Stewardship

  ALL  SOULS  PARISH ….. THEN ~ TODAY ~ TOMORROW

     The legacy of All Souls Parish began over one hundred years ago on the corner of California and Linden Avenue. The original church building cost $3,500. The land was donated and the church had a capacity of 200 people.
     As the needs of the Catholic community in South San Francisco grew, the Miller and Walnut Avenue site was selected for a new larger church. In 1916 the new Church and Rectory were built at a cost of $26,000.
     The History of All Souls Church records that In 1945, the idea to have a school at All Souls Parish began to take shape and form. Several parishioners felt there was a need for a Catholic elementary school. Soon, the entire parish was involved in fund raising.  

ALL  SOULS  SCHOOL 
     Construction began in spring of 1948. In the meantime, the pastor contacted the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters in Los Angeles and they were contracted to teach at All Souls schools. When the school opened on Tuesday, September 6, 1949 with 250 students in Grades K-4, there were five HIM teachers. Mother Superior and four other nuns were the first faculty. In that first month, the dedication of the school was held on September 28, 1949 with Archbishop John J Mitty officiating. In each successive year more teaching nuns joined the ever growing faculty until the school reached its capacity through Eighth Grade.
     In 1949 All Souls School together with the convent was completed and opened to its first students. These buildings were constructed with a $400,000 price tag.
     Following the fire of 1964, plans were drawn up for a million-dollar complex to include the new Church, hall, rectory and convent. Following its formal blessing in 1969, these buildings along with the school form the present All Souls Parish Facility.

      In 1974, the last of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart fo Mary (IHM) left after many years of dedicated service to the School and the Parish fo All Souls in South San Francisco, CA. There was a change to a complete lay faculty which has continued to the present day.
     In all these years, All Souls School has given an outstanding academic and religious education to its young children and up until 1991 when he current form of CCD program was initiated, also tended to the religious education of public schools students.
     In 2009, All Souls School marked its 60th anniversary of dedication in service to the religious and the academic needs of the young people of All Souls Parish in South San Francisco.

 ALL  SOULS  PARISH .....  A  LEGACY  ...   THROUGH  THE  YEARS
     All Souls Parish has been the religious center for thousands of South San Francisco Catholic families since 1898. Today the parish is the second largest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco when it comes to Sunday Mass attendance. 
     Annually, on an average, All Souls Parish witnesses and administers about 150 baptisms, celebrates about 25 weddings, supports 200 young people receiving their First Holy Communion, prepares about 100 young men and women to receive the sacrament of Confirmation and offers between 60 and 80 funeral services.  
     The All Souls School continues to offer the best possible Catholic education to its students and has received national acclaim. The School has become an icon of education for the third generation of students: Grand parents who once sat in the same classrooms as students,  having graduated, sent in later their own children to All Souls School, who in turn have now their own little ones advance in persuit of Catholic Education and excellence through the same class rooms.  This gives us all stake holders, a sense of joy and pride in our Alma Mater.
     Last year the Accrediting Commission for Schools and the Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC/WCEA) granted All Souls Catholic School a six-year term of accreditation, expiring  on June 30, 2015. 
    The School has embarked upon the reconfiguration of the Junior High program, Integration of technology into curriculum with computers, Smart Boards etc,  developing a reading  resource program etc. We congratulate the Principal, Staff, teachers and the students  for achieving and imparting such a high quality of instruction in the school. Please check out the School website: www.ssfallsoulsschool.org.
 
     The Religious Education (CCD) program is filled to capacity and the various parish ministries serve the needs of our diverse congregation. The School Cafeteria is the most frequently used facility for young and old alike in the city. 
 
     Over the years, the Parish has grown by leaps and bounds and so the work and services. Given the great number of activities, All Souls is truly a twenty-four/seven parish. With all this use, comes the natural wear and tear on the buildings.  Reflecting on all these factors we discern it is time we evaluated our facilities from the point of view of  its physical health and welfare in conformity with the demands put on them. It is imperative that we maintain  these building facilities in good and safe conditions in order to serve our community.  To that end, the many maintenance projects needed to be undertaken have been spelled out for all the parishioners. 

Now it is our Time to:   CELEBRATE  THE  PAST  AND  EMBRACE  THE  FUTURE  

     We have a beautifully crafted magnificent House of Prayer:  Our place of worship is stellar which just lends itself drawing us in prayer and reflection.  The engineering envisions a blend of eternal  dance of circles adoring the Cross of Jesus Christ.  The stained glass windows calls one to enter into a mystical ambiance of God's wonderful creation of the four elements of nature: Earth, Water, Wind and Fire, from whence God breathed his breath of life and brought us to be.

     People visiting this Church often remark on the aesthetics of our  Church.  The signs of the times and the profound awareness of our Baptismal re-birth invites us to reminisce our presentation to the Lord and his temple: cleansed, annointed and consecrated to the Lord.
Undoubtedly, it is a heritage handed down to us and we sure need to preserve its integrity, grow rich in it even in these secular and tough economic times of today, and pass it lovingly along to our younger generation faithfully.
     Therefore, we urge you to please do not forget our commitment to maintain this legacy.  Let us grow proud and uphold its integrity with loving devotion.
 
 FIXING  GOD'S  HOUSE 
It is our hope that the “Fixing God’s House” Campaign will allow the work to be done. It is necessary work. We the owners of our parish, bear the responsibility on our shoulders to provide the financial support to keep our facility in working order for the next generation.

 
Financial  Support  And  Donations
Our Campaign goal is to raise two million dollars in order to fix and maintain our Parish Plant. Labor, materials and cost keep rising everyday.  We appeal therefore to everyone who comes to worship here in this Church to consider helping towards this endeavor in whatever way possible: We are the stake holders in this.  This is our Stewardship.
Stewardship Is Time, Talent and Treasure:
God has endowed us with so much Time,
gifted us with talents and entrusted to our care a Treasure: 
In response to God's generosity to us, we could begin to discern what could we give back to God and His people, our Community of Faith:  Could it be in the field of maintenance, mechanical, electrical, carpentery, wood work, machinery, HVAC, plumbing, hardware, painting, restoration, etc.,  
whatever gift you can make towards this noble cause will always be appreciated.  It is only when we give, that we receive: God blesses a generous giver! 
  1. One may financialy support this work by donating in their own names, a one time donation or one lump sum amount, or make pledges for a period of time of one's choosing, to continously keep supporting this on-going long venture or donate as and when one generously can,  or when once's finances and resources allow one to do so.
  2. People may also give donations in honor of someone they want to acknowledge or in memory of someone who has passed on in this life.
The Stewardship committee attempts to inform the families in whose honor or memory these donations have been received. 
 
 Financial   Governance
  1. As a matter of general practise, all donations received for this purpose, are posted in our Parish Books as "Restricted Income" (reserved only to pay for the cost of the "Fixing God's House Projects"  (those listed on this page and in the attachments below).
  2. All donations are acknowledged to the donors.
  3. Our Parishioners who are registered in our Parish and use the Parish Envelopes, receive a personal letter of thanks from the Pastor enumerating this donation together with various other donations they give throughout a fiscal year.  This letter is sent annually with a statement of contributions by the middle of January every year, so that these donations can be used for tax purposes.
Financial  Reports   
A Financial Statement of accounts is published annually and presented to the Parish of All Souls via the Parish Sunday Bulletin.  Please check the most recent up to date Financial Report published

in the Parish Bulletin dated June 27, 2010.
 
Accomplishment  Reports
We can truly take pride in what we have accomplished so far in so many endeavors.  Being sensitive to our planet and supporting Green Technology, we have:
  1. Installed a new Roof on our Church(green technology) in the year 2006: Cost $ 385,200.53. 
  2. Repaired and Sealed Church Cupola windows in the year 2006: Cost $ 14,462.00.
  3. Installed a brand new Heating System (four Furnaces) in our Church in the year 2007: Cost $ 30,680.00.
  4. Installed a brand new Heating System (four furnaces) in our Parish Hall in the year 2005: Cost $ 13,549.00.
  5. Installed a brand new Sound System in our Church in the year 2008: Cost $ 21,545.50. 
  6. Installed Two brand new High Pressure Assist "C" class (American Industrial) toilets in the two restrooms of our Church and installed two energy efficient Air Blowers-Hand Driers in the year 2009: Material Cost 1,190.00.
  7. Installed "Trenchless Sewer lines" in order to "Fix the Sewer System" in the Church Property, servicing the Church, Parish Hall,  Parish Office, Rectory, School and Convent buildings in the year 2009: Cost $ 37,695.00.
  8. Installed a brand new "Ray Pak" Boiler Unit Heating System in the School building to serve the heating needs in the Class rooms and the Cafeteria in the year 2009: $ 78,022.00.
  9. Triming & Pruning over grown trees around the Church, Convent, Parish office and Rectory buildings and on the Parish Property.  Cutting down two trees  (developing into possible liability and hazzard issues) presently growing dangerously in the harm's way.  Cost $ 7,000.00.
  10. Completed the Spall/Concrete Repairs on the Exterior Wall of the Church, in the year 2010. Installed a Clear Sealer (Dow Corning Silicone) and Clear Dryvitt Top Coat Sealent Application (Protectosil Chem-Trete BSM 400) in order to protect the Walls from outside moisture and preserve the building for many more years to come.  Cost $ 100,444.00.
  11. Remodelled and designed a modest kitchen in the Parish Hall with cabinets, granite top, brand new stove and Owen and tiled floor in the year 2010.  Cost $11,358.19. 
  12. Completed the work of Restoration of the Exterior Steel Frames of the Big Stained Glass Windows in the Baptistry of the Church. The replacement of the original fastening plates that were rusted. This process involved Anti Rust Treatment and painting of the frames to match the spall and the windows of the Church.
  13. Anti Rust Treatment and Painting of the Railings on the Stairs of the Entrances to the Church to match the spall and the windows of the Church .
  14. Repairs, re-enforcement and maintenance of the Church Four Steel (copper sheet panelled)  Exterior Doors of the Church.

THANK  YOU  FOR  YOUR  GENEROSITY

We thank all those who have so generously contributed towards this campaign.  Special thanks to all who made pledges and paid them in full.  We thank God for having watched over us, and blessed us.  Through His divine Providence, He has guided us and brought us to this moment in time of achievement and success of the work of our hands. 

 
However, our work is not yet done...... As we all know
 
The other remaining items in our on-going campaign for "FIXING GOD'S HOUSE" are Repairing and Maintaining, Reconditioning, Restoring and if need be replacing the following:
  1. The windows in the Narthexes (the four entrances of our Church);
  2. Acoustic Analysis and Correction of the (interior) Church Building: Eliminate reverberation and noise and boost fidelity;
  3. The Interior Four sets of Church Wood Doors;
  4. Repairs and water Proofing of the South Wall of the School Building;
  5. Repairs and water Proofing of the West Wall of the Parish office and Rectory Building;
  6. Painting the Parish Office & Rectory, School and Convent Buildings; 
  7. Installing new Cable & Electrical fittings upgrades in the Church.
  8. Interior Painting of the Church;
  9. Remodelling and Upgrade the School Cafeteria;
  10. Renovating the Parish Hall: electrical, Wall, restrooms, entry ways, new sound system, Communication & media equipment, new furniture, chairs, tables, upgrades in Restrooms etc.,
  11. Upgrades of the Parish Church Restrooms;
  12. New Roof on the School Building;
  13. New Roof on the Parish Office and Rectory Building;
  14. Re-conditioning and resurfacing (black Top) of the Parish grounds.
  15. Repairs of the Steel fence in the upper and the lower yard of the Parish property.

Someone prepares the soil, others dig the ground

others sow seeds and plant trees

But we all nurture the plants;

Some live to benefit from the fruits of their hard labor

others watch from the havens happy that someone gets to savor the fruits of their labor.

We all know, As stake holders of All Souls Church,

maintaining our Parish Church,

needs dedication and tender loving Care:

makes our worship, life and spirituality pleasant,

defines us who we are

and gives us a sense of pride and fulfilemnt

and such joy is possible only when we keep working at it day after day,..

till God calls to His Eternal Home in Heaven:

Come you blessed by my Father, Come and rest from all your labors.

 

 

AttachmentSize
All Souls - Then - Today - Tomorrow29.17 KB
A commitment to Maintain Our Parish Facilities39.6 KB
Maintenance Projects30.04 KB
Campaign Gift Plans40.1 KB
We are Fixing God's House52.98 KB
All Souls Church with Brand New Roof in 20061.24 MB
All Souls School in 2009135.46 KB
All Souls Church with New Roof & Outer Wall restored in 201038.29 KB
All Souls Church with New Roof & Outer Wall restoration in 2010: High Res.4.2 MB
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