Welcome Home!

We finally made it! We had our dedication Mass today and what a treat to witness the ceremony and pomp that the Catholic Church can offer. We became 'whole' again today as we welcomed Bishop Paul Bootkoski, former associate Priests of the Parish and some special guests. The day's events began with the Blessing of the Cornerstone. Bishop Bootkoski then began our Celebration of Mass, with prayers of Thanksgiving. At the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, Bishop Bootkoski's homily focused on the ceremonial aspects of what we were about to witness. Considering this is only done for new or renovated Churches, it is truly a once in a lifetime experience for most of us.

 
As we lifted our hearts in song and prayer, the Litany of the Saints drew us closer together and the Bishop began the ritual of annointing the Altar with Holy Chrism, blessed each year at Holy Week. After annointing the Altar, Bishop Bootkoski and Msgr. O'Neill annointed all the pillars of the Church with the same Holy Chrism. To complete the new Altar Blessings, Rose Ragucci and Janice Michnewicz (the wives of our two Deacon's) were tasked with removing the excess Chrism and cleaning the Altar. Next, Mary Jantas and Agnes Bacsik dressed the Altar for the first time. Finally, candles were placed and lit by Deacon Tom and we began the first Celebration of the Eucharist in our new Church.
At the conclusion, Msgr. O'Neill offered us all his thanks for our contributions, support and especially our patience. It has been a long sixteen months since the restoration began and I will be the first (well, maybe not the first) to say it was well worth it. Welcome Home! .. and thanks for following along.

Are we There Yet?

The fence is down, the pillars are finished and I'm sure we are all very anxious to get back to 'normal'! There were a few minor issues with some of the details of the final inspection, but we'll be in the church this weekend. While most of the work is done, we have a temporary certificate of occupancy as there is still work to be completed. The carpeting in the upper room is the last major item to finish along with treads on the stairs leading to the choir loft. We look forward to wonderful celebration with Bishop Bootkoski next weekend as we consecrate the Sanctuary and Altar. Our final entries to this fifteen month project will be next weekend as we record the celebration and prepare a digital copy of this blog and all the photo's (more than 700 and counting!) Here's hoping you enjoyed following along. It has been a wonderful experience for me.

Final Inspection

The last required inspection is scheduled for Monday (tomorrow)! Last item to go in is the special flooring in the entrance, which allows for snow removal and rain water drainage before entering the main gathering area. This should be installed Monday morning. Also to be installed is the carpeting in the Upper Room. Remaining work for the windows and columns, then a few days of touch up and such. Myron (UDC) tells me we will be worshipping in our 'NEW' Church next weekend. Just in time for Bishop Bootkoski to join us to Bless our new Sanctuary and Altar on Aug.1st. Appropriate too, since the Feast of St. John Vianney is only a few days hence, on August the 4th. Thanks for following along!

Still More to Finish (but we're almost there!)

Now that the parish fair has come and gone (and so has my vacation immediately after), we can get back to the business at hand, finishing the project. We were teased a bit in getting to use our new Church for the school graduation, Confirmations and our Year for Priests closing celebration. With that, the crews are now back at work, working all those little details that seem to take forever! This week, the front stairs were completed and we now have railings in place as well. All of the doors have been installed including up on the balconey. Yesterday, the 3 top front windows went into the upper room and today was finally sealing those in place. Once they are completed, the bells will be hung and the front of the Church can be finished. Myron assures me he will be DONE next week, so we should be celebrating on a permanent basis come July 17/18. Thanks for following along!

Finishing the Project

The next week or two will probably seem like the whole fourteen month project all over again, as we watch and wait for the finish work in the Church be completed. Woodwork being sanded and nailed, kneelers mounted in the choir loft and center aisle, light fixtures and switches, etc, etc.. In the meantime, the brick was completed today as electricians worked to pull wires for the lamp posts out front. Ground was being leveled to prep the parking lot for paving. Now if we could just get those three new windows in the front facade so it can get its finish coat. As with most projects, a lot of 'little things' remain to be done, and we'll get there, just a little while longer. Come and enjoy it this Sunday though, as we'll be celebrating the Eucharist together in our New Church, right after our 2010 Confirmation class welcomes the Holy Spirit into their lives on Friday and Saturday! Thanks for following along!

Closing the Year For Priests

We were priveledged to host the Diocese of Metuchen in a prayerful and powerful closing to the Year for Priests. The Diocesan Festival and Chamber Choirs led us in prayer in the company of over one hundred priests and seminarians from the Diocese, along with Bishop Bootkoski and Bishop Emeritus Hughes. In this photo, he is thanking the host for the evening, our own Rev. Msgr. Edward M. O'Neill and the homilist for the evening, Rev. Sean A. Broderick, C.S.Sp. from Mary Mother of God Parish in Hillsborough. Father Sean offered his reflections on parish priests, from his very unique perspective of not having been a parish priest for forty of his forty-five ordained years! Bishop Bootkoski then offered his perspective of being a priest in parish life and charged his brother priests to relish their role and SMILE!
I hope the heat of Sunday didn't keep you away on Monday evening, the air conditioning was working just fine by then. Thanks for following along!

It's Ready!

It's Ready!

We arrived this morning to find the cleaning crew readying the sanctuary for use! We assisted Gene with distributing missals throughout the pews and managed to snap a few pictures while we were there too! Gene then gave us a private demonstration of the new organ, and does it sound sweet! Masses will be held in our 'NEW' Church this weekend, including the graduation of our eighth graders from SJV School! Access will be limited to the entrance from the school as the main entrance is not ready for traffic. And no sneaking out the back doors after Communion! It will take at least a week to finish all the details of the front entrance area, but it sure beats the gymnasium for celebrating the Eucharist! Thanks for following along..

Down to the Wire!

June 4th and where to begin? Another very energetic day on the site this morning. Right at the entrance, with earth moving equipment doing what they do to make way for the parking lot. Next up were the guys laying the base for the pavers. As I stepped into the Sanctuary, a lot of the plastic has been removed from items like the Altar and Ambo, so new photos of them... Final pieces of the new windows going in on the west wall. The new organ is installed and unwrapped. Don't know when the sound checks are scheduled for! Woodwork for the trin in the choir loft is going on, with a new railing added to the front of the loft.Tile work in the entrance, stucco work out front and pavers going down. Enjoy the photos. Thanks for following along!

Workers Everywhere!

From the moment I stepped foot onto the site today, it was clear there is a sense of urgency to get this project completed for this weekend. Roadwork being done on the side of the building, finish work on the facade, electricians, masons, painters, craftsmen everywhere today! It's hard to see the work completed day to day now that I have been here each day, just as it was very easy to see from week to week. But if you look, you can see progress. For example, the electricians outside completed their work for the exterior lighting, the stucco siding is progressing on the front of the building and road work is being done to replace the side access road to the back of the building and the middle school. Inside, more tile has been laid on the entrance floor, paint has been applied to walls and so on. In the Sanctuary, the choir loft is now nearly complete, with the refurbished Trinity stained glass re-installed and framed and a new addition to the area, two new chandeliers to match the main Sanctuary area. New (to us) seating for the Priest/Deacons is being refinished to match the new wood tones of the Altar and the area for the new organ was being cleared for its installation today. Are we really going to be able to do sound checks on Friday or Saturday morning? We'll have to see! Thanks for following along.  You are the way, the truth and the life of the world, oh Lord.