St. Mary Spirit Lake dedicates new church

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
July 24, 2003

SPIRIT LAKE - Parishioners of St. Mary Parish gathered in what had been their place of worship for many years prior to processing to their new building for the dedication Mass that was held at 2:30 p.m. July 20.

"My brothers and sisters, this is a day of rejoicing. We come together to dedicate the church by offering within it the sacrifice of Christ," said Bishop DiNardo, before the procession to the new church. He was the main celebrant for the celebration.

At the threshold of the new building, the bishop called on Father Albert O. Grendler, pastor, to open the doors and welcome the joyful people of God in for worship. About 20 priests of the diocese were on hand for the celebration as were hundreds of St. Mary parishioners.

After the greeting, the bishop blessed the water in the baptismal font. He and Father Grendler blessed the people, the walls and then the altar.

At the sprinkling blessing's conclusion the bishop said, "May God, the Father of mercies, dwell in this house of prayer. May the grace of the Holy Spirit cleanse us, for we are the temple of his presence."

Father Clair Boes, former pastor at St. Mary's, was homilist.

He mentioned that many changes had been made to the design of church buildings, especially since the Second Vatican Council. Such changes have allowed for more inclusive celebrations. Since that time, people have become more aware of St. Paul's words, "Brothers and sisters, you are God's building, built on a foundation of Jesus Christ."

With that in mind, Father Boes said, "As we dedicate this beautiful place of worship, remember that we are the church - the people of God."

He spoke of the visible placement of the baptismal font at the main entrance of the church, adding that this was appropriate as the waters of baptism led people on their journey to the altar.

"In the water of baptism, we die from sin, we are reborn to new life in Christ," said Father Boes. "We become the living stones of church."

Through baptism, he said, all people are called to speak out for God and preach the Gospel in this world.

The bishop thanked Father Boes for preaching and asked that the congregation look upon the building as their skin, the lectern or ambo as their mind and the altar their heart.

In the prayer of consecration that followed the litany of saints, Bishop prayed, "Lord, send your Spirit from heaven to make this church an ever-holy place, and this altar a ready table for the sacrifice of Christ. Here may the waters of baptism overwhelm the shame of sin and live again through grace as your children. Here, may your children, gathered around your altar, celebrate the memorial of the Paschal Lamb, and be fed at the table of Christ's word and Christ's body."

After concluding the prayer, Bishop DiNardo anointed the altar with chrism. The bishop and Father Grendler then anointed the walls of the church. Incensation of the altar and church followed.

The congregation was able to see the full beauty of the church after the lights were turned on, following the lighting of the candles around the altar. The deacons of the Mass, Anthony Critelli and Robert Lenz, assisted with the lighting of candles.

Liturgy of the Eucharist followed. During the Eucharistic prayer, special words designed for church dedications asked the Lord to accept prayers of those who dedicate this church to him.

At the conclusion of the service, Father Grendler said from the beginning, the parish had committed the project of building the church to the Lord. He extended thanks to all of the people who worked on the project from the contractor, architect to parishioners and the diocesan building commission.

"We give all of this to God," he said.

Parishioner Mary Wolf said, "I think it is going to be a beautiful place of worship - where the (parish) family can worship more together. The other church was more separated from the main altar. The altar is more in the center and we are the family gathered around it.

Ten-year-old Anna Zech said she liked the new church because it was bigger and she likes how it is designed.

Her mother, Joanne Zech, said the music was excellent for the dedication Mass. A special choir was assembled for the occasion. She would love to see the parish continue that ministry.

"When I walked in, I thought it was a recording. They were incredible," she said. "The whole celebration was nice - having the bishop here was wonderful."

Bob Shaw described the new church as awesome. He acknowledged that the dedication liturgy was quite moving and even somewhat necessary for him."When I saw the church initially, I thought it was so massive and I wondered if I was really a part of it. Today, it put that feeling to rest," he said. "We have had children baptized here, had a child married and we buried a child here so all of this was necessary for me."

The moving service helped him close out of the old building and move into the new one.