Church Expansion
Nature's Symphony
Faces of Humanity
Sands of Time
Beyond Boundaries
Greetings in Christ Who chose Judas Thaddeus to be His Apostle!
How wondrously Our Lord and God is blessing us at St. Jude the Apostle!
Because our weekend and holy day Masses are consistently at full capacity and due to a continually increasing demographic in our particular area, I shared with our parishioners the immediate necessity of discerning a church expansion in our aspiration of warmly welcoming and properly and comfortably accommodating the over 1600 Faithful who participate in our Sacred Liturgies each weekend. These numbers only increase on Holy Days and in the Summer, and the population in our general area is steadily growing, thanks be to God.
What a true blessing for our parish family, as we are experiencing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of our beloved patron St. Jude the Apostle!
As we communicate our aspirations with our parish family through surveys and interviews, please take the time to consult the homily I preached for the Gospel (Mark 1:40-45) on the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time on February 10-11,. 2024, where I introduced the pressing concerns of why we are seeking your input and insights on our hopes to expand.
Also, you’ll find the Church Expansion Floor Plan as well as the design for the stained glass window of St. Jude the Apostle, which will replace the existing glass panes in the choir loft and which will be visible not only as we enter and exit the church but also as we and all visitors cross the bridge traveling south on Coastal Highway / Route 1. It will be a sign of warm welcome and, more importantly, of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ as our parish patron St. Jude himself did on his apostolic mission.
As we discern, please join us in prayer by praying the pray below daily.
God love you! I do.
Joyfully in Christ,
Fr. Lewis
Heavenly Father, Source of all that is,
Your Son has planted the seed of His Gospel Truth
in the hearts of our parish family of St. Jude the Apostle.
It is Your Divine Will that this seed
should sprout and grow and produce a hundredfold.
As hundredfolds more faithful become part of our parish family,
we seek Your Wisdom as we discern our church expansion by
extending our arms and expanding our hearts ,
as Your Son Jesus Christ does.
Move our hearts to be as generous as Yours;
touch our minds with the power of Your Spirit;
free us from our fears and anxieties;
remove all obstacles from our holy hopes and desires;
and open wide our arms
so Your children might find the warmest welcome
from our extended arms and expanded hearts
and know their parish home is with us.
What You have begun, O Lord,
may You bring to a fruitful completion.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
September 26, 2026
Update on Extending Our Arms Expanding Our Hearts
We are pleased to share this update on the upcoming
construction for our church expansion. We have made
considerable progress since our last update, and we
expect visible work to begin soon.
Since our June report, the Architect has completed the
detailed construction drawings, and the parish team has
reviewed and approved them with minor changes. The
sitework application was submitted by the construction
manager to Sussex County months ago and we expect
approval soon. Once the County approves the sitework
permit, we can hold our groundbreaking ceremony and
commence the actual construction on the Church.
As construction begins around the Church this Fall, you
will notice significant changes to the parking areas, traffic
flow, and Church entrances and exits. Initially, we plan to
have parking assistants available on the campus to assist parishioners with coming and going during Mass times. We will ask for your patience as the work progresses and adjustments may be necessary to improve the safe flow of traffic. At the same time, DelDOT will begin making changes to Route 1 in front of our campus. Work may start as early as November 2026. We have been communicating with DelDOT to minimize the impact on our parishioners. While we have a sense of what changes will occur, the exact timing is not yet known.
The Parish has hired Whiting-Turner Construction
Company to manage the entire construction process. Over the past year, they have met with us every two weeks and have been highly attentive to the details this project requires. They are now soliciting bids: Whiting-Turner has distributed the bid packages, which are due by month’s end. Whiting-Turner advised that reviewing the bids and finalizing contracts typically takes 30 to 45 days.
We estimate that sitework will begin later this year with
construction starting early in 2027. W-T currently estimates that the project will take 18 months to complete but we are exploring ways to reduce the timeline. Masses will move from the Church to the Parish Life Center for a brief period. We currently do not know
the timing of this changeover, but we expect to have an estimated timeline available soon.
The long-awaited expansion will soon become a reality. We will need your help and understanding as we navigate both expected and unexpected challenges. This is a complex project, and we will do our best to make the process as smooth and manageable as possible. You can expect more frequent updates as the project gains momentum.
Thank you again for your support and patience as we work toward building a beautiful Church where we can continue to extend our arms and expand our hearts as a blessed parish.