Dear siblings in Christ,
Here is an update on COS’s ongoing response to the unexpected fires that have affected so many inside and close to our community.
First, thanks to those who attended the excellent forum offered last Sunday led by Trish Healy and the Rev. Reese Riley. A number of you requested that the forum handouts be made available to the entire community. You will find these documents by clicking here. I encourage you to read and contemplate them.
Second, as we continue to support the Rev. Tim Hartley, Deacon Bill Doulos, and Jubilee Homes in response to the loss of the Fair Oaks House in the Eaton fire, I will be putting together a task force to best discern next steps in rebuilding. I ask for your prayers, ideas, and support as we continue to invest in this incredibly vital part of our ministry of Church of Our Saviour.
And, last for now, many of you know that Saint Mark’s School (as well as Saint Mark’s Church) was also lost in the Eaton fire. Church of Our Saviour hosted a gathering of healing for Saint Mark’s staff last Tuesday, and for their wider community last Thursday. While Saint Mark’s School has found a temporary location in Pasadena for their K–6 grade classes, they have struggled to find a location to temporarily host their preschool until their campus is suitable for a full return.
ACGS preschool director Lucero San Lucas, Kit Shenk, John Vandercook, David Waller, and I met with Saint Mark’s School leadership again on Saturday afternoon. Together, we have determined that our two unused ACGS classrooms, as well as a portion of Allan Hall, will meet licensing standards and allow a place for this preschool community to call home for the remainder of the spring semester.
While many of the details remain to be worked out, I wanted to share with you this new and important information. To be clear, ACGS and Saint Mark’s preschool classes will remain operationally and fiscally separate entities. The arrangement will be for a “school within a school,” with Saint Mark’s teaching and grounds staff supplying the necessary personnel to run their classes. Moreover, Saint Mark’s School will compensate ACGS (and thus the Church of Our Saviour) with rental income and resources to cover the impact of their presence on campus. More than that, Saint Mark’s school has offered to assist Church of Our Saviour with some facilities work that already needed to be done, as well as with licensing and preschool wisdom that they will bring into this relationship.
Your wardens, treasurer, property chair, as well as your preschool director and I, feel that this is not only the right thing to do for a school destroyed by the fire and many families who have been displaced, but also a win-win situation for everyone.
Please be in touch with your questions and concerns during this entire process. I cannot thank all of you enough for your generosity that allows Church of Our Saviour to be the vibrant community of faith it is.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Jeff Thornberg
Rector of Church of Our Saviour
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