St. Mary's Church Renovation Project 2006/07
March 12,
2007 - a tranquil view of the altar from the vantage point of the baptismal
font. The renovated church building and altar were rededicated and blessed by
Bishop R. Walker Nickless on March 11 at a special service. Thank you to all who
worked and who contributed to this project.
March
7, 2007 - Right, workers left the granite top to the baptismal font onto the
altar area. At the top of the base, you can see the plumbing. This will be a
working font!
This
Romanesque-style tabernacle displays scenes from the life of Mary, the patroness
of St. Mary's Parish. The tabernacle was imported from Spain and will be
installed in the altar area soon. "Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you
purchased for God, those of every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made
them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign for ever. "
Revelation 5, 9
In time for Lent,
the Fr. Catich Stations of the Cross were rehung in the church. Thanks to
parishioner Danuta Hutchins, a local artist who worked to clean and restore
these priceless paintings. They have been spread out over the church to
accommodate memorial crosses where the bishop will anoint the walls on March 11,
as well as for ease of praying the stations.
January 30, 2007 - Ambo and altar.
The ambo and
altar are in place. The ambo was blessed by Fr. Bruce the weekend of January
27/28 for use for proclaiming the Word. The altar will have to be blessed by
Bishop R. Walker Nickless during the rededication Sunday, March 11 at 2 p.m. in
the church. The public is welcome to attend the rededication mass. Once the
altar is blessed, it can be used for mass.
January 24, 2007 - ambo placement.
The new ambo, or lectern, is also made from pieces of the original altar granite
- along with a few new pieces. This mini-crane was needed to lift the top onto
the support pieces. It is fitted for a microphone for use with the new sound
system.
Workers put the final touches on placing the top stone onto the base.
January 23, 2007 - altar moves in.
The original granite altar was moved to Minnesota to rework the piece into a workable altar for modern liturgy. On the morning of January 23, workers needed heavy equipment to move this 3,000 pound portion of the altar back into the church building.
The altar top was so heavy that workers needed to use a winch to pull the granite piece up the aisle to the altar area. Plywood was placed down the aisle to protect the carpeting.
A pulley system was in place to lift the altar top to place it upon the new base. The new altar cannot be used until the bishop can come to bless it. The parish plans to have a rededication service this winter. We will announce the date and time once it is scheduled.
December 9, 2006 - Clean up and return to church
Left - Members of the Hispanic Youth Group were part of the 50 volunteers that worked Saturday, Dec. 9 to clean all areas of the church. The construction debris was cleaned from the altar area, general sanctuary, old cry room, bathrooms, old sacristy, altar server sacristy, upper room and even the basement. We filled a dumpster with trash as we cleaned!
The renovation is not complete, but the pews are being installed this week so that we can move back into the church for weekday and weekend masses starting December 16/17. Weekend masses were held in South School since August 2006. Most of the lighting and sound equipment has been installed so that we can have mass. We still need to finish flooring, the reconciliation room, and await the new altar furniture, as well as odds and ends.
Below, Coleen Vogel dusts the layers of construction dust off of the prie dieux in the old reconciliation room. She volunteered her morning to clean along with 50 other parishioners and our two priests, Fr. Bruce and Fr. Will.
Above, the crucifix has been professionally cleaned and re-hung in the background. The original sanctuary lamp has been rehung to the left side of the crucifix. This lamp hung in the church when it was built in the mid-1950s. It has been restored and rehung. Note the organ pipes remain covered in plastic for a few more days - protecting the sensitive mechanics in the pipes from the hordes of construction dust over the last few months.
December 7, 2007 - Pews are here!
One step closer to moving mass back into the sanctuary - Iowa Prison Industries returned the beautifully-finished pews to us. The truck arrived very early in the morning today, as promised. In the background of the photo on the right, you can see the Stanton electricians finishing the installation of the new lights ahead of the pews moving in!
Today's
view of the altar area on the right, the statue niche in the middle and the
choir shell area on the left.
Pat
Jones of Taylor Contracting continues work on the niches for the Joseph and Mary
statues. Recycled marble and granite from the old altar area is being used, as well as red
brick to coordinate with the outside of the church.
Floors, Etc., laid the new tile very quickly in the main body of the church! The refinished pews should arrive December 7.
Our old church will now have modern lighting technology, replacing the 50-year old light and speaker boxes. Note the new darker stain on the ceiling, which brings out the grain of the wood. We anxiously await the day when we can move back in! We still hope to be in mid-December.
November 29, 2006 - choir shell and statue areas
Now you can see the red brick used to adorn the Joseph and Mary statue areas. Also notice the recycled marble going up to frame the area.
Right, Taylor Contracting workers set the framing for the choir risers underneath the acoustic shell. Now the choir will have appropriate lighting! The shell will enhance the acoustics, in addition to the new sound equipment. This is located in the south transept area.
The church has been a center of activity over the past few weeks! Pray that we will be able to celebrate the Eucharist at Christmas in our newly-renovated church!
November 24, 2006 - choir shell/windows return.
Workers return the stained glass windows of the Seven Sacraments and the Corporal Works of Mercy back to the north and south ends of the building!
Workers create the framework for the shell that will stand above the choir, enhancing the sound throughout the church building. This is located in the south transept.
Electricians and volunteer Don Demers are also working to install new sound system equipment to enhance some of the newer equipment purchased through memorial money several years ago. This new work includes new speakers to replace those that were original to the building.
November 20, 2006 - framework for the statues.
Workers are building the framework for the Joseph and Mary statues. The areas will be built up with the red brick and refurbished marble from the altar area. You can notice the darker stain on the newly-protected woodwork to the left of the framing. The entire ceiling and woodwork are now this contemporary color.
We are waiting for light fixtures to arrive. Shortly, flooring will be installed and the refinished pews will return to their home at St. Mary's. We are still hopeful for a December 17 return date.
November 8, 2006 - staining of the ceiling.
It may not be the Sistene Chapel, but this lone worker spent
much time atop scaffolding to stain the wood of the church ceiling. Note the
obvious difference between the "old" wood and the darker, more contemporary
stain in the foreground. This process will also protect the wood. The fumes were
very strong, indicated by the worker's protective clothing and mask.
Mass could potentially be celebrated in the church as soon as December 17, 2006.
We will keep you posted on the progress.
October 31, 2006 - Pouring concrete in the altar area. Note the drywall going up over the block walls.
October 27, 2006 - The building is nearly enclosed!
Facing
south as the workers prepare to put temporary glass in the south transept area.
The altar area has been formed up, preparing to make the new steps.
Below, facing east, you can see the stained glass window from the former baptistry. This area is being drywalled to create a reconciliation chapel.
Workers
prepare to enclose the south transept windows.
October 18, 2006
The
north transept.
Looking south from the north transept doors. The higher rooflines change the feel of the building. The structure should be enclosed shortly.
October 4, 2006
Church interior facing towards the north. You can see the sky from the north and the south transepts as we rebuild the roofline!
The interior of the church, south side - wide open skies! Don't be alarmed - there's nothing left in the church building to be damaged by the elements.
Workers build up the sides of the building to create the new roofline. This is the north transept, facing east.
Raising the rafters - at least raising the lumber to the new roofline to create a new roof area over the north transept area. Photo taken facing south.
This is the north transept area, with the baptistry windows in view.
September 2006
Work resumes on the north and south transept roofs. The steel supports mark
where the roof will be raised.
Workers hit a snag! A hole is being dug under the altar area to detect the
location of duct blockage - no heat or cooling to the north side of the church.
As you can see, the Taylor employees are more than waist deep in the hole,
inspecting the duct work.
August 2006
August 16, 2006. Right, Taylor Contracting workers continue to remove old roofing material from the south transept roof. Soon, they will add block to start building up the height of the roof level to match that of the center of the building. This work is occurring on the north and south sides. It is hoped that by leveling the rooflines, it will alleviate the spring roof leaking problems of the past.
August 4, 2006. This area is where the "organ closet," formerly the south confessional, used to be! The area is being opened up for better acoustics and to create a friendlier, more open feel to the area.
To the right and below, you will see where the north confessional used to be, most recently used as a janitor's closet.
This photo shows the niche where the St. Joseph statue was formerly housed.
July 2006
Monday, July 24 - There's a haze in the church as dust from the work on the
sanctuary steps are being demolished. The altar area size will be reduced and
raised for better viewing.
View
of the south transept. Note that the area where the confessions were once housed
is now being opened up. It is hoped that these openings, along with the raising
of the roofs will help create a more open and welcoming worship area.
Wednesday, July 19 - The stained glass windows with the Corporal Works of Mercy are being carefully removed as workers prepare to raise the roofs over the north and south transepts. As you can see, the communion rail is also gone, as well as the curtains behind the altar. The Stations of the Cross have also been removed and are being stored to protect them. The organ pipes are covered to protect the mechanics. The piano and organ are also covered and moved to other areas of the church during renovation.
- Monday, July 10 - Workers from Taylor Contracting and Prison Industries began removing the pews from the church building. Fr. Bruce and seminarian Brent Lingle worked to move articles from the church the the gymnasium for weekend masses. Weekend masses were moved to the school gymnasium July 15/16. Weekday masses are now held in the Parish Center. The church is now closed until November - the anticipated completion date.
The altar area has been stripped, Joseph and Mary statues, tabernacle, sanctuary lamp and sanctuary furniture has been removed. Work is beginning on the next phase of our renovation project!
As kneelers were removed, they were stacked in the east entrance. Workers loaded the kneelers into trucks so they could be refinished, along with the pews.
The
well-worn pews will be moved out, ready to be refinished.
Fr. Bruce Lawler borrowed a pickup truck so that he and Brent Lingle could move items from the church to the gym for mass - all on a hot summer's day!
With the
pews being removed, the church begins to look bare.
