The present St. Elizabeth's church was built in 1946 as a mission chapel. When a resident pastor was appointed in 1957 a rectory was built on the property and St. Elizabeth's became a parish in its own right. There were about 20 to 25 families.
Since then the parish has slowly grown to about 80 families that are currently registered. For some time it has been apparent that the current church structure was inadequate and becoming more so. The desire to build a new church has, over the years, been frustrated by lack of funds. The parish income and the income of parishioners just would not support the expense. But we did start a "building fund" and started saving as much as possible.
Now we have decided to pursue the dream. We have proposed a plan that, while modest and limited, will make a new church building possible with our savings, commitments from our parishioners and help from friends and benefactors.
The plan is to build the new church on our north lot (now used for parking). It would be about 40' x 70' with entry and gathering area on the West end. The first floor would consist of worship area with a seating capacity of from 125 to 175 ..., sacristy and rest rooms would be at the West end of the building. A full basement, with ground level walkout would house PSR classrooms, activity area, mechanical and storage.
Our hope is to be able to construct the new building for about $300,000 to $350,000. We have a little less than half that in our savings/building fund. We decided against adding a parish hall. That would make the building costs beyond our abilities. We will keep the present small facility and perhaps someday would remodel the present church building for that purpose.
Below is the beginning of our floor-plan sketch. More will be added as available.
We invite you to share in our plans and to be a part of The Church in El Dorado Springs, with your gift to our building. Visit this site from time to time and see how we are doing ... or better, visit us at 609 S. Main...
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