In January 2022, All Souls kicked off the Living Waters Project – its fifth-annual campaign in the 100 years of the church.  Over the course the three years, the Living Waters Project will raise the funds, plan the work and renew that space that supports its ministries, now and for decades to come. The vision and courage of those who built our Parish Hall in 1924 and then our church in 1956 provided the foundation for communal life to unfold in this place over time. These buildings testify to the imagination and generosity of those who came before. These buildings testify to the imagination and generosity of those who came before us. With Jordan Court standing as a tangible reminder of the power of courageous generosity, vision, and hard work, it is time now for us, boldly and with imagination, to give forward the gifts we have received by caring for these aging buildings and preparing our spaces for future ministry.

The first phase of the Project, which primarily focused on raising the capital to support the work, ended in June 2022.  The congregation raised almost $4 million to renew its space and prepare for our second century.

The work of the Living Waters Project will pay for projects in four overarching goals or pillars:

• Complete Accessibility A key component of this campaign will be raising funds to bring to fruition the long-held dream of installing an elevator. If feasible, an elevator will connect the Undercroft, Parish Hall, and third-floor rooms above the Parish Hall foyer. Together with smaller ADA upgrades and an audio-visual system for the Parish Hall, this elevator would make our campus welcoming and accessible.

• Communal Flexibility The church offices have moved to the new space in Jordan Court and we have the opportunity to reconfigure the UNDERCROFT to better serve both our congregation and the many groups from the wider community that use our spaces by 1) combining Individual offices to create larger meeting spaces, 2) upgrading the electrical capacity of existing rooms. And 3) adding a kitchen space to serve gatherings on the undercroft level. In the PARISH HALL, 1) a kitchen remodel will improve storage and workspace, 2) cabinets to store tables and chairs will make that space more inviting for multiple uses, and 3) the small rooms above the Parish Hall foyer/kitchen will be combined to a more flexible space.

• Carbon Neutrality Being good stewards of God’s creation, we commit to climate justice and strive for carbon neutrality. Installing additional solar panels to our system, and batteries to store that energy will enable All Souls to become a resource center for the neighborhood during power outages. Replacing our old gas and old electric boilers with an efficient electric boiler to heat all of our spaces will reduce our overall energy use and cut fossil fuels from our on-site energy supply.

• Continued Vitality We will strengthen our parish life through:

  • Improved CHAPEL lighting, paint, and floor covering.

  • PARISH HALL floor replacement, windows repair, and new curtains.

  • Stained glass overlay for the CHOIR SKYLIGHT to temper heat and glare.

  • Revitalizing the Cedar and Spruce streets landscaping.

• Isaiah Project Tithe Grounded in the call of the prophet Isaiah, we are giving ten percent of the proceeds raised for the Living Waters Campaign to take our part here in the East Bay to be, “repairers of the breech and restorers of streets to live in.”