One thing have I asked of the LORD, one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life … (Psalm 27:5)
As we gather in person more and more as part of our common life together, your Vestry have identified and made a plan to address specific needs of the buildings on our campus that we use to join in God’s mission of reconciliation in New Haven. Deferred maintenance in past decades and changing needs have set the stage for an opportunity for renewal—a physical and spiritual renewal—of welcome, making sure the resources prior generations have provided for God’s mission are up to the task of providing space for people seeking Jesus today.
The church building in which we gather and offer praises to God; the housing where we welcome staff members, clergy, and Hildans; and the parish house where we welcome one another for formation and guests for fellowship and meals—all are in need of our attention.
Below is an ambitious and timely program of capital improvements the Vestry have planned for, ensuring that these resources will be available for mission now and into the future.
Consider what you can do in addition to your annual pledge. Gifts to the Capital Projects Fund can be paid over two years (or more by request). Every gift of every amount helps; as all of us do what we can, God will use those gifts to provide for the future of Christ Church—and the coming of God’s kingdom here in New Haven.
As of December 4, 2021, over $180,000 has been pledged for the projects below. Can you help close the gap? Thanks to a generous matching grant, every new pledge from November 15, 2021, onward will be matched dollar for dollar up to $50,000!
Please pray about how you can support this ministry of healing and reconciliation here at Christ Church. Pray about what you can give to God from the riches he has given you. Help claim our matching grant with a pledge today.
When you’re ready, click here and make a pledge.
Thank you for your faithfulness here at Christ Church.
Capital Projects for 2021-2022
GOAL: $250,000
PLEDGED: $180,000
NEEDED: $70,000
Every gift is doubled! Help claim our $50,000 matching grant today!
The Tower Roof — $30,000
The tower roof has detached from the surrounding masonry and is tearing, no longer shedding water as it should. Multiple patches are now degrading, and the roof is 20 years past its functional life.
Our bell tower, the image that grabs the sightlines of all who pass by on Broadway, is in need of immediate repair. The roof failed over a decade ago, and now water is entering the structure, jeopardizing its integrity.
We will replace the tower roof with another guaranteed to last decades into the future, ensuring our bells will continue to ring out in prayer and the church building will remain viable into the future.
The Rectory & Curate’s Apartment — $110,000
For decades the internal drain structure on the roof of the 1961 Rectory portion of the Parish House has been failing. Patch after patch has been made, and not only is the roof failing, but the interior drains are, as well. A storm in late June and early July pumped over 30 gallons of water into the building, destroying plasterwork, lathing, flooring, and paint, and causing $40,000 in damage in the Rectory and the Curate’s apartment. Half the Rectory apartment has been closed since July.
We will replace the existing failed Rectory roof with a new one guaranteed to last decades into the future; we will repitch the roofing surface so that water is shed off the building rather than being gathered to interior drains which have consistently failed. We will repair the damage to the interior units so that the building is once again completely habitable.
Parish House Restrooms — $35,000
What lies behind this door has been the same for 60 years: there are no handicapped accessible restrooms anywhere on campus, and these restrooms are specific to binary genders.
The Parish House restrooms haven’t been substantially renovated since they were built in the 1960’s. Furthermore, needs have changed in the past 60 years in terms of access for all.
We will renovate the Parish House restrooms to provide open access for people of differing physical needs, providing finally a handicapped-accessible restroom on campus. Restroom designations will be gender-neutral, providing access for all gender identities.
Signage and Entrance Upgrades — $15,000
The food is fresh and nutritious, and the staff are friendly and welcoming… The entrance—not so much. This area can be improved by screening for dumpsters and new landscaping.
Signage hasn’t been updated in decades, and the previous signs on Broadway and at the Park Street intersections are no longer in place. The entrance for the Parish House used by Community Soup Kitchen is along the service drive (near Bank of America) where the trash dumpsters are housed; guests to CSK during the pandemic have had to walk past the garbage dumpsters to collect to-go trays. This entrance could be more welcoming and dignified.
We will provide appropriate signage along Broadway and / or Park Streets. We will enclose the dumpsters to the west of the Parish House with an attractive fence and provide landscaping to make that entrance more dignified and welcoming. Our partner Community Soup Kitchen will contribute its own signage and provide the fencing and landscaping for the western Parish House entrance for CSK services.
Memorial Garden Landscaping & Drainage — $8,000
As we have used the Memorial Garden each Sunday for the 8:45am Mass, for Church School, and for coffee hour following the 11:00am Solemn High Mass, it’s become apparent that the drainage situation needs addressing and that more landscaping can be provided for the southwest corner of the garden (near the cloister doors).
We will provide more functional drainage systems for the garden as part of re-engineering the Rectory roof pitch and drainage. We will re-landscape the southwest corner of the garden which is presently bare earth.
Livestreaming Access — $2,000
Prior to the pandemic the only way to access liturgies and services at Christ Church was in person. Since March 2020 we have offered on-line access to certain liturgies and wish to continue to do so post-pandemic. A steady number of parishioners and guests have come to rely on these livestreamed broadcasts as part of their prayer lives.
We will continue to upgrade our livestream capabilities while maintaining an easy-to-use, low-profile infrastructure that is scalable and updatable as technology becomes more accessible. In particular, we will provide a laptop to enable livestream processing and the use of multiple camera and audio inputs.
MATCHING GRANT: The Lively-Fulcher Organ Loan — $50,000
In 2005 the Parish Vestry embarked on a bold program to provide a pipe organ worthy of the Parish’s musical heritage and the artists who serve in ministry in this place. The Lively-Fulcher firm built a spectacular 63-rank instrument now known as the Kibitz Memorial Organ that serves the Parish’s programs and ministry well. Its versatility provides for a wide range of repertoire as well as choral and congregational accompaniment. While the instrument has served the needs of the Parish for over 15 years, there remains a sizeable debt on the original construction loan of almost $450,000. This debt is covered by a line of credit at a current interest rate of about two per cent. For some time only the interest has been serviced on this debt, but the current Vestry have determined to retire the debt as soon as possible so that funds previously used for debt service may be used for ministry.
A generous matching grant of $50,000 will cover a portion of the organ loan, reducing its balance by over 10% so that the Parish may retire the debt over the next thirteen years. The grant will match, dollar for dollar, each new gift to the Capital Projects Fund beginning November 15, 2021, so that each new gift to the Campaign is effectively doubled, both supporting the Capital program laid out here and also helping to retire the debt on the organ.