A living center for parish life
“Behold! I make all things new” is Phase II of our capital campaign to build a new, two-story building added to the front of our existing parish offices. In a welcoming way, it will stretch out into the parking lot as a visible invitation to make Saint Bernadette the center of your worship, fellowship, and volunteer activities.
The completed structure will be approximately 12,800 sq. ft. You can think of it this way: we are basically adding what amounts to five more meeting spaces at least half again as large as the Bradican Room! Given the layout and the retractable partitions, in practice, it means that a room could also be configured to be twice or three times this size. Think of the variety of needs and uses we could address!
A Visible Sign: We are centrally located at an important crossroads in the Northern Virginia/DC region. The sooner we expand our capacity, the sooner we can welcome so many more parishioners and neighbors. The longer we wait, without doubt, the more it will cost.
Parking Level: This entry level begins with a welcoming and secure Lobby and elevator that will offer ADA access to the church sufficiently large for funeral needs. It features three new meeting rooms and also connects to the existing Bradican Room. Each of the new meeting rooms can accommodate approximately 80 to 100 people (plus storage). This level also includes new ADA bathrooms to service both the new and existing spaces, as well as a new service entry.
Church Level: The upper level features a large conference room or “Fellowship Hall” that will accommodate up to 250 to 300 people for an event, or approximately 200 people for a seated dinner. The Church Level will connect to the existing parish offices and provide direct access from the church itself, directly opposite the front doors of the church.
Site Design: The building is sited to align with the church and to strengthen the processional ceremony from arrival on our Saint Bernadette campus through to worship. The space between the axis of the entry drive and the new building creates a tranquil and beautiful plaza for gatherings before and after worship as well as for all hosted events.