Holy Family Daily Chapel

Dear Holy Family parishioners,

Thank you for visiting our Chapel Campaign donation page. I want to provide an update on the Daily Chapel Campaign launched by my esteemed predecessor, Fr. John Giel. As you may be aware, the intention was to raise $2.5 million to fund the renovation of the daily chapel. With the need to begin the project timely, Fr. Giel took out a loan from the diocese. At the time that I took the helm of leadership, the balance of the loan was over $2.2 million. The hope was that the funds received from the campaign would help pay for the debt created by the loan for the renovation of the Daily Chapel.

As I have shared before with our parish, it was an aggressive monthly payment plan. Meanwhile, only a little over half of the intended goal was pledged, about $500,000 of which were to be collected over the next few years. So, I decided to refinance the loan to avoid negative impact to our short-term financial stability. After the State of the Parish address in December 2021, a family from the parish came forward and gave us a considerable donation to be used where needed. After due consultation, I requested that this donation combined with the money collected so far from the campaign be used to pay off the debt. This saved us about $600,000 in future interest payment.

Now, what do we do about the campaign? We borrowed $2.2 million. The actual cost of the chapel was close to $2.5 million. There is still $500,000 in outstanding pledges to be paid in future payments. Should I push forward with collecting to cover the remainder of $300,000 of the actual cost? My main preoccupation had been to take care of the debt. With the debt paid off, my heart tells me to end the campaign.

I wish to inform you that I have decided to bring the chapel campaign to a close. A communication has been sent to donors whose pledges were scheduled over the next three years and I have placed the matter at their discretion on how to handle. I will absolutely respect their decision. I have also corresponded with other campaign donors to simply express my sincere gratitude for their generosity and kindness in helping us complete the renovation project. The result of their generosity is a beautiful and dignified chapel to be used for our daily worship.

From the start of my ministry at Holy Family, I have promised transparency. It is a promise I firmly intend to keep. I am grateful for our parish family in their continued generosity to take care of our spiritual home. You are a great blessing. May the Lord and his Mother repay you with an abundance of divine graces.

With warm regards and good wishes,

Fr. Martin Nguyen
Parochial Administrator