St
Matthews Newsletter - March 2004
Building Expansion Planning Continues
The Vestry recently accepted the recommendations of the Building Planning
Committee for minor changes to the drawings that were approved at
the January meeting. The principal change was to add five feet to
the dimensions previously planned, thereby increasing the length of
both the church and the parish hall to sixty-five feet beyond the
existing east walls of both structures. Another change not shown on
the original drawings is the addition of a door between the existing
parish hall and the planned addition. This will shorten the distance
required to reach the new parish hall from the Memorial Garden.
While awaiting the revision of the architectural drawings, the Committee
is researching the costs of moving on to the next phase of the building
project. The Rector and the Vestry prefer not to build in "piece-meal" fashion,
that is, doing a certain amount with funds on hand and then having
to wait for more donations before being able to proceed further. Such
is not the desirable way to go, because in the long run it can greatly
increase costs.
The current balance in the Building Expansion Fund is $33,607 With
an overall price tag of as much as $200,000, we have a long way to
go. We don't need the entire amount before construction can actually
begin, but substantially more money is needed now before further progress
can be made.
A History of St. Matthew's Church part 3
In last month's Messenger we presented the second installment of the
History of St. Matthew's Anglican Church. At the conclusion of the
second installment, the possibility of moving to the North East section
of Tampa was being explored by Col. J. R. Mahoney, a member of the
parish, and Fr. Rufus Kite-Powell from Melbourne, Florida, commissioned
by the Bishop to aid in the relocation process. The third installment
begins on April 1, 1997 with the calling of Fr. William Perkins to
be the Vicar of the Church of the Advent.
Col. Mahoney and the new priest, Fr. Perkins, came to the conclusion
that the land and rentals in North Tampa were too expensive and too
remote to be practical. They began to consider Brandon to the east
of Tampa as a better and more sensible location to establish a church.
Brandon was an up and coming area that was said to be blossoming with
new single family homes and more growth expected.
Fr. Perkins and Col. Mahoney began searching the Brandon area for
a place for the parish to relocate, and found it to be perfect for
a new church. The price of the land was reasonable and the prospect
for growth was great. They came upon a highly desirable location on
Bloomingdale Avenue, just east of Highway 301 and I-75, on the northern
border between Riverview and Brandon. Bloomingdale Avenue had just
been widened to five lanes and the position of the land was perfect.
The Vestry immediately pursued this opportunity and with the generous
donations of its members was able to raise the down payment and secure
the financing necessary to purchase the land in June of 1997.
In February of 1998 the parishioners and friends of St. Matthew's
(as the new church was to be named) met to break ground for the new
church building at the recently acquired Bloomingdale address in Riverview,
Florida. On hand for the ceremonies were the Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf
and the Rev. Canon Rufus Kite-Powell. A tent was set up for the occasion,
and the site of the new building was marked according to tradition
and Bishop Grundorf blessed the land.
Construction began in March 1998 and the parishioners of St. Matthew's
met at Stowers Funeral Home in Riverview for church services while
they awaited the completion of their new facilities. A significant
contribution was that of Marion Beize, one of the church founders,
who died in November 1997. Mr. Beize had contributed the money to
purchase the house that was remodeled into the Church of the Advent.
The sale of that property provided the funds to build the new church
facility in Riverview. Other notable donors were General McMullen
and Col. Mahoney, without whose financial support and hard work the
project would not have been completed.
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