The Good Stewardship and Continuing Care of Our Parish Buildings — By FR. GODFREY MULLEN, OSB

By FR. GODFREY MULLEN, OSB

Over the summer, some noticed that the temperature in the church was a little too chilly at times. At other times, it was far too warm. Most of us think of air conditioning and heat working just like our homes do — if it’s too warm, knock the thermostat down a degree or two, and if too cool, the opposite. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for our buildings are far more complex and antiquated for such simple solutions!

As a parish focused on stewardship as a way of life, our challenge is to live within our means while also taking care of the wonderful gifts that these old buildings are. The faithful pioneering vision of Fr. Martin Hoppenjans, OSB, and the early parishioners of St. Ben’s might animate us to have courage, to lean into our future, just as we did with the renovation of our beautiful church building, and as we did in the past few years with the replacement of inefficient fluorescent lighting throughout the school. Replacing fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs was predicted to yield a $1,000 per month savings in our electrical bill. As we incorporate efficiencies, we encounter savings.

As you might imagine, the boilers and chillers for HVAC in our school buildings and church building are significantly inefficient, some equipment nearly 40 years old. The window unit air conditioners in the classrooms of St. Meinrad and St. Scholastica halls are noisy and inefficient as well. Even the newer systems in St. Benedict Hall date from 2004 but are already showing signs of reaching the end of their service. Because of the antiquated equipment and controls for each system, moving forward with the replacement of those systems will not only result in a more comfortable environment and more easily controlled temperatures indoors, but the efficiencies should have a rather dramatic effect on our monthly utility bills. Last year, the parish absorbed nearly $50,000 in unplanned expenses to maintain our two chillers and three working boilers (a fourth boiler in the boiler house was decommissioned several years ago).

While these more invisible realities may not be known to most parishioners, what is known is the condition of our parking lot. While we continue to try to keep it “safe enough,” patchwork is becoming less effective each year. For the safety of our parishioners coming to Mass and the students playing on the playground, this work cannot be easily delayed.

Setting out on such monumental projects is not likely to happen through our operational budget. In fact, your generous giving has already absorbed the unplanned repair expenses. Soon, the parish will, pending diocesan approval, set out on another capital campaign. Realizing the success of our Giving God Thanks capital campaign, we all have reason to trust that the generosity of our parishioners will come through again. More information will be forthcoming. May God bless our beloved St. Benedict Cathedral parish!