BELLEVILLE - Two congregations soon will become one at a church being built in Belleville, with further consolidation ahead.
The parishioners of St. James in Dayton and St. Mary of Lourdes Church in Belleville nearly have completed a $4.7 million church to attract and better serve its members.
"Eventually the congregations of St. James, St. Mary of Lourdes, St. Patrick's in Albany, St. Williams in Paoli and St. Andrews in Verona will all be linked together," said Father Ken Klink, who is the priest at St. James and St. Mary of Lourdes. "In the not-so-distant future there will be one priest serving all five congregations. So we wanted to put together a building that would meet the needs of that clientele."
The new church, Father Klink said, will be a great place for worship while not being extravagant. It will be completed in late October or early November, according to project manager Luke Hutchins.
"We are pretty much on schedule, and that was due to being able to get the excavating completed last fall," Hutchins said. "Some weeks we get a little ahead, but then some weeks we have to wait for supplies."
Hutchins said many community members, parishioners and local vendors have worked on the project.
"With a project like this, their involvement makes for a huge amount of pride in the church and in the community as a whole," said Hutchins, who also is project manager of other Findorff projects under way, as well at the completed St. Johns church in Waunakee.
St. James families will celebrate their final mass Aug. 3. Some of the stained glass windows will be removed and installed in the new church to signify the congregation's part and contributions.
"We will clearly be in the building before Christmas of 2008," said Father Klink, who also expressed sadness about leaving the old churches in Dayton and Belleville.
He said the 170 or so close-knit Dayton parishioners will go through a grieving period as they leave the simple, country church they have attended for years.
"No doubt there will be a final game of 'Tim Ball' in Dayton prior to moving the tradition to the new church grounds," Klink said, encouraging those not familiar with the "game of perseverance" to ask a member of St. James' congregation about it.
Final plans are being made for the picnic and potluck after the final mass. Similar plans for St. Mary's final mass have been discussed.
"We don't want to rush into these final masses without focusing on people's thoughts and feelings," Klink said. "The church and their faith are the rhythm of people's lives."
The new church will seat 660 members, with no one sitting farther than 56 feet from the altar. St. James accommodates about 145, but many members stood and sat in the balcony. St. Mary of Lourdes accommodates 240.
Planning committee chairman Gary Loertscher said the donation of 9.5 acres of land by the Phil and Marilyn Fahey family six years ago sparked the process. He said he's "very happy and pleased" to see the project coming together now.
Jerry Rabus is a member of St. Mary of Lourdes and a construction manager at Meriter Hospital in Madison. He joined the planning committee six months after it formed and said the new building "looks good."
Rabus has enjoyed learning the history of the Catholic church and the many aspects of the liturgical furnishings and how things "all fit together."
He also is excited to see if the bell tower will be included in this stage of the project, or if it will have to be delayed due to finances. Some of the work for the bell tower has been completed, including the purchase of bricks and the electrical and cement work.
"For me, the bell tower will identify the building and bring us all together," Rabus said.
Among the church's other features will be a bubbling baptismal font.
Tim Stadelman, vice president of administration at J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc., and Doug Wealti, superintendent of the Findorff crew, both are members of the St. Mary of Lourdes congregation.
"It's like having an unwritten guarantee when you have people working on the project who are also part of the congregation," Klink said with a laugh.
Joe Donlin, a St. Mary of Lourdes member, lent his financial expertise to managing the building fund.
"Their service, dedication, and expertise were invaluable to the project," Klink said. "Without them, the project wouldn't be anywhere close to completion."
"When you consider that we will have one priest where there used to be three, and there will only be two Catholic churches in all of Green County, and all kinds of Catholics to serve, this new building will be an important part of the Catholic future in this area," he said. "But it's the people - not the brick and mortar - that are the core of the Catholic community anywhere."
The parishioners of St. James in Dayton and St. Mary of Lourdes Church in Belleville nearly have completed a $4.7 million church to attract and better serve its members.
"Eventually the congregations of St. James, St. Mary of Lourdes, St. Patrick's in Albany, St. Williams in Paoli and St. Andrews in Verona will all be linked together," said Father Ken Klink, who is the priest at St. James and St. Mary of Lourdes. "In the not-so-distant future there will be one priest serving all five congregations. So we wanted to put together a building that would meet the needs of that clientele."
The new church, Father Klink said, will be a great place for worship while not being extravagant. It will be completed in late October or early November, according to project manager Luke Hutchins.
"We are pretty much on schedule, and that was due to being able to get the excavating completed last fall," Hutchins said. "Some weeks we get a little ahead, but then some weeks we have to wait for supplies."
Hutchins said many community members, parishioners and local vendors have worked on the project.
"With a project like this, their involvement makes for a huge amount of pride in the church and in the community as a whole," said Hutchins, who also is project manager of other Findorff projects under way, as well at the completed St. Johns church in Waunakee.
St. James families will celebrate their final mass Aug. 3. Some of the stained glass windows will be removed and installed in the new church to signify the congregation's part and contributions.
"We will clearly be in the building before Christmas of 2008," said Father Klink, who also expressed sadness about leaving the old churches in Dayton and Belleville.
He said the 170 or so close-knit Dayton parishioners will go through a grieving period as they leave the simple, country church they have attended for years.
"No doubt there will be a final game of 'Tim Ball' in Dayton prior to moving the tradition to the new church grounds," Klink said, encouraging those not familiar with the "game of perseverance" to ask a member of St. James' congregation about it.
Final plans are being made for the picnic and potluck after the final mass. Similar plans for St. Mary's final mass have been discussed.
"We don't want to rush into these final masses without focusing on people's thoughts and feelings," Klink said. "The church and their faith are the rhythm of people's lives."
The new church will seat 660 members, with no one sitting farther than 56 feet from the altar. St. James accommodates about 145, but many members stood and sat in the balcony. St. Mary of Lourdes accommodates 240.
Planning committee chairman Gary Loertscher said the donation of 9.5 acres of land by the Phil and Marilyn Fahey family six years ago sparked the process. He said he's "very happy and pleased" to see the project coming together now.
Jerry Rabus is a member of St. Mary of Lourdes and a construction manager at Meriter Hospital in Madison. He joined the planning committee six months after it formed and said the new building "looks good."
Rabus has enjoyed learning the history of the Catholic church and the many aspects of the liturgical furnishings and how things "all fit together."
He also is excited to see if the bell tower will be included in this stage of the project, or if it will have to be delayed due to finances. Some of the work for the bell tower has been completed, including the purchase of bricks and the electrical and cement work.
"For me, the bell tower will identify the building and bring us all together," Rabus said.
Among the church's other features will be a bubbling baptismal font.
Tim Stadelman, vice president of administration at J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc., and Doug Wealti, superintendent of the Findorff crew, both are members of the St. Mary of Lourdes congregation.
"It's like having an unwritten guarantee when you have people working on the project who are also part of the congregation," Klink said with a laugh.
Joe Donlin, a St. Mary of Lourdes member, lent his financial expertise to managing the building fund.
"Their service, dedication, and expertise were invaluable to the project," Klink said. "Without them, the project wouldn't be anywhere close to completion."
"When you consider that we will have one priest where there used to be three, and there will only be two Catholic churches in all of Green County, and all kinds of Catholics to serve, this new building will be an important part of the Catholic future in this area," he said. "But it's the people - not the brick and mortar - that are the core of the Catholic community anywhere."