I want to personally thank you for your extraordinary financial generosity to the parish, and specifically your support for "maintenance and repairs" through the use of "Blue Envelopes."

I want to share our good news/bad news situation, and ask for your help.

The good news is we concluded the 2019-20 fiscal year on June 30 with a surplus of nearly $15,000 in restricted funds, most of which is for "maintenance and repairs." This is a result of two things: we had fewer maintenance and repairs issues than anticipated, and you, along with other parishioners, have been more generous than anticipated. Thank God! And thank you!

The bad news is, well, not exactly bad, just different. As we move into this fiscal year, our need for "maintenance and repair" money is greatly reduced because De La Salle North Catholic High School (DLSNC) now has responsibility for the majority of the campus. Essentially, we must continue to maintain the church portion of the property while DLSNC has the remainder.

In light of this, the Administrative Council would like your help.

May we request that you re-direct your giving away from the restricted fund of "maintenance and giving" to either the parish general fund that covers ordinary operating expenses, or to another restricted fund (see list below)?

Over the years, I know you have been encouraged to give to parish restricted funds (blue envelope) in order to help the parish avoid higher assessment from the Archdiocese. That strategy works when it is certain that all restricted funds will be spent in the fiscal year. Not the case for us. Also, I'd like to point out that over the last two years, we have received extraordinary direct support from the Archdiocese in the form of hundreds of hours of advice and consultation from Delia Wilson, Director of Property Management. She served as a full member of our De La Salle negotiation team, was present at every meeting, and available to me by phone, text, and email nearly every single day as we negotiated the deal. It was a very complex process and it would not have happened without Delia. And we certainly could not have afforded to pay directly for her services. Even though we may not agree with everything the Archdiocese does or stands for, I don't mind paying our fair assessment. And so we encourage you to contribute to the parish general fund.

That said, if you would rather 100% of your contribution go to the parish thus avoiding the archdiocesan assessment, please consider giving to any of these restricted funds:

• Relocation Expenses – cover expenses incurred by relocating parish offices, SVDP, and storage in order to make room for De La Salle
• Parishioners in Need - provide assistance to parishioners impacted by COVID-19
• Flowers & Decorating – cover expenses for flowers and decorations in the church throughout the liturgical seasons of the year
• School Scholarship Fund – our parish support for parishioner students attending De La Salle or a nearby Catholic Grade School

We are re-designing the “blue envelopes,” and we have updated the online giving portal to reflect these fund options.

Thank you again for your generosity. I am more than happy to respond to any questions you have. I'd be happy to talk with you by phone or meet with you in person if you wish. You can always reach me by return email or at 503-351-9889.

On the morning of July 21, we gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation and construction work set to begin for the new home of De La Salle North Catholic High School on the St. Charles campus. Donors, staff, partners, and students had a chance to put a golden shovel in the ground and celebrate this new beginning. We cheered.

And we prayed: O God, you fill the entire world with your presence; your name is to be hallowed through all the earth. You bring us to this spot where, in generations past, children grew in their knowledge, wisdom, and grace under your watchful care. And soon, on this very spot, that will be true again. Young men and women will learn and grow and mature into adulthood as authentic persons of faith.

Enjoy the pictures below. For details and timeline about the renovation and construction click here.

On Tuesday, July 7 we formalized our partnership with De La Salle North Catholic High School by signing the long term lease agreement. Renovation on the existing school building and other construction will begin in a matter of days. Many thanks to Sandy Bossom, Egbert Kunrath, Judy Ludwigsen for working with Fr. Schwab and Leif to negotiate all the details of the partnership. Also, much thanks to Delia Wilson, Director of Property Management for the Archdiocese and Tom Scott, our pro bono attorney, Associate from Foster Garvey. Details and timeline on construction and renovation. 

Reopening for Mass. Reopening for Mass at St. Charles will occur sometime after Multnomah County enters Phase 2. This will allow for a greater number of people to attend. Strict conditions will still apply: physical distancing, masking, sanitizing, no singing, no Communion Cup, no Exchange of Peace, and more.

As of July 9, officials in Portland area counties announced that they will continue to postpone applying for Phase 2 reopening while public health officials wait to see if the July 4th holiday caused a spike in cases.

We will continue to offer the Zoom Service for those who are not yet ready to worship in person. In the meantime, if you wish to attend a weekday Mass, contact Leif at lkehrwald@stcharlespdx.org and he will put you in touch with a neighboring parish.

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Reopening the Parish Office. The Parish Office has resumed normal hours: Monday thru Thursday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and Friday 9:00 am to 12 noon. Some staffers will continue to work from home on some days.
 
These procedures are being followed for the sake of keeping our staff and community safe:

• Hand sanitize upon entry to reception area
• Face coverings to be worn in reception area and common work area, and throughout the facility. (Staff are not required to wear mask while in her/his office room, but should put mask on if another person comes in.)
• Physical distancing (6 ft.) required at all times
• Do not enter another person’s office unless invited
• Daily cleaning and sanitizing of the general office area will occur. (Protocols for sanitizing will be posted.)
• Doors to remain open

 
 
Reopening for In-person Meetings at the Parish. In-person meetings can now take place. These protocols must be followed:

• Date/time of meeting must be scheduled in advance through Leif (lkehrwald@stcharlespdx.org)
• Meetings will take place in the Parish Center only, while it remains available prior to construction. Afterward, another meeting room will be designated.
• Meeting must pertain to parish ministry. We are not hosting outside meetings or private parties at this time.
• An accurate roster of attendees must be turned into the parish office immediately at the conclusion of the meeting
• Hand sanitize upon entry
• Facemasks to be worn by all
• Physical distancing (6 ft.) required at all times
• Meeting space must be sanitized at the conclusion of the meeting. Protocols for sanitizing will be posted.
• Doors to remain open.

Today we received an update from Pacific Power on construction and deployment of the electrical substation at NE 42nd and Emerson. The new contact person is Cheryl Carter, and she can be reached at Cheryl.Carter@pacificorp.com. Here is her update:

• Installing poles:  We are planning to begin work on installing the steel transmission poles near the substation starting Monday, 6/8.  This work will take approximately two weeks.  We have obtained a street closure permit from PBOT for Emerson, between 41st and 42nd.  During part of this time a crane is required for lifting the pole sections.   I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience the work may cause the neighbors.  Please call me immediately if you have any concerns at all.
• Substation Energization: We are looking at energizing the substation in mid-to late July.   We will notify the neighbors a few days prior to any planned outages that may be required when we energize the substation. 
• Landscaping:  I have attached our landscaping plans for around the substation.  We do not have a timeline for installing the landscaping at this time, but hope to have an update soon.  These plans were shared with the immediate neighbors a few weeks ago.
• West wall:  Our current working plan is to install the same type of wall on the west side as the existing north wall, just inside the west fence line that is 16’ tall.  The wall needs to be permitted by the City of Portland so their feedback on design as well as input of the acoustical engineer still need to be taken into account.  The acoustical engineer will be able to make recommendations on the design for noise reduction.  We will work with the immediate neighbors once the design is available to share.

During the COVID-19 pandemic we have not had Mass, or received Communion. While some parishes have re-opened for Mass on a limited basis, we have not done so at St. Charles. We continue to rely on our Sunday Zoom Liturgy of the Word.

At a recent meeting of the Liturgy Committee, it was discussed that we should poll the St. Charles community to see if there are people who really want to attend a weekday mass for the sake of receiving the Eucharist. The conditions and guidelines for attending mass are:

• Attend at your own risk
• No more than 25 persons
• Sign up in advance with name and phone number
• List of attendees would be handed over to the State if requested
• Sanitize hands going in
• Physical distancing required at all times
• Facemasks to be worn
• Communion with bread only
• No singing, holy water, exchange of peace
• No congregating before or after

If you would like to attend weekday Mass under these conditions, please indicate on the form below.

​Perhaps you have noticed the work Pacific Power is doing on the Kennedy Substation across 42nd ave from the church. On January 23, Tony DeFalco of Verde went to the PPL community meeting (held at St. Charles) and proposed a "Good Neighbor Agreement" (click on file below) between Pacific Power and the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CAN), Cully Association of Neighbors (CAN) and Our 42nd Avenue Business Association. In light of PPL's poor community engagement prior to design and construction of this project, Tony has ten proposals in the Good Neighbor Agreement.

At St. Charles, we collaborated with Verde on the install of our solar energy system. A “phase 2” item of that project is solar energy storage that would allow St. Charles to be a hub for power if/when power goes down throughout the area. The first of ten proposals in the Good Neighbor Agreement is that PPL would pay for St. Charles solar energy storage.

It's important to note that this is completely separate from the power substation across the street. It does involve a tower or antenna. The location of necessary equipment has already been identified (school roof, I believe) and the footprint of that equipment is quite small. Obviously, Tony sees an opportunity here for Pacific Power to possibly pay for the solar storage component. If this were to be granted, then Verde would take the lead on the project just as they did with the original. And of course we would coordinate with De La Salle and the remodel. 

Initial response from Sheila Holden at Pacific Power (click on file below) is vague, but positive. Stay tuned for more info.