It
is now Summer here in Austin, and while things slow down a little bit, there is
still plenty of activity in the parish.
I
am happy to announce that Mr. Fred Valle has been hired as the new Principal
for St. Austin Catholic School. He has extensive experience as a principal of a
Catholic school (Our Lady of Sorrows in McAllen, TX) and as Director of Good
Shepherd Network that oversaw eight Catholic Schools in San Antonio, TX. He will be starting on July 1. I am also
happy to report that Ms. Barbara Kennedy, who has done such a good and faithful
job as Principal of our school for the last 5 years, will be staying on as the
fourth grade teacher. I look forward to a really great year at St Austin School
next year.
You
may have been wondering about our issue with the façade of the church and the
rectory, where stone has broken and fallen away. Now that we have finished with
the 2014-2015 offertory campaign that was so successful (many thanks to all of
you who have helped us out financially!), we are now concentrating again on the
issue of the exterior of the church. We are looking for solutions to keep
people safe that will not involve the expense and the eyesore of a huge covered
walkway in front of the church, and I hope soon you will see some results. All
the loose stone has been removed, the cross on the tower has been secured, and
we feel we can keep the area safe with less intrusive solutions.
Meanwhile
the parish Property Committee has been hard at work trying to find a long term
solution to the exterior problem. We sent out requests for architects to five
different firms here in Austin and promptly received five replies of “Not
Interested” due to the building boom and activity in Austin – all the
architectural firms are swamped. This is understandable. Our project is rather small
and also it is somewhat complicated and not clear cut, so it will require a lot
of work with comparatively little return.
However,
undismayed, our Property Committee worked hard and succeeded in finding two
firms that are interested in our project, both of which have a relationship
with St. Austin Catholic Parish. The Property Committee is interviewing both
firms on Tuesday, July 1, so by Independence Day, we hope to have a firm
selected to help us solve our problem.
In
addition to finding a solution for the small pieces of stone falling off the
face of the church and rectory, we also want to use this opportunity to give
the church greater impact and presence on Guadalupe Street, possibly expand the
bathrooms in the back of the church, and maybe even create a nicer place for
the nursery and to begin having children’s Liturgy of the Word. The immediate
question, however, is over what material to use to replace the damaged
limestone exterior. Replacing the limestone would only lead to the same problem
we have currently, so we hope we can find a better solution. Stucco? Manufactured
composite stone? Some other material? I have (factiously) suggested aluminum
siding, but the Property Committee has (fortunately) ignored me. I hope we can
come up with a creative solution. Please keep us in your prayers.
God
bless,
Fr.
Chuck
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