Construction Update on Our New Church:
As noted in church on Palm Sunday, work on the construction of our new church began in earnest at the beginning of March (3823 Brushy Creek Road, 78613). We were slightly delayed following our ground breaking in November due to timing on funding approval from the Great Commission Foundation (GCF), who is partnering with St. Julian's to make our building project a reality. Though the timing was out of our hands and driven really by increased costs resulting from general inflation and additional requirements to receive our building permit, the generosity of GCF is nothing short of miraculous. They increased their giving to cover those additional costs and, along with the generosity of our own community, the GCF and the Diocese of Texas are making our 14 year dream of developing a permanent campus and home for our family of faith possible. I hope you will join me in offering prayers of thanksgiving for our Bishop and the Board of GCF whose love for and great faith in St. Julian's is so evident in their $6.5million commitment to building our new church (wow!).
The very good news is, again, that we have begun and will now continue our work till the new facility is complete. The updated construction calendar has our completion set for January of 2024 (so less than a year away!). Though delays and challenges should be anticipated, as is the case with all major construction projects, my sincere hope is that we will celebrate our next Easter together in our new church. As we move through construction, our contractor, Braun and Butler, will be providing weekly progress reports at the following link (click here). You are welcome to bookmark the link to check in on progress and view a few encouraging pics from time to time (the link will be updated weekly).
From our side of the process, the work is being overseen by our Construction Committee that is meeting weekly with our contractor and architects. The committee is chaired by Jack Ely and also includes: Paul Warfield, Katherine Lilly, Patty Kenyon, Laura Tomaszewski, John Bindel, Jayson Lang and, of course, me. This is an experienced and dedicated team of lay leaders, and I am so grateful for their time and expertise. We will be updating the congregation on progress regularly, but, if you have any questions along the way, please feel free to reach out directly to Jack. Though we welcome drive by's to see progress, please note, this is an active worksite. To this end and for your own safety, it is not permitted to go on the land during construction. However, we will have opportunities at certain stages for us to gather on the land for various celebrations. These gatherings will be scheduled and announced in advance.
Your most important and essential support of this good work is to keep the project in your regular prayers. Please join me in praying for the safety of the workers who are building our church and that God's will for our family of faith is done, now and in the future, as we both build and then offer prayer, worship and service from our new home. It is also essential that we all continue and complete the pledges made to the Deep Roots Capital Campaign that represent our financial offering to the completion of the project. If we can support your continued giving or if you ever have questions about your pledge, please reach out to Jay Smith, our Deep Roots Treasurer, or Kim White our Bookkeeper. And, thank you so very much for your generosity that, along with GCF, is making this dream come alive. I will also note that if you were not able to make a pledge to Deep Roots during the campaign or have joined us since it was completed last May, we would be blessed by any additional pledges within the five year scope of the campaign. If you would like to discern or make a pledge, feel free to reach out directly to Jay or me for more information.
This is an exciting time in the life of our relatively young parish, and it is such a gift to share the journey with you. I continue to believe we have only just begunaccomplishing all the good and life-giving work that God has set before us that this new home will only deepen and further. What a joy it is to share this ministry with each of you!
If you have any questions about our construction project or anything in our shared life, please don't hesitate to reach out. I hope this reaches you and yours as well as possible. Happy Eastertide!
Peace and Warm Friendship,
Miles+
The Rev. Miles Brandon, Vicar
with
The Rev. Jonathan McManus-Dail, Associate Vicar for Youth and Young Adults