CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

In 2004, the fruit of many years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice was realized with the dedication of the new Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church. The church is, in my opinion, easily the most beautiful new church construction in the Diocese of Charleston in the past 30 years. Arguably, it is one of the most beautiful new churches constructed anywhere in the United States during the same period. The parishioners who worked and sacrificed so much to build such a testimony to the Catholic faith -- the faith that comes to us from the Apostles -- can be assured that their legacy will provide a constant witness to Catholicism for decades to come. Interestingly enough, many parishioners have told me what a profound impact this church building has had on Catholicism's standing in this overwhelming Protestant area. I myself have been in conversation with local Protestant folks who have stopped by, out of curiosity, to see the interior. Each of them leaves, almost at a loss for words to describe the beauty of what they have seen.

Brothers and sisters, this is precisely why the Catholic Church has traditionally placed such an emphasis on church architecture and adornment! A church should be beautiful, because beauty lifts our minds, our hearts, and our souls up to God.

Christians are a incarnational people. The Second Person of the
Trinity, God the Son, assumed a human nature and became man. By doing so, He stated definitively and for all time that corporeal human beings, and indeed the entire material world, are good, because God has created them in love and desires to redeem them.

For those who accept His invitation to live in redemption, Jesus Christ offers a singular dignity -- the privilege of sharing His mission to the world. We share in that mission in many ways: by worshipping Him and giving Him thanks; by building a parish church that is also a witness to truth and beauty; by offering our time, talent, and treasure to the parish; by doing volunteer work; by offering a kind word to someone who needs to hear it; by visiting the sick; by feeding the hungry; by clothing the naked; by burying the dead; by praying for those in distress, and in so many other ways. Perhaps most important of all, we share in His mission when we pass on our faith to the generations who follow us.

Although we have a beautiful new church, we recognize that we also need to construct a Parish Life Center. The Parish Life Center is needed in order to fulfill our mandate to translate our faith into apostolic work. This includes classrooms for religious education, space for such activities as a food pantry and clothing bank, office space, and a social hall where the parish may gather for fun and fellowship.

Our parish is now engaged in the pledge redemption phase of a capital campaign to provide this desperately needed facility. The Parish Life Center is designed so that it may be built in phases: Phase I is the Religious Education Center; Phase II is the office and food bank area; Phase III is the Social Hall.

To all those who have so generously responded to this call and made pledges, periodic gifts, and one-time gifts, I say thank you. Please keep up the great work. If you have pledge envelopes, please use them. This makes accounting for pledge payments much easier and ensures that your gift is used only for the purpose you intend.

If you are new to the parish and would like to make a pledge, please see me. Or, you may simply put your gift in the collection basket at any of the Sunday Masses. Please write the words "Building Fund" or "Parish Life Center" on the memo line of your check, so that we can be sure that it is properly credited.

Please check this page often for updates on how our campaign is doing.

May God Bless You,
Fr. Tebalt