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Last
weekend we announced
that we finally came to an agreement and were able to
sign a lease for our school building. In
August Breakthrough
Schools will open Lakeshore Intergenerational
School on our campus. Since last year when Child’s Place
closed and left our campus, we were looking for another
tenant. Several commercial real estate brokers contacted
us with charter school operators interested in locating
here. After careful evaluation, we chose the
Breakthrough schools which have a very good reputation
of running quality innovative schools.
Since January, we have
been negotiating a lease that would be beneficial to us
and the tenant, and come to terms we could all agree on.
While this was going on, I continually consulted with
both the Pastoral Council - your elected representatives
- and the Finance Council. The concerns of these two
councils were addressed in the lease. We signed the 10
year lease on June 3rd.
From a financial
perspective, it is important to understand that
leasing our school building to a school has saved our
parish. It is taking us from a parish that had to
figure out how many more days we had before we would
have to close, to a parish that will be able to thrive
and carry out the mission entrusted to us.
Over the
next ten years, we as a parish will receive slightly
over $2 million in rent and repair funds from the
tenant. This year, we will spend about $325,000 on
repairs to the school building. $150,000 is coming from
Breakthrough Schools and the remainder is coming as a
no-interest loan from the diocese. After repaying the
loan, we will bring into our parish $1,645,500 over ten
years. This money will be used for repairs and
improvements, subsidize our operations, and build
savings for future needs.
During the summer
months, a lot of work will be done on the school
building. Beginning this week, a new roof will be
installed on the gym. Life safety systems are now
being installed in the building. Soon, exterior
excavation will begin to make the building
ADA compliant
along with interior plumbing work. When the new
doors are installed in July, the new locking system
and security system will be put in the building.
Later this summer, a new heating system and hot
water system will be installed and the heat controls
will be repaired. The tenant hopes to have the air
conditioning system installed in the building before
the first day of school.
As we begin this
project, all of us must remember that for us to
continue to thrive, we will need everyone’s support.
Our future success will depend on your financial
support, your help with fund-raising, your
commitment to our Parish, your ideas, and most
importantly, your prayers.
When we
opened as St. Casimir’s Parish almost five years
ago, all of us went through a painful change. For
some it was just the loss of a beloved name, for
many others, it was a loss of the church that for
many was home for many years if not their whole
life. We have grown through that experience and now
we face a new experience of change. Though some will
be inconvenienced by having to meet in a different
location on the campus, or not having exclusive use
of the gym and school building, we will enjoy the
benefit of having our school building used for what
it was intended, a school. More importantly, we will
be financially sound so we can keep up with repairs
and improvements, and fulfill our mission as a
parish.
God Bless!
Fr. Joe Bacevice
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FORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOM
The United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops is encouraging Catholics across our country to
enter into the two weeks leading up to the Fourth of July (June
21 to July 4), with a strong
focus on prayer, education and reflection on our freedom of
religion, There have been many threats to this First Amendment
right over the history of our country and it continues today.
The Conference of Bishops offers many resources and reflections
about this freedom and the threats against it. These resources
can be found on our diocesan website:
www.dioceseofcleveland.org/freedom
Finally, in concluding the
Fortnight For Freedom, we invite everyone to participate at Mass
with Bishop Lennon on Friday, July 4,
at 10:00am
at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
OUR MARCELLA HOUSE NEEDS
A NAME
Now that we are beginning to move organizations out of the
school building to their new home at 18031 Marcella, we need to
give the house a name. We will have a contest to name the house.
The name should reflect who we are as a parish and the use we
are giving to the house. The name should also be easily adapted
to both English and Lithuanian usage. (Diocesan restrictions do not
allow us to name the house after a person.) The contest is open
to any parishioner. Names may be sub-mitted to Father Bacevice
through mail, e-mail, or placed in the collection basket
on Sunday.
Be sure to include your name and address with your submission.
The prize for the winning name will be a $100 donation to the
parish organization of the winner’s choice, and a $50 prize to
the winner. The Parish Pastoral Council will decide the winning
entry at their September meeting. All entries must be received
by September 1st.
PARKING
Over the next several weeks, there will be some construction
equipment in our parking lots, especially our Neff Road lot.
This will present some challenges to those using our lots.
Remember to park only in marked parking spaces, leave the
handicapped spaces for those who truly need them, do not park on
the sidewalks or block the tunnel to the Marcella Road lot. For
those using the Marcella Road lot, do not park in the spaces by
the convent as they are reserved for the Sisters living and
visiting there, do not park in front of the garage doors or
block them in any way. Finally, keep the aisles open so cars can
get in and out of the lots.
“PETER’S PENCE” COLLECTION FOR THE HOLY FATHER
Each year, we take up the Peter’s Pence Collection in support of
the works of the Holy Father providing emergency relief
assistance to those throughout the world who suffer from war,
oppression and natural disasters. When we contribute to this
fund, we join with more than 1 billion Catholics in actively
showing our love for our fellow man. Please be generous in
supporting this appeal next weekend.
OUR PARISH WEBSITE
We
invite everyone to visit our new and improved parish website:
www.saintcasimirparish.org
Although it is still being developed, we are already posting our
weekly bulletin, our monthly Ministry of Praise
newsletter, our schedule of events, as well as links to various
religious and Lithuanian sites that would be of interest to the
parishioners. We welcome your comments
and suggestions. |
Lietuvi