Photo Caption: The present Family Resources Center in downtown Peoria will move to a 14,000-square foot facility to be constructed across Monroe Street from the Spalding Pastoral Center.

Strengthening and coordinating efforts to promote respect for life at all stages is the goal of a resource center being built across the street from the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria.

The 14,000-square-foot facility will provide a new home for the Family Resources Center, which is currently located at 321 Main St. in Peoria. The project became viable when donors, who prefer to remain anonymous, came forward with a gift of more than $1 million.

The Diocese of Peoria will work on the additional funding needed to complete the center.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, said he is extremely humbled by this generous gift to the diocese, adding that he is grateful that the valuable ministry of the Family Resources Center and others will have a home closer to the Spalding Pastoral Center, especially at these critical times for issues related to life.

Not only will that proximity offer increased visibility, but it will also provide easy access for people who are visiting the pastoral center for meetings and conferences, as well as exhibits at the Diocesan Historical Museum and Fulton J. Sheen Museum.

Msgr. Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria, noted that the construction also will allow the resource center to “leverage” technology to spread the respect life message and reach more people in new and exciting ways.

“By bringing the facility onto campus we will be able, over time, as needs present themselves, to leverage each other’s assets, each other’s ministry,” he said. “We will be working to define the synergies, as we go forward, between what the Family Resources Center offers and what the diocese offers in terms of respect for life.”

ONE OF A KIND
An outreach of the Diocesan Respect Life Board, the Family Resources Center was founded in July 1980. Started in the home of Jan Smith, director, it has been located in downtown Peoria, across the street from the Peoria County Courthouse, for more than 25 years.

Over the course of its 32-year history, the Family Resources Center has amassed nearly 28,000 videos and DVDs, which are made available on a free-loan basis. There are also thousands of books on a variety of subjects, brochures, posters, CDs, research materials and fetal models available.

“I think what we’ve done is we’ve evolved into the first Catholic, public free-loan library in the world,” Smith recently told The Post. “Our center still seems to be one-of-a-kind unique. Although we’re ecumenical in volunteers and donations, it does seem like that’s what we’ve done.”

The library atmosphere will be maintained in the new facility and there will be a children’s “nook” for parents and children who want to read and explore together. In addition, there will be a devotional area and office space on the first floor, a full basement with a multipurpose room for large meetings, and onsite parking.

Smith said she hopes this will allow them to offer a children’s reading program, book clubs, parenting programs, a speaker series and study groups on all aspects of the pro-life message.

“The opportunities are limitless to strengthen and build happy and holy families with our enriching resources,” she said, offering thanks to God for the blessing of the donors and their “wonderful gift.”

GUIDED BY THE SPIRIT
Designed by River City Construction, the new resource center will have the same architectural style as the Spalding Pastoral Center and add to the diocesan “campus” that is taking shape, according to Deacon Bob Sondag, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Peoria.

To make way for the project, diocesan houses at 409, 413 and 417 N.E. Monroe St. are in the process of being demolished. Those buildings formerly were the offices of The Catholic Post, the Christ Child Society of Central Illinois and the diocesan archives, respectively. In previous years, Catholic Charities and the diocesan Marriage Tribunal also occupied two of the buildings.

The Post and the diocesan archives are now located at the Spalding Pastoral Center, and the Christ Child Society has a temporary home at nearby St. Augustine Manor. When the new resource center is completed, the Christ Child Society will have space there.

A site plan is being developed and it is anticipated that the project will go out for bids this spring. Construction could start in May or June and is expected to take about six months.

“I think we can still be in the building in late 2012 or early 2013, depending on when construction starts and when we secure all of the remaining funds,” Deacon Sondag said.

He emphasized that in the midst of all of the business plans and construction preparation needed to move forward with the project, it is important to remember why this is being done and who is ultimately in charge of how the facility will be used.

“By bringing them closer and being part of the campus, it will allow opportunities to leverage each other’s message and their ministry,” Deacon Sondag said. “My experience over time has simply been when that happens, who knows what the Lord does with that? There are things that evolve out of those types of relationships that we can’t even name today.”

Staying open to the Holy Spirit and letting him take the lead will make the sum of all the parts greater than any one part, he explained.

“I think that’s exciting and I think that’s exciting for the Family Resources Center, for the diocese and, more importantly, for the people who will come seeking information from that ministry,” Bishop Jenky said.

“The fact that this donation has come will allow us to be prepared to go into the future for a long, long time,” the bishop added.