​We're excited to share today some dreams and plans we have for the future, specifically for the future of our worship space at St. Joseph. We’ve made some gradual upgrades to our worship space (which we call the South Worship Space) over time, but we realize now more than ever that we need to make some significant upgrades to our worship space so that it’s less temporary in nature and better suited to our needs as a growing, modern, and online church. We have been blessed to have some amazing friends and partners who are helping us design and plan our space upgrades. We even have some rough sketches to share!

​In this photo above, you’ll see a sketch of the worship space with:

• a new wall behind the altar to allow for liturgical lighting
• new screens so everyone can easily see lyrics, images, and videos 
• a lighting truss hung over head which will dramatically improve our ability to light key spots
• new and consistent staging that doesn’t creak and provides sufficient space for us to lead worship

One of the dreams we have with our space is to be able to better control lighting. Being able to darken the space allows us to use lighting intentionally to engage and draw people into the experience of worship. While we can and will use some window tinting and curtains in certain areas, we’re planning to construct some walls in the back of the worship space to help control the lighting and improve the acoustics of the space. 

​The photo above shows the entrance to the worship space as you approach the steps (the walls are highlighted in yellow). As you approach the steps, you’ll see a mounted welcome screen, and if you go up the steps, you can enter the worship space to the right.

​​The photo above shows the view up the ramp as you enter the worship space, with a wall constructed to block the light and sound that enters from the hallway near the courtyard.

​The photo below shows a view looking from the back of the worship space toward the information desk.

​I realize it may be hard to really visualize these changes but they will vastly improve our experience of worship from an audio, visual, and lighting perspective.

We’ve been working with the best professionals in the Boston area to scope out this work and we’re really excited about the possibilities. In addition to upgrades to our physical worship space, we also need to invest in technology for recording and streaming. In our new hybrid world, we must invest in technology to continue and expand what we’re doing online and in person. We need to invest in upgrading computers and purchasing new equipment.

Finally, we have dreams of refreshing our kids spaces so that our church is an engaging, fun space for kids--a church kids want to come to. The photos above are some photos, not of our space, but of some inspiration for where we’re hoping to go with our kids spaces in the future.

To move toward making those dreams and plans a reality, we are inviting you to make a one-time gift to New Roads in the coming week. As we’ve been dreaming with God about the future at New Roads, a family in our community has generously stepped up to give to get us started--and, they want to encourage and inspire others to give by offering to match every gift made to this effort.

All gifts of any amount, from $100, $1,000, $5,000, all the way up to an individual gift of $25,000 will be matched. To be clear, this is a one-time commitment to support this project. We won’t be coming back to you in a month to meet a particular dollar amount. We’re praying that our community will respond to this opportunity and help us take this significant step forward. To give, simply visit: givebutter.com/NewRoadsMatch. Thank you for your support and partnership in what God is doing in our midst!

​This year has forced us to reimagine almost everything our church does, from worship to prayer to community and more. While this has brought about significant challenges, it has also brought about great opportunities to bring new life to our standard ways of being. As we approach Advent and Christmas this year, we’re faced with the same reality: great challenge to our normal practices during these seasons, and great opportunities too. 

Christmas will look very different this year than in years past. Normally we welcome more than 1500 people to our two campuses at 4:00pm for Christmas Eve Masses. Obviously we can’t gather in anything close to those numbers this year. In considering the possibility of any in-person Masses this Christmas, the challenges are significant: singing is prohibited, capacity is significantly reduced, and people have to register in advance (on a day when the majority of people who attend Mass aren’t regularly connected with the church at all). All together, these restrictions create a sense of exclusion, so contrary to the spirit of Christmas and contrary to our mission as a faith community. In addition, holding multiple in-person gatherings in the midst of a worsening pandemic raises significant public health concerns.

Given this, and considering that the overwhelming majority of our community has chosen to worship online instead of in-person during this time, we’ve made the decision to host our Christmas Masses online only this year. We’ll have 2 online Christmas Eve Masses, both at 4:00pm, one from St. Joseph and one from St. Luke. Both Masses will be available to view on demand at any other time after they’ve been broadcast, either later on Christmas Eve or anytime on Christmas Day.

This is a challenge to be sure--we’d all love to be together in person for Christmas--but it also represents a great opportunity. Since we’ll be online, our capacity is unlimited and we can fully welcome everyone to join in. Our virtual doors will be wide open! Families will be able to worship together in our online campus, even if they are separated by a great distance this Christmas. We’ll have easy and fun ways to help you invite friends and neighbors to join us online this Christmas.

We’re also preparing Christmas Eve Kits, to help us feel more connected in our worship together. The kits will contain candles to light as we worship together, Christmas activities for your kids, and some other fun surprises. You can reserve your Christmas Eve Kit here and it can be picked up on the weekend of December 19/20.

Even though we’ll be worshipping from home this year, we’re committed to making this Christmas a wonderful and meaningful celebration. We hope and expect that Christmas next year will look very different from this year; but above all, we place our hope in the joy of Emmanuel, God with us, no matter where we are.

Hi Friends,

We wanted to reach out with an update on things going on at New Roads these days.

Both churches remain closed until further notice. This includes daily and weekend Masses, funerals, and any other gatherings or activities. There is no public access to our buildings at this time since we cannot ensure the safety of people coming and going. 

We’ll continue to worship together online on Sundays. As the situation continues to evolve, we are determining what’s possible and safe in terms of video taping Masses at New Roads, joining the Church of the Nativity online, or some combination. As we’re sure you can appreciate, there are many variables to consider. We’ll continue to send an email out on Saturday with the link(s) to join us online for worship each Sunday.

Below are some resources for you and your family to continue to grow in faith during this time:

• New Roads’ Lenten message series, Enough, continues online. Watch Week 4 (new today!).
• Fr. Fleming’s blog, A Concord Pastor Comments, is a great source for daily inspiration and prayer.
• New Roads’ Spotify profile features a new playlist (“What we’re listening to”) with songs to help us to live out of hope and love during this season.
• We’ll continue to send out weekly resources for kids & families.
• Cardinal Sean and the Archdiocese of Boston are offering a Virtual Lenten Retreat.

Some other notes to make you aware of:

• Gifts to New Roads can be made using online giving or by mailing a check (please make checks payable to either St. Joseph Church or St. Luke Church).
• The collection of Easter baskets at St. Luke’s is suspended due to health concerns. If you’d like to continue to support St. Vincent de Paul at this time, donations may be made by mailing a check to the offices: 130 Common St, Belmont. Please make checks payable to: St. Luke's St. Vincent de Paul Society.
• CORI (background check) renewals for all volunteer ministers are on hold at this time. If you have a CORI, please hold on to it until our churches reopen. The deadline for renewals will be adjusted.
• The Archdiocese of Boston has indicated that we will not be gathering publicly for the celebrations of Holy Week & Easter. We are working on ways we can share in these most special holy days as a community.

While so many things are cancelled right now, please know that in the truest sense, church is not cancelled. We are a Body, not a building. Things are shutting down all around us, but as the people of God, we are called to rise up--together--in faith, hope, and love. Please know of our prayers and gratitude for you.

Peace, blessings, & love,
The New Roads Team
--
Connect with us online:
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Dear New Roads friends,

We have been closely monitoring the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Belmont and around the world. There have been several local developments this week including the closure of Belmont Public Schools for 2 weeks beginning today and the Executive Order from Governor Baker this afternoon prohibiting all gatherings of over 250 people throughout the state of Massachusetts. Therefore, based on the Governor's Executive Order and in accordance with the Archdiocese of Boston guidelines, here's what you can expect from New Roads in the weeks ahead:

• Both churches, St. Joseph and St. Luke, will be closed effective immediately and continuing through March 29th.
• We are working on ways to praise God through teaching and worship online. Stay tuned for more details to come by following us online: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and our email list.
• We invite parishioners and guests to stay safe, to stay healthy, and to join us online.

As a church community, our first and foremost concern is for the safety and well-being of people--those who attend New Roads as well as our wider community. While many are cancelling events “out of an abundance of caution,” we prefer how our neighbors at Highrock Church phrased it -- “out of an abundance of love.” Our decision is based on love and care for our community. Many members of our community are over 65 years of age, which the CDC considers at higher risk for severe outcomes related to COVID-19.

As a community, we have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us, even if it inconveniences those of us who are not at higher risk. It seems that right now, the best way to follow Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself,” is to support the federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of this virus so that our neighbors are protected and our healthcare system is not overwhelmed. We are choosing not to act out of fear, but to be responsible and proactive, and to lead with love and care for our neighbors.

Finally, like many churches, we rely on our weekly offertory collection to cover our operating expenses (staff salaries & healthcare benefits, heating & maintaining our buildings, etc.). We are making an intentional choice to prioritize the health and safety of our community, but also know that cancelling Sunday Masses will be a challenge for us financially. If it’s at all possible for you and your family, please consider making a one-time gift or a recurring gift online. Thank you for your continued support of our community! 

To keep informed of further updates, we encourage you to be on the lookout for future emails as well as to follow us online using the social media links above. This is a powerful moment to be the church, to lead and live not out of fear, but out of love, to step up and to serve those in need, and to be thoughtful and creative in doing so. This is certainly a “new road” for all of us, but our God is with us and for us; God goes before us and will lead us to new life. 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.” 
2 Timothy 1:7

With love for you, your families, and all our neighbors,
The New Roads Team
[email protected]

​We are excited to share an update about our facilities and space use. We’ve been working to address space use at both our churches since we became a collaborative in 2014. 

The St. Joseph parish house (also called a rectory, located directly across Common Street from St. Joseph Church) was unfortunately neglected for many years. Built in 1880, it had many outdated systems as well as significant deferred maintenance. The cost of renovation and updating for modest results was determined to be approaching a million dollars. Clearly, this was not a reasonable or appropriate option in keeping with Pope Francis’s direction about a simple lifestyle for priests.

The suggestion that the property be sold had been floated repeatedly, helping us to recognize a great opportunity. Following a site survey and consultation of the zoning regulations, it became clear that the property could be subdivided, permitting the sale of the existing building and allowing St. Joseph to retain the subdivided lot at 345 Waverley Street for future use. The parish proceeded with this plan in late 2015: the land was subdivided and the old rectory building and lot was sold. 

The original plan was to use the proceeds of the sale of the rectory to cover the cost of building a new rectory on the subdivided lot. However, it was determined that building a new rectory would require use of almost all of the funds from the proceeds of the sale of the rectory, which did not make it a good option as other capital improvements are and will be needed at St. Joseph.

Instead of building a new rectory at St. Joseph, it was decided that a more prudent path forward would be to use the St. Luke rectory as a residence exclusively. The Guidelines for Rectory Living established by the Archdiocese of Boston require parishes to provide living space for clergy separate from office buildings. Disciples in Mission, the pastoral plan for the Archdiocese, encourages that every consideration be given to encouraging priests to live in common rectories. Given this, St. Luke’s rectory will be used as a residence-only space where our pastor, Fr. Thom, and our parochial vicar, Fr. John, reside.

This also means that our collaborative offices will move to St. Joseph, which will house all staff by the end of this year. Since the existing first floor office space at St. Joseph does not accommodate our team and is more essential space for parish and ministry meetings, the decision was made to convert the 3rd floor of the building between the church and the hall into office space. (Belmont Cooperative Nursery School continues to rent space on the second floor of that building.)

There are several benefits to these changes:

1. The ability to provide a residence-only space for our two priests.
2. The ability for our staff to be in one facility which enhances collaboration and efficiency on our team.
3. The cost is substantially less than building a new rectory; only a portion of the funds from the sale of the rectory are being used to construct the offices. This allows us to have sufficient funds left over for additional capital improvements projects for the St. Joseph facility as required.
4. We have still retained the subdivided lot at 345 Waverley Street for future use.

By the end of this year, we will have transitioned our collaborative offices to St. Joseph. Stay tuned for an announcement about exactly when that will happen! In the meantime, please contact our Finance and Operations manager, Lou Fabrizio ([email protected]), with any questions.