A good parish conversation

Last night we held a parish meeting to discuss purchasing a piece of property for a future church building.

I thought it was a good meeting, with about 40 people attending. John Stockwell gave an informative presentation on the property in question and many people asked questions for clarification. I think everyone got a lot of information. In the comment portion of the meeting, we had many comments from a wide representation of people. Not everyone spoke, but everyone was given the opportunity to speak.

What I heard was a cautious desire to move ahead with this purchase. The sentiment seemed to be, "This property would be a good investment even if we don't build on it."

There were some reservations expressed, and the pros and cons of the property in question were batted back and forth. There was a lot of concern about how much the taxes would be and how we would pay the taxes. I didn't hear anyone say that we should immediately start a building campaign, but the mood of the meeting was generally positive toward the purchase.

What I thought was impressive about this meeting was that we did the hard work that a parish needs to do to work through an issue. We wrestled with our concerns, our fears, our hopes, and our dreams. We were honest with each other, and we were respectful of each other. That's a wonderful accomplishment!

We purposely didn't take a vote on the issue, leaving the decision in the hands of the Bishop's Committee, as is appropriate. The BC meets on December 1 to take up the matter. Should be an interesting meeting!
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