Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy

Capital Campaign

for a New Corpus Christi

Dear members of the Corpus Christi Parish community, I hope you share my excitement in seeing the new Elementary School and Parish Centre- Phase 1 of the Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy capital campaign - is now complete and in use! This is possible thanks to God’s loving protection that we were able to sell 1 acre of land for $13 million, which put us 15 years ahead of the schedule, and your sacrificial contribution thus far which has continued even as the parish has been impacted by the pandemic. Thank you! Thanks to your ongoing investment to our Catholic faith, we were able to raise sufficient funds to cover the unexpected increase in cost due to the pandemic and continue to maintain our original 7 million borrowing limits approved by the Archdiocese of Vancouver 4 years ago. Through contributions and received bequest our parish community has raised over $20.7 million towards the total of $27.7M actual Phase 1 cost. This actual cost is significantly higher than the $24.5M projected cost , and it is beyond my imagination how we could ever come up with additional funds during the pandemic to continue the construction without any interruptions or further delays. I am convinced that it is truly Divine Providence. God can never be outdone in generosity! The completion of Phase 1 of the Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy capital campaign has transformed the experience at Corpus Christi for the whole parish community. The new Elementary School and daycare incorporated the latest antiseismic building technology providing the safest possible modern learning environment where our children can be inspired to grow. The much-needed Parish Centre, constructed under the school gym, benefits the whole parish community and allows us to host many faith-based activities. This new building is our opportunity to dramatically equip the mission of the Church in our parish for generations to come. As the 10-year vision unfolds and through many evangelization and formation activities, I pray that each parishioner will make the 4 core values of Corpus Christi Parish his/her own: Engaged disciples - we strive to be fully committed to holiness, mission, community and service (cf. Mission of the Redeemer 90, JPII) Rooted in tradition – we are firmly rooted in the living tradition of the Church, faithful to the fulness of the teachings of Christ in every aspect of parish life (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:15) Multiplying leaders – we follow Jesus’ example of ministry by identifying recruiting and investing in others to become leaders, and equipping them to do the same (cf. 2 Timothy 2:2) Evangelical hospitality – we aim to be generous and evangelical in service and hospitality providing everyone with opportunities to belong to the parish family We, as a parish community, will be responsible for the loan and interest repayment and must do all we can to reduce / eliminate the debt as soon as possible, so that we can fully invest in our mission in making disciples for Jesus Christ. Every $1 contributed now can lead to $1 saved in loan interest so that your contribution today has twice the impact over the long term. We are now asking every parish family to consider making a sacrificial gift to the capital campaign. Whether it’s your first gift or you are renewing your support, we need you to contribute to the best of your abilities by making a gift now or signing up as a monthly donor. Before you decide on the amount of your gift, please prayerfully consider the generosity that God has shown you, the importance of the mission we have been given, and the staggering returns that God promises to the cheerful giver. Blessed Don Alvaro, pray for us! Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Bruce-John Hamilton Pastor

The Need

Thanks to the vision and hard work of parishioners before us we have benefited from the use of our current parish church and buildings for close to 60 years. Now, those buildings are in need of renewal and essential seismic upgrades and we have an opportunity to dramatically equip the mission of the Church in our parish, ensuring continued service to our faith community for generations to come.

Renewing our Parish Buildings in Two Phases

Launched in 2016 and guided by the priorities set by you, the parishioners, the Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy capital campaign is raising funds to undertake the renewal project in two phases.

The first phase, which is well under way, will replace the existing parish Elementary School with a new building that will include a Parish Hall under the new school gym. Once the new school is built, the debt paid off and sufficient funds are raised, we will proceed to the second phase, upgrading the church and renovating the rectory space.

The Solution

The Design

Please click on the video for a virtual tour of the planned new 56,000 sq. ft. Elementary School and Parish Hall which will include the following spaces designed to meet the current and future needs of the parish:

Spacious, purpose designed classroom for Kindergarten to Grade 7 (2 for each grade)
A Day Care
A Library with Mezzanine
An Art Room
A Music & Choir/After School Club Room
A Gym with stage
A Parish Hall with a commercial kitchen and storage
3 meeting rooms
Multiple courtyards
Outdoor gathering space
New / improved parking

Your Esential Support

Your Essential Support

As an independent Catholic school and parish, we do not receive any government funding for capital projects and rely on the support of our community to renew our buildings. We appeal to you – our family in faith – to make our much-needed parish renewal a reality. Each parishioner is asked to prayerfully consider their gifts from God and then express their love and gratitude for their blessings by making a commitment to the Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy capital campaign. It is vitally important that everyone in our parish become involved in this commitment.

WHAT IS MY FAIR SHARE?

You are probably thinking: “How much should we pledge?” No one can tell you what your obligation is, for each family’s circumstances are unique. We do ask you to reflect on how much God has given to you and prayerfully respond with great love and generosity. Every parishioner has an opportunity to express their love of God and return to Him a measure of the blessings He has bestowed. Please consider your commitment to this capital campaign as additional support for the Church. Regular Sunday collections are still needed to ensure that the day-to-day programs and services are maintained.

SUGGESTIONS FOR GIVING - Multi Year Pledges

To support the capital campaign at a level that is greater than what you can contribute in any one year consider pledging your gift over a period of three to five years. This option allows you to pledge today the full amount you plan to donate and then donate that amount in payments over three to five years. Pledging the full amount of your gift today allows Corpus Christi Parish to know that it is that much closer to reaching the campaign goal and to plan accordingly.

The “Pledge Card” provides space for you to designate your total pledge, initial offering and payment interval that you request. Appropriate payment schedules will be mailed upon receipt of your pledge with the payment period beginning on the date we receive your pledge card, unless designated otherwise. An initial offering of 10%-30% of your total gift is requested at the time of your gift plan selection.

Spreading the payment period over several years allows you to manage your contribution to make a greater donation and you will receive a charitable tax credit (tax receipt) in the amount of your annual pledge payments in each the calendar year.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE BASED ON 20% INITIAL GIFT AND A 3 or 5 YEAR PLEDGE PERIOD

RECOGNITION OPPORTUNITIES

Although our gifts are given to reflect our commitment to God and Corpus Christi’s parish family, we appreciate that this as an opportunity to recognize your contribution to our parish and/or remember or honor your loved ones.

There are also a number of space naming recognition opportunities* in the new building as listed below. If you’d like more information, please contact Helen Estrellado at the Parish Office: parish.cc@rcav.org | (604) 324-2265

* Parishioners will be encouraged to select a saint or honored member of our faith community.

Examples:

St. Mark’s Room

Donated by The Smith Family

St. Anne’s Room

A gift from Mr. & Mrs. John Doe

St. Paul’s Room

In memory of Paul Smith

GIFT ACCEPTANCE

Although pledge commitments may be paid over a three to five year period, there is an urgent need to receive those commitments before by September 2021 when the new school and parish hall are scheduled to open. The aim is to confirm the full funding needed by then while minimizing the parish debt burden. We hope that you are able to commit your gift as soon as possible to help meet the full goal for Phase I of the Our Faith, Our Future, Our Legacy Capital Campaign before the new school and parish hall open.

Ways to Contribute