Fr. Simon's Letter - September 17, 2023

Our Annual “Mass on the Field” was born out of our experience with the “Parking Lot Masses” during COVID and the need to invite and encourage those still confined at home during the pandemic to come and celebrate with the community that which is central and essential to all of us – the Eucharist.

Last year, the heavens poured down rain and we had to move our celebration indoors. This year, I hope that, with your prayers, we can gather on the field and celebrate the Eucharist and our community. There will also be the “Ministry Fair” to help you get involved with the many events and offerings here at QAS.

As we kick off several beginnings – School, RE classes, and a variety of ministry activities – I want to take a moment to thank our parish leadership and volunteers for the past year for their dedication and commitment to helping us grow as a faith community, spiritually, socially and in service to others. Please join me in expressing our gratitude to Angie Cantillon and Kristen Hack, our 2023 UPP chairs, who, through their vision and hard work, helped us raise a record $463,270. Their leadership and your generosity made this fund-raising event a great success. THANK YOU!!

As we look forward to this year, the Finance Council and the business office have been working on the plans for the new air-conditioning system in the basilica and air-conditioning for the Lemont and Keene buildings. After deliberating the proposals from Elara, the engineering firm we hired to study and provide plans for this enormous project, we gave them the green light to move forward. Their next steps are to apply for a new electrical service to power the new equipment and our future needs and to design the HVAC system for the basilica. With our improvements to the Benedict Center and Parish Center, the capacity of the electrical service brought to the campus in 1940 was maxed out. While the lead time to get a new service is about ten months, our goal is to expedite this process. Once we receive the final design for the HVAC project, ideally by the end of October 2023, we will invite bids for the work to be done and then choose the company to complete the project. Once the company is selected, the lead time to receive the HVAC equipment is another wait of ten or so months. We plan to install the new HVAC system in the fall of 2024 and have it ready to be tested and balanced in late spring of 2025. As we continue to maintain and improve our aging buildings and equipment, I ask you to keep this project and everyone helping bring it about in your prayers.

I know that this is a lot of information, but I want you to know about and be a part of the many things happening here at QAS.

Blessings!!