In this time, we are called to fortify a foundation for the future of the Chapel of the Cross. We are called to use our blessings to ensure that the church will be equipped to serve our community for the years to come.
You Are The Light. You are the foundation upon which the Chapel of the Cross will build its future. Join us as we shine our light — to strengthen our church, to nurture our community, and to prepare for the great works we are yet called to do.
In 1842, the 15 members of Chapel Hill’s Episcopal Parish worshiped in their homes while construction on their little church, built for about $5,400, progressed. In 2014, we completed a renovation of our historic Chapel, added new classrooms and youth space, and opened the doors to a new, 30,000-square-foot Parish House, ushering in an era of fellowship, teaching, ministry and community engagement that our founders could only have imagined.
These remarkable spaces are the result of your generosity and commitment to the Light On A Hill Campaign. The Light On A Hill Campaign provided more than $7.9 million toward the $10 million cost of the new facilities and other building upgrades – with the difference funded through debt. We have the campus we need to move boldly and faithfully into the future.
Through the You Are The Light Campaign, we will shore up our resources, strengthen our financial foundation, and develop ways to responsibly care for our church and advance our programs far into the future. It is an opportunity not just to give but to engage, together, in the ever-continuing transformation of our faith and our relationships. And in doing so, we follow in the footsteps of our predecessors in preparing our community for the generations, needs, and opportunities yet to come.
We are commanded to shine our light on the world, both our own lights – our gifts, our treasures, our blessings – and the light of our church, which has done and can do so much to uplift and sustain our faith and our community. We invite you to prayerfully consider how you will shine your light in the service of our faith community, to the glory of God.
Our current loan of $2.1 million will come due in July 2020; funds raised now will allow us to refinance and pay off the debt no later than 2024. Every dollar of debt we can repay sooner, rather than later, will reduce the ongoing interest payments required to service the loan. When we fully repay the loan, we will redirect the portion of our annual budget, in 2018 $25,000 and in 2019 $30,000, that has been used to service our debt toward a new maintenance fund that can address ongoing building needs. In paying off our debts and creating the means by which we can more routinely care for our campus, we will position our church on much sounder financial footing for maintaining our buildings and grounds in the years to come.
Until our annual budget can assume a greater role in ongoing maintenance, we must address new and pressing needs. Items in need of repair or refurbishment include the Kleuker pipe organ, the sanctuary windows, the Yates wing restrooms, and chapel pews and flooring. We also need to invest in new technology and other communication tools that will enable us to better serve our parishioners (e.g. by live streaming services). Tending to such necessities is an important way in which we sustain our church and fulfill our mission — by being strong stewards of our people, facilities, and resources.
As we work to live into our mission of ministering to our community and growing as disciples of Jesus Christ, we must explore new ways to engage and welcome new and diverse segments of the community. To do so, we will establish a new programming endowment that would fund new and creative programs to address opportunities and needs in the future. For example, one exciting proposal is the Royal School of Church Music Program, which would offer youth and adult music training to the community, possibly in collaboration with UNC and the public schools.
But we cannot rest. We cannot dim our light. There is more to be done.
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