Dear All Saints parish family,
We are blessed to call this little slice of Dunwoody our parish church, our “Oasis,” our spiritual home, and it is a sacred responsibility to both care for it and to plan, constantly keeping an eye to the future as the Lord leads. This is our parish today, and we also seek to ensure that we care for this property so that future disciples, your children and grandchildren, can encounter the Lord here “tomorrow”.
Several projects are underway to beautify and strengthen our property. There are two in particular of which I’d like to make you all aware. One is straightforward and simple, the other is a bit more involved.
- We are in negotiations to get the roof replaced on the church. This has been more challenging than anticipated, but we are getting multiple estimates to ensure we get the best deal and product for our church. Once this is done, we will be able to clean up from the leak damage above and in the adoration chapel.
- We need to install at least two underground detention ponds to control our stormwater runoff. Part of the requirements the City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County gave at the start of the capital campaign was that, whether we built a new church or would seek to renovate the current structure, we would need to address the problem of the immense amount of runoff and the damage it is causing to adjacent properties. This new infrastructure will allow for All Saints to become much more environmentally friendly, prevent further erosion issues for our neighbors, aid in mitigating the impact of water damage to our own land and buildings, and bring us into compliance with local regulations. In addition, doing this work now lays the groundwork for our future.
The work for this second project was planned years ago and the Archdiocese has informed me that now is the time to execute. Trucks will arrive within the next two weeks bringing huge pipes that will be buried underneath two sections of our parking lots. Once the equipment is here, the construction team will first dig out the lower parking lot by the gym and install the first “pond,” really a network of connected pipes that slowly release the collected water into the stream on our property line. It should take 3-4 weeks to dig, bury, and refill. Then they will start on the second “pond” which will be up by the rectory. When this “phase two” begins, likely in mid-November, we will need to temporarily adjust our traffic flow. We will provide more information about the traffic impact soon. This second site should also take 3-4 weeks to complete.
All the work should be completed in December, allowing us to celebrate Our Lord’s birth with an upgraded drainage system, certainly a tremendous gift to the community, the environment, and all current and future All Saints parishioners.
I ask a few things of us all during this time: prayers, patience, and continued generosity. Prayers for a successful project and a faster-than-expected completion. Patience as we navigate a strange traffic pattern for a few weeks. Continued generosity as we move forward. We all desire a parish campus we can be proud of, and this is a critical first step! The Lord makes all things new.
Praised be Jesus Christ, Now and forever!
All you holy saints of God, Pray for us!
In Christ the Lord,
Fr. Michael
Pastor