Below is the email sent on November 4, 2015.
It’s official! Holy Cross Orthodox Church has launched our building campaign, “Raising the Cross.”
For the past several months, members of the parish council have been involved in learning and planning how best to carry out this campaign. The process of raising money, then building, is slow moving and complex. Fortunately, there is also solid guidance from people who have traveled this path themselves, and they have helped us.
We are calling our journey “Raising the Cross,” and it will continue from now until the day we are able to begin worshipping in our new church.
The first stage of our journey, the Capital Campaign, consists of gathering the financial resources we will need. It begins with our sharing information with all of you about how we plan to go about “Raising the Cross” for our new parish home. This information will be made available in various ways.
First, there are materials you can hold, read, and share: beautiful full-color brochures, and folders with detailed information about the campaign. We shared materials after Divine Liturgy on November 1, and will also have them available on November 8. We will mail folders and brochures to others, especially those who live at a distance. Please let us know if you would like materials but have not received them as of November 15.
In addition, our electronic communications include this email list, as well as our very special new website raisingthecross.org, which will be updated frequently throughout the entire building campaign.
As you review the materials, you will no doubt have questions. And if you have a question, someone else may be wondering about that same thing. So that we can communicate important information with everyone, please share your questions with us, either by email to info@raisingthecross.org, or by filling out a slip for the Question Box in the fellowship hall. We’ll answer you directly, and share the answer (minus your name) with everyone by adding to the Questions page of raisingthecross.org.
Our hope is that each adult who is part of the Holy Cross community will participate in donating to the capital campaign. Our goal is to raise $750,000 in pledges, to be fulfilled during the coming three years. We are very thankful that several early pledges have already been made: we are blessed to begin our campaign with a pledge total of $455,000! These confirmed pledges have all come from current parishioners, and have already put us 60% of the way toward our fundraising goal!
Here is how we will continue the process of raising funds: Our Capital Campaign team requests that one of us meet (or speak by phone with those who live at a distance) with each individual or couple to hear your thoughts, and invite you to respond to the capital campaign with your own gift. Our goal is to encourage everyone in the parish to participate in Raising the Cross, and all gifts, of any size, will be received with gratitude.
Online donation and pledge forms will be available starting next week. However, we would encourage you to make your pledge after having a conversation with a member of our Capital Campaign team. This is because we hope to speak with you about how you view the campaign, prior to accepting your pledge with gratitude. We will also confirm the timing by which you would prefer to fulfill your pledge, so that our Treasurer Steve Iltis can record all details accurately and provide the financial forecasting we need to move forward.
Our plan is to continue active fundraising until we have spoken to everyone in the parish. This may need to take a break during the holidays, and continue in the New Year. So that we can celebrate a milestone before the holidays, we plan to announce the fundraising results to date on Sunday, December 13.
We look forward to talking with you in the coming weeks as we begin “Raising the Cross!”
In Christ,
The members of the Capital Campaign team:
Barbara Lawrence, Chair
Father Christopher Foley
Deacon George Hattle
Steven Iltis
Becki King
Pam Richards
Tony Woodlief
Holy Cross Orthodox Church · www.holycrossoca.org