WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS

It's hard to believe that Easter is here and that we're celebrating Mass in our newly renovated space! So many people have contributed to this effort that we fondly call "Project 2017, Lighting the Way to the Future".  If you're a visitor this weekend, this endeavor has addressed the repair and restoration of our historical church building. While our building was constructed in 1896, this parish was founded in 1842, marking 2017 as our 175th year! This successful venture has been a beautiful example of a parish community working together to make a dream become a reality. Here are some of the groups that made it happen:

THE TEAM
The first official meeting of the Project 2017 Renovation Committee was in January, 2016 . Extensive research and careful planning enabled this committee to be the driving force to get this aggressive undertaking completed in just over a year. Led by Bishop Schuerman, the team is comprised of staff and parishioners who have many different skills and talents.  Attention to detail was evident as was a passion for doing things right.  New friendships were formed and this amazing opportunity to work together is something we will never forget.  We are happy to report that not only are we on time...we're also within the budget!!

Left to right:  Matt Huml, Mary Huml, Kathie Murray, Ken Etten, Nick Vorpagel, Katie Alder, Rose Lemke, Fran Zappitelli, Bishop Schuerman, Laura Zappitelli, Michael Deane  Not Pictured: Martha Cucco, Phil Hall, Daryl Braun

THE DONORS
To date 448 individuals or companies donated to the capital campaign either monetarily or by giving of their time/talents....and the list is still growing!  Thanks to you, we exceeded all expectations of our fundraising goals. To date we have pledges totaling $2,120,689 and of that $1,149,251 has been collected.  We are carefully following up with those who made a 3 year pledge and we're happy to report that those pledge fulfillments are being received in a timely manner!  We will be creating a beautiful donor wall in the breezeway with plaques to recognize all who have been so supportive of Project 2017.  Thank you for your generosity!

THE PARISHIONERS AND STAFF
Thank you for your patience while we held Mass in the Parish Hall!  There were many times where there was construction noise or an interruption during the daily routine and you remained cheerful.  We are grateful to all of you who helped move things back and forth, came up with ideas, volunteered your time, and helped the vendors find their way.  We are very appreciative to those of you who have been encouraging and supportive with your words and prayers!

THE VENDORS
We have been working with many local and national vendors who, as you can see, have all put forth their best efforts to create this beautiful new worship space.  And yes, there were times that we changed things up from the original plan (or asked them to add something else) and they patiently powered through it with us. We feel very blessed to have worked with these companies and individuals (and that list is still growing!).  Thank you!

MORE TO COME
While we have reached our of goal re-opening the church for Holy Week, 2017, there are still things that are a work in progress.  As of this church bulletin deadline, we were just informed that the side altars were delayed and will be here in about 2 weeks. The stained glass installation for the new doors in the main entrance vestibule was held up but will be completed toward the end of April.  We have a beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe statue being hand carved in Italy that will be arriving (hopefully)in May. There will be new flooring installed in the lower level of the Parish Center as well as the parish office after school is out for summer vacation.  The donor wall will start going in this summer.  The parking lot will be replaced  in 2018 or possibly sooner. All in all we are very pleased with what has been accomplished and look forward to adding these "finishing touches".

WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS
We knew that this construction process would bring out the beautiful character of our church's neo-gothic architecture.  What we didn't expect was the overwhelming enthusiasm that brought out the beautiful spirit of our parish community.  People helped by sweeping floors, hanging "under construction" signs, moving the refrigerator in the sacristy, making cookies, and (true story) re-upholstering over 100 chairs as their donation.  Parishioners held tamale sales, worked at Farm Technology Days, wrote nice comments on our updates, polished candles, cleaned out closets, and moved things on dollies.  Hospitality Sunday was a huge effort held each week to make everyone feel welcome during the transition.  Some donated their time painting or cleaning or carving a new door!  Others helped with mailings, hanging pictures, mopping, photographing, or moving the library to it's beautiful new space.  This has truly been a group effort and we are so grateful to each and every one of you that helped in any way, lighting the way to the future!  THANK YOU!