The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of Franklin Township has received a $3.5 million loan and a $5,000 donation toward construction of its new church on Elizabeth Avenue.
The 10-acre site, currently under construction, will feature an 11,000-square-foot church, a 10,000-square-foot fellowship hall, meeting rooms and a kitchen, according to a press release about the loan.
In addition to the loan for the $6 million project, the Clinton-based bank has also donated $5,000 to the church’s “Brick-by-Brick” fundraising campaign.
“Unity Bank is committed to supporting the communities we serve and St. Thomas is growing by leaps and bounds,” Unity Bank President & CEO James A. Hughes said in the release. “It’s very rewarding to be able to partner with a parish creating a facility that will benefit the community for many years to come. Supporting the fundraising effort is the least we could do and I am confident many other local businesses will join in the Brick-by-Brick campaign.”
The Syro-Malabar Church is an Apostolic Church based in India. St. Thomas was founded in 2000 in Milltown before renting a space in East Millstone in 2004 and moving to Livingston Avenue in 2006.
“Our church started as a mission of 15 families in 2000 and we now have approximately 500 parishioners,” St. Thomas Trustee Tom Perumpail said in the release. “The new church is a dream come true for our parish family and we are so thankful to Unity Bank for making this vision of the future a reality. Every single person we have worked with at Unity Bank has been focused on meeting our goals.”
