St. Lawrence Updates

The only way to grow in patience is to have it tested. Whether that means parents who are dealing with children that complain, teachers who have to answer the same question for the fifteenth time, or parishioners who wait with anticipation for the interior facelift of their parish Church.

Of course parishioners of St. Lawrence have been patiently waiting as the interior of the Church is being repainted. Oftentimes after Mass at Immaculate Conception, I notice St. Lawrence parishioners looking at the drawings that the painters provided at the start of the process. Each time I see someone look at the drawings, I think to myself, “The real thing is going to blow their minds.” The painters are wrapping up their work this week and they have done a spectacular job. It is absolutely stunning.

I would like to thank Blanck Studios for their work. Michael and Ann Blanck have created a beautiful place for us to worship God. It is absolutely incredible. While Blanck Studios did the design and painted the details, Bergman Paint and Drywall scraped off the old paint, repaired the plaster, and applied the base paint. Bergman’s did such a great job and worked so quickly that we saved a lot of money on scaffold rental. So much money was saved that we decided to complete two additional restorations in the Church. The stations of the cross will be refurbished and we will be installing wood flooring in the sanctuary (we will keep the carpet in and around the pews).

These two items will further the beauty of the Church. Having wood floors is important in the sanctuary for two practical reasons. If the Body of Christ or the Precious Blood is spilled, it is much easier to clean on hard flooring. Also if incense is used, and an ember falls on floor, hard flooring is much more forgiving than carpet which burns easily. About two months ago during Mass an entire charcoal fell on the ground at St. Joseph. Luckily the tile floor hides the mishap.

This changes the time table for our return to St. Lawrence. The Stations of the Cross will be completed around Easter time. As of this writing the flooring is on order and should be completed relatively quickly. Don’t hold me to this, but it sounds like the wood floor will be installed early to mid February. We should be easily back to St. Lawrence by Ash Wednesday (February 22). Please stay tuned for emails and announcements about returning the pews. We had so many parishioners help remove the pews, it would be nice to have that much help again.

I have an update on the Schoenstatt Shrine at St. Lawrence. A few days ago I received word, through Fr. Steve Mondiek, that the Schoenstatt sisters are letting us put their high altar in at St. Lawrence. This altar was originally located in a Shrine in Milwaukee which is now closed. I know that we will put this altar to great use. Praise God and it is extremely exciting. We received this news relatively recently so we are still working out details and transportation. The Lord continues to bless us immensely.

Finally, to keep two last things on your radar. We are only a week away from the Eucharistic Festival. This is going to be an incredible event and there is a lot of buzz around the local Catholic world about it. Last weekend a parish over 50 miles away announced this event, encouraging parishioners to attend. The details for the Eucharistic Festival are on page 8. Also please see the stuffer in the bulletin for information about the Disciple Maker Index and please complete the survey. This will really help us plan for the next few months and years.

These are exciting times in the Holy Face of Jesus Family of Parishes. Thanks for all your prayers and generosity.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson