ST. FRANCIS DE SALES CAPITAL CAMPAIGN “HONOR OUR PAST-INVEST IN OUR FUTURE”  Our Master Plan | Our Challenge Since the founding of St. Francis de Sales Parish on June 24, 1960, we have grown as a people and a church. We began celebrating Sunday Masses at the anchor room at the Davisville base. We built our present church/hall during the spring at a cost of $160,000. Bishop Russell McVinney celebrated our dedication Mass on Sunday, July 23, 1961. Since 1961 we have been worshiping God and serving one another and our community. In 1985 we ran a $600,000 campaign for a church renovations and a new Parish Center to enhance our abilities to spread the faith to our youth and strengthen everyone’s commitment to Christ and our faith community. " MILESTONES REACHED February 2007 – North Kingstown Planning Committee approves the Master Plan for the building of a new church and parking lot at Saint Francis de Sales May 2007 - Construction begins of a parking lot and a septic system for the new church Labor Day 2007 - Fr. Bert inaugurates the “Last Call Campaign” to achieve our goal of 2.5 million dollars January 2008 – Bishop Thomas J. Tobin on his first pastoral visit to Saint Francis de Sales encourages us in our campaign to build a new church April 2008 - Bishop Thomas J. Tobin and Fr. Bastia met with Fr. Bert to review the success of the 2.5 million dollar Capital Campaign April 27, 2008   A New Milestone is Reached – Mass of Thanksgiving with Bishop Tobin     A Mass of Thanksgiving and reception for donors was celebrated on April 27, 2008 for reaching a campaign milestone of raising our goal of $2.5 million in pledges and gifts and for obtaining Bishop Tobin’s blessing of the “project” and authorization to proceed to the next steps.               "800 DONORS FOR 800 SEATS" It's Not Too Late!  We are trying to increase our base of supporters by 100 new names.  Please join us by adding your name or memorial to our donor list.   OUR MASTER PLAN (Top) In July of 2002 we began a two-year master plan study with professional architects concerning the programs, the needs, and the buildings of our parish. It was determined that the existing facility is currently lacking in size and functional capacity – a condition that will quickly worsen given the growth projections of the parish.   The parish leadership received Diocesan approval for the Master Plan on May 7, 2004. The following major objectives were identified: To build a new freestanding 800 seat church on the site and renovate the existing building to better serve other parish programs. The existing church building could be modified to become a recreation center/gymnasium, religious education center, and administrative offices. This option provides uninterrupted church services, with the existing church remaining in use until the new building is constructed. Expand vehicular access and parking to accommodate the increased program. Build a new rectory on a portion of the site that may be subdivided and sold in the future. The current building cannot continue in its current configuration, and analysis has determined that it cannot be economically renovated. Provide a clear image of the church to the community. Clear iconographic projection of the church within the community, for example through the use of a steeple or tower, would augment the desired image of accessibility and openness to the community. Plan facilities to mitigate the impact of planned relocation of Route 403. The Master Plan is based on the well-founded expectation that there will be many more families joining our parish in the next generation. While our current church building was built for a parish of 200 families, we now have over 2,400 registered families. The church has a seating capacity of 400 people with another 100 portable chairs in the parish center. * * Using diocesan calculations, our growth in families for the past two decades has averaged 28.5%. If we add a factor of 10% each decade to allow for recent surges in growth and the anticipated implementation of the Quonsett-Davisville Port facility, the largest Mass attendance would be multiplied by a factor of 31% for 2010, and 34.5% for 2020, resulting in attendance of 555 in the year 2010 (424 x 1.31) and 746 in the year 2020 (555 x 1.345). The Dioceses and the parish leadership are proposing that we build a new 800-seat church. This approach definitely makes sense during a time when the number of priests is declining and when there may be less Sunday Masses offered in the near future. OUR CHALLENGE (Top) Our Master Plan gives us an identity, based on our unwritten history, which measures our vitality and our independence. The parishioners and the priests worked with professionals on the research and objectives. It was not handed to us or imposed on us. It should inspire future parishioners with goals and objectives. The Master Plan is not a construction document, nor is it a financial plan. The parishioners and priests have been studying the objectives and costs with John Doyle of DCA Architects in Ridgefield, CT since May 2005 and Eric Greene with Shawmut Construction, Providence, RI. Phase I: We announced our plan to begin with the largest piece of the Master Plan, the construction of a church and expanded parking, at an estimated cost of $4,000,000 for construction and $1,000,000 for “soft” costs. We monitor the costs very closely in this changing environment. We will need two capital campaigns to reach our total goal of $5,000,000. This is based on financial projections of our funding capacity. Our campaign raided $2,500,000 with memorials and pledges over a three-year process. This allows us to obtain financial backing from the Diocese of Providence for the construction costs. We are very pleased with the strong response to our appeals. Phase 2: The other items in the Master Plan will be part of this subsequent phase, such as a new rectory, and athletic fields.   OUR NEW PARKING LOT             Aerial photograph during construction.                              Photograph of children acting out the parables. “-invest in our future” - It’s Their Future! The blessing of the construction of the parking lot was celebrated on August 9, 2007 by Father Kris von Maluski, assisted by the Junior High summer religious education students. The outside blessing was followed by a number of skits performed in the parking lot by the students. They depicted various parables from the New Testament which they had studied during the two week summer program. The blessing was attended by 50 young people, and their teachers and other interested parishioners. This ongoing work behind the present church constitutes part of Phase I of the Master Plan for the parish.   Blessing of the new parking lot and new School Street entrance to parish grounds  November 17, 2007 The new development of our parish property was the first step toward the completion of our Master Plan.  We have more room for parking, closer to the church, so that we can free the “old” parking lot in the future, (next year) to construct our new 800 seat church near School Street.  The building of the parking lot included new outdoor lights that were approved by the town planning board, and engineer designed septic systems to meet the needs of the new church as well as the needs of new construction.  The old parish garage was also transferred at this time.