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CLICK TO SEE LATEST CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS.

On Saturday, January 7th 2023, St. Faustina hosted a “Town Hall Meeting” whereby interested parishioners could attend and hear the exciting plans of the future of St Faustina, the details of the new church building and moving into it, ministry updates, a financial update, as well as participate in a question and answer period.  Several recorders logged the meeting and then collaborated to ensure that what is reported is correctly interpreted and accurate.  An overwhelmingly good response was given to the meeting (approximately 150 people!), and therefore we endeavor to hold these meetings periodically as interest arises.The meeting was hosted by Father Ramon (St. Faustina’s priest) and several leaders from the parish.  The following is a summary of the key points and discussion of the meeting.  Although the dialogue is not given in “verbatim” text, it gives a very good representation of what was presented and discussed.If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to Joe Seddio (St. Faustina’s Operations Manager) at jseddio@stfaustina.orgLet us know what you think; thank you for reading, and for your interest…  Enjoy!
St. Faustina Parish Town Hall Meeting Minutes, Saturday, January 7, 2023

Opening Prayer – Father Ramon
Welcome—Diane Maglione
 
OVERVIEW OF PARISH GOVERNANCE – Tom Madden
The two administrative ministries under the umbrella of our St. Faustina Parish Governance are the Pastoral Council and Finance Committee.
 St. Faustina Parish Pastoral Council — Frank Maglione
The general function of the Parish Pastoral Council is to advise the Pastor in those pastoral and matters, both spiritual, temporal, and social. The council here at St. Faustina has been in existence since 2008. The council is not only for the “now” of St. Faustina, but for the future generations of the parish.  Meetings are held once a month.
Presently, the members of the Saint Faustina Parish Pastoral Council are:  Father Ramon Bolatete – Pastor, Joe Seddio – Operation Manager, Kelly Mucci – Directory of Liturgy and Music Frank Maglione – Chairperson, Israel Santiago – Vice Chair, Pamela Quiroz – Secretary, Carmelita Flores, Patrick Crisostomo, Nora Ridolfi, Jeff Rogers, Maggie SanFilippo, Reynold Franco, Adrey Goez. For more information on our St. Faustina Parish Pastoral Coucil, please go to our parish website at:
Parish Pastoral Council – St. Faustina Catholic Church – Clermont (stfaustina.org)

St. Faustina Parish Finance Committee — Tom Madden
Within the Diocese of Orlando, every Parish is to have a Parish Finance Council to assist with the responsible stewardship of resources and to be of assistance to the Pastor. It is mandated that we meet at least four times per year (we meet more often than that), we APPROVE THE ANNUAL BUDGET that is submitted to the Diocese and we review our expenditures and revenue on a monthly basis. We then submit the “Annual Report” to the Bishop at the end of each fiscal year.We have worked with the CFO Kevin Casey to make sure that our Parish is on a sufficiently sound basis in undertaking the new Church building project.
Presently the members of the Saint Faustina Parish Finance Committee are:
Father Ed Waters – Diocesan Administrator, Father Ramon Bolatete – Pastor, Joe Seddio – Operations Manager,
Deacon John Broehl, Tom Madden – Chairperson, Julius Aita, Bill Mattingly, Diane Maglione, Chris Devanney
For more information on our St. Faustina Finance Committee, please go to our parish website at:
Finance – St. Faustina Catholic Church – Clermont (stfaustina.org)
DYNAMICS OF ST. FAUSTINA PARISH, 2023 – Joe Seddio- Operations Manager
 
Parish and New Church Finances  “Thank You” for your continued contributions.  It is because of our parishioners we are able to exist. “You guys have really stepped up to the plate.”
Current General Offertory and Purpose is to cover the costs of:  Our rent for the current building is $14,000 per month and the monthly mortgage payment for our new church building will also cost us roughly $14,000 per month.  Electric and Utilities, Building Maintenance, Phone, Internet and Computer, Liturgy and Office Supplies, and Maintenance are most of the expense categories supported by our weekly General Offertory.
New Building  The construction budget was $5.3 million.  We raised over $3.5 million in the last year and a half.We expect to have, roughly, a $1.3 million mortgage and it is with our own Diocese. They will hold the title of the new building until the mortgage is paid off…we are approved of a mortgage of up to $1.8 million.We also are required to have other reserves of approximately half-a-million dollars to meet the Diocese’s requirement for unforeseen issues such as maintenance and insurance.
Construction Offertory (Building Fund) is now “Mortgage Debt Reduction”
It works the same way, and will help us to quickly pay down our mortgage debt.  We will still be using Construction Helmets.  In the January envelope packet you will find that the old “Construction Fund” envelope, it is now the “Mortgage Debt Reduction” envelope.
Exciting Things to Come in our new building in 2023.  We are planning for the following (but not limited to):Youth Group, Hospitality, Parish Picnics, Legion of Mary, Bake Sale, Family Ministries
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Liturgical needs, and specifically:Ushers, Sacristans, Readers, Altar Servers, Hospitality, Audio/Visual, Parking, Funerals and BereavementOur new church building creates many needs, and we ask that you please prayerfully consider as to how you can help.For more information on what our current Ministries are and how you can use your God-given talents to participate and help, please go to the following pages on our parish website:Liturgical Ministries – St. Faustina Catholic Church – Clermont (stfaustina.org)
Ministries – St. Faustina Catholic Church – Clermont (stfaustina.org)NEW CHURCH BLESSING DATE and TIMELINE Bishop Noonan will celebrate a “Blessing Mass” at our new site on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 10 a.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend this very exciting Mass.  From that point on, we will celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass in our new building starting with the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday afternoon, February 4 and continuing on Sunday with our regularly-scheduled Mass times.PARISH MOVE UPDATE AND TIMELINE   Tom MaddenConversations with Diocese about Construction go back to when Father Dave was here.  The Bishop told us when we moved here (2015) that this would be our last stop.  It was made very clear to us that our debt to the Diocese had to be eliminated before any construction could begin, and we eliminated that debt back in 2018.  Shortly after, started about what we would build and how much we could spend/mortgage

Father Ed sent Bill Burns down from St. Timothy to assist three years ago, then COVID hit.  In the Fall of 2020, members of our parish went back to work with Anthony DiPaolo, who is a member of the Diocese of Orlando, and Architect John Holz.

We kicked off our “Making Our Way Home Campaign” in the Spring of 2021.  Bids for the construction went out in 2021 with General Contractors, RD Michaels being selected as our builder.  COVID, supply chain and permitting issues delayed us a bit, but one year ago, on January 9, 2022, we had our “Ground-Breaking Ceremony” with Bishop Noonan among those who turned over the first shovels of dirt.  On February 13, 2020 the parish hosted a “Ground-Breaking Celebration” right here in this room.

THE MOVE SCHEDULE

It is going to be an interesting end of the month of January, in regard to our Masses, as the move begins in two weeks, on Monday, January 23.  On that day, the kneelers come off the chairs (the plaques will stay on for the time being), with the chairs being moved to our new location on Tuesday, January 24. The Fire Marshall needs to see how everything fits.  The Divine Mercy Statue and the piano are also being moved at this time.

The Masses of January 28-29 will be the last Masses held in our current location and will use the folding chairs that are available.  Parishioners are invited to bring their lawn chairs to ensure that they have a place to sit (space permitting).

The moving of the Sanctuary furniture will be on Friday, February 3. We will post an update on our website and Facebook page regarding the status of First Friday Adoration.

OUR MOVING TEAM

We have hired a professional moving company to take care of the heavy items in both the church and office, but we have also put together a parish moving team to pack up and transport smaller items.

Our moving team includes:

FACILITIES – The WRAP AND PACK team will take care of all the liturgical items in the church and some items in the office.

MOVE TEAM – Will co-ordinate all aspects of physical movement, particularly smaller items not taken by Moving Truck and Crew.  Here we will need to co-ordinate and schedule those of you who have volunteered trucks, SUVs, etc.

ARCHIVES – Will ensure that our historical memorabilia will make its way to our new church building.

MARKETING and COMMUNICATIONS TEAM will need volunteers to help spread the word of our new location by delivering flyers to hotels, neighborhoods, complexes the week before we move.  If anyone is interested in helping with this, or any of the teams, please send an email to:
office@stfaustina.org

OPERATIONS OVERVIEW – Joe will direct and oversee the move of the office staff, their files, and all work-related items at the proper time for that particular move to take place.

GAMEDAY EXECUTION – (Mass Day) We will have some new procedures for the weekend and weekday Masses – Parking dispersal, Ushers, Altar Servers, and while we discussed how we would like it to work, much of it will be “learn as we go” situations…so we ask for your prayers, patience, and support until it all gets figured out for the benefit of everyone.

So, this is it; after 16 and a half years and numerous temporary locations, WE HAVE A NEW HOME! From here our parish will continue to grow and be able to serve God and all of us on our journey.  Amen

QUESTIONS AND ANSWER SESSION

Q—Will there be a remembrance of Father Steve in the new church?
A—A plaque and a photo of Father Steve has followed us to each location.  The plaque is currently in our worship space underneath and to the right of the shovel that is over the bulletin board.  His photo is in our conference room.

Q—Will the classes be suspended during the move?
A—Right now we do not have the exact date and times.  Marylu, our Director of Religious Education, will announce the suspension of classes at our current site and the beginning of classes at our new site.

Q—Is it possible for a parishioner to donate money for certain items?
A—(Father Ramon)—yes.  Our “Wish List Items” will be announced in our bulletin and on our website for those who would like to donate.

Q—Should the Foourth Degree Knights of Columbus be present at the Blessing Mass?
A—(Father Ramon)—That is certainly something we can work on.

Q—Would it be possible to purchase an AED machine for CPR.
A—That is something we are currently looking into, including training.

Q—Will the new worship area have rails?
A—Yes it does.

Q—Will there be a change is the automatic donations.
A—No, it will remain the same.

Q—Will there be celebratory event after the Blessing Mass?
A—Plans are currently being developed for a celebration after the Mass.

Q—Will we have the American Flag displayed in the building?
A—Yes, absolutely.

Q—Will there be kneeling benches for the Altar servers?
A—(Father Ramon) Many of our Altar servers are senior citizens and cannot kneel.  All Altar servers will be located in the front row facing the Altar and we will consider kneeing pads.

Q—During Masses, is there going to be a police presence on Route 27?
A—It is open for discussion, however, we do not have a definitive answer at this time.  We will continue to talk with Lake County, and if we need to engage an officer at busy times, we are prepared to do so.

Joe Seddio added, “with the new building, there are things that will come up and we will address that as they do.  We encourage all our parishioners to let us know how they feel.”

Q—Are we going to have a keepsake of the new church for families?
A—There is a team that is putting together a welcome package that will be given out at the new church.

Q—What has been done in the new church that will reflect St. Faustina’s church in Poland?
A—The colors and architect of the church replicate St. Faustina’s church in Poland.  The cross that will adorn the Sanctuary was selected to reflect the cross that St. Faustina wears in her portrait.

Q—What happens with the pavers (bricks) that are being sold by the Knights of Columbus?
A—(Bill Mattingly) Once we are moved in and permits are approved, we will begin the project, which will be located on the south side of the new church building.
For more information on how you can purchase a paver (brick), please go to the Knights’ web page at:
Knights of Columbus – St. Faustina Catholic Church – Clermont (stfaustina.org)

Q—What is the long-range plan for St. Faustina parish?
A—What we will be moving into on February 4 is all that we could afford at this time.  Within a couple of years, the plan is to build a Cathedral-style church on the 44 acres that is this site.

Q—Will the plaques remain on the chairs?
A—It is unknown how many of the chairs will fit in the new worship space.  If all the chairs cannot be placed in the worship area, all plaques will come off the chairs and go on a commemorative wall.  However, the plaques will remain on the chairs until it is determined if all the chairs fit.  That decision will come as a result of the Fire Marshall’s inspection.

Q—What is the mortgage rate?
A—It is a 20-year mortgage at 5.75 percent, which makes the mortgage payment about the same as the rent on this building ($14,000).

FATHER ED

Father Ed came up for final comments and stated that, “Bishop Noonan asked me to stay with St. Faustina until the finish of this wonderful church.”  He went on to state that the Bishop has appreciated the patience and efforts of St. Faustina’s parishioners, and has been, and continues to be, enthusiastic about this project and the future of St. Faustina parish.  Father Ed further stated, “I will do anything to take the needs of St. Faustina forward to the Diocese.”

CLOSING—Diane Maglione
Closing Prayer – Father Ramon

In addition to this Town Hall Meeting, always feel free to ask questions about our parish and events at:
Office@StFaustina.org       or call us at: (352) 515-9297

Following in the steps of St. Faustina

St. Faustina Catholic Church Clermont - Bishop NoonanJust as it took St. Faustina many years to convince the Catholic Church hierarchy that Jesus was actually appearing to her, commanding her to have His Divine Mercy image put on canvas, it took our parish, which honors her name, life and legacy, more than 16 years to have our own place of worship.

Click to see the pictorial essay, which shows our new church construction as it currently stands, but if you scroll down, you will see the photos from early January, 2022, when our property at 15551 N Boggy Marsh Road, which was originally an orange tree grove, first met the landscaping machinery that began the task of clearing the land.

On January 9, 2022, Bishop Noonan came to bless the property and to participate in the turning over the first shovel of dirt. On February 12, a parish-wide celebration was held in our current location.

The journey of our parish began on September 30, 2006, with our first Mass in a hotel conference room at the no-longer existing Westgate Hotel. Shortly after that we moved to a rundown former BBQ restaurant named Homers, and then to a strip mall, called Zaks, where we were situated between a Tattoo Parlor and a Message Parlor.
(for more on our history, please click here)

The hand-made sign that proclaims, “Future Home of St. Faustina Roman Catholic Church” has been replaced several times over the years. That old, tattered and torn sign, was FINALLY replaced by the professional sign that told all who passed by the construction site that our dreams and prayers were going to become reality.

As was the case back in the Book of Exodus, not all the Jews that left Egypt made it to the Promised Land, such is the story of our journey to our new home.

These photographs are dedicated to all of our St. Faustina Parish Family who are watching from their current home in God’s Heavenly Kingdom.

CLICK TO SEE LATEST CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS.

New Church Groundbreaking

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