Catholic Parish of Sts. Andrew, Francis and Paul: About Us

Thank you for checking out the "Growing Together In Faith" campaign. Each of the three churches in our parish is growing, and we hope this campaign will provide resources by which we can enhance our mission as a parish. Our goals include purchase of property to build a new St. Andrew church in Clemson as well as improvement of our existing campuses at St. Paul in Seneca and St. Francis in Walhalla.

I hope you will find our goals and dreams worthy of your support. You can learn more about the campaign by clicking on www.churchcampaign.net/clemson/ now. Thank you!

Sincerely, Father Gregory West, Pastor

***************************************************************************
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
ABOUT OUR CAMPAIGN

A. Only the campaign counsel (Walsh and Associates), the pastor, and the bookkeeping staff of the parish.

Q. How should I make out the check(s) I write for the campaign?

A. Make out your check to the church you attend (St. Andrew, St. Paul, or St. Francis), just as you normally create checks for the offertory collection. It is important, however, that you indicate that the check is intended for the capital campaign rather than for the offertory. You can do this:

a) By placing your check into a campaign envelope (soon to be provided in the packet of envelopes that are sent to your home or available in the gathering spaces of the churches), and/or

b) By writing in the “memo” line of the check “Growing Together in Faith” or “capital campaign.”

Special note for those that choose electronic transfer of funds to the campaign: All such funds will be directed into the St. Andrew checking account so that we can save money from having three such EFT systems set up. The transfer therefore may show up on your statement as going to St. Andrew. Although your contribution would be received through the checking account at St. Andrew, all funds that are received for Growing Together in Faith are transferred to a separate, joint account once they are received. Consistent with Diocesan accounting requirements, when funds are later used to fund a project at one of the three churches, the necessary funds will be transferred into that church’s checking account and will be used to pay for the project.

Q. What is the status of Three Saints Trust?

A. Three Saints Real Estate Trust was founded in good faith to help the parish move forward at a time when a number of obstacles (particularly the economic situation for the diocese) prevented fundraising, loans, and land purchase for St. Andrew through normal channels. Ultimately, we were mistaken that this route would be acceptable to the diocese. The Diocese of Charleston asked that it be clearly communicated that the trust is a separate entity from the parish and that no further fundraising be solicited through the parish for the trust. We are now proceeding, following the approved diocesan process for fundraising, and we do so with the full support of Bishop Guglielmone.

Q. In the past there have been rumblings about whether our 3 churches would be split into separate parishes. Are there plans to split the parish in the future?

A. While the future is never certain, nor entirely in our control - -we can say that there are no plans to split our parish.

Questions Concerning the Goals for St. Andrew

Q. How soon might we secure land for St. Andrew?

A. As soon as the parish has raised half of the price of the land to be purchased, a loan from the diocese for the remainder will enable us to complete the transaction with the seller. The timetable depends, therefore, on fulfillment of pledges. We estimate that we will have to have “in hand” between six hundred and seven hundred thousand dollars to arrange the loan with the diocese. Based upon the experience of our campaign counsel (Walsh and Associates), we believe we will reach this milestone by early 2011. We will also have to have the remaining funds pledged and in process of being received by the parish. This is the first priority for the campaign, so it will be the first goal that redemption of pledges will accomplish.

Q. The Capital Campaign does not say which property St. Andrew will be purchasing. Why not?

A. We cannot secure a contract on any property until we have shown that we can reach sufficient funds to eventually close the purchase by having substantial monies in the bank. The Diocese has asked that we have several hundred thousand dollars in place before negotiating a contract for land. Therefore, the campaign must be launched without an announcement of where we will move the campus of St. Andrew. One bright side to the current economic situation is that not only are more properties available (there are five different available properties currently that have potential), but they may remain available and less expensive for a while.

Q. How will a property be selected once we have sufficient funds?

A. The following criteria were established by the St. Andrew Site Selection Committee, utilized by Facilities Planning and Coordinating Committee and approved by the Pastoral Council to guide our property selection:

Visibility in the community
Sufficient size—a minimum of twenty usable acres
Proximity to Clemson University
Within the city limits of Clemson or as close as possible
Presence of or ease in implementing infrastructure (water, sewer, electricity, etc.)
Affordability in cost

The Pastoral Council has received the recommendations of the FPCC in regard to prioritizing the properties in order of desirability for purchase. The Pastoral Council will endorse or modify this prioritization after visiting all the properties. The Diocese of Charleston will also have to approve our selection before we can negotiate. Finally, much depends on the seller(s) as to which property can ultimately be contracted. For this reason, we are not making our list of properties and our prioritization public so as to prevent speculation that would drive up prices or lead others to purchase properties before we can.

Q. Rather than purchase a whole new property, why are we not building a new campus for St. Andrew at our property on Issaqueena Trail?

A. This property has only eight acres. From a feasibility study done three years ago, we know that we can fit basic buildings and parking on this property. However, it would be tight, and there would be no room for outdoor recreational space, additional buildings, or parking beyond about two hundred spaces. This is not adequate to serve the long term needs of the Catholic community in Clemson. On the other hand, the eight acres we currently own can be used as an asset to help us build our new campus. It should also be noted, however, that the diocese will not allow us to sell the Issaqueena Trail property until we have purchased a new property.

Q. If we truly are 3 churches and one parish why can’t the needs for social and other spaces be filled by further developing the property at the St. Paul site or by consolidating the entire parish into St. Paul?

A. There are a number of reasons:

The Clemson community, including our very important ministry to CU students, needs and deserves a local Catholic presence that is adequate to meet most of the community’s needs. For example, should Pickens and Oconee counties be able to support a catholic school, it would likely be a regional school based at St. Paul because of its more central location. However, each church needs its own education and meeting space for religious education, meetings, community outreach etc.
We expect the demographics of our area to show continued growth in the Catholic population. It would be short-sighted to repeat the situation we have at the current St. Andrew facility by not having the ability to expand to meet a growing need.
Realistically, as large as it is, St. Paul alone will not be able to handle the expected future growth of Catholics in our area.
Campus Ministry needs a local parish to back it up and sustain it. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill and mutual support between the university students and parishioners, and this close relationship between parish and campus ministry is worth keeping and building upon.
The Diocese of Charleston, as clearly articulated recently by Bishop Guglielmone, does not want to suppress St. Andrew Parish.

Q. How and when will St. Andrew move from land purchase to having actual buildings?

A. See complete answer:

Once the purchase of land is completed and the loan from the diocese is paid off, the land becomes a parish asset on which we can build.
As soon as we close the deal for land purchase, the St. Andrew Church Design Committee will launch site-planning in consultation with the people of St. Andrew.
We will use our assets to help us pay for initial buildings—we will sell the eight acres on Issaqueena Trail that St. Andrew already possesses as a parish asset and use the money for buildings. We may also be able eventually to sell a portion of our current church campus (excluding the chapel, sufficient parking to be in code for the chapel, and a campus ministry center) as a further resource to put into future buildings.
We will launch a second capital fundraising effort to raise sufficient additional money to build initial buildings on the site. If the circumstances are favorable, it will begin soon after the current campaign’s completion of pledge-fulfillment (three years from now).
These first buildings need to minimally provide for worship space, parking, and religious education. Exactly what typeof buildings are first implemented will depend on the financial resources available to us at that time. The Design Committee will work with architects and St. Andrew parish to develop a long term master plan and the concepts and basic designs for these initial facilities prior to the second phase of fundraising.
We are probably a minimum of five years away from occupying new buildings.

Q. What will happen to St. Andrew Chapel when St. Andrew Church moves to another campus?

A. St. Andrew Chapel will be retained as a parish treasure no matter where the rest of the campus moves. City of Clemson codes require one parking space for every four seats in a church, and therefore we must retain twenty parking spaces for the chapel as well. We will continue to use the chapel for daily Mass, baptisms, weddings, funerals, and other celebrations.

Q. What will happen to Campus Ministry when St. Andrew Church moves to another campus?

A. Campus Ministry will continue to be based at our current campus on Edgewood Avenue. Activities for the ministry will take place there during the week. On weekends, students will be asked to join the rest of the community for Sunday Mass at the new church. We may need to create a way for students without cars to be transported to the new church. The current Campus Ministry building needs to be replaced because of its age and because many major maintenance problems it has are not worth the diversion of resources. When the parish begins occupying new buildings at a new campus, we will renovate and turn over to Campus Ministry either the current church building or the current office building. Determining which will depend upon our financial position at the time of implementing the initial buildings for a new campus.

Questions Concerning the Goals for St. Paul

Q. We have an ambitious master plan for St. Paul. Why address traffic flow first?

A. Parking and traffic flow at St. Paul were determined by the St. Paul Site Planning Committee to be of primary concern to parishioners. This becomes especially evident when Sunday masses run long, when there is a special ceremony such as Confirmation after a regular mass, or during heavy attendance at holiday masses. In addition, by first resolving the parking and traffic flow issues, we can then proceed with plans for facility growth in an orderly and logical way consistent with accommodating future needs and priorities.

Q. The church is only sixteen years old. Why hasn’t the roof lasted longer?

A. One side of the roof of the church faces south, and exposure to the sun has prematurely aged the shingles.

Q. If we are going to implement new sacred images at St. Paul, how will these be chosen and/or designed?

A. We have established a Church Interior Design Committee for St. Paul. The members responded to a general request for application to be on the committee, and they were selected from those that applied. The committee will consult the people of the church regarding desires and ideas for art that would be relevant and spiritually powerful for St. Paul. Conceptual drawings will be developed and commented upon. When we are satisfied with them, the images will be contracted for fabrication. A copy of the committee’s charter with greater detail on processes can be provided to anyone who wishes to view it.

Questions Concerning the Goals for St. Francis

Q. How will we design and supervise the building of a handicap accessible bathroom? Where will it be located?

A. The St. Francis Coordinating Committee will be charged with developing the plan for the new bathroom. The committee will seek input from the people of St. Francis as part of the process. The committee would welcome new volunteers to help out in its work. Contact Ginger Sallas if you are interested. The location of the bathroom has yet to be determined. The overall esthetics of the campus will be very much kept in mind as we finalize a design.

Q. Why do we need to address the classrooms?

A. Our classrooms look tired and need freshening up. They are also quite small. The walls between the upper three classrooms are not load-bearing, and we would like to remove them so as to create a more flexible space that can accommodate larger meetings.

Q. Will St. Francis be consolidated with St. Paul?

A. While we can never say never about the future of any church, THERE ARE (AT THE LEVEL OF THE PARISH OR DIOCESE) NO SUCH PLANS, NOR IS ANY KIND OF DISCUSSION HAPPENING REGARDING THE CLOSURE OF ST. FRANCIS. Period!