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News / Updates:
Join us for the CF Guild Town Hall! Tuesday, October 27 at 6PM Central Time. Join us for some fun updates and a ‘reintroduction’ to Catholic Founders.
New in the Guild: a dedicated channel for real estate professionals (people funding, building, advising, designing). Erik (today’s guest) is in there too.
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In Today’s Issue:
Intro to the Guest and Topic
Core Takeaway
Episode References
Select Quotes
Key Moments
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Sponsor Alert!
Our Father Constructors & Associates is your partner for any construction project.
If you want to ensure your church, school, monastery (etc) project is done well, on budget (or under budget), and ultimately, that it serves the Church for generations — reach out to Cristian and his team. Go to OurFather.US to learn more. Tell them that we sent you!
Today’s Topic & Guest:
Erik Bootsma | Erik Bootsma Architect
Most modern buildings are ugly. And no, it’s not an accident. Modernist ideology has totally infected the elite architecture class. They’re taught to reject everything from the past. Pair that with modern spreadsheet brain — you’re only going to get buildings that last 10, 20, or 30 years.
In the past, not only did our buildings actually look beautiful, but we built them with real materials that would also last. In part, this is because architects used to hold the line and ensure that quality materials were used and because they understood the importance of beautiful buildings that uplift the humans inhabiting and using them.
Without architects holding that line, the PE-guys in vests have taken over and all that matters is ROI. Even in the instances where the buyer is not a spreadsheet brained monkey. If the architect guides the builder, you can steer things in the right direction. Where beauty is present, and it will stand the test of time.
Our guest today, Erik Bootsma, is one of the few architects people call when they want to build something beautiful and built to last. His firm in Richmond, Virginia focuses on Catholic church architecture: new churches, liturgical renovations, monasteries, and recently did work at Benedictine College. For 15+ years he's also been designing Catholic villages, neighborhoods built with the church at the center (if you want to fund this happening, he’s interested in speaking).
As always we covered a wide range of topics, but all things real estate, beauty, faith, how we as business owners can promote beautiful buildings and more.
Let us know your biggest takeaway or favorite moment when you’re done watching.
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Core Lesson:
We must relearn how to think generationally.
If we think in modern terms, it becomes impossible to justify spending what we ought on beautiful buildings. If we think generationally, spending a lot on a building so it's built well, and doesn't need to be torn down in 30 years, makes tons of sense.
As Catholics, we must think generationally. It's a manifestation of the virtue of hope in our life.
In the modern mind, everything is fleeting because there is no eternity. It's just this life, so why bother building things that last? That’s why what we build does look like garbage. We don’t expect it to last - we don’t care!!!
As Catholics we should be appalled at this thought. We KNOW there is an eternity, and how we live in this life determines whether we get to participate in that eternity in joy or in suffering and to what extent on each front..
Do NOT give in to the modern fallacy that all things are fleeting. Do the right thing. Build the building well. Do hard things that benefit the next generation. Think generationally.
God Bless & Happy Building!
~Silas Mähner
PS: If you’re interested in building generationally, join the CF Guild — you’ll be in good company! Sign up here
Hire Catholic Overseas Talent
In LatAm and the Philippines, there are millions of Catholic remote workers (across all domains) who want to work for ethical bosses.
Often, they’re treated as second-class citizens or work for organizations that ask them to do questionable things. They reach out to us in search of a Catholic boss.
So, we started ParacleteVA (website coming soon).
With ParacleteVA, we’ll find you vetted, Catholic overseas talent who will help you move your business forward.
How it works: Pay a $500 finders fee when the candidate starts and $500 if you’re still happy with them after 30 days.
To get started, reach out to catholicfounders@gmail.com with what you’re looking for, and we’ll get started.
Key Episode References:
St. Charles Borromeo, Instructiones Fabricae et Supellectilis Ecclesiasticae (1577)
Leaving a Legacy: Inheritance, Charity, & Thousand-Year Families
Ferenc Hörcher, philosophy of European cities (urbs vs. civitas)
Select Quotes:
"We can't think in ten year, twenty year, thirty year return on investment time like we do at a house." — Erik Bootsma
"A real community is one that lives and breathes all day, every day." — Erik Bootsma
"Are you giving them a gift or are you giving them a burden?" — Erik Bootsma
"You're either gonna spend the money now or you're gonna ask your children and your grandchildren to spend the money." — Erik Bootsma
"I have never met a priest younger than me who doesn't want to build beautiful stuff and beautiful permanent stuff." — Erik Bootsma
"You set up a neighborhood around a church and that's how you did it... Even within a larger city, it was a village." — Erik Bootsma
Key Moments: (outline)
02:20 – Architects as “executives” rather than just “creatives”
03:55 – Discussion on architecture and why so many ugly modern buildings were built
07:40 – The true function and purpose of churches
11:11 – What constitutes a real, living community
11:20 – The concept and vision of Catholic villages
13:55 – Favorite project: The Rosary Walk in Gallup, New Mexico
16:20 – The spiritual aspect of volunteer labor and building
19:30 – Taking on projects that cannot be completed in a single lifetime
20:44 – Winston Churchill’s quote: “We shape our buildings and then they shape us”
27:24 – How the Church and modern society have fallen into “spreadsheet brain”
28:48 – Moving past 10–30 year ROI to embrace true generational thinking
30:40 – Building as a gift versus saddling future generations with a burden
33:17 – Working with clergy and the mindset shift in younger priests
43:17 – Using traditional building materials
54:01 – Advice for business owners on long-term community building and investments
56:50 – Closing and Rapid Fire
Hire Catholic Overseas Talent
In LatAm and the Philippines, there are millions of Catholic remote workers (across all domains) who want to work for ethical bosses.
Often, they’re treated as second-class citizens or work for organizations that ask them to do questionable things. They reach out to us in search of a Catholic boss.
So, we started ParacleteVA (website coming soon).
With ParacleteVA, we’ll find you vetted, Catholic overseas talent who will help you move your business forward.
How it works: Pay a $500 finders fee when the candidate starts, and $500 if you’re still happy with them after 30 days.
To get started, reach out to catholicfounders@gmail.com with what you’re looking for, and we’ll get started.
