Facility Usage/Rental

Bryan Webb, Building Administrator
[email protected]
Parish Office:  (806) 358-2461
 

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
Policy Governing the Use of Parish Facilities

A.        This policy covers the use of all Parish Facilities for the following purposes:

            1.  Parish functions
            2.  Parish Departmental, Organizational, and Group functions
            3.  Parish Family/Member functions
            4.  Pastor’s Discretionary functions
 
B.        Use of the facilities for Diocesan and Community activities will be at the
            discretion of the Pastoral Council and Pastor.

C.        REGISTERED ADULT MEMBERS of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish may be
            granted use of the facilities for family affairs.  The member requesting the
            use of the facilities will be responsible for the rules and restrictions 
            and must be in attendance at the scheduled event/function(s).

D.        The facilities may not be used for non-church related or work-associated 
            meetings without the approval of the Pastor.

E.         With the exception of parish functions, parish departmental,
             organizational, and group functions, discretionary diocesan functions,
             weddings, quinceneras, anniversary and birthday celebrations, use of
             the Parish Facilities may not be scheduled more than a month in advance.

F.         Even though a scheduled function may have met all the necessary
             requirements, parish functions, especially FUNERALS, take precedence over
             ALL other scheduled functions.  However, everything possible will be done
             to accommodate both functions in the facility.

Parish Departmental, Organizational, & Group Usage

Every Department, Organization, and Group that uses space in the St. Thomas complex has to request and fill out a Request to Use Facility Form located in the workroom, from this website or obtained from the Building Administrator.  This allows for the creation of an overall facility usage plan and tremendously reduces scheduling  and space conflicts among facility users.  In addition to every Departmental, Organizational, and Group's own plan/calendar for the year, all activities held in the St. Thomas complex MUST be listed and scheduled on the Master Calendar to maintain order and knowledge of who's in the building, when, and where.  There could be lots of reasons that could be enumerated for this; however, the main reasons that will be named here are for security and liability concerns.

Special Note for ALL Parish Departments:  ALL activities should be listed on the Master Calendar whether held here at St. Thomas or at anothor locality.

Once a request form for a meeting, event, or activity has been submitted and placed on St. Thomas' Master Calendar, approval of use for the space and time will be allocated to the facility user.  NOT before then should it be assumed that a requested space and time will be given; in other words, don't advertise a program, event or meeting, until an approval for the allocation request is made.  In the initial yearly scheduling and planning process, priority will always be given to Parish Departments first, then Parish Organizations, and then finally Parish Groups.  However, once a space and time are allocated, it will be a very rare occasion (e.g. Funerals) that one facility user takes priority over another and replaces them.  Plan ahead, submit request early!  Never assume because you had a space and time last year, that you will get the same space and time the following year as a given.

Rental Usage by Parishioners

Of course the pashioners of St. Thomas are welcomed to utilize their beautiful facility for weddings, anniversaries, receptions, birthday celebrations, etc.; however, please be aware that St. Thomas is quite a busy place with its own programs and meetings of organizations and groups.

Please call the Building Administrator to initially check on date and space availiblity.  It's always a good idea to have the SIZE of your desired gathering in mind, as well as, SEVERAL DATES that could work.  After the staff's annual summer calendar and planning meeting (June) for the upcoming year, St. Thomas operates on a first come, first serve basis in terms of rentals and usage.  If an event can ONLY happen on one certain  date, PLEASE don't wait to schedule it!  We always work very hard to accommodate all the desired happens here at St. Thomas, even if there is a little compromise and wheeling & dealing involved!

After calling the Building Administrator to check on availiblity, nothing is finalized until all the paperwork is filled out and submitted.  ALL the forms and policies for a rental usage can be found on this website or by visiting the Building Administrator.  Fees and Deposits may or may not be required upon form submission; (All time dependent), all fees and deposits MUST be retained at least ONE MONTH prior to an event to insure requested date and space.

Basic Rental Process:

1.  Call the Building Administrator to initial check on date and space availibility
2.  Obtain all needed FORMS (2) and POLICIES (2) for rental usage
3.  Fill out and return the forms to the Building Administrator
4.  Pay fees and deposits NO later than ONE month prior to the event

Facility Usage/Rental Forms