Dear St. Paul’s family,
We have wonderful news to share with you. Thanks to the generosity of two current parishioners (who prefer not to be publicly acknowledged) and one deceased parishioner, Mary McBride, we are announcing the launch of the St. Paul’s Cathedral Music Endowment. This fund will be invested with our other funds through the Episcopal Church Foundation and the income from it is legally restricted to the support of our music ministries, whether that means salaries, operating expenses, repairs, special events, or any other element of this ministry that is so important to so many of us. In recent years it’s been our practice to make a 5% draw from our invested funds annually to support the operating budget, and the draw from this fund will be used strictly for the music ministries.
The existence of the fund opens up opportunities for giving that will benefit the cathedral’s music programs far into the future. The opening value of the fund is $151,000. Our dream is to see it grow to $1 million or more, yielding $50,000 per annum which, for example, could fully support our part-time sub-organist position.
We are deeply grateful to all who support our music ministries through regular giving and through special gifts, and we are especially grateful to the two parishioners who provided seed money for this fund. We give thanks to God for the life and ministry of Mary McBride, who was drawn to the Cathedral by the music program and loved it enough to leave a generous bequest that will enable future generations to enjoy the same beauty that we do now.
The Friends of Cathedral Music special fund will continue to be a short-term repository for gifts to support special musical needs as they come up during the year. This fund is not invested so it ebbs and flows depending on gifts and needs. Likewise, the special fund for Sesquicentennial music will remain separate and dedicated for that purpose.
In more good news, we have found the money (with the help of the PACEM fund) to rebuild our Steinway Model B piano in the Great Hall, and the instrument will be shipped to the builder early this year. This piano is a wonderful instrument from one of Steinway’s best periods in the early 20th century. It is exciting to be able to give it the love and attention it needs to return to its former glory as an outstanding concert instrument. The larger Model D piano currently also in the Great Hall will remain for sale. Many thanks to all of you who supported the fundraisers last summer!
Yours in Christ,
Penny Bridges & Martin Green
