Diary of a Parish Priest

Preparing for Power and Lift-Off

Monday, Monday

Not a rocket or an oil well, a spire

 

Electrical service

 

Spire between rectory and church

 

Quite a bit less dirt as the grading of site continues

 

There's a Genie in the church!

 

Spire dome on the steps of the church

 

Spire aimed skyward

Ramp entrance

Holy Cross Spire Set to Rise

Copper clad dome without its final spire

 

Diagram of spire over church entrance and belvedere

 

Spire without dome on its side

Two Interesting Panoramas

View of North parking courtyard

 

Main Entryway on South Side

Shingles, Earth Moving and Wiring

Yesterday

 

Today

 

The inset window arches and the trim around the windows

 

More digging and grading today

Church Tour Sign Up Sheets Online

Many parishioners missed the opportunity to see the church from the inside during our parish picnic. In the coming weeks, we will conduct tours of the church after some of the masses on Sunday. Click on the link below to make your reservation for the time and date convenient for you.

CHURCH TOUR RESERVATIONS

Antique Angel To Call Us To Worship

This angel statue from the Netherlands will be placed in the belvedere niche above the main entry door and call us to worship.

 

Construction Progress

The buttresses need some adjustment

 

Leaning and twisting just a bit

Our cross will be removed, regilded with gold and replaced

 

Southeast transept is coming along

 

Statue supports for the marble statue of Mary

 

More stairs were poured. They will be paved with blue stone.

 

An antique carved angel will be placed under the belvedere in the niche over the main entry door

One of my favorite vistas from the St. Helena window

 

The louvers under each gable will be deep red

St. John, Mary and Jesus statues off to the Woodworker

Our wooden statues were taken to the woodworker's shop this morning. The crafstmen will do some light restoration work on them and then affix them to the focal point of their new scene, the Crucifixion, the Holy Rood or the Holy Cross. The cross will be newly crafted. Jesus will be affixed to the cross and Mary and St. John look up at him from below. The entire scene will be suspended above the main altar. These three figures have never been displayed before, in fact they are from different continents, but we a hopeful that they will be a beautifully coordinated scene and an occasion of grace here at Holy Cross for many years to com.

Here is the architect's sketch of the design. You may already recognize it as being featured on the hymnal bookplates.

Great Weather

It seems good weather to pour concrete. Our access ramp and north stairs are hardening

 

A portion of the south main entry stair partially poured

 

Exterior stairway to the basement from above

 

Landing on south east stair entry

 

More drywall

 

We still have the hole in the roof for the spire

Work Has Begun on Our Main Altar

Though the main altar will be assembled on site, the pieces of marble must be fitted and carved. Here are photos of the base of the altar being fashioned.

Back to Building

The barrel vault steel beams will arrive soon and the ceiling will be insulated and closed.

 

Stairs and handicapped access ramp from courtyard parking. We've taken the leap of faith that we will be able to afford it and have installed the snow melt system.

 

The cinderblock elevator tower has been sheathed in plywood and will be shingled to match the church

Form for concrete pad at transformer

 

Main Entry Stairs At Southwest narthex. We have also upgraded these stairs from poured concrete to blue stone.

 

It will be quite a grand entrance when the entryway is complete

 

Stairway on the South east transept. The niche for the statue of Mary is on the left foreground

 

Outside stairway to the basement

 

Almost half the church has drywall installed now

It Was A Beautiful Day

Thanks to everyone who helped out at the parish picnic, to our docents for their expertly conducted guided tours of the church and all the parishioners who came to see the inside of the new church.

The weather was picture perfect



Everyone got a good look around and a chance to ask questions.

 

Blessed Feast Day

 of

The Exaltation

of the Holy Cross

to Everyone!

Holy Cross Rood in new church

 

Our Church Tour Guides Get A Tour

Thank you to the group of parishioners who volunteered to be tour guides whom you will meet if you are able to attend our parish picnic.

It looks good to see parishioners in the church!

Change both inside and outside the building are accelerating as we near the completion of the project. Work has been proceeding on the stairways and access ramps with excavation, concrete pouring and laying of concrete block. 

We will be able to enter the church via the old front doors for a walk around the perimeter of the ground floor. The choir loft and basement are off limits, as the metal frames for the stairs have not yet been filled with concrete and the elevator has not been installed.

Come join us for 12 noon mass and the picnic which follows. Sign up for a tour while you spend some relaxing time with fellow parishioners.

 

285 Hymnals Donated So Far

Thank you to all the donors who have so far subscribed to 285 hymnals for the new church.

Donation forms are available online, at the Parish Office or at the weekend masses.

 

Getting Ready for the Mass, the Picnic, the Church Tour

 

Holy Cross Parish Picnic follows the 

   12 Noon Mass this Sunday

September 14th

Food, Games for Children, Church Tours.

Free!

Parish Feastday This Weekend !

Don't miss this Sunday's Parish Picnic for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross! We will begin the celebration with Eucharist at 12 noon and follow with food, fun and games immediately following.

 

We will also offer tours of the new church to be given by parish volunteers to small groups. It will be a great opportunity to see the inside of the building we have all been watching on the outside for so long.

 

The Work After the Storm

There was quite a bit of shoveling mud from the foundation pours for the stairways and ramp this morning as workmen recovered our site from the deluge!

Still, progress was made on closing in the statue niches and we have the first interior upstairs wall.

Statue niche and base

 

Upstairs church drywall

Our Dutch Lectern: The Unboxing

Well, it made the trip from Holland safely and it looks (and smells) great. There's one slight difficulty which is illustrated by the last photograph, which is "life size." Seriously, I thought everyone was short back in the 1890's, especially the Dutch. Some adjustments are in order, or it may be that the lectern will, like the ambo, be located on a lower step than the person using it.