nema

Two primary reasons:

St. Basil Parish has always prided itself on the focus on children and programs for them. This is the primary reason many of parishioners came to St. Basil of Ostrog Church. Parish growth has impacted space needs for Church School programs while using the same spaces as storage, meeting rooms or a bar. A needs assessment shows the need for properly equipped, dedicated classrooms to properly serve children and adult programming for all ages andneeds.

Currently the social hall seats only 126 people compactly, while the church accommodates 300 people. This imbalance means that we potentially turn away people from major and regular events like slava, St. Sava Day, Christmas and Pascha coffee hours, fellowship luncheons and Badnje Vece. The current kitchen is not large enough or properly equipped to safely support these events.

The building committee was assigned the task to develop a plan to meet the need for additional space and to address safety both in and outdoors that includes parking, roofing, etc. To avoid having to bring the entire facility up to the newest building codes and more expensive changes, it was determined that a new hall was the most cost effective way to address the assigned task. The existing facility could then be upgraded with some cosmetic changes to better serve the children and faithful of the parish, as well as, upgrade and reconfigure the kitchen space with little or no disruption to daily and weekly functioning of programs and events.

In comparing a new hall to a new church then there is the need to use the figure of $1.7 million. The balance of the $3 million is not for a new hall but for other improvements. Building a new church would be a much more expensive proposition, maybe over $5 million as the nearby Greek parish is experiencing. The only place a church could be built on the current property would be to the south of the existing building. The foundation work would be extensive since the church would have to be built in such a way that it would be taller than the existing building. Building a new church would still not address any of the current documented needs and concerns with the church school and program rooms, kitchen, bathrooms, land elevation corrections, parking lot and needed repairs. These items would still be needed and would make the project way too expensive. The assigned building committee has taken a conservative approach to propose to build only what is truly need, only in phases, and only on a pay as you go basis. In other words, no funding, no building.

First and foremost, the mission of all Orthodox churches of all jurisdictions is: to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all [things that He has] commanded” so that all people may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.This is not a statement of privatization or privilege, but rather an Orthodox oath and responsibility to God and the Orthodox Church. All Orthodox churches rest on the belief that one can only come to salvation through the Orthodox Church. As protectors and disciples of the Body of Christ (the Church), God has made His mission clear to everyone and every church. The goal is then, to build a facility that seats 244 people, a small to medium size parish. Building a “mega hall” to host weddings and other events is not, nor was not the charge or a plan. The churches in Indiana have halls that seat 1,000 and Gracanica can seat 600. This is not the goal set forth in the needs assessment or by the planning committee. The idea is to accommodate existing and new parishioners in a comfortable and safe manor.

One of the best ways to focus on the spiritual life is to make sure St. Basil of Ostrog Church has a quality Orthodox Education Program that encompasses all age groups. This can be accomplished with properly equipped and dedicated classrooms, dedicated spaces, and storage.

After lengthy discussion and projections, a 3-year pledge was the decision.

The goal is to raise $3 million to cover all new building costs and existing building renovations.

The current church mortgage of $750,000 will be paid off in 4 years, by 2020.

There are three components to the project included:
Phase 1: 7,000 sq. ft. hall expansion -$ 1.7M
Phase 2: Old hall remodel -$ 400,000
Phase 3: Remodel of Church facade and expansion of altar to reflect Orthodox style architecture $400K–Leveling and increasing the current 45 space parking lot to the capacity of 150 spaces $500K

There is no change to one’s existing stewardship pledge. Stewardship is used for the operating expenses of the church. A three-year pledge would be in addition to the current stewardship pledge for church operating expenses.

The project requires zoning, village approval and completion of the study that will help in determining the ability to fundraise and fund effort need to be completed. Depending on those results, phase one could possibly begin as soon as sometime in 2018.

The current hall seats 126 and the new hall will seat 244 comfortably.

The plan is to fundraise and seek three-year commitments if possible and not start any phase until it is fully funded, alleviating the need for a mortgage.

The board has not yet established guidelines for naming opportunities, however, there will be such opportunities.

Currently there are conceptual drawings available for review covering all phases of the project. They are available on the church website, in the narthex or in printed copy for that will be mailed to each person on the St. Basil of Ostrog mailing list.

Currently St. Basil of Ostrog Church has a building fund total of $ 600,000 toward the total goal of $3 million.

The current parish revenue income supports all future expansion plans and operating costs associated with them.

Yes

Yes, many people are giving in a variety of ways, including donations of stock and sales of properties and other personal assets. The Fundraising Committee is available to discuss how these and other methods may be utilized to use to make adonation/gift possible.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has an Office of Parish Development to assist Orthodox parishes with raising funds for building expansion and building projects.St. Basil of Ostrog Church or the Serbian Diocese does not offer this expertise. The St. Basil Board is very fiscally conservative and does not want to start any project without knowing the budget. This fiscal responsibility has been tested and proved over the past 7 years when the financial status went from a large debt and depleted accounts. Today, through fiscal responsibility, the financial status is very healthy, especially compared to where it was and grew to its current secure position.

The consultant, Mr. Jerry Minetos, will help St. Basil Church together input from the faithful of the parish in a confidential way through private interviews, determine how much money can be raised BEFORE any project can begin, and eventually assist in fundraising. Mr. Minetos will help mitigate the risk of starting the expansion project without having the needed support (both financial and spiritual support) of the majority of the parish. The cost of this kind of assistance well worth its cost and as compared by the additional and increased pledges it can help to secure.

A planning and fundraising consultant is similar to hiring professional architects and builders when embarking on multi-year projects that include building and fundraising.