Dear Community of Saint Joseph’s;

 

Full of gratitude, I write in thanksgiving for all the many hands that helped make our Lent and Holy Week such a great spiritual experience.  Our parish staff, our liturgical leaders, and you, our parishioners made this an extraordinary time of communion, challenge and healing.  As we move deeper into the Easter season we celebrate the goodness of God and joy of the Resurrection season.  A season in which we acknowledge that all things are possible.

 

Speaking of the possible – I would like to take this opportunity to thank you also for the ongoing support you give to our parish projects!  Thanks to your support of last year’s Annual Bishop’s Appeal we not only made our Diocesan financial goal, but also raised enough to completely refurbish our parish pews.  This was a huge project and a substantial amount of money was needed to complete this effort.  Once again I thank you for giving so generously of your treasure in order to protect our church building. 

 

At the time of the restoration of the pews we were able to take care of a nagging problem with our roof.  There was a persistent leak in one of the uppermost skylights that we had been unsuccessful in repairing.  This year while the pews were out of the church we finally found a company able to scale the roofline and mend the damage.  This is another of those long-term projects that we have been able to accomplish thanks to your financial support of the parish. 

 

Which brings me to the “Inclinator,”………!

 

As many of you know, it was decided some years ago to have a custom designed funicular (small cable car) called an Inclinator to assist people in moving from the lower parking lot to the church sanctuary level.

 

However, this device needs to be custom designed for our landscape and only one company was found that could create what the parish was looking for.  Also, there was the issue of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements that needed to be factored into the design as well State of California approval.  All this is to explain that the design and installation of the Inclinator has been a demanding task and was worked on diligently by members of our parish Building Committee.  

 

Saint Joseph’s hired a company to design and build the Inclinator.  The process was slow and challenging and ultimately our communications with this company became unsuccessful.   Consequently, we have decided to abandon the Inclinator concept and begin plans for an elevator that could accomplish our goals without marring the look of the church building and avoiding the complications of the Inclinator project. 

 

Unfortunately this takes us back to square one of the process and I am asking you to be patient with us as we begin our efforts anew.  In my experience, the best projects take considerable time to devise and troubleshoot so that when they are finally built they function carefree.  However, the waiting can be frustrating when you have donated to a project and expect to see it happen quickly.  So I am asking for your patience as we continue to slog through new details of designing and presenting to Saint Joseph’s the best and most elegant solution to our challenging physical structure. 

 

Our primary goal is to provide the easiest access possible for all the members of the body of Christ as we celebrate the goodness of God day after day.

 

 

Father Matt Pennington

Pastor