Efforts have been quietly underway for months to raise the necessary funds for the long-delayed and much-needed renovations and repairs to the Church and Parish House, starting first with the successful grant proposal written by Denny Tovey that secured $65,000 from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
A Campaign Committee, consisting of Gordon Cobleigh, George Giesey, Mary Ellen Klinck, Anna Ruth Masters, Gerry Piccola, and Frederick Weissbach (Chair), set in motion a “quiet” strategy during the fall to raise funds from the Vestry and a selection of individuals and families without diverting attention from the important Stewardship Drive to support the operating budget of the Parish. The great news is more than $190,000 has been committed toward a project that will probably cost $250,000. This amount represents more than 75% of our goal. Now, it is time for everyone to participate in this important effort. A campaign letter and pledge card have been sent to all Parish families, asking that everyone consider making a personally significant gift, whether it be big or small, to our campaign which has been christened: “Raising the Roof: Building an Ark for our Age.”
Even though the Parish is in a state of transition as we are just beginning the journey to call a new priest to St. Stephen’s, the Vestry and Campaign Committee unanimously agreed that it was important to proceed with our efforts to raise the remaining dollars. Why?
Basically, repairs and modifications over the years, as well as deferred maintenance, have resulted in conditions not conducive to maintaining complete weather tightness of the Church. Consequently, there is on-going infiltration of water into the building, resulting in leaks above the altar, damage to plaster on the walls of the sanctuary, and an accumulation of mold and mildew. If these problems are left uncorrected, St. Stephen’s will face more expensive solutions in future years.
In all likelihood, the recommended scope of work will include the following: full re-roofing to replace all wood shingles on the Church and all asphalt shingles on the Parish Hall and Rectory, replacement of all wood siding on the Church, new gutters and flashing, and repairs to the brick work on the chimneys. In other words, the goal is to make our Church “water-tight.”
We hope to meet our goal of raising $250,000 by late spring, allowing the necessary renovations to begin this summer. Once this work is completed, every member of the Parish can be justly proud that we have exercised a conscientious stewardship to take care of the special, historic building that we claim as our spiritual home. And, as important, we will show by virtue of this successful initiative that we are ready to enter into a partnership with our next Rector to move St. Stephen’s forward.
