Below is the email sent on December 19, 2015.
"Glory in the Highest to God, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." (Luke 2:14) Very soon we will be singing with the Angels of the Good News of our Lord’s becoming flesh for our salvation in the stillness of the dark night in a cave. We hymn the glorious birth of our Lord and with gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving, we offer up our song. We are thankful for the freedom to be able to celebrate Christ’s birth in such a full way through our liturgical worship. It is in and through our sacramental life that we come to have communion with God who became man for us. This is one of the reasons why this is such an important time in the history of Holy Cross—we are at a point where we are actively pursuing a building campaign so that this Divine Worship can continue for generations to come.
This past Sunday, December 13, Barbara Lawrence, RTC Capital Campaign Chair, presented the following update after Divine Liturgy. We have reached a point in our capital campaign—the first phase of Raising the Cross—where we have some numbers to share.
The Capital Campaign team is steadily working to make contact with everyone we hoped would have an interest in our building project. From an original list of 96 individuals, couples, and families, about 1/3 of these have met or talked with us and given a decision, 1/3 have yet to be called, and 1/3 are somewhere along in the process.
Since the Christmas season is such a busy time, we will probably be making few calls or visits during the remainder of December, but we will begin again in January. Please don't feel left out if you have not been called! It simply turns out to be a slow but worthwhile process which we will continue into the first month or two of 2016. If you would like to schedule a meeting sooner and have not yet been called, feel free to e-mail info@raisingthecross.org.
We have received pledges totaling $471,700. A pledge is a promise to give a specific amount within the next three years, so this is the total amount of funds which have been promised. We have received funds donated by cash or check in the amount of $125,263. Most of this amount is toward the pledges which have been made.
Our hope is that everyone will consider not only donating, but making a pledge to the campaign. The importance of pledges is that they can be used to anticipate how much we will have by the end of the campaign, as well as when we will have enough to begin the building process. Even a pledge in a modest amount of $5 or $10 per week will result in a total donation to Raising the Cross of $750 or $1,500 over three years.
Please note that stewardship donations are important to cover the operating expenses of the church, and we urge everyone not to reduce this giving in order to donate to Raising the Cross.
Our online Raising the Cross donation form is active! This form may be used for one-time donations, or for recurring donations in which you designate an amount and an interval, and that amount is charged automatically on a regular basis according to your request.
One important detail: in order to connect donations with existing information in our database, many of you will receive an email with a special version of the donation link. If you receive it, please donate from the link you find there.
Please feel free to invite friends and family to visit raisingthecross.org where they can read all about our campaign and donate online.
If you have any questions, please ask Barbara Lawrence or Steve Iltis, fill out a slip for the comments box, or email info@raisingthecross.org.
Thank you all for your generosity and prayers for the success of our capital campaign! May the Lord bless you all during this time of our Lord’s Incarnation.
Holy Cross Orthodox Church · www.holycrossoca.org