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Congregational Meetings
In the December 2, 2011 e-Newsletter, the Vestry announced the launch of the Organ Project whose goal was to renovate, and potentially complete, the St. Thomas Organ. As many will recall, the St. Thomas Organ was built between 1988 and 1990 and was, in many respects, a memorial to the dozens of parishioners and others in the community affected by AIDS during the 1980's - a number of whom are interred in the walls of our Church. There were limited funds to build the organ at the time, so many pre-existing parts that had a good amount of remaining life were used with the plan to replace them within 10 to 15 years. After lasting more than 20 years, the Vestry finally decided to shut the Organ down in late 2011 for safety reasons. For the first six months of 2012, St. Thomas relied on a piano to accompany the Choir during the Sunday High Mass.
After several months with a piano, the Vestry retained the original builder of the St. Thomas Organ, Weston Harris, to see if he could create an "Interim Organ" so that at least a portion of the Organ could be safely used during the Sunday High Mass. Fortunately, Mr. Harris was able to bypass trouble areas of the Organ and reconfigure the rest so that approximately one-third of the St. Thomas Organ could be used. While the "Interim Organ" is a temporary solution and supports basic congregational singing, it is not a substitute for the complete Organ rebuild that was announced in 2011, but should have been completed years ago. Accordingly, with the support and approval of the Diocese, St. Thomas has applied for a construction line of credit (secured by its property) that will help fund the initiation of the Organ Project. Also, after a lengthy investigation and bidding process, St. Thomas has hired Mr. Harris to renovate and complete the St. Thomas Organ.
Besides the Organ Project, the Vestry is considering embarking on a number of other projects, some of which have been previously considered, but delayed for many years. These additional projects under consideration include:
Re-leading of the stained glass windows in the main Church:
- Completion of the masonry detail on the exterior of the main Church
- Implementing the existing plan for enclosing the Courtyard with decorative wrought iron gates that compliment the main Church
- Air conditioning/heating for the main Church
- Upgrading video equipment to expand the St. Thomas Video Ministry
To help determine the feasibility of moving forward with some or all of these projects, the Vestry has retained an experienced church consultant, Richard Felton, who will help guide St. Thomas through the process of determining how best to proceed. To that end, the Vestry is organizing a Parish meeting to: (1) provide information regarding the potential projects referenced above to the Parish; and (2) obtain input from the Parish regarding these projects. To ensure the greatest possible participation in the meeting, there will be two opportunities for parishioners to meet and discuss the projects referenced above. The first opportunity will be on:
Sunday June 16, 2013 - immediately following the Low Mass
Parishioners will then have a second opportunity to meet and discuss the projects listed above on:
Sunday June 23, 2013 - immediately following the High Mass
Parishioners are encouraged to attend at least one of these meetings, but are welcome to attend both. If you have any questions regarding the Organ Project, the additional projects listed above, or the upcoming Parish meetings, please see any member of the Vestry.
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