our growing numbers but only in good weather? How about standing room only crowds at the Student Center? And the holidays at the chapel when there was literally no room at the inn?
Look where we are now! A new home and a new era. It came to pass through a lot of generous people who shared a vision. It was approved by a kind bishop who knew the importance of a strong Catholic Campus Ministry presence at a public university with one of the largest number of Catholic students in the nation. And it came because people sacrificed.
So where are we? Well, the original debt is almost gone but cost overruns place us a bit short of our goal to fully retire our debt by the end of next year. In addition, remember Fr. Pat’s house, one of the things that was sacrificed to make room for the center? Because of wetland issues, we were unable to replace it on the property and so we currently have no rectory for our Director of Campus Ministry, now or in the future.
Back to the bishop. Bishop Kmiec thought we needed to focus on building the Center before we thought about a rectory, but he did not close the door. And he let it be known a few months ago that he wanted to take care of that now before his retirement took effect. And so we come to you today to talk about our future.
To retire our debt, including cost overruns, and to purchase a condo on Skinnersville Rd. to accommodate Fr. Pat and to help attract his replacement when he retires, long in the future we hope, we need to raise $200,000. Our goal is to accomplish this by the end of 2012.
With this we will be able to finish what we started and leave a legacy – to the students of today and long into the future, and for our entire community as we move forward.
Thank you for all you do and have done to make the Newman Center a home to so many. And thank you for providing a legacy for those who follow.
Dood Forrestal
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