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Dear Friends,
Some good and important news to share. You may not realize but there are teams of people in lay leadership at Grace that are always thinking ahead and putting time into needs at the church. Recently, Mike Johnson our Junior Warden, a title meaning the one running point for a three-year commitment to care for building and grounds. In addition to the junior warden, there is a property task group comprised of Roger Haddock, Dick Entenmann, Chris Kurth, Mike Lillimars and Lucy Ryan.
For the last 46 years our diocese has maintained a Church Assistance Endowment Grant Program. The purpose of these grants is to provide financial assistance to congregations for capital maintenance or repairs. This program had $58,000 available for 2026. The program is a matching program with awards up to $10,000.
We have been limping along with some ongoing repairs and need to replace and upgrade the outdated HVAC automated control system for our church building. You could say we have been running hot and cold. The current control system is obsolete, like computer software systems, it will no longer be supported by the manufacturer, and replacement parts will become unavailable. We had hit a time of increased risk for system downtime, security vulnerabilities, and higher maintenance costs over time.
Roger Haddock and Dick Entenmann took the lead on submission for grant application. A new HVAC control system results in improved reliability, a significantly easier method to program heat and AC needs, real-time data access, and improved system responsiveness, making day-to-day management of a safe worship environment more efficient. Additionally, a new system supports advanced services such as predictive maintenance and system optimization, helping to reduce energy consumption and both maintenance and operating costs. The cost for the upgrade and repair total is $19,595.
The dioceses received a total of eight grant applications for grants totaling $66,333, with only $58,000 available to allocate. The grant applications were reviewed and considered based on the grant criteria, the project's urgency, and financial need. Safety and accessibility needs were given top consideration. Bishop Deon Johnson and the Trustees have approved a partial grant of $8,524 toward the cost of our HVAC Control System Upgrade Project. So amazingly helpful! Our net cost is now $11,071. This amount will be paid out of our capital reserve fund.
Thanks to this task group and its work for all of us here at Grace and for our diocese for its desire to help provide for us all as we move forward in church life.
With gratitude,
Lisa+
P.S. If you have questions or want to understand more, please come to our next post-vestry meeting discussion on Sunday, July 19th at 9:00 a.m. in the Library.
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