Pastor’s Message on Church Renovation Project

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church
with an eye towards the future…

July 13, 2014
My dear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, our awesome faith community have gathered together and celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the last 47 years in this church building. Our multi-generation families, friends and neighbors are blessed to have celebrated Masses, Baptisms, weddings, funerals, First Communions, Confirmations, graduations and so many other celebrations here. With God’s blessing, we will continue to celebrate our faith with passion and perseverance here at Assumption Church.
Over the years as we age, so does our beloved church building. Recently, it has become critically apparent that we must address the aging needs of our church, as it relates to building safety and the safety of our parishioners, sooner rather than later. We also have a responsibility to maintain the aesthetics of our sacred church environment. With that in mind, I have looked into the task of necessary repairs and improvements to our church. I want to ensure that this project is managed responsibly. Due to funding restraints, these renovations will need to be handled in multiple phases. This is a collaborative effort which includes the parish staff, Parish Finance Council, parishioners, professional contractors, and the Archdiocese.

As Pastor, I am proud to announce that our first undertaking for planning for our future is scheduled for this summer. We will be replacing all the church entrance doors and the wooden ones inside the front entrance. These outer doors have been giving us problems for many years with locking issues, hardware replacement problems, door threshold fittings not operating correctly, and safety issues. Next, we will be installing glass and wood trimmed doors to allow light into our church. The solid partitions over the doors will be replaced with glass. This specific renovation will allow God’s sunlight to beam into our wonderful church, and brighten our church and our lives. We will finally have entrance doors that operate effectively. Additionally, we will begin to refurbish the vestibule entrance with new lighting to enhance brightness and create a warm and welcoming church entry.
Most renovations will be paid from funds collected over many years and maintained in church restricted accounts. Investments in these accounts are managed by firms designated by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. These accounts are restricted for the sole use towards church renovations and improvements.

We will continually update you with our progress. In the meantime, take another look at the refurbished pew in the back of the church and envision for yourself how it will enhance and improve our church environment. We may need to reach out to you, our parish family, for support in sponsoring certain updates for church furnishings, mosaics, murals, and other needed items.

I hope you are as excited as I am for the beautification and revitalization project of our church. With the intercession of Our Lady, may the community of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary continue to flourish and may our Faith grow stronger every day.

Love,
Fr. Gerard