Keep Our Kitchen Cooking!

We the twelve undersigned parishioners are former senior wardens of St. John’s Norwood. Our years of service cover four decades, spanning the 1980’s and 1990’s when Duane Alvord was rector, the late 1990’s to 2008 when Susan Flanders was rector, and now Sari Ateek’s rectorship, which began in 2010. 

When we get together, we learn that the key issue that arose during the time of one senior warden may have been quite different from the pressing issues that had to be addressed by others. But at least one issue has been a constant: the difficulty of maintaining the church kitchen in a functional and safe operating condition. To be sure, there have been some temporary fixes over the years but there never was enough money in the budget to undertake a comprehensive fix.

We are now convinced that St John’s is at a true inflection point with respect to the kitchen. Simply stated, the Church needs to invest about $350,000 in upgrades to restore the kitchen to a safe and functional condition that complies with building and health regulations. The need for immediate action was highlighted recently when the freezer suddenly failed. For more details, read this summary of the essential upgrades.

The Vestry has established a Kitchen Task Force to raise the funds needed to make these upgrades. Some of the undersigned are members of that Task Force. All of us have made financial commitments to support the Task Force’s work. We understand and feel great empathy for parishioners who are facing financial hardships at this time. But we encourage those who can contribute to the renovation to do so as best you can. 

For over 50 years, the kitchen has been a hub for fellowship and a foundation for many of St. John’s important mission activities. The voices of parishioners who have been part of the Task Force’s conversations have enabled us to reimagine what a functional and safe kitchen might enable us to do to increase fellowship and enhance our support of those in need. The stark reality though is that none of these initiatives are possible unless we make these crucial investments now.

We encourage you to join us in making a financial commitment to this long-needed, vital project. Please consider making a pledge to donate today!

Thank you!