St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church

  PARISH COUNCIL 2008 
 BUILDING FUND
PLEDGE PROCESS 
  
 CAMPAIGN PERIOD 
 16th April 2008 – 28th May 2008 
     
  

Dear Generous Sponsors,

On behalf of St Nicholas Church we would like to sincerely thank you for all of your donations made over the years. It is with gratitude to inform you that your donations have contributed in paying down the mortgage we currently hold o­n the 3 adjoining properties we purchased back in 2005, these being lots 17, 19 & 21 Henry Street. All previous & current funds raised are going towards these properties which we see have great potential for amenities such as a pre-school, primary school or retirement homes.

We have since been working o­n larger ventures for our congregation and the major of the lot is the proposed new building of a church.

In early 2003, groups of people had committed their time and knowledge in preparing ideas o­n extending/renovating the church. There were endless hours in meetings with consultants and the local authority trying to push through the best possible result that could be achieved.

Finally, o­n the 1st of September 2005, a development application was granted by Bankstown Council for the construction of a new church in place of the existing o­ne. The approved plans allow for approximately 40% more seating within the church, Sunday school classroom facilities and consisted of 2 levels under ground parking which allows 95 extra car spaces. (See attached plans for overview).

Since council approval of the proposed development in 2005 feasibility studies were conducted in early 2006 to evaluate the total cost of this scale of construction. It was estimated that cost to build would be between $3.5M and $4.0M. It was then decided that these sorts of funds were impossible to raise so all plans were put o­n hold.

In July of 2007, a new church council was elected and in turn a new building sub-committee was established. The initial concept of the new church has since been revisited by the new building committee and a unanimous vote was reached by the parish council & the parish priest with the additional support of His Eminence early this year to proceed in pursuing ways of raising funds to allow the new church to be built. This was decided predominantly because of the expiration/lapsing of the DA approval from council which falls due o­n the 12th December 2008. If we do not commence construction works before this deadline date we will not have the same opportunity in building anything like what is currently approved as Bankstown council have changes there legislation towards developments of this type.

Recently a new estimate of cost to build was established at $4.0M. In order for us to proceed with construction we have put a risk factor of funds required at 40%. What this means is that we will need to raise, $1.6M which is 40% of $4.0M, to be able to commence construction. The remaining amount can be funded by a lending institution if required to assure completion. This is our safety net if we were unable to collect part of or all of the balance to complete being $2.4M.

We are optimistic that the initial target can be achieved and the new church building can be underway as early as October of this year. However, for this to be possible we need to have pre-commitment from all sponsors and the community by way of PLEDGING how much they are willing to donate. What this means is that all you need to do is TELL US how much you are willing to donate which will merely determine collectively whether or not our new church can be built.   

A cut off date, 28th May 2008 has been set to determine whether we have succeeded in our task. This gives us 6 weeks which is ample time to approach as many potential’s as possible.

On the 1st of June 2008 an announcement will be made in church during the liturgy and it will also be put o­n the church website o­n the overall outcome. Based o­n the results being successful, the funds will be called up the following week and preparations will commence leading into construction phase. o­n the down side, if we do not succeed in our task, which will be very unfortunate, the parishioners will need to cope with what we currently have, a little church outgrown by its local population.

Where to from here?

You will be approached at church, in your home or at work by a parish council member or there authorised representative who will have the pledge forms with them. All you need to do is give your details with your pledged amount. That’s it!

If you don’t see or hear from anybody, please understand we are aiming to go through hundreds of people and it is likely we will miss a few. But in any case you can log o­nto the website www.stnicholaspunchbowl.org.au and make your pledge o­nline otherwise you can just ask for a parish council member any Sunday after the liturgy.

We pray and hope that all faithful come together in support of this “Just Cause”

IT’S NOW UP TO YOU!!!

With all our preys and well wishes

Parish Council
St Nicholas Antiochion Orthodox Church

Pledge Sponsor: ………………………………………..  Pledge: $………………………………
   (PRINT FULL NAME)

Pledge Collector: ……………………………………….  Phone: …………………………………

To print this document or view in PDF Format: "Press Here"

To view Church Building Plans:
                                               East-Street Scape
                                               Forecourt
                                               Ground Floor Plan
                                               North Elevation
                                               West-South Elevations

To Register your Pledge: Please contact any member of the Parish Council for more information and to register your pledge, for Contact numbers, please see Contact Us.