Author: Zoran Radisic

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thank God a large number of contributions have arrived since our last post over the weekend, and as you can see we are approaching our goal rapidly:

This includes both payments made and pledges: all pledges should be paid in full no later than the third week of January in order to have sufficient time to prepare the money draft so that we can hand over the entire SPA package to the city no later than 31.01.23.

You can send your contributions marked “For Building Fund” for this fundraiser campaign as follows:

• electronically, via e-transfer to treasury@arhangelgavrilotoronto.com
• through Canada Helps at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/id/101220
• by check, send to:
  St. Archangel Gabriel Serbian Orthodox Church
  49 North Lake Road
  P. O. Box 2918
  Richmond Hill, ON, L4E 1A8
• or bring in person to the Church during regular services

– Duško Knežević, on behalf of the Construction Committee with the St. Archangel Gabriel Parish in Richmond Hill

Dear brothers and sisters,

You have recently been informed that we got the approval for the Site Plan Agreement (SPA) for the construction of a new church on our property. Consequently, we have to sign the SPA and pay funds in the amount of ~$140,000, of which $40,000 is for administrative costs and $100,000 is a deposit for grading & landscaping. The $100,000 deposit will be returned to our parish upon completion of construction and inspection.

The deadline for signing and paying the full amount is January 31, 2023: with the signed SPA, we can apply for building permits and start building the new church.

I want to once again emphasize the importance of the above date, January 31, 2023: this is the deadline for us to submit the signed SPA and pay the above-mentioned amount in full. What is important to understand is that until now we have been gathering at our property on Divine Liturgies thanks to being in the process of obtaining the Site Plan Agreement. Now that it has been approved, it must be paid and signed by January 31, 2023, otherwise our case will be CLOSED. This means the following:

1. To re-open the case, there will be additional administrative costs, but there may also be changes in the laws that will require the SPA to be amended and possibly even started anew, from scratch.
2. There is a high probability that the city will ask us to stop gathering for worship since the status with respect to the SPA will be undefined. We will have to discuss this with the city and clarify the new conditions. One thing is certain, this would take us at least 5 years back and we will have to start all over again under new conditions.

Keep in mind also all the effort and thousands of hours of volunteer work done by our architects, engineers and planners that led to the approved SPA. Let’s not allow such a great effort go to waste. We ask that everyone contribute materially as much as they can so that this goal is met within the deadline.

I hope that my address has clarified our situation and stressed how important it is to meet the deadline for signing and paying the funds for the SPA in full.

January 31, 2023 can be a new beginning for our Parish, but also, God forbid, the beginning of great uncertainty in case we do not meet the conditions for signing the SPA by the given deadline.

A fundraiser for the building fund is underway, and I am appealing to all parishioners and friends to help as much as they can.

For any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 416-417-8805 or duskoknez@gmail.com

The parish will issue tax receipts for all donations. All contributions paid by the end of December will be on the receipt for 2022!

You can send your contributions marked “For Building Fund” for this fundraiser campaign as follows:

• electronically, via e-transfer to treasury@arhangelgavrilotoronto.com
• through Canada Helps at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/id/101220
• by check, send to:
  St. Archangel Gabriel Serbian Orthodox Church
  49 North Lake Road
  P. O. Box 2918
  Richmond Hill, ON, L4E 1A8
• or bring in person to the Church during regular services

We will publish regularly how the campaign is progressing and how far we have come with the contributions. This is the current state:

– Duško Knežević, on behalf of the Construction Committee with the St. Archangel Gabriel Parish in Richmond Hill