Dear Parishioners,
We know this has been a trying time, and we too wish that we could be together in-person celebrating the sacraments as a parish community. Know that we are diligently preparing our spiritual home for the day when we can gather again. Though the most recent orders will keep our gatherings limited to 10 people, we are thrilled at the prospect of bringing in-church adoration back to St. Mary's next week! See below for further details.
We are praying for you and your families during these weeks and striving to take the best care of our parishioners as we can right now. Please stay posted for updates as we follow Archdiocesan guidance in moving toward Phase II of re-opening.
God bless,
From Fr. Izen and All of Us at St. Michael's & St. Mary's
Parking Lot Adoration
Saturday, May 16 through Sunday, May 17 - Noon to 9:00 p.m.
Father Izen and Father Powers invite you to come adore the Blessed Sacrament between noon and 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17 while staying safe with proper social distancing. The monstrance will be located inside the atrium at St. Michael's (and atrium doors will be locked). Thank you for signing up to ensure that the Blessed Sacrament is not left unattended. Adorers are asked to remain in their cars in the parking lot. All are welcome!
Daily In-Church Adoration
Beginning May 18 at St. Mary's!
Mondays through Fridays (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
Sundays (12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
We look forward to opening St. Mary's for prayer time with Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. Please follow the guidelines for social distancing and sanitation, especially limiting adoration to a maximum of 10 people at a time. Adorers are needed every day (except Saturday) to ensure Jesus is not left unattended. Please follow your WeAdoreHim.com commitments or sign up for a Holy Hour during the times listed above. If you would like to be a substitute or make an interim commitment, visit WeAdoreHim.com to sign up. Please contact Rick and Connie Hill (612-597-0775 or 612-597-0769) with questions or if you prefer not to attend adoration at this time.
‘Rebuild My Church’:
Why Our Structural Needs Moved Us to Church Renovation
By Fr. Izen
A Visit from the Archbishop
On May 6, we welcomed Archbishop Hebda to our newly renovated St. Michael’s. He was in town to have Mass at the convent of our Dominican Sisters, and Fr. Powers suggested we invite him to come early and see the church. When the Archbishop walked into St. Michael’s, he was stunned. He always thought St. Michael’s was beautiful and wondered what we could possibly do to improve it. With great joy, he told us “You improved it!”
The Archbishop’s reaction reminded me how some of the faithful here at St. Michael’s initially thought a renovation was not necessary. While our church has always been beautiful, it needed repair, so I thought I would take a moment to remind everyone what we knew beforehand and what we set out to fix. Secondly, you may be interested to learn about the extended damage that was discovered during the process and why we are so grateful to have addressed these issues.
Above All Else
We were certainly aware the walls and ceilings needed attention. You may have attended the Mass last year where I used my high-powered flashlight to point out the structural cracks and peeling plaster on the walls, ceiling, and apse above the sanctuary. Once the scaffolding was in place, we realized approximately 90% of the ceiling needed repairs, and our painting firm informed us a complete re-plastering would be required soon if we were not repairing it now.
Besides re-plastering and repainting, a process called fiber-glassing was utilized to extend the longevity of the painting and crack repair.
Firm Foundations
After taking up the carpet, we found the floor was badly warped and needing replacement. An opportunity for a significant flooring upgrade was presented when an anonymous donor offered $200,000 towards a marble floor. We realized 1) The existing wood floor was not a viable option, 2) The current carpet may have endured a few more years, but the floor underneath would continue to warp with status unknown and 3) A new ‘base floor’ could be installed as foundation for the beautiful new marble. Since our carpet was only a few years old, this wasn’t an easy decision, but the leadership committee (including the trustees) agreed this would be worthwhile.
Make a Joyful Noise
Consider yourself fortunate if you were never at a Mass where the radio station mysteriously began to play over our sound system. One faithful parishioner still ribs me about this happening at her husband’s funeral. The experts who installed this system tried to resolve the problem, as well as new technicians, but none succeeded. The lighting, like the sound system, also reached a point where band-aid solutions were no longer viable. Since we were already tackling the expense to scaffold the church for plastering and painting, addressing our lighting and sound system at the same time seemed a prudent choice.
Beauty Without End
We addressed countless other areas in this renovation, such as updating the confessionals, creating devotional areas outside the confessionals, refurbishing the pews and woodwork, and restoring our now beautiful side altars. We are even blessed to now behold a stunning Lamb of God in the sanctuary along with new angels and a breathtaking Holy Spirit in the dome.
None of this would be possible without your generosity. Everyone who visits St. Michael’s has a similar reaction to the Archbishop: they are stunned by the color and the beauty. Thank you for choosing to invest in one of the most important aspects of our lives – our spiritual home. As I write this, we are uncertain when we might be back in St. Michael’s for Masses with congregations. I pray, however, that the day is near when more of you can experience the beauty of the transcendent which is now, more than ever, so apparent in our church.
FUN FEST Super Raffle:
Drawing on Sunday, June 14th!
An opportunity to support our parish and win big! First prize is $5,000 with five other prizes from $2,500 to $500 if all tickets are sold (otherwise 50% of revenue is returned as prize money.)
The drawing will be held on Sunday, June 14th in the parking lot after Mass at 12:15 p.m. We will also live stream the drawing for those unable to join us.
Tickets are $100 each and only 200 will be sold. Until Masses resume, purchase tickets by mailing a check to the parish office (Attn: Liz Junker.) We will mail a ticket stub back to you. Questions? Please contact Liz Junker at ljunker@costm.org.
Ponder the fact that God has made you a gardener, to root out vice and plant virtue.