The following story appeared in the June 9 Idaho Catholic Register.
An architect’s rendering by Erstad Architects of the rectory planned at Meridian’s Holy Apostles Parish.
MERIDIAN – Holy Apostles Parish in Meridian celebrated the ground-breaking for its new rectory on May 21. The rectory is just one part of the parish’s “Growing Together,” campaign, which also includes an expansion of St. Ignatius School and a new outreach center.
Last year, Father Vitalis Onyeama, SMMM, the pastor at Holy Apostles, implemented a committee to examine current and future needs of the parish. The committee included members of the pastoral council, finance council and industry experts. The committee collected input from staff, parishioners and the Diocese of Boise before deciding on the projects and priorities for the “Growing Together” campaign.
“The projects that we are undertaking now will benefit the Holy Apostles community for decades to come, and the parishioners’ children’s children will see the impact,” said Father Vitalis.
The rectory at Holy Apostles is currently a single-family manufactured home for two priests. However, the growing parish, the largest in the Diocese serving more than 3,500 households, needs three priests to help with the sacraments and pastoral care. To provide adequate facilities for three or more priests without incurring rental costs, the committee decided the first priority for the campaign is a new rectory.
The new rectory will be built on the parish grounds. It will have four “micro-living” units attached to common spaces. The living spaces will each have a small seating area, bed-room and bathroom. A full kitchen will be available in the common area, but each of the living units will also have a standard refrigerator and countertop appliances.
The parish is contracting with Erstad Architects and Guho Construction on the rectory project.
The parish is also starting the design work for the expansion of St. Ignatius School and an outreach center.
The outreach center will house an expanded food pantry and a secure space for Corpus Christi donations. The parish is also working with Catholic Charities of Idaho to provide space that would allow Catholic Charities to provide counseling services on the west side of the valley.
The St. Ignatius expansion project will include adding four classrooms and outdoor restrooms. The school has averaged 95 percent capacity for the past three years. While the school is not planning on increasing enrollment, the additional classrooms will alleviate some space constraints, particularly in the middle school. The classrooms will be used for art, foreign language, and other middle school electives. The restrooms will be easily accessible from the playfield and will also be used for parish events on the playground, such as the Fall Festival and the parish picnic.
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