You Tube Video Update on Save St. Mikes and Masses Scheduled

Mass is planed at St. Michael's Church at 7:00 pm tonight Sept. 29 the Feast Day of St. Michael the Archangel. Another Mass is planned for Columbus Day so watch for the updated schedule. A You Tube video update recorded after Mass on Sept. 20 is attached to this message. Pledge Coordinator Anthony Venafro describes the Mission of the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society and the need for the Pledges and volunteers. These documents are appended below. Save St. Mikes is working cooperatively with the new pastor to promote and assist with the regular use of St. Michael's Church for weddings, baptisms, funerals, private prayer, the recitation of the rosary, tours, and the celebration of the Mass on feast days, holy days, and as many other times as can be arranged. Save St. Mikes has now established a nonprofit organization- the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society- to operate the Church thereby relieving the new parish of this financial burden. We also believe that this will go a long way to preserving the Church forever. The Society will also "call home" former local and long distance parishioners -who have moved away or fallen away from the church- to re-engage them in the life of this first and last National Italian Church in the Diocese of Camden. The society will seek to work with the new parish of St. Monica’s to increase attendance, parishioner involvement, and ministries at St. Michael's. There is hope! Save St. Mikes calls on the family of current and former parishioners from the Atlantic City area and beyond, businesses, those interested in the history of Atlantic City, and all who truly want to preserve St. Michael's Church to actively support the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society with funds and volunteers assistance. This fund is a positive and practical step to assure that St. Michael’s Church will be around for another 100 years. _______________________________________________ SAVE ST. MIKES PLEDGE FORM WE CALL ON YOU TO SAVE ST. MIKES WITH A PLEDGE IN ANY AMOUNT. YOUR PLEDGE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A $250,000 FUND TO PRESERVE ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH. WE ESTIMATE THIS FUND WILL PAY FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF CHURCH OPERATING COSTS WITHOUT ANY FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM ST. MONICA’S PARISH OR THE DIOCESE. PLEDGES WILL BE DUE ONLY WHEN THE CURRENT APPEALS TO THE VATICAN, THE BISHOP, AND THE PASTOR HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED . IF AND WHEN THIS OCCURS SAVE ST. MIKES WILL CONTACT YOU TO OBTAIN YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION AND EXPLAIN HOW IT WILL BE USED TO PRESERVE ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH. PLEDGE INFORMATION (please print or type ) Name ___________________________________________ Address________________________________________ City_________________________ State __________ZIP______ Home Phone__________________________ Cell Phone ___________________________ Email___________________________ YEARLY PLEDGE AMOUNT $ 5,000 $2500 $1000 $500 $250 $100 OTHER $________ This PLEDGE is dedicated in memory of: _______________________________________________ Would you be interested in volunteering to Save St. Mikes? Yes No SEND YOUR PLEDGE FORM TO SAVE ST. MIKES PO BOX 1375, ATLANTIC CITY, NJ. 08404. TO PLEDGE BY PHONE CONTACT ANTHONY VENAFRO AT 865.405.6493; TO PLEDGE BY EMAIL WRITE TO DUCKTOWN1946@YAHOO.COM. FOR REGULAR UPDATES ON THE SAVE ST MIKES EFFORTS GO TO SAVESTMIKES ON FACEBOOK OR CONTACT ROBERT VENAFRO 703.802.0150, DAIVA MINTER daivaminter@yahoo.com, OR RICHARD NEGRO AT 609.347.3340. _______________________________________________ Establishment of the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society of Atlantic City, NJ Mission The mission of the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society is to preserve and maintain the St. Michael's church building, located in Atlantic City, NJ, as a sacred space, available for the celebration of masses, and other sacred activities such as private prayer. In order to accomplish this undertaking the preservation society will raise all of the funds necessary to pay the expenses associated with the upkeep of the St. Michael's Church building, in order that the resources of St. Monica's parish of Atlantic City, and the Diocese of Camden are not expended for this purpose Organization of the Society The St. Michael's Church Preservation Society will be organized as a non-profit corporation in the State of New Jersey. Once incorporated, the group will seek to obtain non-profit status under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, allowing all of the donations which the group receives to be counted as tax-deductible. The group will be led by such officers as the State of New Jersey requires to be chosen by the group to compose a properly constituted corporate board. Collection of Funds In order for St. Michael's Church to be successfully preserved long into the future, funds will be required to cover the small and large expenditures associated with this undertaking. Such costs as the preservation society would envision being responsible for would include but not be limited to the insurance carried on the St. Michael's church building, utilities including heat, electricity and water, and expenses associated with the routine maintenance of the church. Longer term projects the preservation society would assume financial responsibility for would include any capital expenditures required to keep St. Michael's Church in a state of good preservation. In order to collect the funds required for these projects, the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society will begin informing those within the St. Michael's and wider Atlantic City community of our intensions, and asking them for their financial support. We are also aware of many people who were once parishioners of St. Michael's Church but who no longer live in the area who wish to see the church preserved. We will also reach out to these people and ask that they contribute to our efforts. We will make the same request of those who are the descendants of St. Michael's Church parishioners and who also live outside of the local area. In addition to requesting funds from those who have an association with the church, the preservation society envisions holding occasional social events which would serve as fund raisers for the preservation of the church. We also may come up with additional strategies for collecting the funds we will need to make this project a success. Precedents We Are Following As parishes continue to merge across the United States, it is becoming more common to find Catholic Church Preservation groups covering all the expenses associated with caring for Catholic churches which are used for mass with the cooperation of the Pastor and Bishop. The origins of such arrangements seem to date back several decades. Some examples we are aware of include the St. Patrick’s Church Preservation Society of Catawissa MO that cares for St. Patrick’s church in that community. St. Patrick’s parish was merged into a neighboring parish in 1925, but the church has continued to host masses, along with weddings and funerals. St. Patrick’s church has been completely restored by the preservation society over the past few decades, and the dedication of this group has meant it remains a beacon of the Catholic faith in that part of Missouri, and a tangible testament to the faith of those Catholics who built it. Another example is St. Anne’s church in Columbia CA. It has been maintained by the St. Anne’s preservation Society since 1977. The preservation society pays all of the expenses associated with maintaining the church and mass is still celebrated there. The efforts of this committee saved the church from being stripped and demolished, and allowed a church built by those Catholics who came to California during the Gold Rush to survive into the twenty-first century. In these cases agreements worked out between pastors, diocesan bishops, and those committed to keeping Catholic churches preserved and available for mass have led to the preservation of churches at no expense to the parishes and dioceses in which they are located. What We Are Not The St. Michael's Church Preservation Society is only concerned with maintaining and preserving St. Michael's Church as a Roman Catholic Church, available for worship and for masses granted by the good will of the Pastor and the Bishop. The group will never attempt to hold its own services, or undertake any activities which in any way deviate from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Any religious services which would be held at St. Michael's Church would only be conducted following the receipt of permission to hold them from the Pastor or the Diocese of Camden or their designee. Basis in Canon Law and Recent Vatican Juris Prudence for Our Plan In April of 2013, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy released an instruction to the bishops of the World regarding the closure of parishes and churches. This document highlighted the differences between the closure of a parish and a church, and made clear the fact that there are differences between when a parish can be merged into another parish, and when a church can be permanently closed. In its instruction, the congregation made clear that a church should remain consecrated as a sacred space, whenever possible, and that private funds can be used to maintain a church. We base the formation of the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society of Atlantic City upon these points. The Vatican has also ordered, in 34 separate cases, that church buildings in 7 different dioceses be reopened as places worship, following the submission of appeals by parishioners aggrieved at the closure of these churches. All of these decisions have been made since January 2011. The Vatican found that “grave reasons” were not present in these cases that justified the permanent closure of the church buildings in question. Conclusion We are happy to form now the St. Michael's Church Preservation Society of Atlantic City, NJ and step forward to care for St. Michael's Church, a church which meant a great deal to those who came before us, and which means so much to us. By preserving St. Michael's Church at our own expense, we will insure that it means just as much to those who come after us, and that it continues to serve as yet another piece of the Catholic patrimony of this part of New Jersey. We look forward to working with the Pastor of St. Monica's Parish and the Diocese of Camden to make this a truly successful venture for all of us.