REPOSTING--- The New St. James Church: Many Questions; Few Answers

The New St. James Church: Many Questions; Few Answers

This artistic rendering is based upon submission to Belvidere Planning department by St. James. The picture was altered to eliminate the tall trees which will not exist after construction.

Changes from October 6, 2011 in Yellow.  November 3, 2011 changes in orange.

Since January 2011 parishioners have been asked to support the campaign for a new church. However since then there have been many changes some of which only a few parishioners are aware. Just to clear things up --here is what you should be aware.

• The capacity of the new Church is now 850
• It is being planned to be located at the old convent/parking lot on Church Street and Caswell Streets. The main entrance doors will be on Caswell. [NOT on the 22 acres West of Belvidere on Town Hall Road]
• The new church will have steps at the front and at all side entrances. The church will be handicapped accessible only for the front. The handicapped ramp will be much less steep than the current ramp however it will be approximately twice as long. And it will require the walker to enter on the school side Church Street side of the church. See drawings at: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-st-james-church-will-be-very-bigyou.html
• A number of neighbors have signed formal protest requests regarding the parish’s zoning request. None of the adjacent neighbors have agreed to sell their property to the parish. Only the property owners on the side of the school parking lot have signed sales contract. See: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-much-does-bird-housecost.html
• Type of roof on the new church: Despite what the application for zoning stated and what Father Geary stated earlier, the roof apparently now is standard shingles—not a metal roof. (Metal roofs have a much longer life) Mr. Linkenheld at 8-23-2011 meeting stated that standard shingles were always planned for the roof.
• The old church will be torn down to make a parking lot. The new church will be five stories tall. There will be four inches (basically zero) set back on the Church Street side of the building. The new church is now seven feet shorter (63 feet at peak relative to ground). The baptistery is now on the parish center side approximately 12.5 feet from parish center.
• The Parish will pay all city expenses for rebuilding the 300 block of Church Street to make diagonal parking alone the new church building. for widening Church Street to accommodate fire trucks. Parking will be in the same parallel style but may have handicapped parking on the church side of street.
• The parish will now have 170 on parish premises parking spots. The rectory will be torn down and converted to parking. The parish will be buying two parcels adjacent to the school playground/parking lot to accomplish this goal--548 Caswell Street and 402 Laurel Court..
• When will Father Geary or Bishop Doran communicate with St. James Parishioners? First communication in bulletin on 8-7-2011; To see this, click on following: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/08/insert-to-parish-bulletin-8-7-2011.htmlFew of the changes (such as those listed above) have been published in the weekly bulletin or any other written source. Father Geary has orally stated many things which “the Bishop will not approve or Diocese demands” but such things have not been written nor has the pastor, the parish finance committee or the parish council disseminated the information in written form to the parish. Other than continuing to solicit funds, parish administration has little desire to communicate with the parish members concerning changes to the new church.

  Is the Church still going to have a basement? NO, IT WILL NOT See 8-7-2011 Insert; click on following: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/08/insert-to-parish-bulletin-8-7-2011.html

  Many heard that the project was running over the $5.5 limit [maybe this is $6,000,000, see insert] and no basement was being planned even though at public meetings an unfinished basement was stated. If there is no basement St. James Parish will have even less storage. The school and organizations are already complaining about storage. Where will the old stain glass and other sacred items be stored?

  QUESTIONS that remain unanswered:
  How much money does the campaign have in the Parish DIAL account? There have been many expenses for the campaign management firm, architect, surveying and legal. The campaign needs $1,000,000 in the DIAL account. How close are we to that requirement? SEE 6-30-2011 accounting, .go to: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/10/st-james-fy-2011-financial-reports.html As of the 6-30-2011 accounting , $633,306 of new church pledges were received , $165,737 of new church building expenses were paid and $387,862 of DIAL deposits were indicated as building deposits. Apparently the remaining $79,707 was used to pay other parish debts or assessments.($633,306 minus $165,737, minus $387,862 equals $79,707)
• The “Bird House”,  534 Caswell, was purchased for $62,737 and the empty lot for $10,000.  These transactions occurred in September 2011. (See:  http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-much-did-st-james-pay-for-two.html).  It is not certain if cash was used for the transaction.
• What happens if the pledge goal of $3,000,000 is not reached? Will any funds be returned to the donors?
• Will the expenses for the campaign and pre-construction be shown in the parish’s June 30, 2011 annual statements to the parishioners?If not, what type of public accounting will parishioners receive and when? To see 6-30-2011 accounting go to: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/10/st-james-fy-2011-financial-reports.html As of the 6-30-2011 accounting , $633,306 of new church pledges were received , $165,737 of new church building expenses were paid and $387,862 of DIAL deposits were indicated as building deposits. Apparently the remaining $79,707 was used to pay other parish debts or assessments.($633,306 minus $165,737, minus $387,862 equals $79,707)
• Will St. James be a good steward of the Earth in the building of the new church?Will modern ecological/energy-savings devises and systems be employed to lessen heating, cooling and lighting bills? Can a church with 50 feet ceilings ever be consider energy efficient? Will the demolition, constructions and operations be earth friendly?
• What is the projected cost of the total project now?Rumor says the church building will cost $6.4million and if there is a basement $7.5 million. And now there is talk that the parish will be buying the houses of the landowners who have signed formal protests. Could that be another $1,000,000?                9-9-2011. A budget limit of $5.5 Million is still in effect, based upon my personal conversation with Father Geary.

  I have been told by Father Geary that he will answer questions when he deems the parish should be told.

Pope Benedict XVI names 22 new cardinals, including 7 Italians, 2 Americans

The group is heavy on Europeans, particularly Italians holding important Vatican posts, and includes only three prelates from outside the West: a Brazilian, an Indian and a Chinese.

.However, Benedict once again passed over for cardinal Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, a major voice in the church demanding greater accountability from bishops to clean up the scandal.

Click on the following for more discussion from the Washington Post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-names-22-new-cardinals-formal-ceremony-set-for-feb-18/2012/01/06/gIQAk0cbeP_story.html?wprss=rss_world

Opinion from National Catholic Reporter, see:  http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/five-observations-new-cardinals

Five observations on the new cardinals

by John L Allen Jr on Jan. 06, 2012

• NCR Today

While there certainly are no “liberals” among today’s appointments, at least as measured by the secular sense of the term, the list does not appear to be significantly skewed in any particular ideological direction. Mostly, it’s a crop of technocrats – Italians and Vatican officials known more as pragmatic managers than for their theological or ideological point of view.

While there certainly are prominent “evangelicals” among the new bunch of cardinals, meaning men known as strong defenders of Catholic identity – Timothy Dolan of New York, for instance, and Thomas Collins of Toronto – for the most part, these are figures also know for openness and commitment to dialogue, as opposed to a hard ideological line.

The appointments also contain at least two figures with a reputation as theological moderates: Archbishop João Bráz de Aviz of Brazil, President of the Vatican’s Congregation for Religious

When will the new design drawings be coming?

Three full months ago this letter spoke of “forthcoming” “design drawings”.  Are there going to be any additional drawings? 

The latest drawings currently available are those personally handed out to the Belvidere aldermen.  The can seen at:    http://www.stroik.com/portfolio/st-james-church/ or a more complete series at:  http://www.boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-lower-height-design-of-st-james.html

 

How many of these letters were sent?

Does it depend upon the number of St. James Families?  Is that 2,200, 2,000 or 1,850 families or some other number? Just take the appropriate number and minus 614.

But what about the 614?   Is that the number who actually contributed?   Or the number who formally replied either refusing to give or contributing?

CNS: Boston sexual abuse scandal plus 10 years

Cardinal O’Malley tells the story of the ordeal.

To read the Catholic News Service article shown below go to:  http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1200048.htm

The cardinal’s introduction letter is available at: 

http://www.bostoncatholic.org/uploadedFiles/BostonCatholicorg/_Utility/News_And_Press/cardinalseanletter01-04-2012.pdf

The complete five page report is available at:  http://www.bostoncatholic.org/uploadedFiles/BostonCatholicorg/_Utility/News_And_Press/reflections-on-the-sexual-abuse-crisis-in-the-archdiocese-of-boston01-04-2012.pdf

Very interesting are the numbers involved:  …”1,000 survivors and family members”  ….”assistance (financial) to 300 people”…”800 claims of clergy sexual abuse”.

Personally, Footnote #2, speaks louder than most statements: “ As part of our  commitment to financial transparency, the Archdiocese of Boston also published annually on our website (BostonCatholic.org) a clear explanation of the financial costs incurred in settling sexual abuse claims and how they have been paid to date.”

 

Cost prior to June 30, 2005—$127.4 million

Following is from:  http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=14190&pid=508

Costs as stated in the most recently published CPA Audit:  $2.4-2.8 million. Total expenses for FY 2010 were $362 million. See page #34 at:    http://www.bostoncatholic.org/uploadedFiles/BostonCatholicorg/Offices_And_Services/Offices/Sub_Pages/Finance_and_Technology/FY10/rcab_financial_report_063010published4-14-11.pdf   to see the details shown below.

Auxiliary Bishop of LA Resigns

The story is available at Catholic New Service at:  http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1200022.htm

 

St. James Contributions and Campaign Numbers for weekend of January 1, 2012

Following numbers taken from:  http://content.seekandfind.com/bulletins/01/0294/20120108B.pdf

December 25 numbers, taken from: http://content.seekandfind.com/bulletins/01/0294/20120101B.pdf

There was a special insert in the Christmas bulletin focusing on those who worship at St. James only during the holidays. (See: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2011/12/father-gearys-plea-for-support-from.html)

 

Based upon the figures in the bulletin there appears to be no immediate response to Father Geary’s plea for their participation in the building campaign.