The stained glass has been removed from the east, west and south windows. This is done to protect them during construction. They have all been crated carefully and they have been numbered, or serialized, to make sure we get them back in the proper location. As you can see from this photo, the plain glass that remains let's in a lot more light! I don't think I've seen the choir loft this bright. In the photo slideshow in the upper right corner of the blog, you can also see evidence of more work happening as we move into Fair Week. More scaffolding has been assembled on the west wall, the parking lot has been ground up for removal (to make digging for the water, electric and foundation easier), and as you will see this weekend as you arrive for Mass, the temporary construction fence has been installed. Myron (the general contractor) has advised that most of the plans are complete, steel is being manufactured, the elevator also is under way. Many of the things we cannot see are moving along and I suspect as we move into July things will get very busy. Thanks for following along.
Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Ps. 57:1
Posts
I've recently joined the parish of SJV after deciding that it was a wonderful school and community that I wanted to raise my kids in. I may not know all the details of what lead the people running the church to decide to renovate but I must say that am incredibly disheartened by it. In these times when people are just grateful to have a job and scraping whatever they have in order to be able to send their kids to this school. ...at a time when you are laying off teachers while raising the tuition, increasing class sizes, reducing time and money spent on extracurriculars, it is so sad that the leaders of this church should choose this time to waste their money renovating a church that was made to last. There was no damage, no urgency. I think it's wasteful. And although the budgets for the church may be separate from that of the school, the learning in the school is to support the Christian values that are taught in the church. Wouldn't it have been more fruitful to make a donation to the school to keep their teachers. I'm sure the parish would have happily supported it. The reduction in class size and increase in activities alone would have increased the quality of the school and perhaps drawn more students. It's really shameful. ...another testament to the wastefulness and consumerism that has led to the downfall of this economy. We should be embarrassed to be part of such excesses. I know I am! I am dismayed at the loss of GREAT teachers who have been a wonderful part of my childrens lives. I am distraught that they should be made unemployed while they watch the wastefullness of this church renovation. It is SO SO saddening. And I've made it a point to explain to my children that this is not how Christians should act. They should give away their possessions and follow Him! ...not refinish their pues!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Parish Family of St John Vianney. I'm glad you chose the community and the school. We did the same thing six years ago, focusing first on the Church and school for our two boys. We're glad we enrolled them at St. John's and in fact one of them just graduated.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are all feeling the pinch these days for sure, let me give you some details about the project that might help you understand. First, the school stands on its own, meaning, tuitions are the sole source of income for staffing. The parish is not asked to participate in appropriating funds for the school. Look at some parishes that do fund their school and what you will find is those schools are on the verge of closing or have closed. Second, this project started more than three years ago, long before anyone was predicting the current state of our economy. Third, while there is sure to be some agreement with concerns over class sizes and fewer teachers, rest assured no funds from the school tuitions are being allocated to the church renovation. Continuing on that note, all of the funds for the renovation are in fact, donations from parish member families, who saw the need for expanding our church to fit the growing needs of the parish. Further, part of the 'church' renovation included monies to replace all of the windows in the school making it more comfortable for students and teachers and saving money in heating bills. Finally, while we are all saddened to see teachers lose their jobs, there is hope that with projects like this, others might keep theirs, such as plumbers, carpenters, painters, etc.. Maybe the updated school and church will encourage more families like ours and yours to join the parish and enroll their children in St. John Vianney School. I hope this helps you understand the scope and flow of the project and perhaps change your mind on the wastefulness you see in it.