Historical Old St. Mary's 150th Anniversary in 2017. Our goal is to raise sufficient funds to do painting works, repair, restoration and preservation. Your donations and support are greatly appreciated.
This 10-min. video features Old St. Mary's Church, Will Lafranchi Field, Rancho Nicasio, Nicasio Fire Department, Butcher Shop, Druid's Hall, Old School House, Reservoir... We thank Capture Marin for giving us permission to link to his YouTube video.
Pledge Letter:
Pledge Letter to St. Mary's Family and Friends, November 1, 2014
In October, 2017 St. Mary’s Church will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its dedication. To ensure that St. Mary’s is looking and feeling its best, the parish is embarking on a fund-raising campaign. Our goal is to raise approximately $170,000 between now and June, 2017. We hope to be able to engage the local Nicasio and West Marin community and foundations in the effort. But, a significant portion of the funding needs to come from our parishioners. Our objective in the first few months of the Capital Campaign is to secure commitments from 100% of the parishioners.
Why is 100% participation important? When we approach foundations and the local community, it is essential that they know that we, the parishioners of this church, are fully committed to this work of restoration and renovation.
Since its very beginning, St. Mary’s has been built, maintained, restored and preserved by its parishioners. Giving of their Time, Talent and Treasure, generations of people who love this church have made St. Mary’s a wonderful house of worship as well as a historic and cultural icon. It is now our turn to carry forward the loving spirit of personal commitment to St. Mary’s that guided all those many people who came before us and passed St. Mary’s down to us.
What can you do to participate in this exciting adventure? Pledge a portion of your Treasure to the Preservation Fund. If every parishioner were to pledge $2000, we would have a substantial start on that goal of $170,000. But, we don’t all have the same financial conditions. What you decide to contribute is up to you. No pledge is too small, and none is too large. All pledges are welcomed.
Enclosed is a pledge card which you are asked to fill out and return. You can drop the card in the offering plate, hand it to any of the Capital Committee members listed below, or mail it to St. Mary’s. Please return the card by December 7, 2014, regardless of your planned pledge amount.
Check out the back of the pledge card. It has some helpful hints about deciding how much to pledge. Do you want to do more than just pledge money? Mark the card, and we’ll contact you to discuss options and opportunities.
Once you have made your pledge, it is important to keep track your progress toward fulfilling your pledge. Whether you are giving weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually, always mark your contribution “St. Mary’s Preservation Fund.” If you are paying by check, write that designation in the memo line of your check. If you are paying cash, please put your donation in one of the small envelopes you will find in the narthex labeled “St. Mary’s Preservation Fund” or an envelope of your own similarly marked. We will keep a record of each donation. At the end of each year, we will provide you a reconciliation of your pledge if you so request.
Keep in mind that all your donations to St. Mary’s are tax deductible. So, as you approach the year end, consider your pledge in your tax planning.
Finally, please remember, these pledges are not in place of your regular weekly offering. St. Mary’s depends on your weekly offering to sustain itself on a daily basis. Instead, your pledge is in addition to your regular offering.
Thanking you for your commitment to St. Mary’s Church, we are your Friends in Christ.
St. Mary's Capital Campaign Committee
Craig Carlson, Chair
Father Cyril O’Sullivan, Pastor
Bob Dougherty
Martha McNeil
Chris Mothersill
Ray Perkins
Siu-Mei Wong
Total pledges from St. Cecilia and St. Mary parishioners amounted to $44,150, 26% of our Goal
Total actual contributions amounted to $18,575
Pledge acknowledgement and yearend tax deduction letters have been prepared for mailing
Preservation Project: As of 01/31/2015,
Based on advice from counsel and review of Archdiocese policies and procedures:
The Archdiocesan Building Committee has been polled for their interest in the project
A meeting with the Committee is being set up for early March
Based on the results of that meeting, we will report out to the Capital Committee and the parishioners
Hopefully, we will then also be able to restart the design process
Status Update December 20, 2014
Capital Campaign: As of 11/30/2014
22% of St. Mary's parishioners had made pledges
Total pledges from St. Cecilia and St. Mary parishioners amounted to $39,400
Total actual contributions amounted to $7,400
Pledge acknowledgement and yearend tax deduction letters are being prepared for mailing
This is a wonderful start of the first month of the Campaign
Preservation Project: As of 12/20/2014
Several suggestions for items to include in the overall preservation plan have been received. Including:
Upgrades to the lighting system in the sanctuary
Upgrades to the sound system
Refinishing of the pews
Bsed on advice from counsel and review of Archdiocese policies and procedures:
The Archdiocesan Building Committee will be polled for their interest in the project
The structural upgrade design has been put on hold until a responses is received from the Building Committee
Status Update November 9, 2014
Discussions of St. Mary’s upcoming 150th dedication anniversary began late in 2013
In March, 2014, a Preservation Capital Campaign Committee was formed to begin planning for both the renovation work and the fund-raising process to support the renovation
We decided early on that painting of the exterior was the top priority
We also decided that we should do a thorough survey of any other work that might be necessary since the last structural work was done in 1978
Accordingly, we engaged on a pro bono basis the general contractor who has done the substantial renovation work at St. Cecilia’s to give us some ideas of what to consider
After several on-site inspections, he recommended a list of and rough cost estimates for possible areas to address including:
Exterior painting
Seismic strengthening of the foundation and bell tower
Electrical upgrade to ensure adequate power to both lights and outlets
Window repair and sealing
And several other areas for consideration
He also recommended that we engage a structural engineer to address the seismic strengthening
The Committee reviewed his reports and eventually decided that we would set our capital campaign target at $170,000 to be adjusted over time as we progressed through the detailed evaluations of each of the recommended areas
In June 2014, we began serious planning for the fund raising effort, knowing that we would need to have a full commitment from the parishioners before we could approach the wider Nicasio area community and local foundations to support the Campaign
During the early summer 2014, we also searched for a local structural engineer to make the seismic upgrade assessments. Bob Arrigoni, the architect who did the rough sketches for the 1978 work, recommended a fellow with whom we are currently working
The first step is a set of working sketches of all the work that would be necessary to bring St. Mary’s up to current seismic code
We will then invite one or more general contractors to use the working sketches to estimate in more detail what each would cost
From these estimates, we can then decide which of those items we will actually commit to doing and prioritize the list. This will also help establish our final working budget
That prioritized list will then be presented to the parish for comments and suggestions
To the extent possible, we will incorporate suggestions from the parishioners for additional items to include in the overall project.
Why is 100% participation important? When we approach foundations and the local community, it is essential that they know that we, the parishioners of this church, are fully committed to this work of restoration and renovation. 
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