As we move forward planning for a new roof at Cedar St I wanted to clarify a few things. First, regular upkeep is standard procedure. What makes the Cedar St school unique is that we currently are unable to use the school because it doesn’t have heat and there are some other interior issues that need to be addressed before anything can be utilized. All these issues have a price tag and thus far the need hasn’t justified the investment. 

The process of looking into the new roof has brought up some important points though that we will be addressing. The first is that this is much bigger than simply replacing a roof. Since we currently don’t have planned usage for the old school, we are able to plan for what we will do with it. In fact, knowing what we will do with it is key to moving forward given the significant investment required, 1 million just for the roof. Further funds would need to be allocated to ensure the building meets the necessary requirements to be utilized for its intended purpose. As I said before, each individual project has a cost and thus far the parish need has not justified the level of investment. If we wanted to fully utilize all the rooms tomorrow the price would be roughly 3.5 million. That is 1 million for the roof and roughly 2.5 million in individual projects that add up.

Clearly this will involve some planning which is where the Pastoral council is starting. When we joined together in 2022, we had laid out a plan that included Cedar St being set aside for Adoration and Outreach ministries. We have made significant strides in this direction with our outreach programs. It had always been kicked around that a significant purpose would be found in this realm for the old school. To this point though we have yet to find anything that justifies the 2.5 million for the building upgrades. That doesn’t mean we won’t we just haven’t yet.

We realized that we can also pivot and repurpose space. This increases the likelihood that we will find a vibrant ministry to inhabit the building and guide us toward a point where the financial investment makes the most sense. But each option comes with a set of costs and benefits. For instance, if I found a ministry that involves kids to fill the old school making a decision to move forward would likely involve having to not continue some of the current ministries we are involved in on Cedar Street. Sometimes one kind of ministry prohibits the running of another type of ministry, since these programs have different needs and environments.

This is why the first round of listening sessions held by Pastoral council are so important. We will be specifically looking to see what the priorities of the parish are so that we know the direction to go. We may have to let some things go, property wise or ministry wise as we move forward and we want to move in the right direction. At this point no decisions have been made but we need all your input so that we make the right decision for this community at this time. Ultimately we are given the command by Christ to bring faith to all of north Everett but there are a variety of ways that we can accomplish that and we need to know what the Spirit is asking our population to be involved in and while the Spirit speaks to me He also speaks to you and I need you to let me know what you feel called to do.

Prayers Always,

Fr. Joseph Altenhofen