Pastor Letter

From the Pastor:  Fr. Dave
Blessings to St. Mildred’s Parishioners!  As your newly appointed Pastor I take the opportunity to reach out to you about what we have accomplished over the past several months since my arrival as the Administrator.  First, I have learned so much from the staff and parishioners.  I feel the love and support from all.  Also, I appreciate all that you do for St. Mildred Catholic Parish collectively and individually. 

Many times, individuals work behind the scenes setting up special masses and events, taking care of the building, grounds and other maintenance of our building, and the many Ministries of our Church.  These ministries are based upon a solid foundation in the command to Love God and others.  I appreciate and thankful for the opportunity, trust and confidence that you and our Bishop Zarama has charged me with to Pastor St. Mildred Catholic Parish of Swansboro.

Just to highlight some of the events of the past year+ (not all inclusive);

• Elections of new Parish Council Members/Officers (now meeting every 2nd Monday of the month)
• Pastoral Council Constitution Updated, Edited, Voted on/Unanimously Passed and Posted on Website
• Parish Ministries Organized with an appointed Pastoral Council Member Liaison
• Sub-Committees Formed for the following;
  • Strategic Planning Group to Develop, Draft, Publish, Submit, and Post a New Pastoral Parish Plan for the next 5 years (2023-2028)
  • Columbarium Steering Committee to Research, Develop, Brief, Coordinate with the Diocese, City, County, and State entities for planning a St. Mildred Columbarium on campus
  • Building Steering Committee to Research 3 viable Courses of Action (COA);
    • COA-1:  Construct a New Church on Campus
    • COA-2:  Construct a Church using the current Parish Hall Building
    • COA-3:  Continue to Raise Money for a Church
    • All 3 COAs must remain within St. Mildred Budget using the “Building Fund”
    • Provide Parish Council, Parish Finance Committee and Pastor with In-Progress Reports
• Appointed by Bishop as the Diocese Native American Catholic Community Chaplain
  • Attended St. Kateri Tekakwitha National Conference in St. Paul, MN
  • Planning Committee Member for Hosting St. Kateri Tekakwitha National Conference for 2024 in Raleigh, NC
• Appointed, Formalized, Trained and Certified 23+ Lay Ministers known as the St. Camilus Ministry that brings the Eucharist to the elderly, sick, and shut-ins throughout the Greater Swansboro Area and provide feed back to the Lead Coordinators and to the Pastor
• Established a monthly Liturgical Eucharistic Mass at The Landings- an assisted living facility 
• Hired Part-Time Executive Assistant   
• Reached out to the Lay Faithful Volunteers to build up St. Mildred Ministry Programs in which St. Mildred now has 25+ Ministries that assist internally and externally to our Parish and throughout the Swansboro Community
• Appointed a St. Mildred Parish Representative to Swansboro “Hem of His Garment Outreach Program”
• Purchase and Sell of St. Mildred Rectories
• Conformation of St. Mildred Youth by Bishop Zarama
• Annual Financial Audit Report
• Two Dean Visitations/Inspections/Reports
• Parish Incorporation as “Saint Mildred Catholic Parish of Swansboro”
• Offering a monthly Baptismal Preparation Class for both Parents and Godparents

The biggest lesson that I have learned over the past year is this-- Nothing happens here at St. Mildreds without the assistance from the lay faithful through their dedicated time, talent and treasure. 

There are three points that I would like to elaborate on- 1. Why did we sell the old Rectory?  2. What is the status of building the church?  3. Columbarium Subcommittee.

First, after living in the old rectory I found it to be not up to building code thus rendering it unsafe.  To date the Old Rectory has had 3 Home Inspections, (1.  Diocesan Building and Property Management Director’s Inspection; 2. APR Restoration Inspection; 3. Safe Harbor Home Inspections).  All agree that the Old Rectory has asbestos, electrical issues, foundation issues, structural issues both outside and inside.  The Old Rectory at 616 East Sabiston was in desperate need of major repairs due to deferred home maintenance.  It was determined that due to the cost of repairs and bringing the house up to code it was cheaper to sell the property “As Is” and purchase a residential home off campus.  In consultation with the Finance Committee, Parish Council and Diocese Director of Building and Property Management, to include General Counsel it was decided to move forward with the sell and purchase.  We took a loan out against our General Savings.  Upon selling the old rectory funds were rolled back into St. Mildred General Savings.  We purchased a residential house located at 901 Morganser Drive, Swansboro, NC.  The square footage is much larger than the old rectory.  The intent is to have summer visits by our Seminarians to stay during the summer and continue their Formation within St. Mildred.  In doing so certain requirements had to be met for Safe and Conducive Living Environment for a Seminarian.  The Old Rectory did not meet these requirements and did not provide a Safe Environment.  I recently have been in consultation with both our Dean and the Vocations Office to inquire about having a Seminarian during the summer.  At the end of the day St. Mildred now has a rectory, has increased value in its property assets, and has spent approximately $150k for the new rectory- after repaying our loan.

Secondly, let me address the biggest question at hand, “When will we being to build our church?”  Many donors have given for decades to what has become known as the “building fund”.  I am well aware that many of us are anxiously waiting and wondering, to the point of concern, about when the progress to build the church will begin.  I would state that it has already begun from the first donation and all donations in between to the establishment of the Building Steering Committee.  Like any great undertaking we will move forward slowly and deliberately to ensure that we continue to be good stewards in our financial responsibility to ourselves and other donors and to the future of St. Mildred Parish.

In doing so I have given initial guidance to our Building Steering Committee to thoroughly research what we could afford to build.  The Building Steering Committee has deliberated on the 3 COAs and I believe that out of the three they will develop a “Best COA” for St. Mildred to take. 

Once the COA has been briefed, to a joint special meeting by the Parish Council, Finance Committee and Pastor, then we can set up a “town hall” meeting to discuss our way ahead with the COA and take questions.  However, we are not there yet.  We must remain patient and let the Steering Committee do their task at hand.  The Steering Committee has your best interest at heart.

Thirdly, let me address the Columbarium Subcommittee.  As previously stated, this committee was formed to Research, Develop, Brief, Coordinate with the Diocese, City, County, and State entities for planning a St. Mildred Columbarium on campus.  To date the Columbarium Committee remains researching our best options.  Eventually, we will have a columbarium on campus in a nice garden in which to intern our loved ones.  Again, we must remain patient and let the subcommittee continue to research our best options in moving forward in this particular endeavor. 

I am aware that as St. Mildred continues to slowly evolve, we all must remain in union and pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us and bless us in all our endeavors.
I hope and pray that this Pastoral Letter will alleviate some, if not all anxiety that we may encounter during this time of change.

In the words of +Fr. Don, “How blessed, how fortunate we continue to be.”

Blessings-Fr. Dave