Dear Parishioners,

CONSULTATIONS FOR POTENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT

We are kicking off the next phase of consultations to help inform the potential redevelopment of our parish campus and invite any interested parishioners to participate.  These sessions will help the Redevelopment Committee understand how parishioners prioritize our various pastoral programs.  The consultation sessions will involve two interactive exercises, which have been specifically designed to be fun and engaging.  Both are group-based and are structured to feel more like a game than free-form discussion.  Each session ends with a prioritized list of top programs as agreed upon by the group. 

Please note that participants must be registered parishioners as of December 31, 2018, and may only participate in one session. 

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Fr. Don Planty

Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

Bishop Burbidge has approved the continued exploration of the potential redevelopment of the St. Charles Parish site. We will be conducting further consultations to identify the current and future programmatic needs that should be reflected in any redevelopment efforts.  This will be a large undertaking but I am excited to work with all of you to make this the best process possible.

For this phase, I have appointed and hired Rashad Badr to serve as the Chairman of our Redevelopment Committee.  He is an active parishioner at St. Charles and has volunteered extensively as a member of our Redevelopment Core Team for the last year, putting his professional experience as a consultant and manager to work for our parish.  Rashad has been an important part of the consultations to date and he is well-positioned to help guide this process going forward. 

Rashad will be responsible for coordinating the committee's activities, for ensuring that the committee undertakes a thoughtful and thorough consultation process, for collecting and disseminating important data, and for keeping all stakeholders updated throughout the process.  I am confident that he will help facilitate a great spirit of zeal and collaboration as we work together for the future of our parish.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Fr. Don Planty

Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

I am happy to report that the consultation phase regarding a potential parish site redevelopment has concluded, having spent ten months soliciting broad feedback from representative parishioners and from diocesan officials, according to a plan approved by Bishop Burbidge.  I have submitted a report to the bishop explaining that the consultations resulted in excitement and in a consensus in favor of a redeveloped parish campus which fosters our fundamental mission of comprehensive evangelization, designed with a particular focus on:

• Reaching out to and welcoming not only parishioners but also

  • non-practicing Catholics and non-Catholics

  • young adults

  • young families with children

• A desire for beauty

  • for a house of worship of traditional form which is a sign that inspires

  • for appealing design which draws people in and together

  • for an oasis of calm in the heart of the city

  • for an urban campus integrated with the church and with the neighborhood

• The need for functionality

  • for increased activity and meeting areas of different sizes and styles

  • for supporting integral formation in the faith

  • for innovative social spaces attractive to young adults

  • for accessibility for pedestrians and for vehicles

• A call to generosity

  • to form and to engage parishioners' support through their time, talent and treasure

  • to reach out to and to serve the community with the Gospel of mercy

• The responsibility for sustainability providing

  • longevity of structures

  • efficient maintenance, energy use and waste management

  • green spaces

  • financial stability

The consensus was that the current parish physical plant does not support those aspects of our mission as well as a redeveloped campus could.

A strong majority of parish stakeholders, and all diocesan stakeholders, are enthusiastic about the possibilities that a future redevelopment of the St. Charles site could bring.  I am confident that there is a great desire to redevelop our parish campus, and therefore have requested that Bishop Burbidge approve further redevelopment efforts.  I remain,

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Fr. Don Planty

Pastor

All parishioners are invited to join our Town Hall Meetings. These will serve to solicit feedback and provide an opportunity for us to hear your thoughts about the possibilities a redevelopment could represent for our parish

Following a request from the pastor, Bishop Burbidge has approved the beginning of a consultative process regarding the possible redevelopment of the St. Charles Borromeo parish site. Click for focus group dates and signups!

Following a request from Father Planty, Bishop Burbidge has approved the beginning of a consultative process regarding the possible redevelopment of the St. Charles Borromeo parish site.