Our 6.3 million dollar project is currently moving on to the next design phase. St. Francis of Assisi Parish and Building Committee, with assistance from our architect, are conducting initial negotiations with the Diocese of Lansing and the City of Ann Arbor. Our new 17,000 sq. ft. Ministry Center will be beautifully situated on the west side of the church located between the parking lot (at the bottom of the hill) and Frieze Ave ( at the top of the hill).
LEARN MORE AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK
Thank you to all who attended our Town Hall events. You can still provide feedback on the building design by contacting ministrycenter@stfrancisa2.org.
WHAT WILL THE NEW MINISTRY CENTER INCLUDE? (click on image to enlarge)
New Hall:
- Accommodate over 600 people seated for an event, or up to 390 with tables and stage.
- Dividers will allow it to be broken into up to 4 smaller rooms (as needed).
- East wall could be opened up to include the main lobby for additional seating
First Floor Lobby:
- Over 1,800 sq. ft. area which could accommodate a pre-function, ex. Coffee & donuts social.
- Pre-function service counter that could offer light food and beverages
- Separate small seating lounge
- Restrooms with showers (for shelter or during a community crisis)
- Indoor access to the main church via current west doors.
Other Ministry Center Notes:
- Handicap access from the west lot and from Frieze Ave.
- Storage located on both levels to help relieve current issues
- Commercial kitchen with easy access to the new hall and first floor lobby
- New parish offices will be on the second floor
- Approximately 4,000 sq. ft. of solar panels
- Natural gas generator to serve the hall in times of power outages.
- Large patio area to host outdoor events during the warmer months.
- Water detention system which would safety store water long enough for it to drain into the ground and away from our sewers.
- Additional access to East Stadium Blvd. from the west parking lot.
WHY ARE WE BUILDING THE MINISTRY CENTER
Since our Parish Activity Center opened in 1980, we quickly outgrew the space within the decade. During the 1990’s, to help our growing school, the parish invested into the school by adding the library, science lab and additional classrooms. At the same time, we added the beautiful pipe organ in the church completing the original vision for the church in 1967. As we moved into the new millennium, our parish embarked on expanding the church by creating the family gathering space and baptismal font.
Upon completion in 2002, Fr. Jim McDougall (previous pastor) knew that we finally needed to do something about the lack of space in the PAC. By this time, we had added storage around the walls losing approximately 500 sq. ft. of floor space confounding the issue further. Before the plan would be put into action, the parish (and later our entire nation) experienced a sudden drop in financial support. Any ideas of building a new hall during the financial crises were shelved until our parish and country were well healed. Fast forward to 2015 and 2016, those ideas were dusted off under the leadership of our current pastor, Fr. James Conlon, and are now getting implemented through Witness To Hope (WTH) – a combined capital campaign with the Diocese of Lansing.
Now is the time to invest into our St. Francis faith community by embarking on a once in a generation improvement to our Parish. We have outgrown the PAC and must alleviate this bottleneck to better serve our various ministries, school, volunteers and community. Simply put, more meeting spaces will allow our community of faith to better serve God and help those in need both financial and spiritually.
HOW MUCH SUPPORT IS NEEDED?
St Francis of Assisi Parish is a very generous community of faith. We have received over $7 million in campaign pledges so far. Of which, $1.7 million goes to the Diocese of Lansing, as our parish portion of the WTH combined campaign. Thank you to all who have given so far during the Witness to Hope Campaign. For all of those who haven’t given or would like to contribute more, we are about $1 million short of the combined $8.0 million goal. It’s not too late to give. Donations to the Ministry Center are still being accepted.
HOW CAN I GIVE?
ONLINE – FOR CREDIT CARD AND DIRECT DEBIT ONLY:
You may visit the Diocese of Lansing website at WITNESS TO HOPE. Under “Parish Affiliation,” please remember to select “St. Francis of Assisi – Ann Arbor” from the dropdown menu. You can use your credit card, or direct debit from your checking account. If your company participates in a matching gifts program, just click the “My Company Will Match My Gift” box at the end of the form. After completing your form, click on the “Donate Now” button at the end of the form, and you’re done.
MAIL OR SUNDAY COLLECTION:
Please DOWNLOAD A PLEDGE CARD, print it, then complete and sign. If you would like a paper copy, visit the Parish Office or School Office, complete and sign. You can drop your pledge card (in an envelope) in the Sunday Mass collection, or you can mail it to:
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
Attn: WTH
2150 Frieze Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Checks should be made payable to “Witness to Hope.”
QUESTIONS ON STOCK GIFTS, IRA DISTRIBUTIONS, ETC AND ON MY GIVING
Contact Pam Smith at 734.821.2100 or email at psmith@stfrancisa2.org
QUESTIONS ON DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE MINISTRY CENTER
Email at ministrycenter@stfrancisa2.org