Repairing the Foundation

Capital Campaign

Campaign Prayer

Loving Father, who feeds the birds of the air and arrays the lilies of the field, your care for us knows no bounds. By the power of the Holy Spirit, grant us the grace of an ever deeper trust and dependance on your care and protection.

Inspire in us a radical generosity and discipleship that mirrors your own bottomless generosity and will form us into the sons and daughters you created us to be. With you all things are possible.

Please enliven our hearts with a desire to do all that we can to free ourselves from the burdens of debt, pride, and fear, so that reborn into the glorious freedom of the children of God and building on a firm foundation, we can focus on sharing your love with the world around us. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus and through the intercession of Our blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph and St. James.

Amen.

From Mortgage to Mission

Everyone who has achieved being debt-free knows the amount of freedom that unlocks. Without debt, our dollars will go to funding the parish community. Outreach. Food Giveaways. Summer Camps. Evangelization. We can use all of our resources to continue to advance God’s kingdom by bringing Jesus Christ to our community. When we retire our debt, we will have a solid foundation on which to build our continued outreach.

Our Vision: to pay off our mortgage debt

All money donated stays in our parish for support, maintenance and (predominantly) paying down our debt. It is possible to pay off our $2.8 million debt by March of 2024. We are asking every family to make an additional gift above and beyond their regular giving. Some families are not in a position to significantly increase their giving, while others are in a position to greatly increase their giving. If everyone gives sacrificially, the debt would be gone. Fr. Brian Owens, our pastor during the original campaign, used to say, “Not everyone can make the same size gift, but everyone can make the same size sacrifice.” For example, if each family gives on average $2,400 ($400/month) in addition to their regular tithing, the debt would be gone. We ask everyone to carefully read this brochure and pray about how their giving can be sacrificially increased over the next six months.

Our Campaign Goals

First, that everyone will be tithing as a sign of their commitment to the Lord.

Second, that everyone will commit to sacrificially increasing their tithing for 6 months from Sept. 2023 – Feb. 2024 to help pay down the mortgage before the rate adjusts in March 2024.

We truly need “sacrificial gifts” from the majority of our parishioners if we hope to reach our goal. What can you sacrifice or go without so that your parish family can be debt free? This is a grass-roots effort, so we are asking every parishioner to stretch, and hoping for full parishioner involvement. If you don’t give because you think someone else will, it ends up being no one participating. If we can retire the mortgage, we will free up funds currently being spent on both mortgage and mortgage interest to continue to advance God’s kingdom here in the Eastern Panhandle. All funds that supersede our goal will be placed in a restricted fund for building maintenance and upkeep.

Why is each donor being asked to complete a pledge form even though they already give?

A donor is asked to complete a pledge form so that the gift may be appropriately recorded and acknowledged by St. James.
You should include what you are currently giving each week or month to the second collection, in addition to your sacrificial pledge on your pledge form.