Dear St. Michael Community,
Recently, someone said St. Michael is a small parish creating big Christians. I really like that expression. During the pandemic we are trying both to stay united with one another and with Christ, the source of all hope and life!
We want to express the new life in Christ visibly in many ways: our website, flowers, style of music, etc. This “sacramental principle” applies also to our facilities. We would like our facilities to express that Jesus is alive and that our community is alive. For this reason, every year we try to do a small improvement to our campus. In the past we have redecorated the parish hall, created a new library, replaced the wooden fence, upgraded courtyard landscaping, etc. Future projects include enhancing exterior lighting and landscaping.
This year, we are working on three areas of improvement: safety, streaming, and sealing.
Safesty: Portland has witnessed many incidents of violence. To maintain a welcoming spirit AND ensure the safety of those who come to pray, we plan to enclose the parking lot with new fencing and exit gates. This will reduce the number of people circulating through the lot and allow us to close it in the evening. Parishioners will have access any time through a keypad. The estimated cost of this project is $65,000.
Streaming: As you know, with the pandemic, we had to equip our church to reach more people via the internet. We purchased two new computers, a camera and lenses; installed ethernet in the church; and we are boosting the sound system. Now we can stream Mass with high quality and offer “hybrid” events from Balestra hall. The total cost of this project is $10,000.
Sealing: The ramp and stairs leading to the entrance of the church need some love. For years the rain has filtered through them to the Hall, causing humidity and black mold. We are sealing them to prevent further damage. The total cost of this project is around $10,000.
We plan to complete all projects before the end of January 2021. The total cost of safety, streaming, and sealing is $85,000. We have raised $25,000 and we can use $20,000 from parish savings. We are requesting your help to raise a total of $40,000 in the next month. We also understand this is a financially challenging time for many.
If you want to help St. Michael continue sharing and expressing in a visible way the new life in Christ, please contribute to this project either by:
Donating online at stmichaelportland.org: click DONATE, and select“Improvement Project 2020.”
Sending a check to 424 SW Mill St., Portland, OR 97201: in the memo write “Improvement Project 2020,” or deposit the check in the collection slot at the entrance of the church.
I thank you in advance for your donation! Do not hesitate to contact me or Kathy Burkhartsmeyer (burkhartsmeyer@comcast.net) who has been very generous in helping me with this project.
Sincerely,
Fr. Ignacio Llorente
You can download the fundraising letter by clicking here.