Our new beginning
Improving the access to our parish was a key goal in choosing the campus location. 87% of our stewards now live in Montgomery County, so building the new complex would allow the church to become a neighborhood church once again to its people. The average commuting time is expected to be reduced from 45 min to 15 min.
Previously we did not have the facilities to be able to best meet the spiritual and communal needs of our stewards. Our 16th Street location needed a lot of work and restoration to achieve these needs. The new campus will have these features at its core. A number of new youth ministries and social gathering opportunities are planned. Sunday school classrooms and meeting rooms for workshops will be possible. A senior center is envisioned to allow our seniors the opportunity to share time with their friends. A large hall is planned to allow us to host sporting and other youth team-building activities. Formal commercial events will also be possible in the new social halls that are planned.
An ongoing struggle has been managing the operational needs of the parish over time. Stewardship contributions made up of their Time, Talent and Treasure were felt to be better positioned for success as part of the Nea Zoe campus. Additionally, the new location and campus design lends itself to supporting public facing events such as festivals and bake sales while also leaving the opportunity to leverage commercial rentals of the halls for holiday and special occasion reception events. Forward planning of operational sustainability was considered as part of the design.
The success that Saints Constantine and Helen has had over the decades is due in many ways to the efforts of our forefathers to build an institution that would stand the test of time. Conventional wisdom now dictates that the responsibility of succession planning for the Nea Zoe dream falls to the current generation of parishioners with the simple directive to position the parish for the next generation of stewards. Ultimately the stewards of today will lay the groundwork for the next generation of parishioners of tomorrow by putting in place the proper financial sustainability model (ie. endowment fund). It is this cycle of support and rejuvenation that allows the institution of Saints Constantine and Helen to live on over time.
Previously we did not have the facilities to be able to best meet the spiritual and communal needs of our stewards. Our 16th Street location needed a lot of work and restoration to achieve these needs. The new campus will have these features at its core. A number of new youth ministries and social gathering opportunities are planned. Sunday school classrooms and meeting rooms for workshops will be possible. A senior center is envisioned to allow our seniors the opportunity to share time with their friends. A large hall is planned to allow us to host sporting and other youth team-building activities. Formal commercial events will also be possible in the new social halls that are planned.
An ongoing struggle has been managing the operational needs of the parish over time. Stewardship contributions made up of their Time, Talent and Treasure were felt to be better positioned for success as part of the Nea Zoe campus. Additionally, the new location and campus design lends itself to supporting public facing events such as festivals and bake sales while also leaving the opportunity to leverage commercial rentals of the halls for holiday and special occasion reception events. Forward planning of operational sustainability was considered as part of the design.
The success that Saints Constantine and Helen has had over the decades is due in many ways to the efforts of our forefathers to build an institution that would stand the test of time. Conventional wisdom now dictates that the responsibility of succession planning for the Nea Zoe dream falls to the current generation of parishioners with the simple directive to position the parish for the next generation of stewards. Ultimately the stewards of today will lay the groundwork for the next generation of parishioners of tomorrow by putting in place the proper financial sustainability model (ie. endowment fund). It is this cycle of support and rejuvenation that allows the institution of Saints Constantine and Helen to live on over time.