Christmas, 2006

Dear parishioners here, elsewhere and all friends of St. Joseph's,

It was just six short years ago at the turn of the century that Brother Dann, myself and six members of our parish made the bold decision to move ahead with our millennium project - St. Joseph's Community Center. We met with the president of a fundraising company who explained how his company could really help us raise the necessary funds. Our confidence reflected his confidence: we engaged him. But as it turned out, the uniqueness of our parish and its situation defied all of the standard fund-raising models. The effort failed. We were on our own.

Our goal was three million dollars and things began to move. One very generous second home owner gave us a half million. We bought the land next to our property. How blessed we are to own the land now given the extreme escalation of property values since then. Over the last number of years many have been very generous giving us great hope and encouragement. They, like us, really see the serious need for a center. We now have access to almost two million dollars. But unfortunately, building costs in Mammoth have skyrocketed in the interim, escalating so rapidly as to outrun our fundraising abilities. Construction of our center including the extensive earthscaping required is now estimated to cost slightly in excess of $4M!

Adding to our woes, about a year ago our architect suddenly resigned due to many personal problems and left us hanging for eight months while we pondered our next move. Then one of our other parishioners suddenly gave us a quarter of a million to be used immediately for another architect and preliminary work. We engaged Bruce Woodward, an experienced architect who lives and works here in Mammoth. The most visible of his buildings is the new firehouse being built on Main Street. He has come up with an excellent plan that fits in much better with the existing church while cutting some of the costs. But yet when all is said and done, it is still two million dollars beyond our present pledge base.

At this point it might be well to explain why this parish desperately needs a parish community center. Our parish is an amazing melding of three distinct communities: visitors, permanent residents and, lately, a burgeoning immigrant community filling the need for low cost labor. All three of these communities have unique needs; all three of these communities have common needs - to find Christ while here in the mountains.

Just about all of you who are reading this letter are drawn from the first community - second homeowners and visitors to Mammoth that attend Mass at St. Joseph's church. Brother Dann and I try our best to accommodate you who, while firm in your faith, still have your minds on a bit of skiing or fishing or whatever when they come to Mass on weekends. Our visitors' needs are highly seasonal but present us with our greatest opportunity for outreach.

But for a moment consider all those who live up here permanently, residents and immigrants alike. When they come to mass and look around, they see mostly visitors and feel like strangers in their own church. What an opportunity exists to make them part of our outreach to the visitor community. If only gathering space was available! Our dilemma is that the church itself must be sized for the whole community - visitors and residents alike but we can hardly afford the additional infrastructure to service our needed residents' programs. Consider, as an example, our religious education efforts. Having four or five classes at one time on Monday afternoon in the church with almost everyone sitting on the floor within earshot of each other is definitely not the ideal. Yet it is through our religious ed program that we are able to directly embrace our growing Hispanic community. Their kids are preparing for and making their first communion, all the while drawing more and more of their parents to church and the sacraments. Truly, the tip of the iceberg here.

But, specifically, how does a parish community center involve most of you who are part-time residents or just yearly visitors? You are members of our parish and have a very tangible ownership in it. You belong. Your children belong. You grow deeper in your faith when you actually practice it even while on vacation! Marriage receptions and celebrations of all sorts, so appropriately held here in God's country, can hardly be accommodated in Mammoth today. No doubt many of you can think of many other reasons why a parish center would benefit you.

It's clear that all three communities would benefit from study programs, lectures, meetings, cultural and artistic performances, celebrations and an expanded worship space when needed. Our flexible, configurable community center concept is designed to serve all and, for the first time, everyone can begin to feel like they belong to a real, vibrant Catholic community.

All this comes down to my literally pleading with you to help us out. I have not been trained to be a fund raiser, but with our present situation, I have no choice. So many have already helped out, some with tremendous largesse and others are very much like the widow putting in their only mite. We have received permission from the Diocese to proceed - but only on the condition that we raise the money up front and leave no indebtedness for those to follow. Our community prays to St. Joseph at the end of each Mass. I am convinced that the answer to those prayers is your generosity. That is why I now come with hat in hand begging to make this dream become actuality.

We have a web site for our parish - mammothcatholicchurch.org - and if you pull up this web site and click on the parish center link, you will see the plans and other details of what we are trying to build. It's a well thought out example of how flexible, configurable and usable can be melded into one design. Let's get it built!

Again, I end this letter with as strong a plea as I can make. Along with that plea is my promise of prayer and Masses for you and your intentions. Thank you for reading this and I end with wishing you all a most happy and blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with his blessings.

In Christ,

Fr. Andy Dachauer, Pastor