executive summary

The Wardens, on behalf of the St Thomas' community, have, after consultation, considered the needs of St Thomas' for meeting the challenges to nurture, grow and develop the Church for the next couple of decades.

God has blessed St Thomas' in North Sydney in many ways over its first 150 years. However, the greatest challenge at this time is how the Church can engage more effectively with the current generation and the wider North Sydney community. This Connect Building Project seeks to lay the foundations and establish the infrastructure to support this mission going forward.

This project seeks to provide appropriate infrastructure to support our Ministry both to our current and future members, the ministry team and the broader community. The new facilities would provide significantly more meeting rooms for our growing outreach activities, and provide a real open face to the North Sydney community, thereby allowing new mission initiatives. In addition, as an offset to the increasing rental property costs to the Church, four accommodation units are included as an integrated part of this project.

In April 2010, after consultation with North Sydney Council and the Diocese architectural panel, we resubmitted an amended development application. We anticipate this will be conditionally approved by the end of July 2010. We have yet to call for tenders to build this facility and thus the cost estimates are just that, at this time: estimates. As detailed in this website, estimated costs are approximately $1million to underpin, repair and upgrade the Heritage-listed Ministry Centre and a further $2million to build a new outreach ministry facility.

We will be launching an appeal at a later date seeking to raise funds and commitments for the $2million of non-tax-deductible donations for the new, modern, ministry facility.

On this website are photographs of the damage in the current dilapidated Ministry Centre, copies of the draft plans, and artists' impressions of the completed new facility. Hopefully most of your questions are addressed in the Frequently Asked Questions or the Finance Matters section.

Once plans are finalised, we will, at the appropriate time, be seeking your financial contributions, and pledges or commitments for the next three years to repay most of the projected costs of this new facility in support of St Thomas' work to meet the needs of the current and next generations.

Please pray for our guidance and success in this project. Please ask whatever remaining questions you may have directly to the Wardens in the briefings which we plan to hold after Sunday services once the DA has is approved (look out for dates in the Bulletin). You can also submit questions at any time by letter or email or via the Feedback Form on this website.

Thank you for your support.

The Wardens