DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a pastor of a small church, and we are currently renting space at our local theater complex. Our plan is to purchase a building of our own in the future. In the meantime, my parishioners would like to incorporate a community outreach program while we are looking for a new home. I am having a hard time trying to find a happy medium between raising money for our new location and creating a presence in the community. What is the best way I can use the church funds to address these pressing issues simultaneously? -- Good Shepherd, Brooklyn, New York
DEAR GOOD SHEPHERD: Actually, your two goals -- fundraising for your new home and engaging the community in an uplifting outreach program -- should go together quite naturally. Building positive awareness in your community should help you connect with the movers and shakers as well as the mainstays in your neighborhood. If these people grow to like and respect you and your congregation, they will want you to stay. They may end up being key in your capital campaign.