Cupola In Place

We experienced a great joy on Wednesday, November 5th, a joy shared by all who love Christ and His Church. A crane lifted our large cupola and placed it on top of our new building under construction, with the sun lighting up the golden cross as it made its way to the top of the roof.

Our building has been underway since this summer, with the hopes to have ourr first service at the site for the Nativity of our Lord. The volunteer labor for this building project has been massive for this small parish that has about 70 worshipers each Sunday. Fifteen to twenty volunteers typically work every Saturday, in addition to smaller teams that come out during the week.

Our parish committed to a "bare bones" structure, based on the financial realities and created a substantial "wish list" (which included the large cupolas and three smaller ones). Many of the wish list items have been paid for, and the journey of generosity and hard work continues for this young parish.

"It is our prayer that many more will 'come home' to Christ and His Church here in the Bozeman area", says Fr. David Morrison. "That we will have more space soon, and a beautiful place to worship and grow, is truly a gift from our God."

The parish looks forward to having His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin with them for the Feast of St. Anthony on Saturday, January 17, 2015--it will truly be a celebration of all God is doing in Montana, through prayers of St. Anthony and all the saints. All are invited to celebrate with us!

Greetings on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, St. Mary of Egypt.

Thanks be to God, we have begun building!

Today I’m writing, on behalf of our capital campaign committee, to remind you of our plan for funding the construction of our new church and to share with you, as promised, the list of prioritized items not included in this plan.

First, the plan. The parish has approved the expenditure of roughly $367,000 this year toward the construction of our new church. This money will come from what we have currently in our plant fund and from a low-interest loan from one of our members. By year’s end (Dec. 2014), we hope to be in our new church and expect to have a debt of $325,000.

We will owe nothing on the money we’re borrowing this year, and for the two years following, 2015 and 2016, we will pay only on the interest of a 15-year loan, which will be less than our current rent. In January 2017, our loan will be recalculated at prime, and we will begin paying both principal and interest.

At our parish meeting, John Milanovich described, and the parish approved, the establishment of a sinking fund. Its purpose will be to pay down the size of our loan on or before December 2016 in order to reduce the size of our monthly mortgage expenses thereafter.

In each of the last three years we have conducted informal capital campaigns, usually tied to a challenge or matching gift. In this way we have been able to raise between $25,000 and $40,000 annually over and above budget to purchase the land on Love Lane and pay for site work in preparation for construction of the new church. I hope we can do the same again this year, but now for the purpose either of making gifts to the sinking fund or for the purpose of “purchasing” the items on the attached list.

Now, the list. Father David and the building committee have prioritized the items on this list. Their criteria ranged from the importance of a distinctively Orthodox appearance to the desire to save money down the road by saving on the cost of retrofitting. We pray every Sunday that the Lord will sanctify those who love the beauty of His house, and many of these items, as you will see, speak directly to that prayer. To view the list, click here.

This year our God will bless us both corporately and individually. As you receive blessings, please consider sharing them with the body of Christ at St. Anthony and making an investment in the house of the Lord.

With heartfelt thanks for your faithfulness, good works, and generosity, I am blessed to be making this request.

Yours in Christ our Hope,
David

Autumn 2013 Update

Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good!

In the past year, God has sent us a new priest and brought many new inquirers and catechumens to our Mission.  Through the work and gifts of His people, He has enabled us to make solid preparations for the construction of a new temple at the Love Lane site. 

 

Over the summer, we brought electricity to the site, drilled an artesian well, and made a good start on the construction of a road and parking lot.  We want to thank Big Sky Insulation for a gift of SIPS panels now stored on the site.  Also, a thanks to Brandon Bailey for his time and expertise in constructing our roadways.

Father David and the Parish Council have worked diligently this fall to engage the entire St. Anthony parish in designing our new temple.  Mark Headley, our architect, has made several revisions of his architectural drawings to accommodate the diverse needs of our growing parish.  The current design will accommodate 150 worshipers, a kitchen, a library, and four classrooms.  Later, with minimal expense, it will convert into a full-time parish hall when our permanent temple is eventually built. 

We have proceeded on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Our land and improvements are free of debt, and by the end of the year we should have roughly $55,000 saved toward the new temple.  We have also contracted with Crowder Construction in the hope of breaking ground in the spring.

Please click on the Photo Album tab above to view the revised floor plan for the new temple and photos of some of the work accomplished over the summer.

Glory to God for all things.

- David V. Hicks

 

 

Update on the Capital Campaign

Cross on our property
at site of planned Temple.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

At an informal meeting of the parish after Divine Liturgy on Father's Day, June 17, 2012, Fr. Damian introduced two new inquirers and gave thanks for Fr. Peter's stewardship.

Sean McFarland announced that our bank note for the land on Love Lane was paid off. The land is ours! We are grateful to American Federal Savings in Bozeman for their trust in our parish family. Glory to God!

Sean also shared a version of the original site plan modified to accommodate the drainage characteristics of the land and to reduce the cost of mandatory site work.

The servant of God Mark Headley presented his drawings and plans for a new (temporary) temple which would eventually become the (permanent) fellowship hall. He informed the parish of a large gift of Big Sky Structural Insulated Panels from which the walls will be constructed. Although Mark has not completed the process of getting firm estimates, he stated that our goal is to build the temporary temple and pour the foundation for the permanent temple for under $200,000.  He and Sean offered a timeline for construction: site work completed this fall and temple construction to begin in the spring of 2013, with an outside possibility of being able to pour the foundation walls and complete the stone work this fall. He invited questions and comments.

I thanked the members for their financial generosity and expressed my hope that we would be able to complete the necessary site work this summer and fall through a combination of volunteer work, the $25,000 in our building fund, and any additional monies we can raise this calendar year. I proposed that next winter we could finance the $200,000 project (temporary temple/permanent fellowship hall and foundation for the permanent temple) internally and invited any parishioner willing and able to loan the mission this money at 3% or less for 5 years to speak with me. I am confident that the Lord will provide these funds and that we will be able to worship in our own space by the time we celebrate Holy Nativity in 2013, with no more financial cost at this interest rate than what we are paying to lease and maintain our current space.

Fr. Damian closed our meeting by announcing that there would be a semi-annual meeting of the parish on July 15, 2012, to vote on these proposals.

Glory to God for all things. Christ is in our midst.

-The Servant David Hicks

Update from the Capital Campaign Chairman

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Glory to God for all He has done and is doing on behalf of His unworthy servants!

In the past two years, we reduced the size of our mortgage on the Love Lane property from $90,000 to $31,518.  These gifts will reduce our interest payments in 2012 by roughly $4200.  For all of those whose generosity made this possible, our mission is deeply grateful.  

We recently received comments back from the county for the pre-application submittal of our subdivision materials.  There were no major concerns. Subdeacon Sean McFarland, who is volunteering his work on this project, will soon start on the preliminary plat and Montana Department of Environmental Quality submittals.  He is also working on estimated construction costs for the subdivision. 

In 2012, God willing, we will be able to retire our land mortgage and pay for the land improvements described in our subdivision application.  This spring we can look forward to planting a cross on the site of our new temple, and in the fall, once our road is in, perhaps we can begin some long term landscaping projects like planting trees along the road and around the pond.  If God gives us the strength to accomplish all of this to His glory in 2012, we will be in a position to begin building a little more than a year from now!

Give us, O Lord, the patience to possess our souls.

Glory to God for all things.

David V. Hicks

Capital Campaign Chairman

St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Mission

12-12-2010 Capital Campaign Report

In February, 2010, our parish, along with the Headley and Hicks families, purchased twenty acres in Bozeman with the hope someday of building a beautiful temple, two educational buildings, and two cottages on the pond that fronts Love Lane. Parishioner and architect Mark Headley donated a compelling master plan for the site, which also includes an extensive cemetery and the necessary roads and parking.

This land is owned as follows, with proportional contributions to the common road: St. Anthony one lot of 7 acres; the Headley family one lot of 5 acres; the Hicks family three lots totaling 8 acres. The Headley family intends to build on its lot, and the Hicks family intends to sell its three lots, ideally to a member of the parish at their cost, or otherwise outside the parish family for a profit that would feed the Church’s building fund.

Subdeacon and professional land surveyor Sean McFarland is donating his services to the Church for the purpose of completing the tests and managing the public hearing process necessary for subdivision approval. God willing, we anticipate approval in 2011.

We are, it hardly needs to be said, a poor parish, but rich in faith and in our love for one another and in the talents God has given us. Out of profound gratitude for all that God has given us, above all for the inestimable gift of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and for the privilege to worship Him in this valley as our brothers and sisters in Christ have done since apostolic times, we count it a great blessing to be given this good work to do.

Fr. Peter Tobias, Rector of St. Anthony the Great Mission, and I have met with His Grace, The Rt. BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco and the West of the Orthodox Church in America, to apprise His Grace of our plans and to receive his blessing and advice. Father Peter is also exploring the possibility of raising the funds for one of our cottages as a Mary and Martha maternity home. There appears to be a great need for this facility in our valley, and possibly there are those outside our Communion who would be willing to support it.

In accordance with our Orthodox traditions, we envision something beautiful, something useful, and withal, something to be won through prayer and labor. At the moment, our plan is to pay off our debt on the land through the weekly and monthly gifts of our members whilst at the same time preparing the land for the day when we can afford to break ground on an initial building. That building may be a roughed-in temple or one of the educational buildings to be used temporarily as our temple. In all likelihood, this work will be accomplished as much with our own talents and hands as with our money, as we see the work being accomplished today. The important thing is that we all give what we can, and that all we give, we give with a loving and generous spirit to the glory of God.

May God bless and multiply our loaves and fishes.

-David V. Hicks