Building for Mission
Capital Campaign
Parish Gatherings
All St. Gertrude Parish parishioners are invited to a Building for Mission parish gathering to learn more about our capital campaign, ask questions, receive your campaign packets, and discern how you are being called to support this monumental effort. Light refreshments will be served. Childcare will be provided, but you must RSVP in advance.
Join us on one of the following dates:
- Thursday, November 19 | 7–8:30 p.m. | School Cafeteria
- Tuesday, November 24 | 7–8:30 p.m. | St. Dominic Lobby
- Thursday, December 3 | 7–8:30 p.m. | School Cafeteria
Tremendous Growth
Our parish is flourishing, yet our parish facilities have not kept pace with our tremendous growth. We desperately lack meeting and gathering space for our 60-plus ministries, enough office space for our parish and school staffs, a natural post-Mass gathering space that is not weather-dependent, and a true convent for the Dominican Sisters. This campaign will address our parish’s space needs, providing the physical facilities that allow people to deeply encounter Jesus for decades to come.
Priority Projects
We have prioritized the projects based on our feasibility study responses and are focusing on the four priority projects below, totaling $24 million. To complete these four projects, we will seek to raise a minimum of $24 million, which takes into account current costs and anticipated inflation until the time of building.
Learn more about each of these projects in the case statement.
- Parish Center Expansion – $11.2 Million: This expansion will provide for adequate meeting and office spaces for parish staff and ministry groups and include dedicated Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atria.
- Narthex – $5.9 Million: We will transform the current outdoor space between the church and the Parish Center into a fully furnished indoor narthex. This space will function as a natural post-Mass gathering area that is not weather-dependent.
- Convent – $4.7 Million: Currently, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia who serve at St. Gertrude School reside in a typical house, not a convent as required by their Order and vocation. We have the opportunity to purchase properties adjacent to the parish for roughly $2 million. For an additional $2.7 million, one of these homes can be expanded upon to meet the requirements of a convent for the Sisters.
- Church Updates and Parking – $2.2 Million: To accommodate the many people who visit our church building every week, we will improve the overall functional flow of the worship space. This will include making the parking lot safer for our school children.
These renderings are of the front of the church and Parish Center with the new narthex in the middle, a close-up look of the back of the church and Parish Center with the new narthex in the middle, and the new convent. Please note: These renderings are not final drawings but show the vision we have at this time.
Future Projects
These future projects, while important, do not directly address the need for more space. If our capital campaign exceeds expectations, we will undertake the following projects to enhance the parish as funds become available.
- New Gym for School – $7.4 Million: If we raise this additional amount during the campaign, we will build a gym adjacent to St. Gertrude School.
- Current Gym Renovation – $5.8 Million: Only after the completion of the new gym and if funds become available through this campaign or future fundraising efforts, we will renovate the current gym for parish use. It will include a warming kitchen, renovation of the current bathrooms, additional meeting spaces, and storage.
How the Giving Process Works
Attend a Home or Parish Gathering
Every parishioner is invited and encouraged to attend either a home gathering or a large parish gathering. This is your opportunity to learn more about the campaign, ask questions, and receive your personal campaign packet.
Discern
Once you receive your personal campaign packet, we ask you to prayerfully discern how you will support this exciting and important effort. Achieving our $24M goal will require parish-wide participation.
Make a Gift of Faith
Motivated by gratitude for all God has given you, we invite you to make a sacrificial gift. Whether you make a one-time gift, a recurring donation, or a pledge fulfilled over time, your contribution is vital—and no gift is too small.
Additional Resources
Campaign Prayer
O God, you are the giver of every good and perfect gift. We give you thanks for the abundant blessings you have poured out on our parish family. During this Building for Mission campaign, increase in us the desire to do great things for you, and inspire in us a generous and sacrificial spirit. May we glorify you in all that we do and lead many people to encounter Jesus here at St. Gertrude Parish. We commend our prayer to you, Father, through the intercession of Mary our Mother, in the Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord. Amen.