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The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
And National Shrine At The World Trade Center
December 12, 2017
Counting the Cost
Dear and Beloved Friends of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine,
As many of you have learned from
the Press Release of the Archdiocese on December 9, 2017, and
from other media, construction
on our National shrine has temporarily halted 1 . I can assure you
that this suspension of work will
indeed be temporary, as the Archdiocese strives to make the necessary course corrections that have
affected not only the Shrine, but
the Seminary, and its day-to-day
operations.
I have a deep and abiding commitment not only to this project – the
most significant in the history of
the Archdiocese – but also to you,
the donors who have made this
dream a reality. You have trusted
me with your precious resources,
your confidence, and your friendship. I will not let you down.
Just a few weeks ago, we laid to
rest one of the great benefactors
of Saint Nicholas, Peter J. Pappas,
Sr. Peter and his beloved wife,
Cathy, not only donated most
significantly to the Shrine, but
Peter was instrumental in developing the HVAC system for the
Church, one that is saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and
creating a more effective and quiet
system. Believe it or not, Peter had
to make a little noise in order to be
heard with his brilliant solution,
and perhaps the lesson for all of
us is that the process of building
should have been more open and
included a wider set of advisors.
In the coming weeks and months,
there will be investigations into
how funds were transferred from
the St. Nicholas account and let
there be no doubt that they will be returned.
We must also understand how the process
surrounding change orders was conducted,
for this has evidently increased the price of
the building. As leadership evolves around the
project, we will overcome any financial challenges and your commitments to the National
Shrine will be honored.
In the meantime, you will hear many rumors
and even some disinformation. I want you
all to know that my phone line is always
open to you (917-453-0839), to answer any
question to the best of my ability. As most
of you know, my specialty has always been
on the income side of the equation, not the
expense side. I have dedicated myself wholly
to the raising of the funds to complete Saint
Nicholas, and I have trusted that the institutional structure would monitor the actual construction. Although we have raised
enough money to complete the church as
originally envisioned, change orders and
other modifications have complicated the
situation, but the repair work is already underway.
As an Archdiocese, we have much to do to
rebuild trust and confidence in leadership,
lest we fulfill a solemn warning of our Lord:
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Tίς γὰρ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θέλων πύργον
οἰκοδομῆσαι, οὐχὶ πρῶτον καθίσας
ψηφίζει τὴν δαπάνην, εἰ ἔχει τὰ πρὸς
ἀπαρτισμόν; ἵνα μήποτε, θέντος
αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον καὶ μὴ ἰσχύσαντος
ἐκτελέσαι, πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες
ἄρξωνται αὐτῷ ἐμπαίζειν, λέγοντες ὅτι
οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἤρξατο οἰκοδομεῖν
καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἐκτελέσαι;
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“For who among you, wanting to
construct a tower, does not first sit down
and count the cost, to see if you have
enough to finish? For if you do not, and
you go ahead and lay the foundation
and cannot fully complete it, everyone
who sees it will take to ridiculing you
and saying, ‘That fellow made a start of
building it, but he could not finish it’.”
Luke 14:28-30
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Faithfully,
Father Alexander Karloutsos
[ The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church And National Shrine At The World Trade Center
- Monthly Update | December 12, 2017 ]
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