CEDAR FALLS | The oldest local Catholic church and its school are getting facelifts.

St. Patricks Catholic Church and school are embarking on a $2.75 million renovation. Peters Construction Corp. has started laying groundwork for the project and the parish launched a campaign to pay for it.

Whats really great about it is were seeing some growth in the school, this is growth not only in numbers but in quality, and it allows for a lot better program, said the Rev. Dennis Colter, pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church.

Part of the project will also, quite literally, give a new face to the church. The plan is to create a more welcoming fellowship entrance area, with construction slated to begin in July and complete by Easter 2015.

But its mainly focused on the kids and making things better for them, Colter said.

Like the church, the school is getting an updated but more secure front entrance. When that part of the project is complete, by Christmas, individuals will be buzzed-in from the main office. The school is also adding an elevator for easier access to all three levels of the building.

By the start of school in August, students should have a modernized multipurpose room which includes the library and media center and hosts the before and after school program and space to gather for prayer.

Natural light will flood from new windows, donated large-screen televisions will be mounted on walls and comfortable, moveable furniture will allow students to do group work in any area of the room.

It will be more chapel-like said Bradley Best, president of Peters Construction, working on the project.

The school is also expanding some classrooms, updating the science lab, the cafeteria and the music rooms. Teachers will be getting a larger lounge as well. And the entire school should be air-conditioned by summer 2015 or before.

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Cedar Falls Catholic school, church under renovation

WEST CHICAGO When First United Methodist Church of West Chicago's current building was under construction, its members needed a place to worship, and they found it at First Congregational Church of West Chicago.

Two of West Chicago's oldest churches, they shared both a facility and a pastor because the Congregational Church did not have a pastor of its own.

Through their partnership, the congregations had found a way to come together to meet their needs, and when the time came for First United Methodist Church to move into its new structure, First Congregational Church went too.

That was eight years ago, and their relationship is still going strong, continuing now with a project to refurbish and display both churches' bells.

"We have a similar mission, and we all seem to work together well on these joint projects," said West Chicago resident Judi Horsley, member of First United Methodist Church and chair of the Heritage Bell Plaza Committee.

Built in the 1800s, the two large bells had been in storage for some years until they were sent last October to Smith's Bell and Clock Service in Indiana. The bells did not return until June 17 because a long and brutal winter prevented the churches from building a concrete platform to display the bells earlier this year.

Church members say they are happy to see the bells again.

"It is wonderful," said West Chicago resident Erlaine Born, moderator of First Congregational Church.

Horsley sent photos of the bells to Smith's Bell and Clock Service to see if the company would be able to do the restorative work.

Tasks included making new yolks to hold the bells and clappers to bang against their insides, said J.J. Smith, president of Smith's Bell and Clock Service.

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Refurbished bells ring together at West Chicago's oldest churches

ICC video screenshot

Cross being removed from Yahui Church in Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, China.

Christians in China are protesting the government's demolition of church buildings and crosses as "illegal constructions."

Pastors and church members from across Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province recently wrote a letter to the government, asking them to stop the destruction of the religious buildings.

The letteroutlined eight reasons why destroying the churches and crosses are illegal, including allegations that "removal of the cross is not an administrative penalty, but the illegal administrative act," prior written notice is not given before cross removals, and that the persons doing the demolitions are not legal construction workers. They said that the destruction is done at night, with no notice, and without any court orders or other documentation.

The Christians pleas were ignored by the government, however, and less than a week later a cross was removed from Yahui Church in Pingyang County, Wenzhou City. International Christian Concern (ICC) also reportedthat the vandals threatened to harm the church members if they reported the removal to Beijing or the media.

ICC said that over 360 churches have been targeted in similar ways, but the government maintains that they are clearing illegal structures for urban development projects.

Allegedly, 15 churches in Pinyang County alone are scheduled to be demolished before the end of June. One churchmember said the government is out of control.

"The campaign has been unbridled and the government demolishes church crosses recklessly," they told ICC.

Another churchmember decried the blatant persecution of Chinese Christians.

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Church and cross demolitions continue in China: Christians plead for government to stop

Joe Achtemichuk loves his heritage. A Ukrainian by descent, he spent two years renovating a Ukrainian Orthodox Church on his ancestral land in order to honour his familys history in Rhein, Sask.

St. Elias (Orthodox Church) came about because my family was very involved in its initial construction being that my grandfather donated the land for it. My dad was crucial for getting the lumber for it, said Achtemichuk. I wanted to recognize them because they went through some extremely difficult times, especially my grandfather who was part of the first wave of Ukrainian immigrants that came to Canada.

Achtemichuks grandfather, Vasyl Palamaryk, left the Ukraine in 1900 to establish a homestead northeast of Rhein. He donated a portion of his land for the church in 1907. Palamaryks son, Jacob Achtemichuk, donated the spruce logs for its construction in 1912.

In 2011, Achtemichuk and his wife Tess along with his cousin, Winnipegger Horace Paulmark, began reconstruction.

When I drove by the church it appeared to be in a very bad state of disrepair. When I looked at it initially, I thought the only thing that could be done was to give it some dignity and replace it with a carne, said Achtemichuk.

After speaking with some locals, the retired pharmacist decided to preserve the church.

(After closer inspection) I found out that it was repairable and in fact it was remarkably in good shape, partly because the eves of the building pushed the water away from the foundation of the church. The roof is tin so its well preserved. The walls just needed some good paint, he said.

St. Elias is a Canadian-take on orthodox churches found in the Boyko region of the Ukraine, with a wide midway eave between the ground and the roof, which protects the walls of the structure from the elements. Apparently, there are very few of the Boyko-style churches left in the country that still contain the midway eave.

It took the Achtemichuks and Paulmark two years and $4,000 to complete renovations by 2013.

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Rare Orthodox church rebuilt

A La Crescenta church started to rise from the ashes earlier this month as work got underway to rebuild it on the same site where it burned down nearly eight years ago during a choir rehearsal.

Ever since flames from an electrical fire destroyed the Christian Life Church, membership has dwindled and services have bounced around from place to place.

We went from about 100 people down to 25, said Pastor Randy Foster, who joined the church in 2010 in the midst of reviving the reconstruction project.

Roughly $2 million in insurance money is covering most of the building costs, but the real challenge that delayed the project was getting a design approved by the Glendale City Council, he said.

After multiple design iterations, the new church will be 7,500 square feet, which is smaller than the original building that had various sections dating back to the 1920s and 50s. New plans include a sanctuary with a enough seating room to accommodate 200 people.

Were only able to build half the size what we had before, Foster said, adding, Were still going to have a sanctuary with a couple hundred seats, thats just slightly smaller than the previous sanctuary.

Located at 3013 Montrose Ave., construction started on June 1, and a grand opening is slated for fall 2015, he added.

Churchgoer Deby Seal, along with her family, has been a Christian Life Church member since 1986 and was at the church during the fire, helping people get out.

She misses what was a big part of her life, but now feels nothing but excitement when she drives past the construction site and sees bits of progress each time.

It still brings a lot of emotion. We have waited a long time for this, she said. This church has been more like a family.

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Reconstruction begins on church destroyed by fire

INDIANAPOLIS Investors will get 70 cents for every dollar they invested in an $85 million Ponzi scheme operated by a fundraising branch of the Church of God.

A federal judge in Indianapolis on Monday gave final approval to the terms ending the case. As part of those conditions, U.S. District Judge David Hamilton also granted permission for properties causing a financial drain on Church of God assets to be abandoned. The case is expected to be finalized in September or October.

Court documents said the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against the churchs prior fundraising organization in 2003, alleging it had defrauded investors who believed their money would go to church-related construction.

Instead, the judge said the leaders of the former fundraising organization used the money raised to make interest and principal payments to prior investors to cover up bad business decisions, the (Anderson) Herald Bulletin reported.

Its more of the same old cliche, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging, Hamilton said.

The 70 percent payback will go to unsecured investors. Under those terms someone who invested $100,000 could receive about $70,000 back.

Much of the money has already been repaid. Hamilton has approved a final installment of about $750,000 before the case is closed. Any unclaimed funds would then go to the unclaimed property division of the Indiana attorney generals office.

Records show more than $73 million was recovered from the liquidation of church assets and other funding such as private contributions. However, part of that went for professional fees associated with the case.

Hamilton called the recovery of funds extraordinary.

Frank Johnson, president of the Reconstituted Board of Church Extension, said the new fundraisers were determined to recover as much money as possible for church members who had invested their money.

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Investors in church-related fraud get some money

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -

Behind the towers of scaffolding and dark plastic wrapping that mask St. Matthew's Lutheran Church are dozens of construction workers, committed to bringing the aging and dilapidated sanctuary back to life.

Renovations of the St. Matthew's Lutheran Church sanctuary at 405 King Street began in September 2013, but the initial idea was presented roughly three years ago.

Biemann Othersen, President of the Congregational Council at the church, says architecture firms were called in to inspect the church after signs of wear and tear became visible on the building next to the sanctuary. But one of the firms noticed an even more glaring issue after looking at the church from the roof of a nearby parking garage.

"When MCA Architecture came and made their presentation they said, 'We don't know why you're looking at this building, because your sanctuary needs a lot of work,'" Biemann recalled.

Torn shingles, holes in the roof, and water damage were just some of the issues architects discovered while inspecting the sanctuary. The initial estimate for the sanctuary renovations was set at $6.2 million with a completion date of November 2014, according to a capital campaign document drafted in 2012.

Those numbers would quickly change.

We were pretty much on target until we had the stucco problem, says Janelle Othersen, who is the chair of the renovation committee.

Janelle says workers were removing a protective, waterproof covering from the walls the coating was added during an earlier renovation as a safeguard, but ended up keeping water that had leaked in through the roof inside the walls when they decided to check on the strength of the stucco on the outside of the building.

They were checking the stucco around the building by slightly tapping it, as it was adhered to the bricks, and it just started crumbling, says Janelle. The more they tapped, the more it crumbled.

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Renovations at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church press on with community support

OLEAN St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church is completing work to make the church more accessible to all parishioners.

I have had many parishioners come up to me and say that they have never been in our cafeteria, in the basement, St. Marys business manager Joseph McLarney said.

What we are planning to do would offer the ability for these members of our church to use the newly renovated Congregation Hall.

In remodeling work already completed at the church, the old cafeteria for Southern Tier Catholic Elementary School has been converted into a fellowship hall, with less of a food-service feel.

Southern Tier Catholic moved to the Archbishop Walsh campus in 2009.

The old school building is now used by community groups, including Boy Scout Troop 617 as well as a dance school.

One proposed project is the construction of a 500-square-foot addition including an elevator for the disabled, according to McLarney.

The addition will be constructed of the same stone as the rest of the church.

A parapet on top of the addition will house the elevator machinery.

The three-floor elevator will access church offices, the new congregation hall and the sanctuary.

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Olean church plots moves to make facility accessible to all parishioners

The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk (Nepomucen) was built by architect Jan Blazej Santini, combining Baroque style with references to Gothic elements in its construction and decoration, in 1719-1722.

After assessing the property claim thoroughly, the NPU concluded that there were no legal obstacles to the return of the whole church complex. The institute will launch talks with the Roman Catholic parish in Zdar nad Sazavou about the particular form of the contract on the complexs return, Jurackova said.

The NPU, which is assessing the return of state-administered landmarks with the status of cultural heritage, has received about 40 requests. It has rejected more than ten of them and sent a few of the others to different institutions for assessment.

The planned agreement on the St John of Nepomuk churchs return is to be the first contract of this kind that the NPU will sign.

According to the law on the return of the churches' property confiscated by the communist regime, which took effect in January 2013, churches are to be returned land and real estate worth 75 billion and given 59 billion crowns plus inflation in financial compensation for unreturned property during the following 30 years.

Simultaneously, the state will gradually cease financing churches. The Catholic Church will get 47.2 billion crowns of the total plus inflation.

The six-month deadline for concluding contracts on the churches property return will expire at the end of June. However, the respective state authorities do not manage to assess all requests in time.

Out of them, the State Land Office has received the highest number of property claims.

NPU director Nada Goryczkova recalled that the state had invested 90 million crowns in the reconstruction of the church at Zelena Hora, mainly in connection with its UNESCO listing in 1994.

Tens of thousands of people visit the unique complex annually.

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Czech state to return UNESCO-listed sight to Catholic Church

Christ Church Construction Promo 3
Construction progress as of June 20 2014.

By: Loren Zimmer

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Christ Church Construction Promo 3 - Video