A final push for church campaign

AMHERST - If everything goes according to plan the Holy Family Parish's $1-million capital campaign should surpass its goal by Oct. 5. After a summer's break, the campaign sits at $681,000, a figure that was reached in little more than two months of active campaigning this past spring, and members of the Capital Campaign are confident the success will continue throughout the next month. "We're well on our way to building our new church," capital campaign co-chair Vince Byrne told members of the Amherst Rotary Club on Monday. "We've had a tremendous response and we're two-thirds of the way there. We're confident that once people start seeing something concrete the rest will fall into place pretty quickly." In preparation for construction, Father Vernon Driscoll has moved from his residence into an apartment while the Holy Family office will be moving to the Furlong-Jones Funeral Home in the coming week. As well, there will be an auction of material from the facility in the next few weeks and salvage crews will soon be going through the century-old church to determine what can be saved. "The process is moving ahead and if all goes according to plan we'll have a new church by next summer or earlier," Byrne told Rotarians. The capital campaign for the $1.6-million church took the summer off as many parishioners move to the cottage during July and August. Committee members are restarting their efforts to meet with parishioners. Many parishioners have responded in good faith to the funding request and Byrne said the fundraising committee is confident those who have not yet made a decision will do so. It has been nearly two years since St. Charles and Nativity of Our Lady were merged into one parish as part of the Archdiocese's Forward in Faith initiative. Byrne admitted that it has been a tough time for area Catholics, who have an emotional attachment for both parishes. However, he said, many parishioners are placing their faith in the new direction and are supporting the project. The new single-storey structure will feature a 4,200-square-foot sanctuary to accommodate 300 worshippers, a 3,500-square foot hall with modern kitchen facilities for 240 people and a 1,530-square-foot foyer or gathering area. There will also be six classrooms, a boardroom and administrative offices. "The moves have been well planned and are proceeding on schedule," said Dr. Celina White, co-chairperson. "We expect very little interruption in our parish work and will be available to accept donations at the new office almost immediately." The need for a new facility, which is well-known throughout the parish, was made evident once again last week when the church hall was flooded with water. Some 130 gallons of water were removed from the hall after the weekend, highlighting deficiencies in the structure and reaffirming the wisdom of investing in a new building. "The building is past its prime," said Todd LeBlanc, an accountant and committee member, "and, from a financial standpoint, the best approach is to direct our resources toward a new, modern facility rather than an aging one with a large number of major issues." (With files from Raissa Tetanish) dcole@amherstdaily.com