Flagler Beach, FL 32136-3394
A Case Statement In Support of Constructing a New Learning Center and Rectory |
Our Needs
Since the building of our new church in 2000, the number of registered parishioners as well as the attendance at weekend Masses, has grown significantly. This growth is also reflected in the number of children participating in our Faith Formation classes. Currently, there are 210 youngsters ranging in age from 4 to 14 years that attend Faith Formation classes every Sunday. This is an increase of 180 students in the last three years, and we project that we will add another 150 students in the next several years. We currently do not have adequate space to meet our present religious education needs much less the projected needs.
One of the principal obligations of a parish is to provide religious education – a Catholic religious education – founded on the fundamentals of our faith. And we currently are unable to fulfill this obligation in an ideal way because of limitations with our current space.
At present, our parish uses the Father John O’Flaherty Parish Hall for religious education purposes. This building has no classrooms. Each class space must be partitioned with flimsy bamboo screens that provide no sound control or privicy. None of these spaces provide an adequate teaching area conducive to learning, not only because of the lack of privacy or sound control but also because of inadequate seating and usable space. In short, our teachers need spaces where effective training materials can be used to teach our children the religious education they need to further their Catholic faith.
We also would like and need to make O’Flaherty Hall available for wedding and funeral receptions, community dinners, meetings or parties. But because of weekend religious education demands, this profitable rental is unavailable.
Our adult education program and parish ministries also suffer from the lack of appropiate meeting space. When these groups meet in the parish hall they encounter most of the same privacy and noise problems. Very often there are more meetings scheduled than space available and groups are required to use the parish offices, which are not set up as meeting space.
In addition to expanded education space, we also need a more adequate, on-site rectory for our priest. Since our current rectory and property has been sold, it is imperative that we provide a new home for our pastor, a place where he can retreat to and unwind from his daily duties and has comfort and privacy as well as space to accommodate visiting clergy. Preferably, it will be located here on the existing parish campus.
To encourage our members to participate in the many events happening on our campus, we also need covered walkways to tie all of our campus buildings together and to provide young and old parishioners safety, comfort and convenience while walking from building to building.
With the addition of a new rectory and learning facility in an area currently used for parking, we will need to provide additional parking elsewhere.
Finally, we must consider the need for improved communication and technology between all of our parish campus buildings. Currently, our telephone system is seperate for each building, which creates inconvenience and communication problems. We cannot network our computer systems throughout the campus creating considerable duplication of effort and equipment.