To make a payment toward your pledge, select the button above which takes you to our main donation page. Confirm that you are on the “One-time” tab to make a one-time payment, and select “Restore to Gather – Capital Campaign” for the fund. Enter the amount and complete the form to submit your contribution. You will receive a receipt via email for your gift.
If you wish to set up a recurring gift, choose the “Recurring” tab and complete the frequency of your gift along with the amount and other information, also selecting “Restore to Gather – Capital Campaign” for the fund.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary May in the parish office at 651-633-8333, ext. 1253 or email maym@stjohnnyb.org.
Our projects have begun! As announced at Mass and elsewhere, the church’s air ducts, from the air handling unit to the church diffusers in the floor and ceiling, have been cleaned. The amount of dirt and dust that was removed is considerable. We also found that some of the duct work was made of a fiber board that collected dust and dirt. On the advice of members of our Administrative Services Commission, for an additional cost we chose to have the interior of those ducts sealed with a product that will allow for smooth air flow and collect far less dust over time. All of this should improve the efficiency of our air handling system, and we may realize some utility savings. And, there is no more black stuff hanging from our church ceiling! The diffuser openings themselves will be cleaned when the ceiling is treated as part of the larger project this spring and summer.
Please find below a summary of upcoming projects and our work schedule. Negotiations and plans are still ongoing, so please note that some aspects of our renovation projects, such as exact scope, cost and timing, are still subject to change. Our parish leadership is committed to best serving our parishioners by being good stewards of campaign gifts and fulfilling the mission of the church and school with these improvements.
Church Renovations
A new acoustical spray overlay on the ceiling. This will brighten up the ceiling and vertical space that is sprayed now, and will retain the sound absorption quality that is necessary due to the reverberation of sound in our church interior.
Renovation and updating of the church’s HVAC system. Major components of this system date to the late 1960’s. These upgrades will ensure the reliability, longevity and efficiency of our church’s heating and cooling systems. We have several in-parish experts in this field that are working closely with our contractor on determining exactly what improvements are needed.
Pew removal, refinishing and reinstalling. Our pews took a beating with COVID, and of course they have served us very well for more than 50 years. It is time to give them a refreshed finish. We will match the existing color and we have determined that it is more cost effective to simply replace the kneelers rather than refinish them. The new kneelers will have a steel framework and a vinyl pad, the colors of which are under consideration by parish leaders.
A new church sound system. Our current system is more than 20 years old. Adding a new layer of acoustical spray is a good time to replace the sound system, since the new system will be designed with the new conditions in mind and the speakers and other components that are mounted high in the sanctuary can be easily placed due to the presence of the scaffolding, saving us future expense.
Ambulatory ceilings (east/west walkway areas). While we have scaffolding or lifts in the church interior, we will patch and paint three water damaged portions of the ceilings above the walkways on the east and west sides of the church.
Terrazzo floor. While the pews are removed, we will clean and polish our existing terrazzo floor, which is original to the church and is in very good condition for 56 years of foot traffic.
School Renovations
School restrooms. The school’s eight restrooms will be renovated and updated to better serve our students and families.
School carpeting. Fourteen school classrooms and hallways will be recarpeted to replace stained and worn carpeting. The carpeting has sound reduction benefits and enhances the variety of activities that take place in our classrooms.
School playground. A new rubber surface will increase our children’s safety on the playground and reduce the amount of wood chips that are tracked into our building. Playground plans are in process and more details will be shared in upcoming months.
Work Schedule
Church upgrades would be completed in a phased approach, on an approximately eight-week cycle:
May and June 2024
Church projects are planned to begin the week of May 6 with Phase I, which would be working in the west one-third of the church. The pews in the west pie section will be removed for refinishing, and the ceiling in that one-third of the church would be sprayed. Scaffolding would be set up to facilitate this. Before the pews are reinstalled, the floor will be cleaned. Mass would still be held in the church during this time.
July and August 2024
The center sections of pews will be removed in Phase II, and that portion of the ceiling sprayed. The church would not be accessible for Mass for these eight weeks, and will most likely be held in St. Joseph Hall. During all phases the floor will be cleaned at the opportune time and the sound system components would be installed when access to the higher parts of the sanctuary is available.
September and October 2024
Phase III would involve the east pie section and the St. John the Baptist Icon section just east of the altar area. All the same will happen here—the pews removed, the ceiling sprayed, sound system components installed and the floor cleaned. We anticipate Mass returning to the church at this time—roughly the first week of September. Overall completion would be targeted for October 31.
HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning)
While all of this is going on, the HVAC upgrades would be happening largely out of sight, in the building’s infrastructure. In our planning and determination of project scope, we will do our best to minimize any disruption to our building’s air conditioning. The target date for completion of our HVAC improvements would be prior to the heating season in the fall.
School Projects
School restroom renovation would begin in May, with the restrooms near the cafeteria on the lower level being upgraded first, with students in that area using the lower level restrooms of the adjacent Parish Center during that time. Then, when school is out, those new restrooms would be available for our summer J-Care program and the rest of the school’s restrooms would be worked on with no students in those other parts of the building. Some of our school carpeting was replaced during our recent Christmas break. The remaining sections will be completed in early summer. The timeline for the school playground is still in the planning phase.
General Contractor
We are working to finalize the contract with JT Egner Construction (www.jtegner.com) and are now assembling costs, so final cost projections are not available. As we review details our project will come into sharper focus and the costs will become better known. Parish leadership is committed to managing the project and the expenditures very well. Watch for more information soon on project costs as well as our campaign income.
Thank you for your commitment to SJB and this important effort in the life of the parish! Thank you for relying on prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to guide all the decisions around the project, being willing to grow and flexible through the disruption of the renovations, and living out of a generous spirit and supporting the Restore to Gather Capital Campaign. It’s an exciting time for St. John the Baptist Church & School!
Lenten Blessings,
Restore to Gather Campaign Case Study
As we move forward with the “Restore to Gather” Capital Campaign, we want to address questions posed during our recent planning study and within our faith community. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Mary May at (651)633-8333 ext.1253 or by email at maym@stjohnnyb.org.
The Restore to Gather Capital Campaign
Q. What are the goals of the Restore to Gather Campaign?
A. There are two main areas of focus for this campaign:
1. Church improvements and repairs, which include:
a. Restoring and refreshing the church ceiling
b. Replacing the church HVAC system
c. Upgrading the church sound system
d. Repairing the stained-glass windows above the baptistry
e. Refinishing the church pews
f. Resurfacing the East parking lot
2. School improvements and repairs, which include:
a. Upgrading the school bathrooms
b. Replacing the carpet in the school
c. Installing a rubber playground surface
d. Establishing a School Operations Endowment Fund
Q: What if we raise more than our campaign goal? How will that money be used?
A: Once we complete these important campus projects, we will direct funding to our current growing ministry needs. We will direct excess funds to support our growing school as well as pastoral care demands for our many homebound parishioners. This funding will help us further Christ’s kingdom in these two vital areas.
Q. Why are we addressing these projects and conducting this campaign now?
A. Over the past 5 years, we have completed many smaller campus improvements, from replacing light fixtures with energy-efficient LED fixtures to upgrading campus technology, to repurposing spaces to support growth in our preschool and grade school. It is now time to tackle some of the more major maintenance improvements that have become immediate facility needs.
Q: How will we fund these goals?
A: Our parish is in a healthy financial situation. We have been debt-free for four years and have a strong parish reserve fund. We are allocating our operations surplus from our most recent fiscal year of $197,700 to be the foundation of our fundraising effort. It is going to be a large endeavor and we will ask everyone to prayerfully consider making a sacrificial commitment to help restore our campus.
Q: Are the church projects separate from the school projects?
A: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School is one united parish community. The school is a vital ministry of our parish, where we help young people grow in faith and virtue. We work collaboratively on many community events like FallFest, the All Saints Party, Journey to the Inn, and Wines to Wishes. We gather in shared facilities for activities like faith formation, Sunday school, celebration of Sacraments, and more. These events and many others bring church and school together. As we work to achieve our campaign goals, we envision strengthening our entire community.