GREENFIELD — Blessed Sacrament Church could break ground on a new parish center, rectory and administrative offices by next spring after members committed more than $986,000 over two months to its “Building for Our Future” capital campaign.
Most of the contributions were made through a three-year pledge system, according to Deacon John Leary. The church initially set a goal of $1 million when it began the campaign in April, and Leary said he expects it will meet that mark within the next month.
“All of our members really stepped up and they sacrificially gave — it’s not just giving from your excess, it’s sacrificially giving for something that is right and something that is true, and something that is going to be here for along time to come,” he said.
The purpose of the new building, Leary said, is to provide a gathering place as well as a space for religious education classes, which are currently being held at a Temple Israel.
The parish, which was formed in 1960 and serves more than 500 households, has never had a parish center, and struggles to accommodate its various meetings, religious education and social functions.
“We had no gathering spot for our members to celebrate the times in their lives such as weddings or baptisms,” Leary said.
The new, 8,000-square-foot parish center will feature a large room for events that can be partitioned off to create classrooms. It will also have a full-size kitchen and a community food pantry, which will give volunteers ample space to cook for church events and distribute food to those in need.
The building will also include an administrative area with three offices for staff and a conference room, and the rectory will be attached with a separate, outside entrance. The plan is to build the structure on the south side of the Federal Street church and eventually sell the current rectory — a house on High Street.
Nearly 60 volunteers worked on the campaign and 243 members made contributions.
Leary said raising the money wasn’t difficult, but it’s never easy, initially, to ask for donations.
“It’s just wonderful to be part of such a beautiful community, and the community recognized how important it is for the continued growth of our church to have a community center,” he said. “It’s always wonderful to experience people’s understanding of that and really their love of their church.”