Dear Sisters and Brothers,

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A couple weeks ago we had the open meeting in Foreston to discuss the St. Anne Adoration Chapel in light of the Bishop's decree for our

ACC. There we discussed the current situation, had some discussion, and had time for some questions or suggestions. There was also a survey for those present which they could use to indicate their thoughts if they were not comfortable sharing out loud with the group. I wanted to give an update from that meeting.

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The situation is that the decree has named St. Mary in Milaca as the primary church and St. Mary in Mora as the partner church for the newly merged parish of St. Joseph, Pillar of Families, and moves us in the direction of consolidating to those two locations following a transition period. The decree specifically mentions that in this time of transition we must develop a plan for the St. Anne Chapel and present that to the bishop. We have also been preparing to put the Church of St. Louis Bertrand on the market. Though it is true that many churches that get put up for sale take up to several years to find a buyer and close the contract, it is always possible that a buyer may come quickly with an offer and we have to respond. If that offer came in the winter with a closing date also in the winter, it would be a difficult time to move the Chapel off the spot to another location. If the buyer was not willing to extend the closing date, or to include in the contract that we could come back and move the chapel after the deal is completed, then we would potentially lose access to the Chapel altogether. Since it can be so difficult to find a buyer for a church, turning down a contract could mean that we do not find another buyer for years and have to deal with all the struggles that come with that. I probably would suggest moving forward with selling the property, even if it meant losing the Chapel.

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So the worst case scenario of not moving the Chapel is that we lose it completely. The worst case situation of moving the Chapel sooner is that we might move it but not sell the remaining property for potentially years. But in that second situation, we would still have access to the Chapel and less interruption in adoration. Based on the discussion from the meeting and the survey results, we will begin looking at the next steps of moving the Chapel, getting more detailed bids and coordinating through the diocese. If that is able to come together before the frost comes, we will bring the issue again to the finance council and corporate board for approval. If the preparation process takes us into the winter, we will probably shelf the decision for the winter and either wait for better conditions to open it again or deal with the issue if/when a buyer makes an offer.

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If you have other thoughts you would like to share, or suggestions to make, feel free to reach out to me or any of the transition team members (names available on the website).

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Peace in Christ,
Fr. Timothy