Hello Church!
Thank you for being a part of Pax Christi Catholic Community and for supporting the work of the Church with your time, talent, and treasure. Your presence and your contributions are a true blessing.
I want to share something with you that is very dear to my heart. This parish began with 40 households in 1987, families dedicated to creating a Catholic community with a spirit of worship that goes beyond the Mass. As the community grew, these families worked hard with their bare hands to build our beautiful Chapel. They eventually began fundraising and, piece by piece, built everything you see here today. These first families, and those that followed, contributed money, time, and energy to build a legacy of love. It is now time for us to build on their great work for the future of Pax Christi and secure our legacy.
When I came to Pax Christi in July 2020, we were a community of just over 600 families. Over the past 5 years, our community has grown to over 1300 families, and we continue to welcome about 20 new families every month. Praise God! While I am grateful for the growth, it presents us with some challenges. We no longer have enough rooms for all our ministries to meet; we are using every single space available for our religious education programs, and we do not have enough office space for our staff to do the important work of our parish. We are simply out of space.
After lengthy prayer and discernment, and consulting with Parish Council, Finance Council, staff, and others in parish leadership, we believe we are being called to expand and upgrade our facilities. Together, we decided to conduct a parish-wide survey, which we completed one year ago. Based on overwhelming support from that study, we selected a very experienced architect and contractor who, with the input of our building committee and the leadership teams named above, have developed a beautiful master plan to provide what we truly need for the future here at Pax Christi. We love the plan, and believe you will, too.
No vision this big comes without a price, but we believe that by praying and working together, we can build something great, not for our glory, but for God’s. If we are to build what is needed to support our growing faith family and do the work of our Church for years to come, we will need everyone in our community to make an additional, significant, financial sacrifice, just as those who have gone before us.
I am asking you to consider the story of the widow’s mite from Luke 21:1-4. In this parable, Jesus speaks of rich people contributing their gifts to the offertory, followed by a poor widow who gave two small coins. Jesus viewed her contribution as a sacrificial gift because she truly felt the impact in her daily life.
Only you and God truly know the details of your own financial situation. Please pray and work with God to determine what you can contribute to this important effort. For those who would like a little guidance, we would encourage you to consider a gift of two, three, or four percent of your annual income, each year for the three years of this campaign, in addition to what you are already contributing to the Church. This may be difficult for you. If, after prayer and discernment, you find you cannot give this much, please give anything you can.
I would not ask you to do anything I am unwilling to do myself. Please know that I have prayed, asked God to help me discern my financial sacrifice, and submitted my pledge card. Together, we will accomplish his will for Pax Christi and this project.
Thank you for your support, your prayers, and for being part of this project and community. It is a blessing to walk beside you.
In the Peace of Christ,
Fr. Andrzej Szczesnowicz, Pastor
