We are a Eucharistic community, and our beautiful church building well-serves our sacred encounters with the Lord in Word and Sacrament. The next chapter for St. Gabriel includes surrounding our church with spaces for connection, evangelization, and growing deeper in our faith. These spaces will be places where people look forward to spending time and engaging with one another.
GOOD NEWS!!! We have surpassed $1M in collections!! (6/22/23)
"My hope: a campus filled with disciples in the making - both on Sunday and during the week. A place where we are connecting, learning, and supporting one another on this journey of following Jesus. A parish home with deep friendships where we are known and loved. This campaign is about creating spaces in our parish home to help make this dream a reality." - Fr. Don
Step 1 to realize our campus vision is already underway. Thanks to generous parishioners, the Community Center renovation is already funded. Construction began June 12 with expected completion in January 2024.
Our generous parish has pushed through uncertain times before. In fact, the three largest years for past campaigns were during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 when we raised $7.5 million. We find inspiration in the sacrifices that our ancestors made in more challenging times than today, ensuring that the Church continues her mission to make missionary disciples and share Christ with the world.
First, we ask for you to pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and for the success of our campaign. Second, we ask all parishioners to participate by making a three-year pledge to the campaign. With your sacrificial gift and prayerful support, you will be a co-sharer in creating a special place to nurture individuals and families on their walk with Christ.
The Community Center’s connection to our church building allows for truly enhancing our Sunday experience. Our hope is for people to spend time here after Mass and during the week to connect with one another and journey as disciples together. By transforming the gym and cafeteria into space for families, fellowship, and ministry, we believe this first step will provide benefits for all ages.
There are many exciting facets to the Kelly Center plan. First, the old narthex becomes a Welcome Center, and our old worship space becomes a Parish Hall surrounded by meeting rooms. We also add a Digital Ministry Room to create and share digital content for evangelization and formation and expand the Parish Office. Additional meeting rooms will be added along with a ministry work room that also includes ministry storage. The preschool area will be refreshed, and our end-of-life heating and cooling system will be replaced and added to our new chilled water system.
Our homes (whether house or apartment) have outdoor areas for connecting with others—to celebrate, to pray, and to play. Similarly, we want our parish home to have outdoor spaces for these purposes. St. Gabriel’s Backyard will include a large pavilion for community events such as the St. Gabriel Celebration, Knights of Columbus fish fry’s, and even outdoor Mass. A playground for kids up to age 12 will encourage families to gather and hangout, and a recreation area will offer additional opportunities for engagement and fun. St. Gabriel’s Backyard supports our dream for parishioners and families to do life together.
The plans for the Community Center and the Bishop Kelly Center continue to provide significant spaces that can be used for these occasional very large uses. These spaces include the Social Hall and Youth Room in the Community Center and the Parish Hall in the Kelly Center. The various meeting rooms can also be utilized as needed. We will remain blessed to have three large gathering areas across these two buildings.
The Parish Hall will be multi-purpose and feel a bit warmer than the Social Hall. It will be used for a variety of activities including large group gatherings with small group breakouts and for parish-wide gatherings. For those of you that remember our Youth Shack, this room might be thought of as an adult “youth shack” with its casual, warm, and inviting ambience.
The Parish Office will be expanded, encompassing the current office, the old work room, the St. Mary room, and the adjacent corridor. The design will incorporate open office concepts and include an internal conference room and several huddle rooms within the space.