fbpx

Leading by Listening: the Next 90 Years at Christ Church Cranbrook

By The Reverend Canon Dr. William J. Danaher, Jr., Rector

Christ Church Cranbrook is thriving and growing.  Each month, we welcome new families and members. Our ministries are vibrant. Our worship services are joyful. Our programs and classes are powerful. Our outreach and mission work is transformative. Our Church is second to none in terms of beauty. Clearly, God has blessed us.

We have also benefited from a program center, built in 1935, which has served us well. However, the time has come for us to take steps to build for the future so that we can continue to thrive and grow over the next ninety years. I am thankful to the many leaders in our church who have helped to create the following vision for our future:

FACILITY RENOVATIONS

A Space Study in 2016 revealed the need for a large multipurpose room for activities that can involve more than 150 people (our current capacity). It also identified the need for more flexible office space and additional classrooms closer to the Sanctuary. Finally, it revealed that we need to find dedicated space for our youth, and for parishioners and visitors to congregate informally.

IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY

A landscape and campus re-design will increase our accessibility, add needed parking spaces, establish dedicated entrances, and provide a more welcoming environment.

ORGANS AND MUSIC PROGRAM

To ensure the primary instrument for worship is mechanically reliable, we aim to renovate the Console, Tower Organ, Chancel Organ, and Antiphonal Organ. We will enhance the music in St. Dunstan’s with a new organ. Finally, we will develop an endowment to ensure our choir can continue to provide transformative worship.

MISSION/OUTREACH

Since the founding of our parish, the vision for CCC was to serve the greater community by caring for the needs of others. Through this endowment, we can participate in shared projects with our many ministry partners and churches in Detroit and Pontiac, engage with community partners, and foster mutual relationships with our Episcopal, ecumenical, and interfaith partners.

To accomplish these projects, we need your support, as we are considering a capital campaign to fund these projects. To do this requires that we stop again and listen to you. We ask you to prayerfully complete a survey during church services this weekend. If you cannot be in church, an online survey will be made available via email. We hope you will share your thoughts and opinions on the proposed projects and a potential fundraising campaign. We hope that each family will participate.

We are at a pivotal moment in the history of our church. We believe that in order for us to grow, we need to make changes so that we continue to be the wonderful and welcoming community God has called us to be. We need to share in the leadership of this great parish, which means that we need to listen to each other. May God give us giving hearts and listening ears as we walk forward in faith.


Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *