SANCTUARY PROGRESS: PLANS & “OPPORTUNITIES”

The renovation of our Sanctuary has hit a few snags, or “opportunities” as Deacon George Maddock would call them. Before the tiles can be laid the wooden planking, which is loose and unstable in several places, must be shorn up. If these unstable portions were left as is they would cause the tile to crack.

Furthermore, the electrical work under the flooring is a mess: power lines have been misconnected, some live wires have been left exposed. One electrician commented that God must certainly be watching out for us, for this electrical situation could easily have caused a fire. The electrical problems will be remedied, but it will take two electricians a full day to do it.

These “opportunities” will delay the installation of the tile a bit. But my philosophy is that if we’re going to do a job, let’s take our time and do it the right way.

On the positive side we have installed four handrails, on the sides and in the center of the Sanctuary. Some of our ministers — and our priests! — are getting older and appreciate the support. The rails in the center are easily removable for such things as weddings and concerts, however.

As to Sanctuary furnishings. The new marble ambo will be delivered on September 7th. A concrete footing will be poured to support it, matching the footing beneath the altar and the celebrants’ chairs. New seats, with
kneelers attached to the back, have been ordered. The wood finish will be rosewood and the cushions will be deep red. This pretty well completes phase one of our renovation. We hope to begin phase two before too much longer. We’ll have more on this at a later date. In the meantime please pardon our dust. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the finished product.

By the way this renovation finishes a series of improvements on Saint Joseph’s in preparation for our centennial celebration. The slogan for this is: “A NEW CHURCH FOR A NEW CENTURY!”

Saint Joseph, pray for us, and let us pray for one another!