amazing grace

By Rod Haxton, editor

Generosity led to early completion of parish center

When St. Joseph Catholic Church initiated plans for a major building addition, the parish council had no idea to what length their members would respond.

Two years later, the Scott City parish enjoys the benefits of a new 16,000 square foot center that is home to classrooms, parish offices and a large social hall.

“We were amazed at the response,” says Carol Stark, church secretary at the time the project began and a member of the building committee.

“The timing definitely helped us,” adds committee member Keith Cure. “We were coming off a good harvest and the economy was in pretty good shape at the time.”

Even with those factors favoring them, the building committee and finance council were fairly cautious in their initial call for donations, setting a preliminary goal of $500,000, hoping they might receive $750,000, which would allow them to begin the first phase of construction.

The response from parishioners was overwhelming. Pledges during the three-year capital campaign reached nearly $1.2 million.

That enabled the parish to proceed with the entire project rather than approach it in multiple phases. The success of fundraising efforts also allowed the new center to open much more quickly.

The center’s first official event was a 90th birthday celebration for Prim Suppes in September.

“But we were still cleaning up sawdust from the contractors,” concedes Fr. Warren Stecklein with a laugh.

By the time the annual Thanksgiving dinner rolled around the parish hall and kitchen were fully operational. With seating for about 280 in the hall, a record-setting total of 550-575 meals were served - exceeding the previous record by about 100-150.

 

Long-Term Project

While the process may have seemed to move along quickly to many observers, it was anything but rushed for long-time parish members.

Recently discovered minutes of a parish council meeting revealed discussion of a new center was taking place in 1975. Those talks continued off-and-on over the years, but became more serious in 2003 when the parish council enlisted the assistance of former Scott Community Foundation Director Joe Booth.

But that was only one major decision facing the council.

An even bigger issue was how to approach the project. There was debate about whether to build a new church and parish center or add to the existing church, and what to do with the rectory and former school located south of the church. These were issues that carried emotional and historical significance for parishioners.

Thoughts of building a new parish on the outskirts of town didn’t receive a lot of support.

“It kind of went back to the same debate the community had when discussing a new high school,” says committee member Mike Palen. “There was a lot of sentiment for keeping it right here. And there was general consensus that it was better for the town to have a major improvement like this visible to everyone who drove by (on US83 Highway).”

Plus there was a desire to retain the “historical heritage” of the original church built in the 1940s.

 

Starting from Scratch

That still didn’t address how to approach aging buildings on the church campus and the limited space they left for expansion to the south. The former school, which had been converted to a parish center, was in need of a new roof, in addition to electrical and heating/cooling renovations. And there really wasn’t a cost-effective solution to making the center handicapped accessible.

“A lot of study went into whether to stay with the existing buildings,” says Stark.

The parish even brought in an architect known for his work as a “preservationist” to see if it was feasible to incorporate the former school into an enlarged parish center.

“In the long run we felt that would lead to as many problems as it might solve,” says committee member Ernie Smith. “Everyone figured we’d be better off to start from scratch.”

Once that decision was made, the council opted to demolish the school and the rectory was given away to an individual who was responsible for moving it. Today, the former rectory has been converted into a residence on the north side of Scott City.

After viewing about 20 samples of bricks, the building committee settled on one that was a perfect match with the church, allowing for the parish center to be connected seamlessly.

In addition to a covered entrance at the south end of the center, along with office and classrooms, one can walk through the large parish hall into what is referred to as the “gathering room.” This provides a unique, and striking, blending of the old and new.

The south exterior wall of the old church - complete with stained glass windows - is still intact and lines one side of the hall. A new entrance into the church sanctuary, from the south, required the removal of three stained glass windows which have been relocated in the new center.

The gathering hall also features a vaulted ceiling with rich woodwork along the north wall.

“The guys who did this were artists,” says Stark as she admires the large room. “I remember coming in here once and this gentleman was sitting down, staring at the wall and trying to figure out what he could do to take attention away from a single supporting beam. What he came up with, I think, is beautiful.”

The parish hall is available for family and community events. And, of course, there are plans for weekly bingo to return in late January.

Reflecting on what’s been accomplished over the past two years, the building committee is grateful to the community for its support. While construction was taking place, the annual Thanksgiving dinner was held at the Wm. Carpenter 4-H Building and religious education classes were moved to the Church of the Nazarene.

“We really appreciate how the community stepped up and helped out,” Palen says. “It demonstrates how the people of Scott City will pull together and help each other when needed.”

While the committee can feel good about what’s been accomplished to date, the members point out their work is not finished. The third and final year of the capital campaign ends in 2010. A second fundraising effort will begin in 2011.

“We hope the donations with that campaign will be enough to retire our debt,” says Palen.

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