Dear Parishioners,

I miss you.

Our Palm Sunday Mass set us all on a ‘procession,’ together yet physically apart, into a very unusual commemoration of Holy Week during this time of the COVID virus.  We all are called to work conscientiously in our own homes to do our best to make this a special week of prayer and fasting that leads us to Christ’s Easter Resurrection.

In addition to COVID’s effects on our worship and parish life, we also take very seriously the concerns of how the virus impacts the well-being of our local community and economy. You may remember that we had plans to begin our new building addition this month. While we must continue to prioritize the many COVID-related needs of our parish and community, I also want St. Clare to provide  signs of hope and optimism for our future by not completely stopping our plans to build.

Thanks to your continued donations toward our building project, we have been working behind the scenes to keep this project moving forward. We have been working closely with our builders, architects, diocese and parish finance council to balance the benefits and costs of continuing the building project while being mindful of the present needs of our parishioners and larger community. With this in mind:

+ We will wait a few weeks to begin any major construction (framing, walls, etc.) until we get some signs from the medical community that the virus ‘curve’ has leveled in our area.

+ We will continue making progress with ‘small steps’ like purchasing needed materials now to provide us savings in the long run. Other initial minor construction-related work (such as site preparation) will begin as originally scheduled to avoid costs that would be incurred if we delay.

+ A secondary benefit of our building project is we see it as a gift to the community since it will provide much-needed employment for local businesses and laborers during economically challenging times.

I trust that you will see these decisions as signs of our mindfulness of the current challenging realities and HOPE for our future. My prayer for you is that the Holy Spirit will fill you with God’s peace as together we journey through the Triduum to a joyous Easter season!
 
In prayer and gratitude,
Fr. Jim Deiters