Our Lady of the Holy Rosary 

Our Mission

 We’ve been in the news a little lately: from KIRO TV to the News Tribune, to the Seattle Times. All the attention online, from blog postings to FB, have focused on the closure of the HR church building. That’s all great – but resolving that crisis is beyond us right now.

• It is clear to me that we have a deeper and more fundamental challenge.

• We have 296 registered families currently. 179 people attended last weekend – that includes babies, children altar servers, the choir, Father and myself. Last weekend we brought in c. $2700 including online giving (which is tough to figure as some give every week or every other week, some every 2, 3, 6 months). 119 people on average contribute either with an envelope or online giving. We have no way of tracking how many contribute to our loose cash.
• We have a shortfall of $56,667.00 currently. We need $6964 per week to make up the shortfall and stay solvent to meet our current expenses without exhausting our savings.
• We had to take another $10,000 out to pay expenses from our savings to offset the February deficit. Now we have c. $36,000 left in savings. So every 4-week period we fall short of our needed $28,000 we will have to withdraw from our savings. When we exhaust our savings, I’ll have to let our very small staff go and close the doors.
• Thus to make up the shortfall and do the regular giving we budgeted, we need $125,352 between now and June 30, with 18 weekends remaining. If 180 contributing people attend this weekend, we need $39 every week from every child and adult present. If 300 households attended, we would need $24 from each family.
•  What are we going to do?
• The Archdiocese has helped Holy Rosary for years, forgiven debt, paid for shortfalls even with our ACA goals. The Chancery staff has gone out of its way to help us in this difficult time. The AB is even paying my salary as HR and Visitation are not being charged for my services. The Archdiocese paid for the study on the damage to the Church building, and the rental of the fencing, while parish benefactors have bailed us out in the past. Through their efforts, as well as Todd Wolfe, from our parish, Nick Hilger, from Hilger Construction and Kevin Broderick and Associates donated thousands of dollars in assessing the condition of the Church.
•  I’ve been in dialogue with our pastoral and finance councils. I’ve written countless emails and texts. I’ve been in ongoing conversations and meetings with Chancery staff in Seattle. Friday I spoke to Archbishop Sartain for 30 minutes on the phone. The leadership of this Archdiocese cares and is deeply concerned. Either we consistently bring in enough money to cover our expenses or we will force AB Sartain into making a difficult decision. 
• We’ve been given 4 weeks to show that we want to exist and want to continue as a parish community. Starting next weekend, we have to meet our expenses with our giving, $7000 per weekend.
• People are angry, discouraged, defeated, have left for all kinds of reasons, or are considering leaving our parish, so worried about the iconic building of Holy Rosary yet seemingly unconcerned with our community of faith. Some criticize and blame the Archdiocese, Archbishop Sartain, our pastoral and finance councils, blame the fact that we’ve had so many pastors and priest administrators over the last 10 years, they blame the construction of I-5 of over 60 years ago. People blame Fr. Martin, and me. You know what, blame time is over. It’s time to take responsibility.  
•  I coached high school tennis and boys basketball for almost 30 years. I can’t even begin to tell you how many players and teams I’ve seen rally when they were way behind and couldn’t possibly win. I’ve witnessed kids and teams make incredible comebacks. I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of high school kids over 42 years on retreats and in prayer classes and seen incredible growth in Christ with students who had the deck stacked against them. I’ve worked with inmates at the Pierce County Jail who recovered from horrific situations to become disciples and better people even as they went off to prison. I’ve seen people overcome incredible adversity. Two years ago my wife Cindy was given a 10% chance of surviving her cancer. She is still believing and still battling with more faith and courage than I’ll ever have.
• Is there any hope? You bet there is. My hope is in you. I know that God is with us. He is calling us to be with each other, to be people of prayer and people of action/responsibility. Our hope is in the opportunity we’ve been extended. We can make a statement to the Archdiocesan staff and to Archbishop Peter that we want to be a viable parish. I need each of you today to make a commitment to give more financially to our operating expenses starting next weekend. I cannot predict what will happen in our future, but I believe we must give this our best shot.

A church is not a building, it’s a group of people committed to Christ Jesus, who are hospitable, joyful, forgiving and merciful, welcoming of the stranger, inclusive, committed to justice and service with the poor, to spreading the gospel, and becoming missionary disciples of God’s kingdom, open to prayer and worship in any space - even this auditorium

These are the facts regarding our current situation with the closure of our church building and the financial status of our community. 
There are a lot of rumors and half-truths floating around about Holy Rosary. Please check here for updates as we have them. We will do our best to keep you all updated. If you have questions, or need clarification, please do not hesitate to call the parish office.
 
Please keep our situation in prayer. Thank you.
 
In God's great love, hope, and mercy,
 
Deacon Jim Fish
Pastoral Coordinator
Holy Rosary and Visitation parishes
 
What is wrong with the church?
 
An ongoing roof leak resulting in a section of plaster falling above the choir loft occurred in November 2018.A safety assessment revealed that the present condition creates a danger to occupancy.There are several issues: unreinforced and damaged masonry and mortar, crumbling concrete, and roof structure deficiencies from aging materials, weather, poor water drainage, and water intrusions.These are the reasons for the indefinite closure of the church and the erection of the perimeter fence.The building is no longer safe to enter due to the danger of falling debris.
 
How much will the repairs cost?
 
Initial estimates by engineers are in excess of $10 million for needed repairs to the church.  While the Archdiocese of Seattle funded the costs of the safety assessment and perimeter fencing, the parish is responsible for all other repair expenses.  Additionally, there is currently an estimated $3 million in deferred maintenance costs for our three other buildings: The Convent Meeting Center, the Holy Rosary Bilingual Academy, and the Rectory (Currently inhabited by the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Go-Vap).
 
How is our overall parish financial situation in light of these pending building expenses?
 
For the last 7 years, our weekly collections have been in deficit to our planned budget and actual operational expenses.These same years, Holy Rosary parish benefitted from monies raised and/or donated from an attentive donor (recently deceased) and other generous bequests, providing for the shortfalls.
 
Staff salaries and benefits, business expenses, and utilities comprise 75% of our budget.For January, 2019, we were $15,976 short for the first month of the calendar year.We have approximately $46,000 left in savings.In December 2018, withdrawals from our savings account were made to pay our bills and make payroll.We project, with the current estimation of weekly financial contributions, we will exhaust our savings by the end of June (or possible earlier).
 
 
From July 1^st on, how will we be able to make payroll or pay our monthly bills?
 
We need a drastic increase in giving just to support our monthly operating expenses of $29,000. Alongside these challenging financial situations in our parish, we have an obligation to participate in the Archdiocesan-wide 3-year campaign entitled “Called to Serve as Christ” which provides for the retired priests and religious sisters whom have served us with their lives.It will be starting soon with a parish goal of $268,218 over 3 years to fulfill.
 
In Summary
 
We are faced with significant and immediate expenses, both short and long-term for Holy Rosary.The decline in contributions to the parish strongly indicate we will have trouble continuing to operate let alone take any steps to make the church accessible or make our needed repairs.
 
It is the responsibility of the leadership of the parish to develop a plan with your input.We are responsible for our buildings and their maintenance.The Archdiocese stepped up to provide directly for our safety in funding the safety assessment and fence. Many professionals involved donated their time and costs.The Archdiocese of Seattle cannot provide the level of funding needed to make the church building safe nor repair the church.
 
We, the Pastoral and Finance councils, along with Deacon Jim, are committed to this parish.Our intent to study potential options, however, is complicated greatly by our inability to meet our monthly operational expenses.The Pastoral and Finance Councils want your input on the immediate future of Holy Rosary.We ask for your prayers, and encourage you to collect your thoughts and email them to the parish office at parish@holyrosarytacoma.org
 
Please know we are praying and are willing to face our difficult situation with responsibility, intelligence, faith, and love.
 
 
Deacon Jim Fish – Pastoral Coordinator
John Baker - Chair Pastoral Council
Shelly Copeland - Vice-Chair of Pastoral Council

November 17, 1912: Iron bars must be used to prevent the old wooded church walls from collapsing, and the people are told that Mass can no longer be celebrated in the church.

The School Hall was then used for Mass by Holy Rosary Parish for the next nine years.

(Firmly Rooted: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Tacoma, 1891 - 2016)

November 16, 2018: Due to extensive water damage in the church, engineers and architects must conduct a series of tests to determine if the church building is safe, and what it will take to repair it.

Weekend Masses will be held in the School Auditorium at the regular Mass times until further notice.

Daily Mass will be held in the Convent Meeting Center Chapel (where the parish offices are) on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Friday School Mass will be in the Auditorium.

While we hope this is a very temporary situation, it's interesting that 106 years ago, on this very weekend, we found ourselves in a similar situation.

But let us as a community always remember, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (Matt. 18:20).

The Holy Rosary Parish 125th Year Commemorative book is finally available for purchase! 

This beautiful, full-color coffee table book includes a full history of the first 125 years of our parish, as well as hundreds of beautiful photos and descriptions of the church's art and architecture, including the stunning cover photo by Ernie Misner.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Holy Rosary Church Restoration Fund.

Buy yours by clicking this link.

A convenient and safe way to
donate to Holy Rosary Parish!