Tiffany Henne is one of the parents who had her children enrolled in day care at the former St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Catasauqua, and who hoped to continue her children’s early education and care at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Whitehall.

The day care is now not going forward as planned.

In June, St. Paul’s church council president, Leonard Witt, announced St. Paul’s was being sold, with a closing date at the end of July. The new owner was not interested in continuing with the day care. The parents wanted to continue with a faith-based day care center so they scrambled to find a suitable locale.

The options were few considering the tight time frame, and only a few suitable alternatives were found.

Faith Lutheran not only had the space and parking but had experience with day care.

As president of Faith Lutheran’s church council, Mike Miller is no stranger to helping people in need.

“We have several successful programs that minister to the community,” he said.

The first step was to get the Lutheran synod to approve the plan for Faith Lutheran to expand.

After the synod approved the plan, the church needed to get approval from Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board even though the church had an existing day care center.

The first attempt before the board never happened because the board had too many issues to address on the scheduled night. The monthlong delay was critical because opening at the start of the new school year was in jeopardy.

With a yes decision from the zoning board, Faith Lutheran swung into action. It expanded existing smoke alarms, reviewed security measures and set up plans for the new center. Faith Lutheran never had infants and toddlers housed in day care, so it needed separate facilities.

The sale of the church was delayed, giving the day care center much-needed time to plan for a move.

The state also needs to get in on the action when day care facilities are proposed. The request to the state came back as incomplete.

The delay from the state meant there would not be day care available for the new school year, and there was no guaranteed time frame when the day care would open.

Parents needed to make alternative arrangements. During this time, teachers and care providers worked tirelessly to set up rooms for opening day.

Church council needed at least 38 students in day care to have the facility break even.

The failure to meet the deadline for school’s opening day had parents enrolling children in other centers. There was no indication the expanded facility was going to break even financially.

Miller pulled the plug.

“I feel that I have let people down who counted on us. That is not part of our faith. We are here to help the community. In our mission statement, we proclaim that we are an open and caring community,” he said.

As he explained, he cannot risk the church suffering because the day care center would be a cash drain.

Miller has not given up on the project, but he is leaving as head of church council. He determined it should be up to the next council to analyze how expanded day care fits into the church’s mission of serving the community.

“This was a lot more than I ever expected. Council now has a better handle on what needs to happen to make day care viable,” Miller said.