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The parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Church are part of a vibrant Catholic community, which has a host of spiritual, educational and social needs. The present challenge is to repair and enhance our physical structure so that our worship, prayer, learning and parish life will continue to grow and thrive long into the future.  However, if we are to succeed in this endeavor, we need your heartfelt support and generosity.  With your help, we will be successful and continue to gather, to pray, to learn, to socialize and to grow together as a family in the spirit of Christ.

What Needs To Be Done!

  • STEEPLE ROOF REPLACEMENT
  • ACCESS HATCH & LADDER SYSTEM REPLACEMENT
  • WALL PANEL AND TRIM REPLACEMENT
  • WINDOW SCREEN REPAIR & TREATMENT
  • SOFFIT & FASCIA REPLACEMENT
  • BRICK & MORTAR POINTING & CAP WORK
  • INSTALL LIGHT FIXTURES TO ILLUMINATE THE CROSS & BELFRY
  • POWDER COAT CROSS AND REPLACE LIGHTNING PROTECTION
  • PAINTING & POWDER COATING AS NEEDED

 

To All Those Who Have Been Blessed

If you have been so blessed that you are able to make a pledge of $5,000, $7,500, $10,000, $15,000, $25,000 or more, we need your leadership.

PROJECT COSTS

Construction Cost:                    $300,000

Const. Contingency (@10%):  $  30,000

Eng. & Const. Mgmt @~15%:  $  45,000

Total:                                         $375,000

TAX ADVANTAGES TO CHARITABLE GIVING

Your gift may be tax deductible; however the following ways to give may present additional tax benefits:

Gifts of Stock: Typically, the donor pays no capital gains tax on securities that have increased in value since originally acquired, and may deduct the full current market value from taxable income.

Gifts from IRA: For those 70 ½ years of age or older, a gift directly from your IRA can satisfy your RMD and present significant tax benefits.

OUR SCHEDULE

We would like to start in the Spring or early Summer of 2020 and the project duration would likely be 90 days.

 

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St. Francis Xavier Church
Light Our Faith, Light Our Family, Light Our Future

On the site of our present church there once stood a tavern, one of the most popular between Syracuse and Auburn. Built by Deacon Samuel Rice in the early 1800s, it was the third frame building to be erected in Marcellus and on its second floor, a young Catholic congregation in Marcellus, mostly immigrants from Ireland, began to hold services, beginning in 1854. For a dozen years or more, from 1854 to 1867, while a mission of St. Joseph’s Church in Camillus, services for the growing Catholic community in Marcellus were conducted in the tavern.
In 1867, a fund was started by Rev. Francis J. Purcell, the Skaneateles Pastor, for the erection of a proper church in Marcellus and with the loyal support of the congregation, the old tavern was torn down and on its site, the present Church of St. Francis Xavier, a large and substantial brick building, was completed in 1868.

For over 150 years, our church has stood on the corner of South and Main Streets, its 100-foot steeple and cross serving as a welcome inspiration for all who pass by or enter or leave its portals. For 150 years, that steeple has witnessed thousands of baptisms, weddings and funerals, numerous first communions, confirmations, visitations and counseling sessions. It has welcomed twelve resident pastors and as many assistant pastors, and has seen the history of Marcellus pass by – a procession of farmers, mill workers, veterans, school children, parade celebrants, firemen, and politicians. It has seen our parish grow from a membership of about 20 to over 2000 people at present.

It has also observed the acquisition of other property necessary for the functioning of a religious community – attesting to the remarkable foresight and oversight of dedicated clergy and lay trustees through the years. Today that foresight continues to be exhibited as renovation, upkeep and modernization including handicapped accessibility have found expression in a number of worthwhile and beneficial projects conducted by church leaders.

In its 150 years, it has weathered many storms, along with necessary maintenance and modernization throughout that long history. Now, the steeple itself needs some major renovation. While our congregation has been remarkably generous over the years in maintaining church property, it has now become necessary for this generation of parishioners to shoulder the burden of a major capital campaign – one that will light the future for those who will follow us.
The Parish of St. Francis Xavier has been a member of the Marcellus community for the last 165 years and our church on the corner of West Main is a reminder not only of its physical presence for all of those years, but also a living testimony to the faith of both the families that founded it and those generations that followed. We are the beneficiaries of a magnificent inheritance and it will be through our sacrifice and generosity that we will be able to pass on to the next generation the belief and traditions which have given our lives, both meaning and purpose. Like a tree with great roots, our church is well grounded and deep-seated, providing strength and stability, as well as a continuity that links our past with the present and the future.