all souls
historical society
Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, Shape the Future
2020
All Timelines:
325 AD–1818: The Roots of Our Liberal Faith
1838–1860: The Bellows Era, Part 1: Gaining Prominence
1861–1882: The Bellows Era, Part 2: All Souls and the Civil War
1883–1919: Safely Onward
1920–1945: Changes for Women, All Souls and the World
1946–1977: The Kring Era
1978–2006: The Church Era
2007–2019: The Guengerich Era, Part 1
January
Lorraine Allen, our beloved All Souls Archivist, was remembered at a memorial service on January 26, 2020.
February
The 201st Annual Meeting was held on February 2.
March
The Musica Viva NY concert was held as scheduled at the Brick Church. In the following days several people became ill with Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. All Souls was one of the first churches in New York to suspend gatherings and begin online ministry, meetings and worship services, carried out on the Zoom platform.
The Past Presidents Award was presented to the Building Advisory Task Force (Virginia Kindred, Louis Frederick “Fritz” Reuter IV, and Deborah Taylor).
David Poppe, the Board Treasurer, gave a PowerPoint presentation with encouraging information about the church's finances.
...Because the coronavirus, like the flu, is spread from close, person-to-person contact, as well as from contact with contaminated surfaces and objects, we are taking extra steps to make sure our facilities are as safe as possible, including making hand sanitizer freely available. Your ministers and staff will also discontinue for now our custom of greeting with a handshake, and we encourage you to do the same. Feel free to greet us and others by pressing your palms together, holding your hand over your heart, or giving a friendly nod...
Please know that we will do everything we can to keep you safe and informed in the days ahead. Take good care of yourselves and one another, as we hold those who are directly affected by this crisis in our thoughts and prayers.
In the spirit of All Souls,
Your ministers and staff
On February 29, the congregation received an email message advising all to refrain from shaking hands and hugging at the next day’s worship service, due to coronavirus concerns:
New York began state-wide lockdown, closing all but essential businesses. As the pandemic intensified, New York City became the most affected city in the world.
Two All Souls members, Steve Kaminski and Betty McCollum, died from Covid-19, and one, Robin Bossert, was hospitalized for 43 days, on a ventilator for 12 days, but made an amazing recovery.
April
On Easter Sunday, over 500 people participated in the two online Sunday worship services on Zoom. In earlier planning, it had been hoped that a return to worship in the refurbished sanctuary would be possible on Easter Sunday.
First Light Meditation
for June 1, and the announcement of a discussion of
The Way of Gratitude
to be held on Zoom.
A screenshot from the discussion with Pamela, Pilar and Galen.
The Forrest Church memorial by sculptor Amy Kann was installed in the sanctuary, whose renovation was almost complete.
June
The Historical Society created the new historical website, allsoulsnychistory.org, and called for submissions to the archives.
The 2019-2020 fiscal year ended with a smaller-than-anticipated deficit. A U.S. government Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant and stronger congregational giving helped offset losses in rental income.
October
All Souls signed up with the company Mighty Networks to create a social media website for the church community, All Souls Connext. We used it until September 2023.
Connext was a private online community for the members and friends of All Souls, where we could talk directly with one another, share information, and keep our community updated with news.