Our goal is to establish a permanent home for the last
Big Ten Orthodox Church including a Student Center for the UI chapter
of OCF. As of April 10, 2009, we are the owners of 722 E College St, a building that previously belonged to the Christian Science church. Our current goals are to complete the renovations, and to retire the mortgage.
Building Renovations and Maintenance
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If at any time you have questions about the process of our repairs and renovations to the new building and our move there, please don't hesitate to speak with Fr. Ignatius, or a parish council member.
Update May 31, 2009:
The nave was professionally painted. The rough carpentry for the raised altar area has been constructed. Plumbing and flooring contractors should be scheduled to work in the next week or two. Radon mitigation in the lower level is scheduled for mid-June. We are planning to make the move from Iowa Ave. to College St. beginning on Friday evening June 26 and continuing on Saturday June 27. Please save the dates so that you are available to help.
Update May 24, 2009:
We are working with the city to secure a building permit to allow us to construct the raised altar area and are receiving bids from plumbers to improve the bathrooms and to work on plumbing for a kitchen.
Update May 17, 2009:
This week, the nave of the church, walls and ceiling, will be painted the same color blue that we currently see in our chapel. This color was suggested by Bishop MARK. By this next weekend if not sooner, rough carpentry work will begin on the raised altar area.
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Transformation of Our Temple
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Update May 3, 2009:
This past week, the electrical system was upgraded from the old fuseboxes to 200 Amp circuit breakers and properly grounded. On Saturday, May 2, the Parish Council and related committees held a planning meeting in order to revisit some initial plans for repairs and renovations that were drawn up in February, and to prepare to present our plan to His Grace Bishop MARK, when he visits with us next weekend. With his blessing on our plans, we will proceed in earnest to bring in contractors to do such things as masonry work on the chimney, minor roof tile repair, radon mitigation, asbestos evaluation (and removal, if necessary), replacement of aging space heater, gutter repair and plumbing work, and possibly some painting in the nave. In addition, there will be opportunities for church members to paint other rooms, lay flooring in the nave, remove existing stage and create an altar area, remove damaged wall paneling in basement and possibly install drywall, and install attic insulation. Some of these things can be done after we move in and are regularly occupying the building. A few of them, like painting, creating an altar area and installing a floor, need to be done before we are in.
We are looking for volunteers to mow the lawn at our new building approximately once every 7-10 days. It takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours with a non-riding power mower to complete the job. There is a sign-up sheet posted
at church. This is a perfect opportunity for teens or college students to help out, especially as summer is upon us and classes are finished or will be finished soon. Please feel free to bring your own lawn mower or use the one we now have (please contact Fr. Ignatius for details).
Possible items for donation include:
Bike rack
Cork Bulletin boards
Kitchen cabinets, counters, cupboards, shelving, piping, refrigerator
Storage shelving and locking cabinets
More to come
Thank you to Arian Kulp and family for the donation of a lawn mower!
Current Progress
Enough for Mortgage!
as of 2/23
The Christian Science church had accepted our offer,
with down-payment due in February, 2009. However, the appraised value ended
up being below the asking price, and the final agreement was reached only on April 10th, 2009. Our campaign has two phases:
Phase 1 (Nov-Feb 20, 2009): Our goal was to raise money to cover down-payment and move-in costs. While $110,000 would get us into the building, our goal has been at least $150,000 to also cover a kitchen and removal of auditorium seating. In order to pay down the mortgage as much as possible, we set an even more agressive goal of $275,000 to allow a larger down-payment and get a more manageable monthly mortgage rate. We have completed this phase with the $180,000 dedicated to the purchase and renovations.
Phase 2 (2009/10): Retire the mortgage.
As you can see, our need is urgent, and our opportunity is great. Any donation you can make will be greatly appreciated. Feel free to download our fundraising materials online, and contact us with any questions or to make a donation!
To Friends of St. Raphael's, A letter from Father Ignatius
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Dear Friends of St. Raphael’s,
If you have never visited with us on a Sunday morning, then maybe you wouldn’t quite fully understand the scope of our overcrowding. I do not exaggerate when I say we are bursting at the seams. We continue to grow, despite the fact that our chapel, altar area and all, is only 500 sq. ft., perhaps the smallest in the diocese. People often tell me that they know others who would like to come but don’t because of the space. Just today, a parishioner told me that he knows people who drive to the nearest Orthodox church, 35 miles away, because of the crowding at our chapel!
As priest of this parish I am very excited to ask for your help in purchasing a larger building. We have many new faces with us on Sunday mornings and five catechumens looking forward to Baptism or Chrismation. I am confident that with more space, our Sunday attendance would quickly increase by 25% or more. The Lord is doing a good thing in Iowa City and sending people our way – and now He has sent us a property and a benefactor to make this growth possible.
I appeal to all of you to participate in the Lord’s good work and to help us acquire this worship space through your prayers and donations. If you can help us, or if you have any questions, please print and fill out the Donation Form file below or contact me by phone or email. May God bless you richly for your generosity!
In Christ,
Fr. Ignatius
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