Take Courage; Get up, Jesus is Calling You

Oct 25

Take Courage; Get up, Jesus is Calling You

This weekend, Mark’s Gospel relays to us the story of Bartimaeus, a blind man, who begged Jesus to have mercy and allow him to see. As in all Jesus’ healings, Jesus told Bartimaeus that it was his faith that saved him, and with that, he was able to see immediately. Our faith is not a panacea that relieves us of fear or of any of the difficulties that life presents. No, our faith tells us that God is with us, no matter what, and with His Grace, we can walk the road that is before us. Life happens. Our faith allows us to see that with God “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” [Romans 8:8]

In March of this year, I shared with you that the Parish Facilities Committee engaged KSI Professional Engineers to assess all seven of our buildings. Their initial findings revealed some major structural issues at St. Francis, Brant Beach and at St. Thomas of Villanova, Surf City. The issues at St. Francis were relatively an easy fix. The issues in Surf City, as we know, were not. But we are a people of great faith, we adjusted, and we continue to move forward.

The Facilities Committee did not take the summer off but sought bids from different contractors to address the need in Surf City. The work is very specific and there are not many that can do that type of work; however, we did receive three bids making it a competitive search. We accepted the proposal from Buterick Bulkheading of Manahawkin. They will begin the work on St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Surf City on Nov. 4th.

The accompanying pictures show the dramatic level of deterioration to some of the support beams. The majority of the damage is below the sanctuary and the front pews of the church, proper. The engineer’s drawing indicates where 53 helical pilings will need to be installed under these compromised beams for added support. Before the pilings are installed the rust needs to be removed and the cement beams recreated and sealed to prevent future deterioration. We hope the repairs will be completed sometime in January.

The Facilities Committee is still reviewing the details of the 7 reports from KSI Professional Engineers. At this point we do not know the full extent of the work that needs to be done to restore and repair our buildings. We are moving forward with the Surf City Church because the need is immediate and an emergency situation. Because of our stewardship of the funds from the sale of our properties we are able to make these repairs now. The Finance Council, however, will be creating a financial plan that will allow us to address all of the issues raised in the reports as well as continue to strengthen our investments once again. Of course, I will share those details with you as soon as possible.

So, we take courage because Jesus continues to call us to do his work here on LBI and it will all be for the good because we are truly a people of faith who love God.

Sempre Avanti…Always Forward!