We Need To Replace Our Air Conditioning

Holy Covenant MCC was founded on May 30, 1975, as part of the Metropolitan Community Church. We are a small congregation that moved out of a rental in another church and bought the oldest church in Brookfield, IL, with donations from church members who left the church money when they passed. Congregants spent many long hours transforming the church into a viable Christian community, cementing and tiling the dirt basement floor, building offices, painting walls and trim, constructing new stairs, and installing a kitchen.

The church building purchase back in the 1990s also included the boiler and the air conditioning unit. Over the years, we experienced issues with our boiler, though it usually could be repaired. We raised the money to replace the boiler in 2018 but still have not replaced the AC, which has now stopped working, and it cannot be fixed according to our HVAC company.

We need your help securing enough money to pay for the air conditioning. For the last 2-years, we have been closed because of COVID. Being closed during COVID very much affected us with donations and fundraisers. During Giving Tuesday in November 2020, we did receive a significant gift that went into our designated fund for the AC. Now that we have returned to worship in the church, we want our congregation to be comfortable when they come during the hot months, so we need to replace the AC.

Our air handler unit is in our attic, so the company has to work way up in our steeple area to replace the air handler. It is quite a lot of work that the HVAC has to do to get everything working again for us, so our costs are a lot higher. We have some money to pay for the air conditioner and air handler, but we still need more funds to meet the $7,500 cost to replace both items. Prices have gone up considerably since our last quote back in 2018.

Unfortunately, that cost is way beyond what our small congregation can give. We are a church that lives from the generosity of our congregants, along with many other types of fundraisers like dances, garage sales, and other events. Our building is also used for AA meetings seven days a week.

As a church, we are very active in the Christian community. We feed the poor and homeless in Chicago, and volunteer at the Share Food, Share Love food pantry in Brookfield. We work with other churches in La Grange and Brookfield and interfaith groups such as BEDS Plus, Pillars, and the LaGrange/Brookfield Ministerial Alliance.

With your help, we can continue our ministries to those in need, not only of shelter and nourishment, but of a friendly face, a welcoming place to worship, a safe space to be who God intended them to be as Matthew quotes Jesus, “ For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Please consider donating so that we can replace the boiler before the cold weather. We are a very prayerful congregation and will be praying for everyone.

Thank You

Holy Covenant MCC is an open and affirming Christian community of faith serving the Chicagoland area for over 30 years. We celebrate our call to embody the spirit of hospitality. In this spirit, we welcome people of all genders, races, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, and socio-economic means to participate in our church's full life and ministry.

Holy Covenant Website