CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Many of the things we have been working on for the renovation will be visually very beautiful.  However, one of the most important considerations for Project 2017 has been sound.  Acoustics and microphones greatly impact how sound travels throughout the building.  After all, if you can't hear the message, it diminishes the quality of your listening experience. 

As you probably recall, our sound system was replaced a little less than a year ago.  Our old system failed (right around Easter 2016) and the new one was installed by a company called Pro Audio.  They did an analysis of our space and set the system for maximum results.  It's been working really well! Because we are replacing the carpeting in the church with tile, the acoustics will probably change again.  Our sound system designers will be able to re-adjust our speakers and levels to fit the new space.

We also have removed some of the old speakers that were not hooked up to create a cleaner and more streamlined look.  Our new organ will have speakers in both the front and the back of the church which will eliminate the sound "delay" while creating a rich timbre.

We are also very happy to announce that we will be installing an "audio induction loop" (also called a "hearing loop") throughout the church and the chapel.   On our wish list, we are able to move forward with it due to the generosity of the donors of  Project 2017.  This is a state of the art assistive listening technology for individuals with reduced ranges of hearing.  A hearing loop consists of a physical loop of cables which will be positioned under the flooring. (The timing is perfect of course because we will be putting new tile in the church and new carpeting in the chapel.) The cable generates a magnetic field throughout the looped space which can be picked up by telecoil (t-coil) hearing aids and specialized hand-held hearing loop receivers for individuals without t-coil compatible hearing aids.  We are working with a company called Assistive Hearing Systems, LLC who has designed the best possible system to work in both the church and the chapel. 

If you have used this system before, it will be easy for you!  If you have hearing aids but don't know about the t-coil, ask your audiologist if you can take advantage of this technology.  We will have a few training sessions in the future for users and for our ushers so that they can help people as we will have some hand held loop receivers as well.  You probably have seen this sign at theatres and auditoriums. This sign will now be at our church entrances to let visitors know that they can tune in with the hearing loop!

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LET THERE BE LIGHT!

The motto of Project 2017 is "Lighting the Way to the Future".  Our pastor, now Bishop-Elect Schuerman, decided to have one of the main goals of the renovation be to brighten and lighten the interior of the church.

One of the definitive ways that this is being accomplished is with a new window!  You have probably noticed from the outside that there was an old window hole that had been blocked up with cement.  Years ago, this space actually held the St. Francis de Sales stained glass window (that window is now over the former choir loft).  You can see the window behind the reredos in this picture here:

We're not sure of the reason---rumor has it that the window that was over the choir loft was in disrepair---but the St. Francis window was moved to from the front of the church to the back, the hole was closed up, and a new altar and décor were completed in 1958.  

The hole has now been re-opened and a new window frame has been built and positioned. To bring in the light, we have commissioned Ed Gilbertson from Gilbertson's Stained Glass in Lake Geneva to create a new window.  Bishop-Elect Schuerman chose the theme for the window to be that of a Sacred Heart..... St. Francis de Sales' special devotion.  The window is currently in production and will be installed by Easter!

Laura Zappitelli works with Ed on colors and textures.

Ed creates the design first on a paper template.

Here you can see part of the outer circle is already leaded together.

Numbers help to determine the patterns.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart

by Saint Francis De Sales

May Thy Heart dwell always in our hearts!

May Thy Blood ever flow in the veins of our souls!

O Sun of our hearts, Thou givest life to all things by the rays of Thy goodness!

I will not go until Thy Heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus!

May the Heart of Jesus be the King of my heart!

Blessed be God. Amen.

 

   

INTO EVERY LIFE A LITTLE RAIN MUST FALL

We've had a some unexpected water issues come up recently.  The first one is that the ceiling between the chapel and the church started leaking.  There is also some streaking down the walls. This has been a chronic problem over the years as it's always a challenge when you join a new building to an old building!  It has been temporarily fixed, and we have consulted contractors who are giving proposals for a more permanent solution.  We'll keep you posted on the plan and when it will take place.

The second thing that came to light is that there is leaking around the St. Francis de Sales stained glass window. Previously undetected, it became apparent when the painters and plasterers were on the scaffold working in that area.  It turns out that the frame around the window has rotted and needs to be replaced. (It has been temporarily caulked). We will be doing this repair in the Spring when the weather gets warmer.  It's a pretty big job as the window will need to be taken out and the frame will need to be rebuilt. 

 

 

Other than those hiccups, dare we say that things are going according to schedule!  We are very grateful for our project manager, Fran Zappitelli, and our Conrad Schmitt coordinator, Courtney Alvarez, as well as all of the members of the Project 2017 team who are monitoring and checking with our many contractors and vendors to keep everyone on task. This is truly a team effort.  It's hard to believe that we'll be able to re-open the church in less than 2 months!

IF THIS STATUE COULD TALK!

There is a statue of our patron saint, St. Francis de Sales, which had been sitting in a parish office for many years.  Recently he was in the hallway at our school, greeting kids who were on their way to class.  You can tell he's been around for a while, mostly because he's missing part of his fingers.  He has a few dings but has beautiful colors and a kind face.  He's about 4 feet tall and made of plaster.

It recently came to light that this statue of St. Francis de Sales is the only surviving statue from the original altar of St. Francis de Sales parish.  You can see from this vintage photo that this statue was in the middle niche.  He was in that spot for over 50 years until that altar was dismantled and a new one built in the 1950's.  That makes him over 100 years old!

It wasn't in our original Project 2017 budget or plan to have this statue fully restored because we didn't have this information.  So for now we are going to have his hand repaired and get him "touched up".  We're working on the finding the perfect spot for him in our newly renovated church.  St. Francis de Sales was a Bishop of Geneva and is also the patron saint of writers, journalists, and the deaf.  He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.  He has many famous sayings, one of the most frequently seen is "“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.”   Now that's good advice!

LOOK UP!

The windows being lowered from the Choir Loft

The clerestory windows are the very high round windows toward the top of the church.  Usually impossible to reach, they are now accessible because of the scaffolding.  Ed Gilbertson from Gilbertson's Stained Glass in Lake Geneva was able to remove them and take them over to his shop for inspection.  He and his crew had to cut some bolts and crawl through the space behind the windows to get them out.  They were then carried to the choir loft and carefully lowered with ropes. The windows are in good shape but will be checked and reinforced where needed (they already have some iron bars to keep them strong).  The windows have years of grime on them so they will be cleaned and polished.  Some of them were designed to open in the middle with a motor.  (We're not sure where that switch is!)  Some of the wood frames around them are cracked and those will be repaired as well.


Grab the windex!

These windows will now be accented with a beautiful stencil design created by our Project 2017 artists.  Cleaning them will really let the sun shine through and highlight their beauty!  They are almost finished being tended to and will be reinstalled starting on Thursday, February 8.

All of the clerestory windows have some type of symbol in their design.  The ones in the very front of the church have "A" on the east side window and "O" on the west side window which stands for "Alpha" and "Omega".


Alpha



Omega

Mary

Christ

Cross/Jesus

The Holy Trinity

There is also a very large obsolete speaker right above the altar (no longer in use) that will come down soon.  The fans at the top of the ceiling are being replaced with new more energy efficient ones to create better air movement.  All of the plaster has been patched where needed and painting has begun!


You can see the old speaker here above the altar (looks like a white box)

Breaking news, the speaker is DOWN!
 

We are keeping the hanging light fixtures.  While not part of the original church, they have been here for a very long time and we love their gothic style.  They are down right now being polished, re-wired, and fitted with warm light bulbs that will be energy efficient and actually a little brighter.  We are working on having them on dimmer switches for special liturgies like Holy Saturday.

 

We hope that all of these beautiful appointments of our historical church will surround you with peace and enhance your prayer at St. Francis de Sales.  Everyone is working hard to get it ready for Mass in just a few months!   



What do PROJECT 2017 and Lake Geneva's WINTERFEST have in common?

As you know, Conrad Schmitt Studios from New Berlin, Wisconsin is coordinating many aspects of Project 2017. Much of their time will be spent painting and stenciling new designs on the walls and the ceilings of the church.  We are lucky to have several of their very talented artists and designers working to bring out the beauty of the gothic architecture of St. Francis de Sales church.

Two of "our" artists, David Andrews and Zach Reuter, are members of 2 different snow sculpting teams for Lake Geneva's Winterfest this weekend.  Last year David and Zach were on the same team and won both the People's Choice Award and the 2016 U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition Championship with this beauty:


                2016 U.S. National Snow Sculpting winner and People's Choice Award

This year Zach's team is on block 2 and David's team is on block 5 (both on the walkway by the Riviera).  You can see here that the sculpting is underway.  They are "warming up" for the painting and design work that will take place at SFDS over the next several weeks. If you get down to the lakefront, be sure to visit and check their progress to cheer them on!

Dave's team's sculpture is starting to take shape

Zach's team's breaks for the night from sculpting

UPDATE:  Dave's team took 1st Place and Zach's team took 2nd Place!  Congratulations!