• The Finance Council has had concerns about the physical structure of the rectory for the past 12 years and has been discussing the best solution for addressing it. Problems with the rectory roof date back to when Fr. Leo was assigned to St. Anthony Parish. Taking care of those issues were continually pushed to the back burner as other projects took priority. The roof continues to be patched regularly but the water damage in the house has become significant. For a more detailed description of the issues with the rectory, please refer to “Why can’t we just renovate the existing rectory?”
• The Finance Council recommended the formation of a steering committee to further study the physical structure of the rectory. This group has been meeting for the past 3 years and has helped devise a plan for the rectory in addition to a proactive plan for maintenance and technology projects. See below for a list of steering committee members.
• We have devoted the past several years developing a 5-8 year proactive plan for major projects in maintenance and technology. The parish projects listed are for upkeep of existing systems. A couple of key items like the church’s HVAC and the asphalt parking lots are significantly dated and will require our attention in 2019 and 2020.

• The Rectory Campaign will help keep our Parish strong by proactively financing a couple of major parish projects over the next couple of years which include HVAC in the church, resurfaced asphalt parking lots, and adding an electronic key FOB system to the church. The rectory will not only have 3,384 square feet of living space for the priests, but will also have 805 square feet for Parish use (i.e., money counters) and a full basement for Parish
  storage.
• Gifts to the $1.1 million Rectory Campaign will provide $850,000 to demolish the existing rectory, remove asbestos and construct a new 4,189 square foot facility with an additional $50,000 in funds to provide furnishings and home décor. The remaining $200,000 will support the parish projects that include the church’s HVAC ($60,000), asphalt parking lots ($115,000), and electronic key FOB system in church ($25,000).
• We ask each Parish family to participate in our campaign and help us reach our $1.1 million goal. Equal sacrifice by every parishioner will help us provide a home for St. Anthony priests. Your support will ensure the future of our Parish for our children and grandchildren.

• While driving by the rectory, you might think that the 68-year-old rectory looks like it has aged well. Unlike the church and schools, few St. Anthony parishioners have recently visited the rectory and witnessed first-hand the damage that is slowly eroding the beauty and structure of our priests’ home. For the past two decades, we have placed the needs of the rectory behind the needs of our church and schools. As parishioners, it is time for us to address the years of neglect.
• The Steering Committee has spent the past 3 years comparing costs and the pros and cons of renovating vs. building a new rectory. In order to properly renovate, it will mean, basically, gutting the entire rectory to replace outdated and below today’s standard electrical wiring and worn-out plumbing, and putting a new roof on the rectory and garage. Additionally, the basement’s low ceilings would turn the basement into more of a crawl space once new HVAC duct work is installed. Even more so, the expenses as well as the limited space to make the second floor accessible would be costly.
• There are numerous water leaks from a roof that needs replaced; old single-paned windows that are drafty and leaking; and old plumbing that continuously needs repaired. These issues are causing ongoing water damage, including possible hidden mold and poor living conditions. Evidence of the water damage, mainly from the leaking roof and windows, can be seen throughout the house on walls, leaking ceiling air vents, caved-in and falling ceilings, rotting baseboards, door frames and cupboards, falling ceiling and wall tiles, and more. Leaking pipes caused so much damage that several walls had to be re-plastered.
• In addition to water damage, the central air conditioning is inefficient and unable to keep upstairs bedrooms cooled, requiring window units in some rooms. The original wiring is old and has become frail. Poor insulation in different areas of the rectory makes it difficult to keep certain rooms warm during the winter. The interior of the rectory needs attention and most of the furniture and home décor are showing signs of its age after more than 30 years of use.
• Evidence of water damage from the basement flooding can be seen throughout the basement including water-damaged asbestos tile in the room used for our Sunday collection counters to count money. Other problems are not quite as noticeable. For example, when the old pipes in the basement are not used frequently, the water becomes rusty. The low ceilings make it difficult to update vents and allow sufficient headroom for the basement to be used.

• The rectory is not only a home for our priests but also accommodates visiting family members of priests, visiting priests and other dignitaries. Priests enjoy sharing meals and fellowship with other priests and parishioners, just like you, which is possible in the main living and dining areas of the rectory. Their own personal living space allows for privacy as well as a place for personal prayer.
• The rectory, while a home to the priests, is not designed like a home for a traditional family unit. In a traditional home, family members share bathrooms, living rooms, family rooms, among other areas of the house. Our priests, while brothers in Christ, may or may not know each other when appointed their pastoral assignments. While family members know each other and are comfortable sharing common spaces within a home, it is more appropriate to offer our priests their own sitting area, bedroom, and bathroom for a sense of privacy and comfort.
• A rectory is designed in a similar format as an assisted living or long term care facility where residents have their private living areas in addition to commons areas for prayer time, eating, and socializing.

• The rectory is not only a home for our priests but also accommodates visiting family members of priests, visiting priests and other dignitaries. In an average year, our rectory hosts 40-50 overnight visitors.
• With the size of St. Anthony parish, we can expect to have a minimum of 2 priests assigned to our parish and to Shumway. Those 2 priests would include a pastor and a parochial vicar. Four bedrooms allow for the 2 priest assignments along with 2 rooms for visitors.
• During the summer months, St. Anthony often hosts a seminarian or transitional deacon, of which their stay can range from 2-3 months to 1 year. During those times, our rectory would have 1 guest room remaining for family members or visiting priests.
• Shumway has two bedrooms in their parish house. There are a number of occasions where Shumway hosts visitors; they are very accommodating to those asking to stay. These visitors are often times in addition to those staying at our rectory.
• Sacred Heart’s rectory has 1 bedroom for the pastor and 1 bedroom for a visitor. It is not uncommon for Sacred Heart to have a seminarian visiting for several months, such as during the summer. The extra bedroom is otherwise used for visiting family members of the pastor.

• The cost of the construction includes demolition of the existing rectory, asbestos abatement (safely removing asbestos), and new furnishing and home décor. In designing the rectory, careful consideration was given to ensure the rectory was accessible and that the design worked well with the existing buildings on the St. Anthony campus. Retrofitting and redesigning the existing breezeway to meet ADA standards, offering a separate entrance to the counting room, replacing the roof on the existing garage, and adding a screened-in patio contribute to the cost of the rectory.

• With a project of this size, the Diocese requires us to have an architect sign off on the work. An architect takes the liability for his/her design and calculations. A home builder does not have that type of design feature; though some commercial builders do. For the rectory, we need to be careful around the foundation of the church with respect to the demolition of the existing rectory and with the installation of the new basement. In addition, the slope build-up system for the roof over the garage and tying the roof and breezeway into the church requires an engineer or architect’s drawings and knowledge in design.

Church Rectory Floor Plans

• The design of the new rectory will complement our St. Anthony Church and Parish Center and will provide a comfortable but not extravagant, accessible, and safe home for our priests. The 3,384 square foot residential section of the rectory will host three suites comprised of a bedroom, private bath and a small living area giving each priest private living space. It also includes a large living room, dining room, kitchen with a walk-in pantry, and laundry room. A screened-in patio would be accessible from the dining room. An additional guest room is available for overnight guests.
• An additional 805 square foot of space allows for a private entrance to the kitchen and laundry area for workers to enter without disrupting priests. A counting room with access to a half bathroom will be located outside the green room of the church, off the corridor, making it more convenient for individuals to leave from the church. The 4,189 square foot basement will provide much needed storage space for our Arts and Environment’s seasonal decorations as well as a storage area for the grade school and other maintenance needs.

• Project: HVAC Church
  Timeframe: 2020
  Estimate: $60,000
  The HVAC system for the church is located in 3 areas of the church. The first system is located under the rectory garage and services the west section of church. This system was replaced in 2015. The second system is located in the crawlspace on the northeast corner of church and services the east section of church. This system is around 25 years old. The third system is located on the back wall of the choir loft. One unit in this area services the back section of church and the other unit services the choir loft. These systems are around 25 years old. In 2020, we will be replacing the units on the east side of church and in the choir loft. While replacing these units, we will also make adjustments to the air vents in the east and west corners at the front of church to prevent air from flowing directly on the front few pews.
• Project: Asphalt Parking Lots
  Timeframe: 2019
  Estimate: $115,000
  Asphalt parking lots should be resealed and restriped every 3 to 5 years with resurfacing every 15-20 years. We have asphalt lots in the main parking lot of the church/parish center, in both lots at the high school, and in the teachers’ lots at the grade school. The last reseal & restripe was completed in 2014. In the parish parking lot, we are going to address the large cracks that have formed over the years. At the high school, two areas within the lots are crumbling and breaking down. Those areas will be resurfaced. The small lots at the grade school can be resealed.
  Electronic Key FOB System at Church 2020 $ 25,000
• Project: Electronic Key FOB System at Church
  Timeframe: 2020
  Estimate: $25,000
  Our campus-wide building security is maintained by an electronic key FOB system that replaces a traditional key/lock system. Key FOBs allow users access to specific doors at each of the buildings during designated times of the day and week. It also allows for buildings to automatically be locked down during designated times of the day or week. The key FOB system tracks individuals as they enter the building and keeps logs of activity. With the building of the new rectory, a key FOB system will be installed. The church is the final building to be converted to our key FOB system. Installing this system will be an added layer of security for our church.

• Our short term obligation is to successfully meet our $1.1 million goal of this campaign to take care of the housing needs of our priests and to prepare for the maintenance projects listed. Deferring maintenance will be more costly down the road.
• Our long term obligation is to be good stewards of all that God has given us through the generosity of our parishioners. We have an annual budget of more than $4.8 million and over $30 million in buildings on campus. It takes a lot to maintain a campus this size and annual maintenance and upkeep is necessary. If Sunday contributions and other contributions do not cover our annual budget, we will continue to conduct periodic capital campaigns to maintain the properties that we have.
• Eliminating the deficit while not accruing any debt in addition to addressing the space needs in the grade school with our increased enrollment are some of our long term goals to be addressed in the future.

St Anthony Parish renovated the church in 1997, constructed a new parish center in 2000, completed a high school addition in 2003, retired the debt in 2007, built a new grade school in 2009, and replaced the church roof in 2013.

• At this time, there are no other major fundraising projects planned. We hope to have covered the major projects for the next couple of years through this campaign. We will continue to cover regular maintenance needs through our annual budget.

• We are not planning any other capital campaigns.

• Unfortunately, when we began making repairs to the church and steeple, additional damage not included in the original plan was uncovered which required the funds earmarked for the rectory to be spent. Once again, a more urgent need of the parish was placed ahead of the rectory.

• The cost of constructing a new rectory will continue to rise, ending up costing the parish even more money. More importantly, we are asking our priests to continue to live in poor living conditions that we, ourselves, would not subject ourselves or other family members to live in.

• Construction could begin as early as spring 2020, if we have received $552,500 or 65 percent of the $850,000 earmarked for the asbestos abatement, demolition and construction, as prescribed by the Diocese of Springfield.

• Plans are to go out for sealed competitive bids in spring 2020, once the project has been approved by the Diocese in Springfield.

• The best way to contribute to this project is first by prayer. Please pray for guidance, for the safety of our workers, for the success of the campaign, and for the construction.
• You can also contribute monetarily through gifts of cash, appreciated stock, estate gifts, in kind donations or company matching programs. Parish staff will assist you to ensure that your gift receives the most favorable tax treatment.

• You will be asked from the pulpit but we will not share your level of commitment publicly. Your commitment is confidential.

• You may complete a commitment card and make your gift at the time of your pledge, or you may pledge your commitment and make your gift at a time that is best for you and your family. Commitment cards are available in the parish office.

• Yes, by all means if this suits your situation better.

• We are asking that your commitment be made by September 1, 2019, which will allow the construction and our maintenance and technology projects to begin in 2020.
• Your commitment may extend over three years or you may make a one-time gift, at which time your commitment will be completed.

• You may make your gift immediately, or you may pledge your gift over a three-year period.

• Yes, whatever is best for you and your family.

• We hope not! We are asking that your three-year gift be over and above your regular giving. We do not want to undermine our present ministries with reduced giving. As a matter of fact, our regular giving will need to increase as ministries increase.

• The answer is between you and God.
• Proverb 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all you produce.” Indeed, the first fruits are not the left-overs. Giving of our “first fruits” is an expression of gratitude to God for all He has given for our use. Just as we cheerfully present a gift or ‘thank you’ card to someone who has been kind to us, so too it is with our gift of the first fruits, an acknowledgement of God’s kindness.
• In Matthew 13:43, Jesus says, “Whoever has ears ought to listen.” Jesus also said “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Our hearts belong to God. If that is so, and we have a conversation with God, we need only listen attentively, and we will then discern what the amount of our gift should be.

• Led by Principal Matt Sturgeon and member of our Board of Education, an enrollment task force has been meeting to address our growing enrollments, especially at the grade school.
• While we do not yet have any clear solutions, our goal is to avoid a wait list and not restrict enrollment.

• The money for these projects will be earmarked in what we call restricted funds which means it can only be used for the projects listed.

• 100 percent of your gift will remain in the St. Anthony Church’s Rectory Campaign fund. All donations for these construction and maintenance projects remain at St. Anthony.
• A percentage of your Sunday giving does go to the Diocese of Springfield to help support the Diocese, which is the premise of the Annual Catholic Services Appeal (ACSA).