Church
of
St. William the Abbot
Seaford ,
New York
Annual
Report on Parish Activities and Stewardship of its Resources
Stewards of God’s Gift of
the Earth…
Church
Heating System
A part of the Church renovation project that is not
generally seen by most people is the Church’s heating system. When the Church was expanded in the 80’s,
the oil tank for the heating system was buried in the ground. Because of the danger of oil leaking out of
this tank and into the ground, it was decided that this tank needed to be
drained, cleaned out and abandoned.
Because space in the lower hall of the Church (The Abbey) is at such a
premium, there was no viable place within the Church building where another
tank could be located. To bury the tank
again was something that we chose not to do.
It was, therefore, decided that the Church’s heating system would be
switched over to Natural Gas. In order
to be wise stewards of the natural resource of gas, and have a burner that
would burn as efficiently as possible, the boiler that was installed was a
modular system. Such a system is made up
of three units. Each of these units can work independently of one another or
together as one system. Depending on the
weather outside, one to three of the modules are fired and produce the heat
needed to warm the Church building.
Lighting
in the School
At the recommendation of the Fathers Club, an energy audit
was done on the school building. At the
recommendation of this independent auditor, two projects were initiated. The first of these projects was the
installation of new lighting fixtures in the School hallways. These new fixtures, while looking no
different than the previous fixtures, burn less energy and produce more
light. The second recommendation was the
installation of motion detectors in each of the classrooms. In the event that classroom lights are left
on in an unoccupied room, these detectors will turn the lights off after a
certain amount of time. While these
improvements to the school building may not be dramatic, they are indicative of
our Parish’s efforts not to waste our earth’s precious gifts.
Stewardship
of our Parish’s Facilities
Electric
The Gymnasium of the school is used by many CYO teams and
other groups throughout the year. Out of
our desire to ensure the continued protection of this part of our Parish’s
facilities, a new electric lock system was installed on the door that is used
for access to the gym. The “key” that is
used for this lock system is a magnetic card that is programmed for each
coach. The electric lock is tied into a
computer that records the use of the individual card used to open the
door. The system can also limit access
to the gym on certain days and certain times.
Second in
size only to the gymnasium is the school cafeteria. In addition to its use by the students of
It is an
area that is used not only by our parishioners, but by guests who are invited
to be part of these and a number of other offerings. Over this past summer, major renovation was
done to the Restrooms in the cafeteria.
This renovation included new tile walls, a dropped ceiling, lighting,
plumbing and bathroom fixtures.
Stewards of Time and
Talent…
Giving
time and talent to improve our Parish Grounds
Over the years, St. William’s has been blessed by having a
number of projects that are undertaken by individual Boy Scouts as part of
their Eagle Projects. Over this past year, one very noticeable project was
undertaken by our high school parishioner, Brian Kirby (pictured next to his
younger brother, Tim, in front of the school).
The project that Brian planned and executed was the beautification of
the area in front of the All Purpose room of the school. His project included the removal of the
shrubs that were located in this area on the left side of the front of the
school. A professional landscaper helped
him to create a landscape plan. After
procuring the various material needed for this
project, Brian enlisted volunteers to help him do the preparation and
planting. The efforts of Brian and a
number of volunteers will undoubtedly be appreciated for years to come.
Giving time and talent for
our Church Renovation
A necessary
part of the Church Renovation project was the oversight of the project by an
On-Site Representative. While some
parishes will hire someone to fulfill this role, the Parish of St. William’s
was fortunate in having three parishioners who assumed this responsibility. These three parishioners, pictured to the
right, are Ed Walsleben, Walter Magistro
and George Gilmartin. In addition to
keeping a daily log of the work, these individuals also provided important
advice as to how to proceed when an unforeseen occurrence, such an abandoned
drywell on the proposed foundation line, was discovered.
Matthew 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in
his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
Picture an average guy, leading a routine life. Then one
day something happens that changes his life forever.
Back then there weren't many roads, so you crossed people's
property to get where you needed to. Crossing a field, aimlessly, thrusting his
staff into the ground, he hears a thud. He gets down on his
knees, digs with his hands and finds treasure. He realizes this is very old;
way too old to have been buried by the current landowner, who wouldn't have
any idea it's even there. It's unclaimed treasure, waiting
for someone to claim.
The treasure captures his imagination. It becomes the stuff of his
dreams. The treasure becomes the reference point, the center of
gravity of his life. He is singlemindedly bent on
obtaining that treasure. He is willing to pay any price. This is a man who
experiences the ultimate paradigm shift. He takes on a new perspective; he
sees life through different eyes.
Of course, Jesus is simply using the treasure in the field
as an illustration of heavenly treasure. No matter how great an earthly
treasure, it's still worthless in the eyes of eternity. In fact,
it is exactly this kind of treasure that people waste their lives on. Jesus
is appealing to what people do value-temporary earthly treasure-in
order to make an analogy to what they should value-eternal heavenly
treasure.
As followers of Christ in
--Randy Alcorn, Investing in Eternity
Automated Giving Program
We thank those in our parish who are
participating in the Automated Giving Program.
Participation in this program simplifies one’s life as you designate a
certain level of giving, and there is no longer a need to fill out a check or
look for cash to place in a weekly envelope.
This option also allows your gift to be received by the parish even if you
are away for the weekend. And finally,
this option is more secure than cash.
Parishioners are
participating in this type of giving in one of two ways: electronic checking or
ACH. In the case of those parishioners
who have checking accounts with electronic checking, the option is exercised to
have a check sent weekly from their bank to St. Williams. These checks are received and included in the
Sunday Collection. The second option
some parishioners have chosen is the ACH option. In this case, parishioners fill out a form
that one can receive from the rectory.
This form allows one to indicate the level of one’s monthly gift to the
Church and gives permission for this gift to be drawn from a checking or
savings account. A voided check or
deposit slip provides the rectory with the necessary information to initiate
the transaction. To date, 17
parishioners have chosen the ACH option.
A Summary of the Sacraments
celebrated
and
Children Formed in Our Faith
at
St.
William the Abbot Church
September 1, 2006 to August
31, 2007
|
Baptisms |
216 |
|
First
Communions |
264 |
|
Confirmations |
277 |
|
Marriages |
67 |
|
Funerals
and Services |
168 |
|
Children
in Religious Education |
1490 |
|
Catechists
in Grades K through 7 |
191 |
|
Students
in |
533 |
|
Faculty
in |
22 Full-time 4 Part-time |