Major Repairs Completed and Underway

We have completed the replacement of the heating and cooling system serving the church. 23 years ago we opened up the steeple gaining 17 seats and excavated underneath the church to install a new HVAC system. That system has served us well but had reached the end of its reliable service life. Tommy Dozier recommended we take the initiative in replacing it rather than waiting for a casualty at an inconvenient time to dictate its replacement. That work is now successfully completed.

It will come as no surprise to you that the Parish Hall flat roof leaks! The doors opening to the South Transept of the church are like a shower after every rainfall and it is apparent that water has been seeping into the Conference and Widener Rooms. The rubber membrane installed in the early 1990’s is well past its service life. When planning for this replacement we received the very unpleasant news that the actual cost would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 due to the necessity of using a very large crane to move HVAC units on the roof to replace the membrane and then move them back again.

 

The Vestry has elected to replace the flat roof on the north side of the Parish House where we are experiencing the most severe leaking and patch the roof over the Parish Hall and see if a better solution to its replacement can be achieved.  

The cost of the HVAC system in the church was $50,000 and the replacement of that part of the Parish House roof is $48,000.

How will we pay for this necessary work?

There is a blessed and happy answer to that question! Sound, conservative financial principles practiced by the Vestry, combined with conscientious management of the parish budget by the Staff, coupled with generous and faithful giving by the Congregation has resulted in the accumulation since 1993, of over $700,000 of budget surpluses. We say often that it is not possible to outgive God and as previously reported, $9,375,584 has passed through Good Shepherd on its way to someone else doing God’s work in the world. 

We will be able to pay for this work out of those surpluses without having to borrow money or conduct a campaign which is all a great blessing particularly given the virus pandemic that we are confronting.

As always, we are grateful for both the generosity and the steadfastness of giving that characterize Good Shepherd parishioners. Thank you and thanks be to God!