More and higher foundation walls are in process with some areas complete along with some flat concrete work.

So far, April has been one rainy month and not particularly concrete/masonry cooperative. We will do our best to be all the more active once the weather is a bit drier (which is bound to happen soon – right?).

With construction well in hand, we are now turning out attention to ‘Furnishings, Finishes and Décor’ (oh my!). Many of these areas are minimally funded within our budget, some not at all and many may be compromised if we don’t achieve our funding goals, e.g. chapel décor, a prayer garden, landscaping throughout, office and social hall furniture, appliances and furniture for the Metropollitan's home. What would you like to sponsor?

These last few weeks were the most miles-intensive as Kathy and I presented to 6 parish councils, shown here in red:

Annunciation, Cleveland, OH

Annunciation, Columbus, OH ($50,000)

Annunciation, Lancaster, PA ($50,000)

Archangel Michael, Campbell, OH

Dormition, Oakmont, PA ($20,000)

Holy Trinity, Ambridge, PA

Holy Trinity, Camp Hill, PA ($100,000)

Holy Trinity, Canton, OH

Holy Cross, Pittsburgh, PA ($100,000)

Sts. Constantine & Helen, Cleveland Hts, OH ($20,000)

Sts. Constantine & Helen, Reading, PA ($25,000)

St. Demetrios, Rocky River, OH

St. Demetrios, Warren, OH

St. John the Divine, Wheeling, WV ($15,000)

St. John the Forerunner, Youngtown, OH ($50,000 – pledged before we visited!!)

St. Haralambos, Canton, OH ($10,000)

St. Nicholas, Bethlehem, PA

St. Nicholas, Youngstown, OH

St. Nicholas Cathedral, Pittsburgh, PA ($50,000)

St. Paul, North Royalton, OH ($25,000)

St. Spyridon, Clarksburg, WV ($10,000)

Whenever a parish pledges, at whatever level they can, we are so pleased to enjoy the support and prayers of our parishes. This month, we received a $20,000 pledge from Dormition/Oakmont, bringing our total parish level pledges to $545,000! 

And so far this month, we are scheduled to visit two more parishes, either for council meetings or general parish gatherings.

And via our parish visits, we have also enjoyed a substantial family pledge of $250,000, now bringing our total pledges to $11.6M – less than $2.5M yet to raise!!

With a sizable recent mailing to nearly all parishioners in our Metropolis, we have received 50 donations/pledges. Direct mail donations and pledges are currently $16,000+. Our Metropolitan Savas has begun an email campaign and taken the time to record video at the site to chronicle progress for social media posts. These are all good things to focus on while we all consider almsgiving during this Lenten Season.

Please consider returning your pledge card!

AND as I always will, I ask that you seriously consider a pledge, or raising your pledge, or pre-paying your pledge so that we AVOID ANY DEBT! We will continue fundraising until we are there! Please help so that this new home is only ever a blessing AND NEVER A BURDEN to our dear church. Please participate and be part of our community!

To pledge or donate, please visit here: pittsburgh.goarch.org/pledge

 

FINANCIAL STATUS:

FUNDING

Total Project Cost = $14.0M

Total Pledges/Cash to Date = $11.6M

Pledges Outstanding = $2.5M

Cash on Hand = $6.6M

SPENDING

Soft Costs to Date = $660K

Construction Spending This Month = $222K

Construction Spending to Date = $1.8M

TOTAL PROJECT SPENDING = $2.5M

BORROWING

Anticipated, Approximate Total = $2.0M

Anticipated Start = July 2024

Thank you for your support and prayers,

Archon Nick Lekas

New Metropolis Center Project Manager