Dear St. Anne’s Parishioner:
If you have looked at the Round-Up grounds and the areas near the church where trees used to grow, you have undoubtedly asked yourselves how we could possibly put on the Christmas Lighting Festival this year. With the consensus of the Parish Council, I must unfortunately inform you that we simply cannot hold the festival this year. Allow me to share the reasons with you, as you will certainly be asked about this decision.
Hurricane Ivan decimated the infrastructure and buildings on the Round-Up grounds. We did not realize the extent of the structural damage until engineers and insurance adjustors surveyed the area early in 2005. Had we known the extent of the structural damage to the buildings we would not have held the festival in 2004, shortly after Ivan. The damage was then compounded by the winds of Hurricane Dennis this summer.
In a very good year, the Lighting Festival clears about $35,000.00. We have had various estimates that bringing the buildings and grounds up to current safety standards that we and our insurers’ demand could cost upwards of $60,000.00. I cannot in good conscience ask you the parishioners of St. Anne’s to put forth all the hard work required for the Lighting Festival when at least two years of profits would go toward reconstruction efforts! The Council agreed with this assessment.
On the positive side, we will decorate the Family Life Center and the outside areas near the building in order to provide a Christmas atmosphere for the groups that have contracted to use the FLC during December. Additionally, this will allow us to fully observe the Holy Season of Advent this year, a time of preparation for Christ’s coming! In accordance with the tradition of Advent Season, our Church will be not decorated for Christmas until much closer to Christmas, itself.
As we discussed at the parish Town Hall meeting several months ago, we are continually looking at ways to reduce our debt on the Family Life Center by utilizing the asset of land which so many of our parishioners have worked to acquire and pay for over the years of the Round-Up. With God’s help we will be able to strengthen the spiritual focus of this parish and diminish our ongoing concern with fund-raising and debt reduction.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Jack Gray
Pastor