Please join us at the Community Forum at St. John’s this Sunday, December 14, at 9 am, when the Comprehensive Campaign Steering Committee provides a report on its activity over the past three months and answers your questions. Steering Committee members include John Bellaimey, Mary Beth Crandall, Allen Gooch, Mark Lindberg, Rex McKee, Michael Morrow, Kari Rusch-Curl, and Lisa Wiens Heinsohn.
Earlier this year, Lisa shared that we have begun planning for a comprehensive fundraising campaign, beginning sometime in 2026. The campaign follows directly from the Sustainable Mission Project completed in March, which in turn built on the commitment by St John’s in 2024 to values of Sacredness, Belonging, Nourishment, Creativity, and Transformation closely tied to our mission. We also recommitted ourselves to our location in Linden Hills at the corner of 42nd and Sheridan.
To honor these commitments, we will need to invest in our facilities, programs, and outreach. The comprehensive campaign is focused on all three areas, and will seek to raise capital funds to invest in our facilities; special contributions for new staff, program expenses, and outreach; and planned gifts to supply long-term financial resources.
Throughout Fall, the team has worked primarily on the facility investments required. We retained the Proximity Project to help us develop a roadmap of projects and preliminary cost estimates. This work builds upon the information gathered in the building reserve study conducted in 2024, and refined by Allen and our facility manager, John McKee. The roadmap incorporates additional facility enhancement priorities identified during and after the Sustainable Mission Project. We are very interested in your thoughts, reflections and input, which we will take into account now and throughout the Comprehensive Campaign.
The project roadmap includes three phases:
- Current phase – projects already underway or soon to commence, funded primarily by existing resources
- New building security system
- Rooftop solar panels
- Temporary location for Youth Activities
- Improved building signage
- Low-cost steps to improve welcoming for visitors, such as improved signage, new gathering space furniture, changes to coffee stations
- Phase I – priority projects funded by a capital campaign in 2026-2027
- Sanctuary renovation (there have been no material updates to the sanctuary in 30+ years), including audio/visual and lighting improvements, air-conditioning, stained-glass window repair or replacement, more expansive expressions of sacred art, improved seating (refurbished pews and/or new seating)
- Music and children, youth, and family program improvements, including a permanent location for Youth Activities, adequate music rehearsal space, improved storage for both music and CYF programs
- Improved welcoming experience for visitors and parishioners, including reimagined Gathering Space, exterior electronic sign, with potential changes to the Parish Hall or church offices
- Capital maintenance investments needed now, including roof capstone repairs, phase 1 of exterior stonework restoration, and exterior wood repair and maintenance
- Architectural master plan to address the above projects considering the potential future projects discussed in Phase II
- The capital campaign will once again include a 10% allocation to the Centennial Fund or a successor fund for outreach work
- Phase II – projects for consideration in 5 – 10+ years
- Ongoing capital maintenance investments as anticipated in the building reserve study
- Explore possible expansion of our physical footprint to accommodate future growth and new programs (We do not intend to include funding for any such expansion in this comprehensive campaign)
Please join us on Sunday at the Community Forum to hear more about the project roadmap and next steps in the committee’s work. During this presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Additionally, we are planning for ways we can continue to listen to our whole faith community as your thoughts, feelings, and reflections are important in this work.
Respectfully,
Michael Morrow on behalf of the Comprehensive Campaign Steering Committee
