LET THERE BE (MORE) LIGHT!

Our church re-opened after the remodeling just one year ago!  Our Project 2017 committee continues  to improve and tweak different aspects of the renovation.  One of the issues we have been discussing is the overhead lighting.

During the renovation planning process, it was decided (easily!) to keep our wonderful gothic style hanging fixtures.  Our electrician re-wired them and cleaned them, and volunteer parishioners helped to give a fresh coat of paint to the metal holders that were viewed from below.  They were fitted with new LED bulbs and we were able to add dimmer switches to enhance special liturgies.  We used the bulbs with the most possible lumens to give off the most light while keeping it a "warm" type of light.

The lighting was great for most days.  But if it was a gloomy day or dark outside, the lighting was borderline.  We explored some other options.  Canned lights in the ceiling would be difficult and expensive.  We could have new "guts" built for the fixtures which would be a costly endeavor.  But then a great thing happened...our electrician told us that the technology in the lighting industry had recently improved.  We were able to get some bulbs that have twice as many lumens as the old ones but still give off the warm light.  We ordered 10 bulbs at $35 each to change out the lower bulb in each of the 10 fixtures. Our custodial staff installed them last week (we have a lift that goes in between the pews) and we're very pleased with the results!  Thank you to all for you input!

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

It's hard to believe that just about a year ago we closed the church building and moved Masses to the Parish Center!  Construction began right after Christmas 2016 and, thanks to the on-time work by our vendors and the guidance of our Project 2017 Committee members, we were able to re-open the church for Masses during Holy Week.  Here are "before" and "after" photos of some of the highlights of the Project 2017 renovation:

We're working on the next round of plaques for the Project 2017 donor wall ($1000 minimum).  If you would like to donate before the end of the year, please contact the parish office.  Thank you again for your support and generosity!

ALONG THE SAME VEIN

Nothing was more controversial in the renovation than the black marble.  People either loved it or hated it.  These strong opinions were expressed regularly, some even writing letters to the pastor. The history of the black marble is that it was installed in 1959 during the last major renovation of the church.  The type of marble is called PORTORO and is mined in Italy.  It's very high quality and was quite the fashion at the time of its installation. The black background with gold veins created an elegant backdrop.

On the flip side, it gave the sanctuary a dark and cold feeling. One of our goals was to bring in more light, but we also wanted to respect the history of the church. We contacted Rich Murray Granite and Marble Works (located in central Illinois) and Rich was incredibly knowledgeable.   He thought that the marble could come down so that it could be re-used (we weren't sure how it was attached to the walls).  He advised us that the marble could be fabricated to our specifications. In addition, he could keep the extra marble on consignment and sell it for our parish.

After many discussions, we decided that it would be important to keep some of the marble throughout the church for both aesthetic and historical reasons.  Rich carefully cut and milled pieces to our contractors specifications.  You will find the black marble has been re-used in several locations:  The baptismal font, the Welcome Center, the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine, and the side and back altars in the sanctuary (the back altar and the steps are the original with the back altar getting a new wood surround). The black steps leading up from the church to the sanctuary are actually black tile that was chosen to coordinate with the Portoro Marble.

The results exceeded our expectations!  The marble is especially beautiful close up and works really well as an accent.  Many parishioners have ordered pieces and have had tabletops, counters, trivets, and coasters made as keepsakes. We have received some income from the sales and still have more on consignment.

While the Portoro marble wasn't part of the original church (built in 1892), it has been around for almost 60 years.  Re-purposing the marble was a great opportunity to honor that and to incorporate it into our new design.  We hope you agree!

THE SACRED HEART

Early in the process of Project 2017, we knew that a priority would be to restore the presence of a rose window in the space above the altar.  (The St. Francis de Sales window, now in the choir loft, was in the spot above the altar in our original church and moved in the 1950's renovation to its current location)  That space above the altar was plastered over on the inside and looked like a blank hole from the outside, remember?

The discussion of course began about the design of the new window.  Almost immediately, Bishop Jim Schuerman suggested that the depiction should  be that of the Sacred Heart. Our patron saint, St. Francis de Sales, was devoted to the heart of Jesus.  He founded the Order of the Visitation, one of whose members was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Christ revealed the mysteries of His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alaoque.  It was not coincidental that St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a member of the Order of Vistation  whose founder, St. Francis de Sales, was the outstanding defender of God's universal love for the human race!  

The Sacred Heart became the theme of Project 2017, even depicted in our logo created by committee member Nick Vorpagel. :

Catholics (and people in general) are visual people.  That’s why in addition to using parables to give us messages, Jesus uses images to convey His messages. Seeing an image of the Heart of Jesus with thorns and the cross and flames certainly grabs our attention and speaks to us. The thorns around His heart are a representation of our sins and how our sinning pierces His heart. The flames and the cross serve as a reminder of the suffering He endured for our salvation and of His burning love for us. The dripping blood represents the blood Jesus shed for our salvation. That’s a pretty powerful message!


Our designers from Conrad Schmitt Studios, also incorporated the design of the Sacred Heart in the stenciling around the sanctuary.

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The Sacred Heart window, designed, created and installed by Gilbertsons Stained Glass Studio of Lake Geneva, is a beautiful focal point our our newly renovated church.  Not only does it bring light, color, and life to the sanctuary, it is also a reminder of Christ's love for all!

Here is a lovely prayer, written by St. Francis de Sales about the Heart of Jesus:

             

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.

RINGING TRUE!

Here's a good trivia question:  What is the oldest thing on our parish campus?  The pews?  The stained glass windows?  The arch over the door?  Those things are all original to our 125 year old church, but one thing we know actually pre-dates our current building, and that is the steeple bell!

At the very beginning of Project 2017 it was discovered that there was water coming into  the steeple.  Several workers (very thin ones!) crawled up into the steeple to investigate the source of the leak (which was later repaired of course) and took these photos of our bell.  The words on the bell say  "McShane Bell Foundry, Henry McShane & Co.,  Baltimore, Maryland, 1875."

Since the conception of the company in 1856, McShane Bell Foundry has been producing America's finest Church Bells, Ring Peal, Chimes and Carillons, with over 300,000 McShane church bells ringing out from the towers of Cathedrals, Churches, Municipal Buildings, Universities and schools all over the world. The McShane Foundry is still in business today and is the only large church bell manufacturer remaining in the United States. The founder hailed from Dundalk, Ireland, and named a neighborhood in Baltimore for his hometown after beginning the business in 1856.

 Source: The McShane Bell Foundry, Henry McShane Manufacturing Co., proprietors,
Baltimore, Md, USA, catalogue, The Library of Congres

Back in 1874 there was a building that served as St. Francis de Sales church other than the one we have today. A priest named Fr. Zimmer became pastor that year and he was on a mission to make some updates to the building.  He successfully organized picnics, dances, and fairs to raise money to make repairs and improvements.  He collected $1000 and used those funds to erect a steeple, purchase an organ, and build the rectory.  He also bought a single bell (yes the one you hear today!)  from McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland.  The bell itself weighs 1200 pounds and cost 32 cents a pound. There was a dedication in October of 1875, (yes that would be 142 years ago!) and the nine oldest parishioners had the honor of ringing the bell.

St Francis de Sales' bell is automated to ring five minutes prior to all weekend Masses as well as on the hour with a single tone.  At  6 a.m, noon and 6 p.m. there is a special ring in honor of the traditional Catholic devotion of Angelus. Listen for it and say a Hail Mary!

There are some parishioners that remember "ringing the bell" as altar boys.  When Fr. O'Connor was pastor, the church underwent a renovation in 1959.  At that time  the bell was somewhat refurbished and the electric ringer and toll mechanism were installed.  More recently, you might remember that there were several years when the bell was "silent" as it was in need of repair.  About 10 years ago some generous parishioners stepped up and had it fixed.  It's been faithfully calling the faithful to church ever since! 

SIGNS OF THE TIME

You might notice that there is a new wooden sign on the brick wall as you come into the chapel entrance.

The Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Commission presented this plaque to our parish at a dedication ceremony on September 20 in honor of the church's 175th anniversary. Parishioner Ken Etten, who is the chairman of the Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Commission, worked with our 175th Anniversary Chairpersons Millie McCormick and Geri Braun to create this beautiful commemorative plaque. It gives a snapshot of our past to mark this special time in history. (If you haven't yet picked up a copy of our commemorative book with detailed history, there are still a few left in the parish office.)

Ken Etten, Millie McCormick, Alderman Bob Kordus at the Dedication Ceremony

Also recently hung in the chapel entrance is this Papal Blessing from Pope Francis.

Fr. John Baumgardner took on this mission for us and went to the Vatican office in Rome to arrange for a Apostolic blessing from the Holy Father for our Pastor and Parishioners on the occasion of the 175th anniversary. He carried it back with him from Rome just in time for our Anniversary celebration at Geneva National!

Thank you to all who have helped to mark this very unique time in the history of St. Francis de Sales Parish! We hope that these "signs of the time" will help to remind us all of the founders, priests, staff, and parishioners who have formed this wonderful parish community over the past 175 years.... "lighing the way to the future"!

THE OTHER ONE

We've written about the St. Francis de Sales plaster statue....you will remember that he was in the garage for a while and in staff office for several years.  Most recently he was at the school on the stair landing.  We were excited to see that he was originally in a niche over the altar in a photo from the around 1958. (marked here by the red arrow)

We had him touched up a bit and he now graces the entrance of the church in front of the historical arch over the original doorway of our church.

But this story is about the OTHER St. Francis de Sales statue.  He is made of fiberglass. He's had a checkered past, once stolen by an overzealous group from a bachelor party who were vacationing at the hotel across the street.  He was damaged in that incident and the bachelor group paid for a new one to be ordered.  He used to be just to the right of the sign by the front entrance, remember?

That one came in and was also placed outside in front of the church property.  This new one turned out to be defective and didn't hold up in the elements.  It was under warranty so another replacement was ordered.  It took a very long time for that one to come in and was finally delivered in July. Because the plaster SFDS Statue is now just inside this door, we thought it would be fitting for our "new" fiberglass statue to go to the school.  He was a little scary looking though!

Principal Gallagher came up with the idea to ask school parent (and art teacher) Marcie Fain to paint the fiberglass statue.  Marcie readily agreed and painted over the summer.  She donated her time and talent to this project and we are so grateful!  He is  now on the stairway at the school, greeting the St. Francis de Sales school kids every day with a warm welcome!