December 17, 2011

Saturday in the Third Week of Advent

Dear Family and Friends of Good Shepherd & Good Shepherd Episcopal School,

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! We, the Vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd (GS) and the Board of Good Shepherd Episcopal School (GSES), pray this letter finds you and yours well this Advent season. We write to you with exciting news, and we ask for your help.

In 2003, the GS Vestry completed a Master Plan (the Plan) for our campus. The Plan sought to meet current and future needs and includes:

           · updating and expanding our primary worship space;

           · replacing the Education Building housing GSES, as well as parish educational and fellowship spaces;

           · raising a new and larger Parish Hall (while preserving the existing Parish Hall, our first worship space);

           · building an underground parking garage;

           · improving our grounds; and

           · resolving our drainage issues.

In 2005, we completed a first phase of the Master Plan. That first phase accomplished and allowed for many of the improvements to our campus and common life that we now enjoy:

           · the purchase and closing of Moffett Street;

           · the provision of on-campus parking;

           · the completion of the Administration Building;

           · the move of the GSES offices into Baxter Hall;

           · the betterment of GSES traffic flow; and, perhaps most significantly,

           · the repair and improvement of underground infrastructure necessary for the Plan’s completion.

 

In the years since that plan’s development and the first phase’s completion, some needs have become more urgent and new needs have declared themselves. As you have no doubt observed, our worship building is in considerable disrepair, and our organ is failing. Moreover, this fall, the accreditation team evaluating the program and facilities of GSES expressed concern that within five years our aging Education Building may no longer be able to adequately provide for the operation of our school. Finally, we believe we should tithe – that is, commit an additional 10% of the building program’s total cost – toward the development of a long-term outreach ministry in order to effectively partner the people of GS and GSES in service of our Austin neighbors who are in need.

For more than two years the Vestry has been at work reviewing the Master Plan; evaluating these new needs; retiring debts remaining from the 2003, first-phase capital campaign; and incorporating the leadership of the GSES Board in discernment around these issues. After prayerful consideration, and mindful of the impending expiration (August, 2014) of the neighborhood and municipal agreements allowing for completion of the Plan, we believe that we must now begin a new building program in order to accomplish God’s mission for us as a parish and as a school.

Leadership of this new building program will begin with the following five Task Forces, for which we
now seek your nominations (of yourself or of others) by Monday, January 9, 2012:

 

           Building : Review plans, select contractor, and offer support during construction

           Capital Campaign : Coordinate financial support of building program

           GSES: Oversee school-related layouts and planning for temporary relocation of program

           Outreach : Identify beneficiary of the project’s tithe and oversee the program’s development

           Worship : Determine necessary improvements to the Sanctuary, Nave, Narthex, and organ

With an initial term of eighteen months, these Task Forces will be supported by consultants with whom the Vestry is contracting; work with Vestry, Board, and staff liaisons; seek needed expertise within the church and school communities; and delegate components of their work to subcommittees of their number. Please consider who you believe has gifts for one of these important ministries and send your nominations to building@gsaustin.org. Nominations may also be completed by submitting the attached form to the parish office, or by filling out a form online at www.gsaustin.org/building.

A working group comprising Vestry and GSES Board leadership will tally nominations; contact nominees to gauge interest and availability; and make Task Force appointments. Each Task Force will achieve a balance of gender, generation, gifts, and interests.

 

We ask you to make every effort to attend the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

 

In addition to the congregation of Good Shepherd, we invite the faculty, staff, and families of Good Shepherd Episcopal School to join that day’s events. The program will begin with worship at 9:00a, and, in order to accommodate the large crowd we expect, will continue in our worship space following a short intermission. A tent will be raised in the Garth with additional seating and closed-circuit broadcast of the proceedings available therein and inside the Parish Hall. During the Meeting, the GS Vestry and GSES Board will:

 

           · pray for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance;

           · narrate a history of the Master Plan’s Development;

           · present architectural renderings and estimated costs of the Master Plan;

           · outline the critical steps and timelines for the project’s completion;

           · introduce the Capital Campaign Consultant Firm;

           · announce the new Vestry class and Task Force membership;

           · commission the Task Forces for their ministry; and

           · conclude with lunch and table conversations, reflecting on the day and the program ahead.

While we welcome everyone to join in worship that morning, we appreciate, too, that those families of the school community who are not members of the parish may have other Sunday commitments. Please know that we encourage everyone to join the business meeting at 10:30a, regardless of one’s attendance in worship. Additionally, this Annual Parish Meeting will be professionally recorded to video and linked to both the GS and GSES websites for benefit of those who cannot attend.

 

In order to further facilitate the attendance of the parents of young children, GS and GSES leadership have partnered to provide a morning of programs and fun at WAYA (West Austin Youth Association, just down the street) for preschool (potty-trained, three- to five-years-old) and elementary (K5-5^th Grade) children. With the support of WAYA, Champions Academy, and our community’s members, parents may drop their children at WAYA, beginning at 8:30a. There, the children will have worship, play games, eat lunch, and stay busy through the length of the Annual Parish Meeting back on our campus. Additionally, programs for infants and toddlers (under two years) will be hosted in the nursery and Education Building, and a program for middle school’rs      (6^th-8^th Grade) will also begin in Moffett House, all at 8:30a. Pre-registration and payment for these programs must be received in the parish office by Monday, January 16.

Notably for the day of the Annual Parish Meeting, there will be neither the usual Communion Café nor 11:30a, Rite I worship in the church. The 7:30a and 6:00p services will continue as customary.

These are exciting and energizing times for our parish and for our school, and we have a great deal to accomplish together during the next months and years. You can trust that you will receive regular updates and information throughout this process, and we encourage you to be in conversation with our community’s leadership. Between now and January 29, we invite your questions and concerns to shape our preparation for these presentations, and for the programs that will follow. Please submit your thoughts along with your nominations, through any of the means described above.

 

Finally, the Vestry of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd and the Board of Trustees of Good Shepherd Episcopal School extend our gratitude to you, the entire Good Shepherd community, for your support and participation as we navigate these waters as one community, and we ask for your prayers as we continue to seek God’s will for our beloved Church and School.