Saint John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, You have said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Come and send upon us Your Holy Spirit to guide our minds and strengthen our souls as we embark in building the new Chapel of the Guardian Angel, classrooms, conference rooms and administrative offices.

Hear us, O Lord, the source of wisdom and knowledge. With contrite hearts we humble sinners ask You to accept our supplications, sanctify through this undertaking our souls, correct our thoughts and purify our intentions. Look upon the work of our hands, the Maker and Creator of everything. You who made the heavens firm in wisdom and established the earth in its sure foundation.

Raise this benevolent building, this building of agape, upon the firm rock of your Kingdom, guide our work and bring it to completion.

Bless the visionaries and those who took the initiative, the benefactors and sponsors who generously and eagerly contribute towards the new facilities. May their God-pleasing example be followed by many others, and grant them their requests that are unto salvation and life everlasting.

For you are the Giver of everything good, and to You we send up glory and thanksgiving, together with Your beginningless Father and Your All-Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and to the ages.

On this forty-eight year of our Orthodox Christian parish life, we reflect on our short history and witness how, through the humble and heroic efforts of a few families who started a new parish in the northwest suburbs, our faithful increased and multiplied. The miracle continues and is experienced daily, as thousands of people become recipients of our God-given liturgical, philanthropic and educational ministries every year.

“Our generation shall praise your works to another and declare your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). I would like to express my gratitude to the generations of faithful stewards whose vision, commitment, hard work and steadfast faith have offered us the opportunity to worship in an Orthodox Christian edifice to educate ourselves in the Orthodox Christian Faith, to minister to the poor and needy, to provide fellowship among our parishioners and to learn about and appreciate our rich and meaningful Greek culture, handed down to us by our forefathers. Our generation truly praises the works of the Priests and Presvyteres, Parish Councils, Philoptochos, GOYA Presidents and Members, School Directors and Teachers and declares their mighty acts.

We, today, with the experience of the past, the enthusiasm of the present and the hope of the future, are called to bring the vibrant parish of St. John the Baptist into a new phase and respond to the challenges that contemporary America places on our Orthodox Christian Faith. We are, without a doubt, aware that such a responsibility requires patience, perseverance, dedication and commitment.

The ability to dream and hope is called a vision, and vision drives people to action. Our vision, initially the vision of a few, not only remains alive and strong, but has become the vision of 80% of our parishioners. Today, that vision has been embraced by young men and women born and raised in our parish. They are honoring their forefathers, are willing to continue their vision, and are capable of becoming the new leaders. They are honoring the past by taking responsibility for the future.

Our planning study indicated that our greatest strength as a parish is the variety of liturgical, educational and philanthropic opportunities that we offer to those who wish to come to our church for spiritual growth. Therefore, let us celebrate and build on our strongest asset with a new Guardian Angel Chapel, classrooms, conference rooms and administrative offices.

This informational packet is filled with further details regarding the building project and how we can bring it to fruition. As your parish priest I kindly ask each of you to prayerfully consider your sacrificial gift, hopefully responding to the blessings that God has bestowed upon you and your family. Though we may not all be able to give at the same level, we can give with a similar degree of love and care.

You, the blessed parishioners of St. John the Baptist, have always responded generously to the needs of our parish. While the cost of this endeavor is high, we must remember that the value of our parish and school are priceless. With God’s help, the intercessions of Panagia and the prayers of our Patron Saint, John the Baptist, I truly believe this vision will become a reality. We will meet this challenge, and through it will present to the future generations the opportunity to also remember in return the words of the psalmist, “Our generation shall praise your works to another and declare your mighty acts.”

May God bless you and your family always for your act of charity, and may our Lord continue to bless our parish.

“By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”Proverbs 24:3-4

In continuation of the work and sacrifice of our forefathers, we have embarked on a major revitalization project to renovate, enhance and beautify our worship space and build facilities to increase opportunities for religious education, fellowship and the growth of ministries.

Through faith, hard work and determination, our parish continues to expand. Our ministries continue to grow and an increasing number of families are calling St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church their home. We believe this project will renew our facilities and will allow us to meet the current and future needs of all our parish family members.

A New Guardian Angel Church: A rebuilt and beautified Guardian Angel Church will be able to meet the expanding needs of our Orthodox community. The Nave seating area for the faithful will consist of 500 seats. New iconography will be introduced which will present the theology of our faith to our stewards and will inspire reverence and bring solace to future generations.

New Classrooms / Meeting Rooms: Currently, the community utilizes partitions within the gymnasium and Guardian Angel Chapel to set up temporary “classrooms” for the children. Both learning and teaching become very difficult in this environment. Additional classrooms will serve a dual purpose. The classrooms will provide our children with the proper environment to learn. They will also enable the community to expand its youth ministry in area including Sunday School, Greek School, Preschool and a potential future parochial school. As meeting rooms, they will be utilized by various church groups such as the Philoptochos, adult education, parish council, young adult education, a library/ homework center and Bible study groups to mention a few.

Parking: With the increased number of stewards and the expansion of our ministries, the community also faces a challenge in the availability of parking. The current property can be better utilized to create an additional 40 to 50 parking spaces and we are taking steps in that direction. Long-term, additional parking can only be addressed through the purchase or lease of adjacent land which we are currently negotiating.
One of the numerous benefits of renovating and building will be the many unforeseen and creative ways that people will find to put the facilities to use. In essence, these facilities will be a tool to gather, build and strengthen our identity as a community. We believe these plans will address our present needs and carry us well into the future.

When will the construction project start?
In summer/fall of 2006! We received a favorable decision from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for overseeing building in floodplains and floodways in February, 2005.

Preliminary drawings were reviewed over the summer of 2005 by the City of Des Plaines, and their recommendations are now being incorporated into final mechanical drawings. These will be ready at the beginning of the new year, and construction bids will begin to be obtained.

What is the issue about the flood plain?
Many misconceptions exist about the nature of our location. While we have a property that is located in a historic natural floodplain, the Army Corps of Engineers is currently addressing the Des Plaines River watershed to alleviate flooding.

Nonetheless, our building plans include the inclusion of flood resistance techniques to minimize any potential damage in the unlikely event that the water approaches our buildings again.

Should we consider moving to another location?
While this may seem like an easy solution for our space problem, the reality is that today the cost to purchase enough land in our area to provide room for facilities and parking and the cost of new construction would exceed at least $25 million.

How will classrooms help with our lack of meeting space?
These rooms have dual functions as classrooms and meeting rooms where our ministries can come together to advance their missions. With this additional space, our current meeting spaces will be available more often as classes will now be accommodated.

Will construction disrupt our services and programs?
Our parishioners will be unavoidably inconvenienced during the improvement project that will provide essential new space for our ministries. We plan to build in stages, in such a way as to be able to utilize some of our current facilities until new space is usable and then begin additional reconstruction.

An Appeal for Generosity

In order to accomplish these plans, our campaign goal is to raise a minimum of $4,000,000 toward our goal of $6,500,000, which is the cost of the project presented. The additional $2,500,000 will be financed. We plan to break ground in 2006, and the more we surpass our minimum goal, the less we will have to borrow from a financial institution. We feel confident we can exceed our minimum goal with the generous participation of each member of our community. Your gift is essential to the success of this project.

While we realize that our goal is a challenging one, we are confident that the families of Saint John the Baptist Parish will respond generously when called upon to do so. We have been truly blessed. We are asking each family to consider a gift payable over a 36-month period.

There are gift plans included in this campaign packet that can be used as guidelines in making your decision. Please consider them carefully. Your gift is personal, made in light of your own circumstances and obligations. What you give will be held in the strictest confidence.

Whatever you decide to contribute should have some relationship to how you live and how generous God has been to you. If you are able to pledge as much as $50,000, $100,000, $250,000 or even more over a period of several years, we ask you to help lead the parish toward success.

This is our parish and only through sacrifice can we achieve our goals. No gift is excessively large or insignificantly small and all will be gratefully appreciated. Above all, we seek gifts of equal sacrifice and not equal amounts. Your decision is a personal one. It should be made in good conscience and in true Christian spirit, sharing with God’s people the gifts God has given you.

Tax Advantages of Thoughtful Giving

Federal and state laws on income tax encourage charitable giving. All annual contributions to our campaign are tax deductible to the extent provided by law for those who itemize their deductions. It is particularly advantageous for some people to contribute appreciated securities. If you choose to contribute appreciated securities held more than 12 months, you will receive double the tax benefit by:

* avoiding the capital gains taxes which would be paid if the stock were sold.
* receiving a charitable deduction equal to the fair market value at the time of the gift as opposed to the purchase.

Please indicate on your pledge card the name and number of shares you are transferring. Once the securities have been transferred, you will receive an acknowledgment letter from the office.

Other types of gifts may include life insurance policies you may no longer need, bequests to the church as part of an estate plan, and other valuables. Again, a financial advisor can help or contact the parish office for further assistance with gift options.