Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 23, 2026
When I arrived at Saint John's as pastor in 2022, I was soon told about the problem with our deteriorating patio courtyard. The presenting problem was the patio deterioration; but as we explored the basement under the patio, we realized that our electrical transformer is from the 1960s and is operating way beyond its expected lifespan. While the AC system wasn't as old as the electrical transformer, it is also past its expected lifespan.
After months of exploration and consideration of different ideas, we developed a program to address the three major needs: the deteriorating patio (the presenting problem), the AC and the electrical transformer. We had experts estimate the cost and we began a capital campaign to raise $900,000, with a high end possibility of a cost of $1,200,000.
Our capital campaign was successful beyond my imaginings. Here is a report on our campaign as of August 10:
- Ordinary donations: $444,682
- Large donations: $835,000
- Historic Preservation Fund: $50,000
- All cash received: $1,329,682
It is true that the campaign was supported in huge measure by Holy Redeemer parishioners, one of whom donated $610,000. But we have been blessed with scores of donors, some making large and others making small gifts. Every donation is a blessing and a sign of love and faith.
We have raised more money than the high end first estimate of $1.2 Million. But as we engaged more experts who made more precise cost estimates, the real cost of the project as imagined became $2.2 Million. We can't afford that price. No matter what, we can't afford $2.2 Million!
Our experts went back to the drawing board. We started out with the crumbling patio as the first presenting problem, but as we considered the project and our need, we concluded that Saint John's cannot survive without electricity or air conditioning. We can survive without a usable patio. So I figured that we could just do the electrical work and AC and do nothing with the patio.
However, we had also decided to move the electrical transformer out of the basement and onto the patio. And the patio cannot support the weight of the transformer so we have to repair the patio after all. We still can't afford $2.2 Million dollars!
Our experts have now made another proposal. The AC is expected to cost $504,000. The electrical system will cost $472,500. The patio still needs to be made safe, safe enough to walk across and safe enough to support the electrical transformer, but it does not have to be completely replaced. We can repair but not fully replace the patio deck.
Our experts now say that we can repair the deck, replacing part and repairing the rest. The cost of the deck repair will still be high, $817,224. The total cost of the entire project will be $1,793,724. This is still about $500,000 more than we have. If we take the entire Historic Preservation Fund, we can finance this project. However, we are expecting an estate of about $300,000. So we can do the project and still have a few hundred thousand dollars in savings.
At this time, we are withdrawing $300,000 from our Historic Preservation Fund. Grateful prayers for Father John Daya, our former pastor, who created the Fund and raised almost all of the money. Our fund now has $680,000 which consists of $425,000 in gifts and $255,000 in accumulated earnings. Our withdrawal of $300,000 will take roughly $45,000 out of the principal, leaving us with $380,000 in the Fund. If the expected estate arrives in time, we can leave the rest of the Fund unused and available for future needs. Note that we took $50,000 from the Fund at the beginning of our capital campaign as seed money.
This is an expensive project. And there will be many more needs in the future to keep our beautiful old church open. We also need to support a vibrant ministry and that takes money too.
Bottom line: Saint John's is worth supporting. Please support our capital campaign and our regular operations. Please be generous and keep this amazing ministry and beautiful church alive.
We are about ready to begin. We need final approval from the Archdiocese and it will take PECO some time to order the transformer and decide on the proper engineering for the installation.
To make a Capital Campaign contribution, please use an envelope which can be found in the back of the church. Or go to our website stjohnsphilly.org to make an online donation. Venmo and PayPal information is also available in each pew in the church.
