Plans are Underway for our Future Home!
It’s an exciting and challenging time for the parish of Saint Spyridon as we continue the work of planning for our future home. With the community growing rapidly and outgrowing its current location, we are eager to move to a permanent location that will provide for the parish’s ministries and for its future.
Icon of Christ, the True Vine
The icon of Christ, the True Vine is the festal icon of our Future Church Home Project. Â It is in our narthex for veneration and will accompany us into our new home. Â The basis for the depiction of Christ in the center of a growing vine is from John 15:1, where Christ states, “I am the true vine…” Â We encourage you to look over this passage and consider its implications. Â May Christ continue to guide us as we continue to work for His glory and for the salvation of souls.
Parish Votes in Favor to Purchase Property
At the March 18th Parish Assembly, Saint Spyridon Orthodox stewards voted 80.95% in favor
of the motion:
Saint Spyridon Church shall purchase Lot 7 of Tract H, Highland Meadows Golf Course Subdivision, Town of Windsor, a 7.09-acre Building-Permit-Ready property for $373,000 that includes improvements of all utilities brought to the site, contingent on acceptable results of Due Diligence and Governmental Approvals, and the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah. Our parish will commission our architect for around $18,000Â for space needs verification and assessment and for conceptual master plans with phasing options with the intention to build facilities that honor our Orthodox theology and tradition as our permanent future church home when funds are raised.
The property is near County Road 5, just north or Crossroads Blvd. You can see photographs and a drawing of the property on the south wall in the Fellowship Hall, or by clicking the links below. The letter announcing the results of the Parish Assembly vote is posted below as well as an errata sheet that clarifies some statements made at the Parish Assembly.
During the Parish Assembly, several questions/observations/suggestions were made concerning the property: (1) the elevation of the property relative to the reservoir; (2) the potential ground water effect of the reservoir on the proposed property; (3) city zoning requirements (e.g. height limitations); and (4) confirmation of the value of the proposed property. These issues will be addressed in the coming weeks during the due diligence process. A summary of the due diligence process, as well as information gained during the due diligence process, will be shared with the community through the weekly Project Update, as well on this page. Stay tuned…
Other Assembly discussion points included the cost of and deliverables from the architect, and the financial capacity of the parish to finance the project. The architect is working with the Design Committee and the Property Search Committee to develop site test plans and initial conceptual master planning documents needed for the due diligence effort. The Financial Planning Committee will be giving its presentation again on April 1 (see below) and is willing to meet with parishioners to discuss the underlying numbers in more detail.
Click here to see the letter distributed to parishioners announcing the vote. And here for the accompanying errata.
If you have expertise in any of these due diligence areas and would like to help out, please contact Dn. Mark or Diana.
Property Pictures and Graphics
Click here to see the ‘Search Grid.’
Click here to view a graphic of Plot H.
Click here to view a picture of the proposed property.
Click here to view another picture of the proposed property.
Click here to view another picture of the proposed property.
Click here to view the population centroid of Northern Colorado.
Parish Council Seeks Input for Short-term Facility Needs
You are invited to give your suggestions for an interim solution for the space needs of our community, until we have our permanent church home. Please contact Steve Chacho with any ideas you have. Immediately resolving our over-crowded situation is a priority of the Parish Council.
The Parish Council is pursuing four options to address our short-term facility needs: (1) renting space at a school near our current facility to use for Sunday Services, (2) determine if there are additional measures we can take to our existing facility to mitigate some of the overcrowding, (3) expand our existing fellowship hall into the two classroom spaces and provide an alternative Church School program, and/or (4) look into the possibility of purchasing the house that is for sale across the street. This last option has been pursued in the past; we will be meeting with the City of Loveland to determine if this option is feasible. The Council is assessing the viability of each of these as quickly as possible. Further information concerning these efforts will be provided in the coming weeks.
If you have other ideas how our community can address its short-term space needs, please contact Steve Chacko.
Financial Planning Committee Presentation
The Financial Planning Committee presented (click here to see) the results of the committee’s work on Sunday, March 11 and April 1, following the Divine Liturgy. The presentation discussed the potential financial implications of the various scenarios our community could take in planning for its future home.  The key assumptions, inputs to the model the committee developed, and results of the Committee’s analysis were also discussed.
Committee members will answer questions parishioners may have about the Committee’s work on on 4/29 after Divine Liturgy in the church.  If parishioners would like to go through the model in more detail, please contact Harry Kaffenes to arrange a meeting.
Fund Raising Committee
The Fund Raising Committee has been meeting to discuss and develop fund raising approaches for the community. Right after Pascha, parishioners will be asked to complete a survey that will help us gauge potential contributions to the future church home of Saint Spyridon and help us obtain additional data and information related to the project.
Design Committee Begins Work
The Design Committee had its first meeting with architect Tim Politis on March 19 to focus on the space needs and options for possible first phase and full phase design plans for Saint Spyridon Church. The space needs and dreams provided by the eight Design Work Groups (Church, Music Ministry, Church School, Administrative Areas, Parish Hall, Kitchen, Youth, and Grounds/Landscape) are being used for this planning. At the same time, spaces are being prioritized and scrutinized to combine them, when possible. Space for circulation, restrooms, mechanical/electrical, etc. are also being added. Tim presented shape options for the worship space and cost effective technical solutions for construction. The next meeting of this committee will be Sunday, April 22 after fellowship.
The Design Committee’s work with the architect will be shared with our church community for their feedback and will also be given to His Eminence for his input and approval. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact the project coordinators.
May 20th Fund Raising Event
Our parish will host a fellowship event on Sunday, May 20 to gather ideas and input from our community related to our fund raising
And…We Appreciate Your Support!
To donate towards this project, please make your check payable to Saint Spyridon Church with Future Church Home noted on the memo line. You can mail your contribution to Saint Spyridon Church, 745 E. 5th Street, Loveland, CO 80537.
Project Organization
The special Parish Assembly on January 29, 2012 overwhelmingly approved the Executive Committee for our Future Church Home Project. Per the request of His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, the Executive Committee, comprised of the project coordinators and committee chairpersons, will remain standing until the solution for the future home of Saint Spyridon Church is complete.
Click here to see the organizational chart for the project.
Project Coordinators
Dn, Mark O’Dell: 443-307-1150, dnmarkodell@hotmail.com
Diana Faaborg: 970-669-4182, dianafaaborg@gmail.com
Committees & Chairpersons
Communications – George Angelopoulos
Property Search/Due Diligence – Jonathan Tschetter
Design (Architecture/Interiors/Landscape) – Father Evan Armatas
Legal – Kandace Majoros
Sale of Current Property – TBD
Financial Planning – Harry Kaffenes
Fund Raising – Graham Cochenet
Construction Management – TBD
Architect:
As we continue the work for our future home, the Parish Council has chosen Tim Politis to be our architect to provide us a site test plan/footprint needed for due diligence wokr on the proposed porperty we have contracted. He is also working with Design Work Groups and the Design Committee to help us plan our Future Church Home.
Previous Events:
Review of Parishioner Teas / Lunches:
Over the last few months, Fr. Evan hosted eight small-group parishioner Teas/Lunches to discuss our parish and the Future Church Home Project. Fr. Evan expressed to each group that current planning efforts are a continuation of the work accomplished in previous years by our parish. With our current overcrowded situation, we are eager to solve both our short-term needs as well as plan for our permanent church home.
At the Teas/Lunches, each of the approximately 80 attendees had the opportunity to express their thoughts, ideas and concerns, which included:
- Pleasure in the openness of the process; appreciation of the communications
- Excitement about possibilities in planning for our growth
- Preference to purchase land and construct a beautiful, permanent Orthodox home for the glory of God to last through time, rather than to purchase an existing facility and renovate
- Wisdom to plan our project in phases
- Desire not to build a mega church, but to keep the size of our future home relatively small to allow Father to effectively minister to all; satisfaction with the vision of St. Spyridon to be the seed to plant other Orthodox churches; following the meaning of the icon Christ, the True Vine
- Concern about the timing to complete the construction of a new facility and the need to provide for our short-term needs in the interim; wish to immediately find a place that will fit our community
- Concern that the parish will be unable to raise sufficient funds; danger of over extending financially
- Suggestion to do an anonymous survey to find out the capital giving capacity of the parish; clarify that the commitment for the future home is in addition to one’s stewardship
- Suggestion to fund raise over a 3-year period, with a request that one’s initial donation be a larger proportion of the commitment (if possible) and given in 2012, and the remaining commitment be given over the next two years, either monthly, quarterly, or yearly
- Concern about preserving the sense and strength of community that the St. Spyridon parish embodies; concern that no parishioner gets left behind during this process
- Appeal to keep an open mind and have patience for how we accomplish our goals
- Recognition that God will provide for the parish’s needs; prediction that when the need is there, people step up to the challenge; it is a matter of our hearts; realization that problems have always been there, but God has always given a way – we don’t know what God will provide
Father Evan pointed out that much was achieved financially in the early years of this parish with just one-third the parishioners that we now have. He feels that with commitment and sacrificial giving, we can reach the goals we set out for Saint Spyridon. It’s not a short-term investment, but rather, establishing a church for the future is an investment that lasts for generations.
Monday, March 19:Â Architect meets with Design Committee:
Our architect, Tim Politis, will work with the Design Committee to determine current and projected space needs for the Saint Spyridon community. Eight Design Work Groups (Church, Music Ministry, Administrative Areas, Church School, Youth, Parish Hall/Fellowship, Kitchen, Grounds/Landscape) have submitted space needs and dreams for their areas. These will be prioritized at the March 19 meeting in an effort to “right size” the future space needs.
Financial Presentation:
The Financial Planning Committee for the future home of Saint Spyridon provided a short presentation regarding the Future Church Home. The committee has conducted a financial analysis of multiple possible scenarios that the parish could take in its search for a new church home. The presentation (click here to see) highlights the results of this analysis to date and other pertinent findings resulting from the committee’s work.
Future Church Home Presentations:
In January, our parish gathered as a community to discuss the spiritual vision of Saint Spyridon Church, to learn how spaces in Orthodox architecture support our worship and faith, and to express space needs and dreams for our future home. You can hear the podcasts available on our Audio Podcast library under Future Church Home. There is also a direct link under the Audio tab.
The presentation given at the November 20, 2011 Parish Assembly gave details of work done for our future home in the past as well as the organization for the project. You can view it by clicking anywhere underneath the icon below. To advance the presentation, click once anywhere on the slide. To download a copy of the handouts that accompanied the presentation, please click here, here and here.
Some History…
In the fall of 2001, a handful of dedicated families assumed the task of organizing a new parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Metropolis of Denver in northern Colorado. With Father Peter Harrison from Cheyenne as its interim priest, services were held bi-weekly in three temporary locations in Fort Collins in the first few years. In 2004, the parish had a membership of around 40 families. It found the historic church at 745 E. 5th Street in Loveland available and voted to purchase it for their next temporary facility. In 2007, Father Evan Armatas was officially assigned to be the full-time priest for the parish of Saint Spyridon. Under his leadership, numerous ministries were formed, an addition was built to create classroom and office space, and the congregation continued to grow. New members from Fort Collins, Greeley, and Loveland, as well as from communities north of Denver, became active in the life of the Church.
Father Evan and the Parish Council recognized the need to plan for the community’s long-term growth and formed a planning committee comprised of many parishioners that worked all through 2009. The Parish Council accepted the committee’s advice and presented a five-year facility plan recommendation to the parish in September 2010. Parishioners participated in Town Hall meetings to discuss it and give their input. In February 2011, the parish voted by an 84 percent majority to search for real property for the future home of Saint Spyridon Church. In March 2011, the Parish Council formed a search committee to locate viable properties for the future home of Saint Spyridon. With the community presently at 90 stewarding families, parishioners are eager to move to a permanent location that will provide for the parish’s current ministries (Church School, Bible Study, Youth, Music, Philanthropy, Book Store, Library, Missions) and for the parish’s future.
