Updates

Current Principal Balance: Loan is Paid In Full

Loan Amount: $888,153.33

OUR LOAN IS PAID IN FULL!!!

Retiring the Debt

We have paid off our debt!  We sent the last payment to the diocese this month.  The debt was down to $106,000.  We had $150,000 left of the Covid money that we received a couple of years ago, so the finance council voted to use that money to retire the debt completely.

Thanks to all who generously contributed to this milestone.  A number of you had continued your campaign pledges for an extra year to help whittle down the principle on our loan.  Others made a donation whenever they could.  That helped us make our monthly payments without having to dip into the General Fund.

So, what is the Covid money?  Some time ago, the diocese informed us that we might be eligible for money to reimburse us for salary expenses during the pandemic.  The government wanted to keep people working during that time.  We applied, and received $162,000.  The finance council decided to set that aside in order to fill the gap whenever we were unable to make our full monthly payments on the loan.  We only had to dip into it twice, so we still had much of it left.  That is what we used to make the final payment on the loan.

Our original loan was $888,000.  As the capital campaign pledges were fulfilled, a large portion of that was paid back.  Thanks to your generosity, the rest was paid off in record time, saving us considerable money in interest.  Congratulations to all.

We urge you to consider continuing to give, even though the debt is paid.  You can transfer those gifts to the Capital Reserve account.  That account takes care of the various emergencies that come up with maintenance of the parish campus.  As our buildings age, we are facing regular expenses, such as replacement of equipment that ages out, grounds maintenance, etc.

Renovation & Loan Details

In the Fall of 2023 St Thomas More Parish borrowed approximately $889,000 from the Diocese of Salina at an interest rate of 4.25%.  This 10-year loan is being used to pay the construction costs on the renovation of our church.  If paid in equal monthly payments over those ten years, the interest alone was projected to be over $182,000.

The parish asked parishioners to make pledges to pay off the loan in a Capital Campaign called “Legacy of Faith”, or LofF for short.  Most pledges were set up over 3 years from mid-2023 to mid-2025 and have now been fulfilled.  Although the loan has not yet been paid off, we are making good progress with many parishioners generously continuing to make donations to the Capital Campaign fund. The current loan balance as of 1/15/2026 is $138,895.60.

Please prayerfully consider a gift to our renovation costs or extending your campaign pledge.  The sooner the parish can pay off the loan, the less interest we will have to pay.  If you would like to make a gift at this time, you may use the link below or send a check with the memo “Campaign LofF”

Thank you for your generous support for our parish’s mission and future.

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