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Emmetsburg parish renovates church

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
(Email Renee)

After celebrating Mass for three months in the parish center, liturgy was once again celebrated in the church at Holy Family Parish in Emmetsburg on July 11 to mark the completion of a major renovation project.

Bishop R. Walker Nickless presided at the Mass, which was steeped in ritual with the anointing and blessing of the new altar.

Father Clem Currans, pastor, said he and the parishioners are pleased with the outcome of the renovation project.

The new altar, noted Father Currans, has a more traditional design and it was selected to replace the modern design as a means to better tie in with the architectural design of the church that was built in 1884. It is the second-oldest church building being used in the diocese.

Besides the altar, other new sanctuary furniture includes a new ambo (lectern) and presider’s chair.
Charles Rezabek, chair of the renovation committee, said the project turned out beautifully.

“Everybody I’ve talked to thinks it’s really something,” he said.

He pointed out that there had been a “mixture of cultures” in the church where some was old and traditional and other elements had been new and modern. With their updates, they tried to stay with elements that would tie into the original design and improve it at the same time.

Father Currans pointed out that the walls of the church were in need of repair. To help with this, they used a plaster restoration process called Glid Wall. This is a cloth-like fiberglass product that is installed over the plaster walls.

“There had been some cracks and bad spots in the ceiling,” said Father Currans.

Rezabek agreed that the renovation was badly needed as “paint was falling off of the ceiling and it’s been a long time since anything was done to it.”

Those bad spots in the ceiling were caused by leaks in the roof. With that in mind, the pastor noted that the church renovation project actually began two years ago with the installation of a new roof.

The church also received fresh paint in deeper, richer colors.

“The colors are also new and different,” said the pastor. “They were really light and now they are a darker brown than what they had been and we have an accent with a bluish-green. It’s more vibrant and people say it has a warmer feel.”

While the plaster repair and painting were done, the pews were removed for refinishing and reupholstering of the seat cushions and kneeler pads.

He pointed out that previously the lights in the church had been very dim. Fortunately, another contractor was aware of some lights from another church that were not being used.

“Our lighting is much better than what we had before,” Father Currans said.

New carpet was added, the wainscoting was replaced and the Stations of the Cross were retouched as well as other cosmetic improvements. For instance, air conditioning ducts that formerly hung on the walls were redone and placed in the floor.

The pastor extended gratitude to the many parishioners who gave of their time for this project. Some parishioners served on the renovation committee and others volunteered in various ways.

“We used a lot of volunteer help for moving things out of the church and moving back in,” Father Currans said. “Lots of volunteers for scraping up and moving the old carpet.”

“This was a good way to bring people together,”said Rezabek. “When you put out a plea for help, you got a lot of it.”

He said they were blessed to have people with such diverse and gifted backgrounds to serve on the renovation committee. There were artists, retail people, decorators and more.

Rezabek pointed out that the new altar and other sanctuary furniture were even built by local carpenters.
While their major contractor was out of Dubuque, Rezabek said they used as much local help as possible.

Besides obvious cosmetic changes, other aspects of the project were not necessarily visible like a new P.A. system.

The $80,000 roof and $180,000 in interior renovations were funded by parishioners through a three-year campaign.

In his July 15 column, Bishop R. Walker Nickless wrote, “The people of Emmetsburg waited a long time to return to their renovated church. It was worth the wait. This church is truly another beautiful site for worship and prayer.”

A final component of the renovation project will be new doors and remodeling of the entryway.