“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13
Dearly Beloved in the Lord,
Praying you are well on this beautiful evening, I share with you some news that many of you will find regretful, but for all of us, we trust in God’s ways and His wisdom. As you know, for several months now, our parish has been embarking on a journey that would allow us to purchase an existing property to establish a permanent home for our St. Anna parish. The building in Sandy, Utah that we have referred to as the “Atrium Property” was identified in late July as a viable solution to our real estate needs. As we had already begun a Capital Campaign in search of property upon which to build, the knowledge of this available land and structure seemed to be a near perfect fit. And indeed it was.
Was.
As of today, after weeks of negotiations and discussions with the owner of the Atrium, we were unable to come to a viable solution for both seller and buyer. I, together with our parish council and appropriate committees would not have spoken so highly and enthusiastically of this opportunity, were we not assured that it was the right move for us, and that the sellers were actually engaged in the processes with us. In the end, our parish leadership simply could not comply with the sellers’ ultimate conditions, by which a transaction could be completed.
Your St. Anna leadership always came to the table of these negotiations with the best interest of each parishioner in mind, and with the desire to serve God in every word, action or intention. Negotiations for this property halted hastily and at the very end of the process. Our final offer was not accepted and no counter was offered.
In the blink of an eye, it was over. Hours upon hours of time, energy and prayer ended with a short email message, indicating what I’ve just told you.
Scripture tells us, in instances such as these, to learn from the process, identify the blessings and press on. We press on towards the prize which is a life in Christ. We press on with faith, enthusiasm, convictions, character and the knowledge that we did our best to serve the needs of our parish and we did it in an open, honest and honorable fashion.
We began the efforts of working towards a home for our parish, well before the Atrium came to our attention. We will allow the happenings of these days to resonate within the hearts of the people involved in this transaction, and within the prayers of our entire community. We came together beautifully during this process. Many, many people caught a vision, responded with generosity and support. This building will not be the only opportunity that will be presented before us.
God has a plan. We have a purpose. The blessings, we pray, will continue.
We’re going to chill for a little bit. There are some who believe that the time to identify another property is now, and that we must press on with immediacy and with the same levels of dynamic enthusiasm. There are others who feel that we should now take pause, allow for a breather, and let the process come to us, at this point. For myself, I feel that both of these approaches are equally valuable, and are mutually agreeable.
Our real estate ministry team and our capital campaign committee will re-group immediately. There is no “break” to be had for the leaders of our blessed community. But we will not come to the parish with any one, specific property or possibility for a little while, at least.
To be sure, we thought we had a workable deal. We did not. We are sort of exhausted and a little disappointed. We aren’t going to rush into anything. God provided our last engagement as a learning opportunity to gain experience, discernment, patience and wisdom, as He watches us grow, mature and develop. I have to believe that our motivations and actions were well-pleasing to Him. We entered into this experience in prayer and were continually sustained by the same. There are lessons to be learned and blessings to be gratefully received.
The need for proper and larger space has not changed. Our desire to fulfill the spiritual and sacramental needs of God’s faithful has not diminished. Our focus on Christ Jesus has not wavered.
We, as a parish, will now re-direct our energies and efforts elsewhere; while keeping our eyes set on Him. St. Anna will continue to guide and protect us. The Theotokos and all the Saints will continue to intercede for us. The abundant and life-pouring energies of the Eucharist will continue to sustain us.
The reasons that this did not happen will one day, be revealed to us. When something comes our way that is infinitely better and abundantly, more suitable, we will be in a stronger position to react and further down the road of financial preparation. That said, I share a few, final thoughts:
I am grateful for the generosity and involvement of all who contributed in any way and in any amount to our Capital Campaign. Your vanguard participation will forever be appreciated.
I am grateful for the prayers, good will and enthusiasm of all who shared in our vision of fortifying our efforts to minister to the faithful and to glorify God through this process.
I am grateful for the leaders of our parish council, real estate committee and capital campaign committee who steered this effort with the best of our collective ability and who demonstrated integrity and character throughout the process. To the sellers of this building, we were an open book and an open heart.
I am grateful for the many volunteers who chaired events and who worked in the trenches of every gathering; both large and small. Your efforts are not wasted. We still have work to do and a future to fortify.
I am grateful for our Women’s Ministry Team, in particularly, who lead by example, sacrifice and the love of Christ in their collective and individual souls.
I am grateful for many people, and many leaders, but specifically, Chuck Karpakis, Joe Sasich and Dr. Charles Beck. As the leaders of the real estate committee and as our parish council president. these men, these Brothers in Christ, served our interests well and with firm conviction, grounded in God’s precious commandments. These are truly, beautiful men.
I am grateful for the process itself. It was a good thing to pray about and prepare for the future generations of our young and Spirit-filled parish. It was a good thing to set goals and to work towards them. It was a good thing to stretch, grow and learn. And we’ll do it again. Perhaps we’ll have other disappointments. Perhaps even setbacks. But we’ll apply what we learn and press on.
I am grateful for our loving Lord who continues to nurture us and to sustain us. For our Matron Saint Anna and for her precious daughter, I am most thankful.
I am grateful for you all.
No doubt, there will be many people with many questions in the coming days. I’ve answered most of them, if not all of them with this writing. We will re-focus and re-group. We will not re-purpose or re-direct. Our goals haven’t changed. Our purpose has not altered.
The only thing that’s changed is our future address.
With Much Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony