By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
June 12, 2003

Trinity Heights is presently preparing for the 12th annual Prayer and Celebration Day.

The whole weekend will be an open house for people to visit Trinity Heights. The planned activities will take place on June 29.

"I think it's become a tradition," said Beanie Cooper, executive director at Trinity Heights. "It's our way to gather our supporters together in a single location once a year. We give prayers of thanks for all that's been done out here and celebrate how lucky we've been to be connected with this."

Dale Lamphere will be around June 28 and 29 to meet people and talk about his works of art. He is the sculptor of the major pieces on the Trinity Heights campus, the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the statue of St. Michael the Archangel that is at the entrance.

"It gives people from out of town an opportunity to meet the artists because Dale Lamphere is going to be here this year and generally is," said Judy Verschoor, associate director at Trinity Heights. "The people really enjoy meeting the artists."

The dedication of the new shrine to the Holy Family will be at 3 p.m. on June 29. The shrine was donated by Dr. David Mack and will be blessed by Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo.

Mack of Springfield, Ill. donated the statue in memory of his wife Elaine.

"Dr. Mack has been very intricately involved in the development of Trinity Heights from the first day," said Cooper. "He built the building that houses the gift shop, called the Marian Center. The gift shop is actually a part of his nonprofit business. He has another gift shop like this in Springfield, Ill."

Over the celebration weekend, there might be 800 to 1,000 people visit Trinity Heights for this event.

"It's a day that we like to get together with our friends and supporters to pray for the continued spiritual success, especially, of Trinity Heights and to thank God for all that he has done for us here," Verschoor. "It just gives us a chance to get together and have a good time and celebrate Trinity Heights."

The main event is the evening banquet at the Sioux City Convention Center. This will begin at 5:30 p.m. Attendance at the banquet is usually 600 to 800 people.

Bishop DiNardo will speak at the banquet. The banquet will feature Claudia Hardy and Kevin Keane as musical entertainment for the evening. The two have performed at Trinity Heights sponsored events such as Divine Mercy Sunday and the annual Pro-Life Memorial Prayer Service that was in January.

"I guess it helps us because we enjoy getting together with these people and celebrating with them," said Verschoor. "It adds to everybody's enthusiasm for the development of Trinity Heights."

A six-foot, bronze statue of St. Francis that Lamphere completed will be unveiled at the banquet. The statue will be put on the Trinity Heights campus.

Last year overall, about 130,000 people visited Trinity Heights.

Banquet tickets are $20 each and tables of eight can be purchased for $150. If a person is unable to attend, they could sponsor clergy or religious guests.