A look at what happened at St. Peter’s in South Beloit

This and additional information on the canceled school expansion at South Beloit is available at:  http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2011/07/26/news/local_news/news2601.txt  The link is no longer active (9-25-2011)

This may shed some light of the process of the new St. James Church Belvidere and the Diocese of Rockford.    Remember to click on the link there is information on the current situation in South Beloit.

 

A look at the plan through the years Important dates in the timeline of St. Peter’s proposed building project follows:
April 18, 2007: Diocese grants permission to create a conceptual plan which completes the earlier feasibility study.
March 24, 2007: Diocese reminds parish that the building moratorium is now in effect.
June 28, 2007: Diocesan Building Commission agreed that permission should be given to parish to enter upon a fund raising campaign.
June 21, 2007: Diocese gives permission to have the architect create a schematic design for the entire proposed project.
March 26, 2008: Parish receives notification from Diocesan Building Commission of the following: “At this time I am directing you not to do anything further on the proposed project since there is a possibility it will not be able to proceed. This would include any further fund raising on your part since the moneys raised may have to be returned if the project is not approved.”
March 19, 2009: Parish reminded that “of critical importance for the Diocese is the parish’s ability to fund the entire project in its construction and then in its maintenance, while not failing to maintain its other diocesan assessments and commitments.”
April 14, 2009: Parish informed that there is a distinct possibility that breaking ground will not come to pass.
Summer 2010: Diocese suspends building project indefinitely, saying no final approval has been given by the Diocese for this project and that the parish has not raised sufficient funds to gain the necessary approval to go forward with the project.
Summer 2011: Building project officially canceled by Diocese of Rockford.

Source: Abbreviated list from bulletin passed out at St. Peter’s masses Sunday, July 24.

 

As the newspaper accounts allude, much of the problem may surround their pastor, Rev. Nicholas Federspiel

 

Also take a look at this posting on the situation at  St. Peter’s South Beloit.

Click on the following: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/09/aftermath-of-south-beloits-failed.html

Rockford Register Star, July 25-6 web/paper edition

 

Letter to Editor: Wrong place for church

 

When St. James Church was built in Belvidere in 1886, there were few homes nearby and certainly no automobiles. The school was built years later.

What will it cost to buy enough homes for adequate parking for a new church? Where will you store antique artifacts when you tear down St. James?

Let’s design and build a more modern church on 22 donated acres on the town’s western edge. The building could have a large commercial well and septic system.

We are interested in building a church in a proper location with a proper building committee, hoping this facility will last us for 125 years.

Mayor Brereton has asked us to concentrate on proper zoning for our community. The zoning committee and the City Council should do the same thing.

No way should they consider this residential area near downtown Belvidere as meeting local building codes. The location violates every rule of proper zoning.

When you see the problems with the parish in Boone County and the parochial school in South Beloit, parishioners must ask whether they are obligated to serve the priests and the diocese, or are the diocese and priests supposed to serve the parishioners?
— Jack Wolf, Belvidere

The above is taken from:  http://www.rrstar.com/opinions/letters/x371610673/Letter-Wrong-place-for-church and also appeared in the 7-26-2011 Insight page of the paper edition.

 

Below is another letter from that Insight page.

 

7-26-2011:

Beloit Daily: St. Peter’s School building project canceled

School building project canceled
St. Peter’s Catholic Church and School has canceled its multimillion dollar new school building funding project.
Parishioners of the South Beloit congregation, at 620 Blackhawk Blvd., were informed through Sunday’s church bulletin that the $2.2 million raised since 2004 will not be used for construction of a new school. Those who donated will have the option of recollecting their money or allowing St. Peter’s to keep it for other uses.
The memo reads, “At the direction of Bishop Doran, the suspended Building Fund has been officially canceled by the Diocese of Rockford.”
A town hall meeting will be held for interested parties at 7 p.m. today in the church basement.

 

“This meeting will discuss what the Diocese of Rockford is doing to cancel the Building Fund, why and how it is canceling the Building Fund,” it reads

Can St. James afford to operate a bigger Church?

Below are the income and expenses for the parish for the last three years.

Operating expenses exceeded operating income for each of the past three years. (The operating net loss ranged from $36,073 to $50,701).  Debt rose dramatically in FY 2008 due to  the $148,671 assessment for the Diocesan Administrative Building.   Because of the Debt Reduction program in FY 2009 and 2010, $317,738 of debt was retired and total debt decrease to  $194,169 as of 6-30-2010.

My understanding of the current New Church Pledge drive:  To begin building  this debt ($194,169) must be retired and then there must be $1,000,000 in the DIAL deposit account and a total of $3,000,000 pledged.  Upon completion of the new church the parish will be left with a debt of $2.5-3.0 million.  At just 5% interest on a $2.5-3.0 debt is an annual interest expense of $125,000-$150,000;  I understand that the DIAL (Diocese Investment and Loan) interest rate will be 6%.  Is there a way that operating income can bear this large expense?  Basically regular contributions FY 2010 (see operating revenue) need to increase approximately 20% from $831K to $997.  In FY 2009 such contribution were flat and in FY10 increased only by only 1.5%.   Rollover of the interest to an ever increasing debt seems inevitable .

 

Income figures for FY 2011 should be available soon.  Hopefully a detailed accounting of the New Church Pledge drive will be included. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the regular Sunday contributions:

June 11-12, 2011

June 18-19, 2011

June 25-26, 2011

July2-3, 2011

July 9-10, 2011

July 16-17, 2011 

July 23/24, 2011

Boone County Journal: July 15, 2011—Both Editorial and Letters to Editor pertain to St. James

Here are several Letters to the Editor regarding St. James’ new church

 

 

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

 

St. James: What do your neighbor’s think of the new church? Oh Yes—they are not selling.

For more details on the St. James expansion project go to:  http://www.boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/