by Bill Calvert & Linda Cummings

As you know, the Capital Campaign Committee plans to meet with every family in our parish to discuss the campaign and to hear firsthand everyone’s thoughts and hopes for the future of St. Alban’s. We are thrilled at the response so far, and the generosity of our fellow parishioners.

As of this writing, we’ve met with about half of all the families, and we have documented pledges for the campaign totaling nearly $1.2 million. Your level of commitment is putting us on a path to improved infrastructure that will benefit our ministries for decades to come!

Our minimum financial goal, to complete the renovated kitchen and adjacent facilities, was $1.1 million. Having exceeded that minimum, we can now focus on revitalizing our capital reserve fund. This will enable us to complete a large number of long-overdue and necessary projects like:

• Fresh repainting of the entire exterior of the church & rectory
• Improving the lighting and cooling in the choir loft
• Upgrading the speakers in the nave so that all can hear
• Replacing the boiler, long past its lifespan
• Clearing the overgrowth along Columbia Pike and replanting the hillside with low-maintenance plantings to ensure the safety of our volunteer mowing team

What is the Capital Reserve Fund and why does it matter? The Capital Reserve has been used to fund several important (and expensive!) projects that otherwise might have required capital campaigns of their own. These included such projects as the resurfacing and relighting of our parking lot, structural repairs to the sacristy, and the replacement of the HVAC system.

By replenishing the Capital Reserve, and refurbishing our aging structures, we also contribute to the long-term financial stability of the parish. Did you know that 80% of our annual income comes from parishioner pledges? While your annual pledge generosity  is needed and appreciated, it will be easier for your vestry to plan from year to year if we added more revenue from other sources, such as facility rentals. All of this improved infrastructure will make that possible!

We are only halfway toward our goal of meeting with everyone, and we hope to achieve parish-wide participation in the campaign. If that happens, your vestry will be able to consider even more improvements that have long been requested by our fellow members, such as:

• Upgrading the electrical throughout the facility, including charging stations in all rooms
• Upgrading the parish office air conditioners
• Replacing signs on Gallows Road and Sleepy Hollow Road
• Eventual need for asbestos removal from classrooms and sacristy
• Redesigning Room 1, including removing closets, repainting, and appropriate furnishings

It’s been a blessing for those of us on the committee to meet with so many parishioners and hear of how much you love St. Alban’s and what its ministries mean to you. Every single one of you is a vital part of this parish, and we can’t wait to meet individually with each of you. Please, when you are contacted by a member of the committee about meeting, say yes! 

And if you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact either of us, or anyone on the committee. There are also a complete set of Q&As, and regularly updated information, on our website at https://wearestalbans.org/campaign/. Thank you!