Dear Friends of United Protestant Church,
The attached letter was sent to our members and friends of whom we have addresses. As we enter our second century of worshipping in this church and as a congregation, we are beginning a building fundraiser to do significant repairs on the church. We hope that you will take a moment and read this letter. As stated in this letter we are undertaking a very large project to repair our iconic tower that is seen as you enter Morgan Park. We hope that you will be able to help support our efforts.
On April 24th, at 10;30 service, we will be celebrating 100 years of worshipping in this building. This service will also be the kickoff of our Restore United Protestant Church Building Fundraiser. Please join us for these two worship services.
Peace and God Bless to you all,
Restore United Protestant Church Building Fundraiser Committee
Dear Members and Friends of United Protestant Church,
Peace and blessings to you during this Lenten and Easter time. We hope you will be able to join us for a special service on the 24th of April celebrating the 100th Anniversary of worshipping in our church. This special service of celebration of the 100-year history of our church, will be led by Pastor Mitch Nelson and past ministers and guest ministers of our congregation. This special Sunday will also be the kickoff of our Restore United Protestant Church Building Fundraiser.
With the changes that have happened in Morgan Park over the past years, tearing down of the Goodfellowship Club, the Morgan Park High School, and St. Margret Mary’s Catholic Church, we feel it is important to keep United Protestant Church as a spiritual and community gathering place for the Morgan Park area. By continuing to make improvements to our building we will be able to continue our mission in Morgan Park. Here are some of the major improvements we have accomplished at the church in the past year.
- Removal of problem trees on the property ($1,500)
- Roof repair south side of the church ($4,200)
- Cleaning and painting of the social hall and back entry hall ($300)
- New carpet and painting of the minister’s office and the secretary’s office ($400)
- Fixing of the sewer issues in women’s restroom ($13,200)
- Complete remodeling of the Women’s Restroom ($2,600)
- Tuck pointing of large cracks in the walls of the sanctuary ($14,000)
The funds for the above listed improvements have been paid with money from our Memorial Fund and our General Fund as well as generous donations from members of the congregation.
The Restore United Protestant Church Building Fundraiser is to raise funds for repair of the tower of our church, which is the focal point of the entrance to Morgan Park. Our goal is to raise $135,000.
The tower of the church currently has flaking and deterioration of bricks, cracks between bricks and evidence of water damage. The money raised would be used to fix cracked bricks, resurfacing of damaged bricks and tuck pointing of the tower. This work would be done by JM Inc., the same masonry company that did the tuck pointing in the sanctuary. Our campaign will kick off on the April 24, 2022 and the end celebration of our campaign will be October 30, 2022. This is a short time period, but we feel it is important that these repairs be accomplished within the near future. Depending on weather, the repairs could begin in late fall of 2022 or spring/summer of 2023.
As a side note to these repairs, Pastor Mitch, on behalf of the congregation, is working to have United Protestant Church designated as a Minnesota Historical Site and a National Historic Site. To receive these designations requires a lengthy and arduous application process. One of the requirements is to show a commitment to keeping our church in good repair. The improvements already made and work on the tower would provide enormous evidence of our commitment to our building. The significance of these historical designations would mean that United Protestant Church would be able to apply for grants, that could provide substantial funding for future building projects.
Below you will find a pledge card for your monetary donation. Please indicate what your pledge total will be, if it is a onetime donation, or a monthly installment for 6 months. We ask that you think about the importance of United Protestant Church in your life and the Morgan Park community’s spiritual life when making your donation. We want to make United Protestant Church a spiritual and community gathering place for the next 100 years!
If you have any questions, please call the church 218-626-2570 or contact us online and someone from the building committee will get back to you.
We hope that you can join us on these special dates in April, as well Sunday services throughout the year!!
Peace and Blessings to you all,
Pastor Mitch Nelson and
The Restore United Protestant Church Building Fundraiser Committee
Our Online Giving Portal also has an option for contributing to the Building Fund.