Promise Fulfilled: Parish Hall Construction on Track for 2021

Over 10 years ago, our parish made a promise to the faithful of Our Lady of the Assumption to begin building for our future with the addition of a brand new parish hall. After completing Phase I maintenance and improvements to our existing church and school structures, parishioners continued to show their generous support of the parish hall project, with construction on the building beginning in earnest last year. If all goes according to plan and the Lord continues to bless this project, our faith community will soon have a beautiful space for our preschool, indoor sporting events, and countless gatherings and celebrations!

In recognition of the commitment that our parish made years ago to improve our church campus, the capital campaign is titled “Fulfilling the Promise.”

“I think the promise was that even back in 2008 when we began this process, the number-one priority was a new parish hall,” says Kelly Brothers, parishioner and capital campaign Chair. “It simply wasn’t feasible at that time, so our point to the parish was that we were going to get our school up to snuff and repair a number of things in the church and get our infrastructure to be solid and stable. We promised we’d come back with an idea for a new hall in the next 10 years, and we did. It was kind of like a dream delayed.”

In addition to a large gathering space, the beautiful new parish hall structure will house our preschool, a gym equipped to host basketball and volleyball games, a performing arts stage, and an industrial kitchen. Future parish dinners, school auctions, Crab Feeds and Country Fairs are sure to fill the hall with fun and fellowship in the years to come. With its many modern amenities, the building will help secure a dynamic future for Our Lady of the Assumption.

“The parish knew that a new parish hall was paramount,” Kelly says. “I framed it as a life-or-death proposition. In our community, there will be a number of schools and churches that will shut down in the next years, and I didn’t even want OLA considered for that. You’re either growing and building and getting better, or you’re dying. If we really wanted sustainability, we needed a parish hall. The old hall was the original church on the site — it was not intended to be a parish hall and didn’t suit the purpose.”

Of course, no parish takes lightly the proposition of spending roughly $8 million on a building project. However, the incredible generosity of our parishioners was never in doubt — even though our Phase I improvements were implemented during the 2008-10 economic crisis, our faith community stepped up and honored pledges made to the capital campaign.

“This is a parish that when they say they are going to give, they will,” Kelly says. “We have some large gifts, we have medium-sized gifts, and we are eternally grateful for the people who pledge any amount! It’s all hard-earned money. We don’t take any of it for granted, and we celebrate all of our donors.”

The most significant donor to the campaign is parishioner Nancy Affinito, whose $2 million contribution to the project is the largest gift ever made in the Diocese of Sacramento. Years ago, as Nancy and her late husband attended a parish event, they looked around at the old hall with parishioners crowded in shoulder-to-shoulder and decided that if they were able to donate to a cause at the church, it would be for a new parish hall.

Nancy’s gift to the campaign — like those of so many others — was made with an eye to the future of Our Lady of the Assumption and a desire to see the great promise in our parish fulfilled for generations to come. With a total of about $6.5 million pledged toward the $8.3 million building project, our parishioners are continuing to show their great love for our faith community. How wonderful it will be to gather once more as a parish family this spring and celebrate the fruits of our giving as the new parish hall opens!

“A lot of people are stretching to give to the campaign,” Kelly says. “I hope they feel a sense of ownership because they helped make it happen, and that will lead to a greater stewardship in the future. People will be amazed at what they are able to build. I think that people have appreciated the stewardship of it all.”

Rendering of the new parish hall

Rendering of the new parish hall structure, with view of the preschool