On my arrival at Saint Paul, it was apparent that the rectory/office was in desperate need of smoke abatement. Further examination identified other needs. Its odor and appearance indicated that the carpet throughout needed, at the very least, a thorough cleaning. Some volunteers came forward to put up a fresh coat of paint room by room over a period of more than six months. Carpet cleaning revealed that it needed to be replaced entirely and a parishioner offered to do so at cost. I am grateful to my mother and father for donating most of the new furniture and fixtures, as there was almost no furniture upstairs when I arrived. There remain small fixes that volunteers with plumbing and handyman skills have promised to do for free. I hope that we will be able to upgrade from plastic plates, forks and spoons in time for the arrival of Fr. Lawrence, a priest from Nigeria, who will be visiting and staying at Saint Paul from July 9 to August 9. I want to stress that Fr. Lawrence is not the second priest we might receive in July, but rather a doctoral student whose Cardinal Archbishop has asked him to have some pastoral experience in the United States before he returns to Rome in the fall.
Due to parishioners and others who did work at cost, volunteers and donations, I estimate that we have managed to make a modest update to the rectory/office for less than half the cost of what it could have cost us. Thank you again to the long list of parishioners who helped in big and little ways to make it a more inviting and comfortable place in which to live and work. I am especially thankful to those who provided special purpose donations over and above their normal tithing in order to make this project possible.
It should be no secret that due to the economic realities of Grant County today and what we look forward to in the future, we can expect to have an operating budget that is somewhat tight year in and year out. At the same time, one can defer some maintenance and certain upgrades only so long before doing so begins to impact the life of the parish negatively-either through making the spaces in which we hope to do ministry very unattractive or causing long-term damage to buildings. Special purpose donatins for specific one-time needs help us to tackle these without adding to our Fruitful Harvest goal. Very often, people, even outside of the parish, are willing to give to meet one-time needs with great generosity.