One of the questions that we will keep asking as we vision to move forward during these troubled times is, "why expand?" This document addresses that and a few other questions. It is a result of much deliberation and congregational surveys over the years finally converging at the Annual Vestry Retreat in June 2002. This most current Visioning Document primarily answers four questions about expansion: Why? How? When? And Who? Hope you will engage it, breath it, pray it, see it in your mind, and make it your own.

The vision to expand St. Alban's goes back about fourteen years when the St. Alban's Committee for Redevelopment (SACRD) was formed. The result was a new rectory in 1995 next-door to the church. In 1999 an Expansion Committee was convened. Its role was to plan for the future and develop a blueprint for expansion. Our 2000 Parish Profile stated that, "in order to grow we may need to develop a new vision for ourselves." A first step in this new vision was the site work, which was completed in 2001, thanks to the monetary pledges made by the congregation and friends of St. Alban's to the Building Fund. Therefore, in June 2002, with a much-improved first impression due to the new parking lot with sidewalks, the Vestry proposed the following vision for the future.

St. Alban's vision to expand is only an extension of our mission statement, which briefly stated, is to welcome all people, to worship and rejoice in God, to reach out to those in need, to spread the Gospel and to support the greater Episcopal Church. Our mission statement primarily paraphrases our Baptismal Covenant and motivates us to focus on our ministries. Therefore, our vision for the future is to essentially strengthen our existing ministries and help give birth to new ones in the future. Our ministries include fellowship and hospitality, music, outreach to the community, and the strengthening of our Christian formation among our children, our youth and adults. All of these ministries can only exist and flourish within an organizational and spiritual framework that both supports and nurtures these and other aspects of our common life together. In other words, growth of our ministries is the primary motivation behind our desire to expand for the future. We will flesh this out in greater detail to answer the question "WHY expand?"

First, we wish to expand because hospitality, which includes parish social events as well as outreach events for the community, is important to our mission. We need the appropriate space to address this need. Our meeting space/parish hall will be complemented by a spacious and functional kitchen and will provide sufficient room to host dinners and community events. Such a space would enable us to enhance St. Alban's signature events like the Mothers and Others brunch, Oktoberfest, Shrove Tuesday dinner, the Epiphany event and other events that enrich our fellowship. It would allow us the flexibility to host day-retreats for small church groups especially from the diocese. This meeting space would also be attractive to community non-profit organizations such as La Leche, Anonymous groups, Scouts, Seniors, Single Parents, English as Second Language, and others. Such opportunities will help us better serve the community as well as respond effectively to needs as they arise in the future. It will also increase our visibility in the community thus helping us become a vibrant faith community and grow in number and substance. Further, such a meeting space would enable us to host District-wide and, to a limited extent, Diocesan-wide events to support the greater Episcopal Church.

Second, our plans include refurbishing and expanding our Preschool facilities to improve the quality of our service to the community, thus building future citizens. Our preschool is already a leader in the community offering a wholesome, nonsectarian education to children from ages two through six. While the expansion of the preschool will not significantly increase the number of children that can be admitted, it will certainly provide office and administrative spaces for the Director and the teachers as well as reconfigure the existing classrooms and restrooms.

Third, we wish to expand because we want to intentionally support and develop a vibrant ministry for the youth in our parish and community. Our youth need their own space to meet for fellowship, planning, play, study, and prayer. Since they are one of our top priorities we desire an area earmarked for them in our expansion.

Fourth, we wish to expand because we want to strengthen and grow our church Sunday school. One way to accomplish this is to provide a separate meeting space for our children so that they can feel welcomed and have ownership of their space instead of feeling like they are intruding into somebody else's space all the time.

Fifth, we wish to expand because we desire to continue to grow in our knowledge of God's World and God's Word. To help us do this well, we will have a space of study for our Adult Christian Formation/Education program. Our adult education will cover three areas: 1. Contemporary issues confronting the Church. 2. World/Global issues. 3. Bible Study. This space will house our library and also be a meeting space for groups like the Vestry.

Sixth, we wish to expand to create an appropriate space for our Adult and Junior Choirs to rehearse. This will further energize the music ministry and free them up from usual Sunday morning rehearsals in the nave of the Church.

Seven, we wish to expand the existing church section to create both a more inviting and functional Narthex at the church entrance. This would enable a much-needed upgrade of the administrative area for the church staff: rector, parish administrator, and office volunteers.

Finally, there are a few other added benefits to our expansion. 1. Our expansion will conclusively address the much-needed attention to our roof in the preschool area. 2. The facilities of St. Alban's will be brought to code and made entirely wheelchair accessible.

3. Subsequently, we will experience more than numerical growth. Our expansion will provide more comfortable, pleasant and intentional spaces thus improving our ministries and attracting even more new members. These are the primary reasons for our expansion to the facilities of St. Alban's.

The second question is WHEN? The answer to that question assumes several steps that could lead to actual construction in the summer of 2004. We have gratefully received and reviewed the responses to the parish wide survey, which has helped us decide how our vision best translates into the building plan. The building plan that would best address our vision will include the proposed addition to the preschool, the proposed addition of a second floor over the preschool wing, a reconfigured narthex at the church entrance and refurbished administrative spaces. For this plan to come to fruition several steps have to follow in a timely manner. A first step is a feasibility study late in the spring of 2003 to give an indication of what our realistic aim for a Capital Campaign would look like. At that point it will be appropriate to finalize the phasing scenario. We could begin a Capital Campaign in the fall of 2003 and conclude it in March 2004. If all goes according to plan we could then look at the possibility of construction in Summer 2004.

The third is the WHO in the expansion equation. This organizational model will consist of an Expansion Project Manager and four committee chairpersons who will work with the Project Manager to plan and execute the project. They are the chairs of Construction, Finance, Planning, and Communication. The Finance Chair will work with the areas of Fundraising (including mortgage financing), donor market research, and Fundraising Events Coordination. The Planning Chair will coordinate the ministry/vision relationship to the plan, finalization of architectural plans, and the liaison relationship with the town Planning Board. The Communication Chair will be in charge of internal communication to the parish as well as communication to the community through Press releases, ads etc.

The final question in this visioning process is HOW will we go about financing the expansion? The expansion of St. Alban's will pursue a multi-pronged approach to raise the necessary financial resources. This will include hiring a consultant to do a feasibility study and to help guide the rest of the Capital Campaign. The financial pool will include: member capital campaign pledges, donations from friends of St. Alban's, corporate donors, foundations, and if necessary a mortgage. We will need to host fundraising events to add to the financial pool. We will obviously work within the parameters approved by the town Planning Board and make sure our vision is sufficiently manifested in the design for expansion. The answer to the HOW question of our expansion really depends on all the members of St. Alban's pitching-in and acting as one. Together, we can make it happen, since all things are possible with God.