St. George Church Preservation Society News & Archives

  Easter Sunday 2016 posted  Mar 29, 2016, 2:13 PM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    On Easter Sunday, there were two masses at St. John Vianney Church (formerly St. George Church). At 10:00, it was standing room only as over 500 people attended Mass. Volunteers from the St. George Church Preservation Society distributed brochures along with a keepsake magnet. The brochure included the following tribute to our legacy: Our Legacy  We have learned through our faith to respect and preserve traditions, readings, symbols, customs, ceremonies and holy places. It follows that we should also honor the legacy of those who came before us. We honor the founders of St. George Parish who provided the donations and oversaw the acclaimed design and construction of St. George Church. It was to be built with the finest materials available. Their intent was to provide a perpetual place of worship that will last indefinitely. We honor their descendants who faith...

  Volunteers Clean Church for Easter posted  Mar 29, 2016, 2:04 PM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    The Ladies of Charity and members of SGCPS cleaned the church for Holy Week.

St. George Sunday Matinee at the Hollywood Theater posted  Mar 24, 2016, 10:56 AM   Stay tuned for more details. Save the date: Sunday, April 24, 2016

 Attention to all of our Supporters! Your Pledges are Needed ASAP! posted  Mar 11, 2016, 4:18 PM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    There is still time  to send in a pledge form to support the restoration of the church when it is reopened. We need the pledges to be able to total up the future donations over the first five years that the church is reopened. That total will need to be reported in our appeal to the Vatican.  We will record your pledge and once the church is opened, we will contact you about setting up payments of your pledge. To print a pledge form, click  here  follow the instructions to return the form. You can also download a copy of the form by clicking on the blue arrow below. Thank You!

  Town Hall Summary posted  Mar 9, 2016, 11:05 AM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society   Our Town Hall Meeting was held on Saturday, March 5th . The agenda focused on the efforts of parishioners and the  St. George Church Preservation Society  to keep a Catholic presence in Allentown.  After introductions of the board of directors and active volunteers, those attending the meeting were updated on the progress and accomplishments that have been made over the past six months. There was an update of the status of the Vatican appeal process to reopen the church. A question and answer session followed. We would like to thank all of those who attended and took the time to sign mandates, submit pledge forms and made generous donations. A special thank you goes out to the  Hilltop United Methodist Church  for their hospitality in providing the meeting space. We also acknowledge the congregation of the Hilltop Church for their commitment to th...

  YOU Can Save Your Church! posted  Feb 26, 2016, 2:26 PM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society   Sign a Mandate and Make a Pledge YOU  C an  Save Your Church! Now is the time for  everyone  to share in the efforts to Reopen & Restore  the former St. George Church. We are preparing to ask the Congregation for the Clergy at the Vatican to reopen the church and  you  can be an integral part of the success story by completing one or both of the following documents. The Mandate Who can sign the mandate?  If you are a parishioner or if you have donated to improvements for upkeep of the church over the years, you can complete and sign the attached copy of the mandate and have it witnessed by 2 adults. The signed mandate can be returned via email, fax or mail. (See the information at the bottom of this page.) This document allows us to represent you in this matter. Pledge Forms How does making a pledge help?  For a suc...

  Your donations are tax deductible! And we have an online petition! posted  Feb 17, 2016, 11:44 AM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    YOUR DONATIONS ARE NOW TAX DEDUCTIBLE! On February 12, 2016, the St. George Church Preservation Society's application to the IRS was accepted and now all donations that were made since August 9, 2015 are tax deductible. Reopen & Restore With this news, our GoFundMe campaign is now ready to come up to full speed.  Please consider making a recurring tax deductible donation to support our efforts to  “Reopen & Restore”  the former St. George Church. Parishioners have moved forward with the appeal process in order to reach an agreement to reopen the church.  We need to have a reserve of funds ready to start the phased restoration work on the church when the agreement is reached. If an average of  200 donors pledge $45.00 per month, our goal will be exceeded for the first phase of repairs ...

  Parishioners Officially Appeal the Decree That Closes the Church posted  Feb 4, 2016, 12:44 PM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    On Tuesday, February 1, 2016, our group of parishioners started the official process of appealing the decree to close the former St. George Church on April 3, 2016. We do not intend to appeal the separate decree that was issued regarding the closing of the parish. The appeal process has several levels; starting at the Diocese, then to the Vatican before the Congregation for the Clergy, and the Apostolic Signatura. The parishioners have been in contact with canon lawyers in Rome who are prepared to represent them. You  can be an integral part of the appeal process by donating to the  Save St. George Church  campaign on GoFundMe.com: www.gofundme.com/savestgeorgechurch It is necessary to show there is financial support to “Reopen & Restore” our church. We need your help. Over the next few weeks, we wil...

  What happens to your Church Alive! donations? posted  Jan 28, 2016, 9:11 AM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    Please be aware that you have the choice to request a refund! Most parishioners who have contributed to the Church Alive! campaign are aware that about one half of their donations have been reserved to be spent in St. John Vianney Parish. There is a total of over $75,000 in that fund. Since Bishop Zubik has decreed that the parish will be divided, you have the option to request a refund. In his letter to parishioners on July16, 2015, Bishop Zubik included information about the Church Alive funds. It states that parishioners  “may request a refund of their contributions to date”.  (see the attachment below for a copy of this information.) We have also attached a form you can print and mail to the Campaign for the Church Alive! for your refund. St. George Church Preservation Society is raising money to to fund the restoration of t...

posted  Jan 27, 2016, 8:47 AM  by Saint George Church Preservation Society    [ updated  Jan 27, 2016, 8:50 AM  ] On January 23, 2016, Bishop Zubik issued two separate decrees regarding St. John Vianney.  One decree addresses the St. John Vianney Church building:  This decree closes the church and calls for removal of the stained glass windows and other sacred and non-sacred artifacts. The decree also makes reference to a Pastoral and Finance Council petition of August 31, 2015. At that meeting, a proposal was presented by the bishop's advisers that indicated: “That if so relegated, the church building would be demolished and its contents be salvaged”. Our group of parishioners is preparing to appeal only the decree that addresses the church building.  St. George Church Preservation Society (SGCPS) was organized to support the operation and restoration of the church over a number of years. As seen during the recent Church Alive! campaign, a m...