Building Plan & Past Phases

Thank you to all who attended one of our capital campaign receptions! We hope you found them very informative. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us either in the Parish Office or the Capital Campaign office (campaign@stclarehouston.org).

If you were unable to attend a reception, you can view the building presentation by clicking HERE.

Viewing on a Computer: Once the page loads, hover your mouse / finger over the right side of the screen where you will see a small arrow. Then, click on the right of the screen to advance the slides.
Viewing on Mobile device: Once the slides load from Canva, use the arrows at the bottom of the screen to move between slides.

The St. Clare of Assisi Feasibility Task Force was comprised of St. Clare clergy and parish staff as well as representatives from both pastoral and finance councils. This task force assisted the parish in navigating the results of the feasibility study, and promote communication and transparency. This task force is not a building committee or related entity.

Feasibility Town Halls

St. Clare of Assisi hosted two “town hall” meetings to discuss the results of the survey. All parishioners and school families were invited to attend either or both town halls.

Town Hall Meeting #1 was held on:
Monday, December 11, 2023, 7:00-9:00 pm
Parish Family Life Center

Town Hall #2 was held on:
Sunday, January 21, 2024, 12:30-2:30 pm
Parish Family Life Center

The town halls featured a panel format with members of the Feasibility Task Force. The Task Force gave overviews of survey results, answer questions that came up during the survey, and provided further explanation and clarification. Afterwards there was a Q&A portion in order to answer remaining questions.

8/16/24 Letter from Fr. Vincent - Regarding the Rectory


8/9/24 Letter from Father Vincent

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Almost a year ago, we received permission from the archdiocese to conduct a feasibility study to help us determine the support we’d have for a capital campaign to address our parish needs. We wrapped up the feasibility study in October and presented the results in November last year. We held a town hall meeting in December and another in January to review the results of the study, explain the needs of the parish in more detail, and to further listen to the input and feedback of our parishioners.
 
In the months following the town hall meetings, our parish staff, clergy, and volunteers have worked closely with the archdiocese to ensure the parish was taking all the necessary steps in planning for our proposed projects.
 
After months of reflection, prayer, careful planning, and much collaboration, we are excited to announce on the feast day of St. Clare, the parish, with the blessing of Cardinal DiNardo, has decided to move forward with a capital campaign to address our parish needs. This decision was not made lightly or carelessly. Many discussions with the parish council, finance council, archdiocese, staff, architects and consultants have led us to this decision.
 
We will officially launch the campaign in about 3-4 weeks, so be on the lookout for more information in the bulletin, website, flocknote, and in the mail. We look forward to embarking on this journey together and can’t wait to share more information! Please keep us in your daily prayers. 

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

2/19/24 Letter from Father Vincent

Dear Parishioners,

I would like to provide an update on the status of the proposed project we have been discussing for the last few months. We are so grateful for the input and feedback of all the parishioners who participated in the Feasibility Study and the town hall meetings. After careful review with my staff, pastoral council and the archdiocese, of the Feasibility Study results, as well as your input at the town hall meetings, we have made some decisions on how to move forward.

On February 7, I along with representatives from the finance council, pastoral council, staff, Guidance in Giving and Studio Red architects, met with the archdiocesan director of construction. The meeting was very fruitful and informative. At the conclusion of this meeting and after listening to you, our parishioners, we have decided the most prudent course of action for the parish is to conduct a capital campaign to raise funds for an Administration building and to enhance our current worship space.  

While a separate outreach building will not be built, we will address this need within the new administration building. Additionally we are exploring alternative solutions for the rectory, and we will update when information is available. We are also looking at options regarding concerns about the Parish Family Life Center kitchen and the resource center.  We will address these issues outside of this capital campaign.  

There is still much work that needs to be done before we can proceed with a capital campaign. First, we will have our architect firm, Studio Red, develop a conceptual design, which will give us a better idea of what these two projects will cost. Next, the archdiocese will review the conceptual design and confirm the total cost estimate of the projects. After that, the archdiocese will interview and vet contractors and will get bids on the projects. The archdiocese will present the three best bids to the parish and we will select the contractor that best suits St. Clare. At this point, the archdiocese will meet with us to review our finances to ensure we are not embarking on a project that will put us in a negative financial situation. Lastly, we will write a letter to Cardinal DiNardo requesting permission to conduct a capital campaign.  

I am currently working to put together a building committee who will work with my staff to provide input on the conceptual design and on every step of the process. We anticipate the conceptual design to take about 8-10 weeks and we will begin meeting with the archdiocese again after that point. Our hope is to be ready to kick off a campaign on August 11, the Feast Day of St. Clare. We will do our absolute best to keep all of you updated on our progress and to be as transparent as possible.  

With all of this in mind, we want to make sure that our facilities and worship space build upon what has been put in place and fulfill the vision established over thirty years ago “to grow in community by reaching out to others and to share our faith through prayer, communion, worship and fellowship”  (Rev. John H. Kappe, Founding Pastor of St. Clare of Assisi).  

Thank you for your support and your prayers as we continue to work together towards the future of St. Clare Parish. 

Yours in Christ,
Reverend Vincent Vuong-Quoc Nguyen
Pastor

1/27/24 Letter from Father Vincent

Dear Parishioners,

I want to thank everyone who attended one of the Feasibility Study Town Hall meetings.  We held a debrief meeting this past Monday and will have a report available for you to look at in the bulletin and on the website.  I also met with the Finance Council this past Wednesday to further discuss the project.  Their recommendation was to consult with the Archdiocese.  So, on February 7^th, I will be meeting with the Director of Construction for our Archdiocese, along with members of the Finance Council, Guidance and Giving, and Studio Red Architects.  We will consult with them and identify additional steps we need to take.  I will update you on their recommendations, following the February 7^th meeting.

Yours in Christ,
Reverend Vincent Vuong-Quoc Nguyen
Pastor

11/17/23 Letter from Father Vincent

Dear Parishioners,

I want to give my sincere thanks to all of you who took the time to participate in our Feasibility study. We had over 300 families take the time to share their thoughts in the study. That is a tremendous response!

I would like to let everyone know that the results of the Feasibility Study are available for everyone to review. I have included a summary of the results in this week’s bulletin. The full report has been posted on the parish website and will be sent out through Flocknotes. I encourage everyone to take time to read through it.

After consulting with the Clergy, Staff, Finance and Parish Councils, we have decided to hold two “town hall” meetings to discuss the results of the survey. The two meetings will be held on:Going forward, we will continue to provide updates that you will find in a section of the bulletin which we are calling “Feasibility Footnotes.” It will include timelines and more information about the feasibility study and the town hall meetings.

Again, I would like to thank everyone who participated as it shows the passion and love you all have for this parish community.

Yours in Christ,
Reverend Vincent Vuong-Quoc Nguyen
Pastor