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Our Tradition - Our Legacy
A Letter from Father Daniel Griffith
Dear Parishioners and Friends of Lourdes,
140 years after the French Canadian settlers established their parish home, Our Lady of Lourdes is now a notable Minneapolis landmark and a warm and welcoming parish community in the heart of the city. Our historic parish and its history is a celebration of what God has done in our community!
There is much to celebrate in 2017, our Lourdes Jubilee Year. We are one of the fastest growing parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and that growth presents emerging opportunities and increasing needs: a larger parish family, a focal point for young adults and anexpanded role in the neighborhood.
In the past five years, our community, programming, finances, outreach, staffing and administrative capacity have grown and strengthened.
The Lourdes Jubilee Fund fosters a vision for
Our Lady of Lourdes’ campus facilities and the bright
future for our vibrant urban parish!
Here is more information about these initiatives:
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Following the completion of the Montage Apartment building, new landscaping will be put into place including a beautiful new courtyard. This provides an opportunity to tie that design into the landscape of the rest of the parish grounds for a consistent look and flow.
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A restoration of the church interior and sacristy, to unify design elements and increase the noble beauty of our historic space.
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The parish house serves as offices for the parish. The building was constructed in 1904 and is in need of maintenance and updates.
The fund will also provide support for our existing endowment fund and a parish life endowment for parish goals and initiatives: sacred music; faith formation; and charitable outreach. When I began my ministry as pastor, it was helpful to have a financial reserve fund for unseen parish expenses. As you will remember there were some liabilities and operating deficit issues that needed to be addressed immediately. Having a reserve fund was instrumental in dealing with those issues. Now that we have a balanced budget and eliminated our old liabilities, it would be prudent to build up the reserve fund.
Celebrating our Tradition - Shaping Our Legacy. As stewards of this historic place of worship, it is now Our Opportunity. An opportunity to support ongoing conservation and restoration that leads to renewal. A place of beauty where everyone can experience God!
With Gratitude to God and to You,
Reverend Daniel Griffith
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