Start to Finish of Family Baptist Church Construction 2013

By: Bo Gillespie

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Start to Finish of Family Baptist Church Construction 2013 - Video

A crew from Haselden Construction remove forms from the freshly poured foundation at Light of the World church in Littleton on April 4. (Seth A. McConnell, YourHub)

JEFFERSON COUNTY The construction of a new sanctuary at Light of the World Catholic Church should take about 11 months altogether, but it's really 35 years in the making.

The church, 10316 W. Bowles Ave. in the Littleton area, has been open since 1979, but it never had a permanent sanctuary with pews and kneelers both common in the Catholic faith. Instead parishioners have been seated in removable chairs and kneeling either on the floor or a mat.

"Building the church provides us with greater opportunity to do other things," the Very Rev. Michael Pavlakovich said. Pavlakovich has been the head pastor for the past eight years.

Construction continues on Light of the World, near the intersection of West Bowles Avenue and South Kipling Parkway, which is building a permanent sanctuary next to its current facility, where parishioners have been worshiping for the last 35 years. (Seth A. McConnell, YourHub)

Construction on the new sanctuary began in January and should be complete by late December. The new worship area will hold approximately 1,300 people, roughly double what the church can support in its current state.

The room that currently serves as the place of worship will be used for several different events such as parish dances, lecture series, theater presentations and overflow rooms for Christmas and Easter masses. It cost $6.5 million for the new building and Pavlakovich said the congregation will pay for the structure. He said the church needed $3 million in hand before starting the project and they were able to raise that in "record time."

"This is really a great community. They've stepped it up on many levels," he said.

Parishioner Joy Jaeger said when she first came to Light of the World eight years ago, it didn't appear like any Catholic church she was used to, but she quickly realized it was only incomplete.

She said the congregation is excited to get in the new building.

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Light of the World Church building permanent sanctuary

WEST FARGO Construction will begin soon on a Catholic church and elementary school here, making the dual-purpose site home to the fifth Catholic school and one of the largest sanctuaries in the metro area.

Construction crews will break ground April 24 on a roughly 12-acre site at 2820 Bluestem Drive, which will be the home of Holy Cross Catholic Church and Trinity Elementary School.

Construction on the 76,000 square-foot site is expected to be finished by next year.

The school must be ready for occupancy by July 15, 2015, said Earl Wilhelm, property manager for the Fargo Diocese. The church doesnt necessarily have a deadline.

Bishop John Folda of the Diocese of Fargo said the $15.3 million, 76,000-square-foot project has been in the works for seven years, while West Fargo has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the diocese.

In December, Holy Cross Church sold its building at 1420 16th St. E. in West Fargo to the Lutheran Church of the Cross after the two churches shared a site for almost 30 years.

Both churches outgrew their respective houses, and Holy Cross already had tapped the southern West Fargo site as a place to grow. Holy Cross members will continue to attend at the current site until the new church is completed.

Its been talked about for a long time, and different options were explored, including building on the current location, Folda said. Unfortunately, the space there was inadequate and wouldnt work for the current needs and anticipated growth. With the additional elementary school and facility upgrades, we can successfully support Catholic advancement in this area. The entire faith community will benefit.

The Rev. James Meyer at Holy Cross said the new church will have a main sanctuary that can seat about 1,000, which is double the worship space available now.

Holy Cross has almost tripled in size since the mid-1990s. It now serves about 1,300 families, Meyer said.

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Catholics to break ground soon on new church and school in West Fargo

MUSCATINE, Iowa The old St. Mary's Catholic Church nestled on 417 Green St. sits tall among trees that havent come alive yet this spring. For the church, it will probably be its last spring intact.

The construction of St. Marys began in 1876, at the request of the communitys German Catholic population, and was complete in the fall of 1877. The first mass the building hosted was held two years later, in the cold of winter by the parishs first German-speaking pastor, the Rev. John Ignatius Grieser. It was under the guiding hand of Grieser that the church built St. Marys school and acquired its Pfeiffer pipe organ, which has become a part of the Organ Historic Societys database.

Now, nearly 140 years after it was built, St. Marys is about to be torn down.

Parishioner Coletta Logel, 81, is heartbroken over her churchs pending demolition.

Thats the only church Ive known, she said. She began attending St. Marys as a child in the 40s with her family. Though the parishes of St. Marys and St. Mathias, the other Catholic church in Muscatine, have been combined since 2000 and St. Marys has been out of use due to safety issues since last year, Logel says St. Mathias still doesnt feel like home. Not like St. Marys.

Everybody told me when I was so upset, Its just a building, Logel recalled, her voice impassioned by emotion. I know it is just a building. But in that building, it contains memories years. There is 70-some years of memories in that [building].

Those memories include her wedding. She wed Pete Logel as a sixteen-year-old girl while all the older women who she recalls always sat in the back of the church murmured about how her marriage would never work. That wedding, held before her god in her church, was the start of a marriage that would last nearly 60 years, until Petes death in 2006. St. Mary's framed her relationship with her husband, as it was from St. Marys that Pete was buried.

In between those times, Logel saw all five of her children baptized in St. Marys and a couple of them married there as well. Logels friend Maryann Hines four children were also baptized there.

Hines siblings, too, were baptized at St. Mary's as was she in mid- January, 1933. St. Marys was her church from birth.

Id still go when they tore it down if theyd leave us, she said. While she says she feels resigned to the churchs fate, the demolition of St. Marys still makes her sad. She recalls a time when there were 600 families in the church and she, too, has the memories of her childrens weddings in the building. Though she herself was not married there, the church did hold a nuptial mass for her and her husband Carl after they were wed on an army base in Georgia.

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For everything there is a season: 137-year old St. Mary's church's season is winding down

CTV Toronto Published Friday, April 11, 2014 12:22PM EDT Last Updated Friday, April 11, 2014 10:45PM EDT

Residents in Aurora, Ont., are mourning the loss a 135-year-old church after a massive fire ripped through the building Friday morning.

Emergency crews were called to Aurora United Church near Yonge Street and Mosley Street just before 10:30 a.m. Friday.

About 60 firefighters, including six local fire trucks and additional fire crews from Richmond Hill, worked to contain the blaze at the height of the fire.

Thick clouds of smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the building hours after the blaze first broke out and a large portion of the churchs back wall also collapsed.

Police said a group of pre-schoolers and adults were inside the church before the blaze broke out and were immediately cleared from the building.

Officers cleared six to eight homes in the nearby area and evacuated buildings and businesses close to the church as a precaution.

Deputy Fire Chief Paul Leslie told reporters that the fire is believed to have started in the rear roof of the building.

Leslie said the flames were so intense that crews were forced to pull away from the building at one point.

Its just the nature of churches - they are very tall, you cannot access the roof from the inside and so it just made it very difficult for us to fight the fire, Leslie said.

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Massive fire engulfs historic church in Aurora

WYTHE CO., Va. -

Renovating your home, business or church isn't cheap. In Wythe County, the small congregation of Asbury Methodist says it's stepping out in faith to get repair work done on its 100 year old church.

For more than one hundred years, the room behind the pulpit of Asbury Methodist Church in Rural Retreat was used for storage. Looking there today, one sees deep holes and brown dirt as a construction crew work shoring up a shaky foundation.

Asbury has a long line of congregants. Generations of families are buried behind the all-white church.

Inside, deep divots in the pews are a testament to a busier time, but ten years ago Asbury Methodist almost died.

Adam Linkous is Asbury's Superintendent, not its pastor.

"The average attendance was nine. Some Sundays less, four or five Sundays ago we had 16 children we had 48 [adults]. We've seen pastors come and go," Linkous said.

Ten years ago, after several stints filling in as Asbury's Sunday piano player, Linkous decided to join this nearly empty church.

"God spoke to me at our very piano bench and said "I'm not done here. There's still a spark. I need somebody to help me fan the flames," he said.

Two weeks ago, the church noticed how lopsided the pulpit was. Linkous said it was decided to fix it.

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Hundred year old church getting facelift on faith

Greg Marshburn portrays Jesus during dress rehearsal for 'The Victor' - the Easter production for Bethlehem Baptist Church Monday evening. 'The Victor' will have performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A cast of more than 80 from a Jacksonville church will revive a tradition of presenting the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ in a dramatic musical

After a five-year hiatus, Bethlehem Baptist Church on Gum Branch Road will present The Victor, a musical written by Christian songwriter David Clydesdale that looks at the week leading up to what the church pastor Daniel Flynn calls the pinnacle of the Christian belief: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Flynn, the show, which includes a cast of 86 people, will depict what the final week of Jesus Christs life was like.

The thing captured by the large cast is that its more realistic, Flynn said. The mass of people will help you understand what Jesus was going through when he was giving it all.

The shows director and church music director, Travis Parker, said the decision was made to revive the show, which he said was a staple at the church for more than two decades, after the church used its time and materials to put on an outdoor presentation for the Christmas season called One Night in Bethlehem for the past three years. Parker said the decision was made to revive the spring production after requests from the congregation. Parker said preparations began in January with choir rehearsals for a cast nearly three times as big as the churchs regular choir and the construction of a new set.

Theres a lot of talent with this show, but I cant take credit for it, Parker said. There are quite a few new people who have never done this before, but there are also a lot of people who have done the same parts over and over again.

One of the cast members reprising a role is Seth Howard, a Richlands farmer who plays Benjamin, a member of the religious authority who becomes a follower of Jesus and the shows narrator. Howard said he cannot remember how many times hes played the role, but said hes happy to be a part of a show he hopes will bring people to Christ.

Its been very exiting, Howard said. Theres a lot of excitement this year about presenting the show. If one person comes to know Christ as our savior through this show, it will be all worth it.

The role of Jesus will be played for the first time by another Richlands farmer, Greg Marshburn. Marshburn said this is the first time hes had a speaking role in the show he said hes played Roman soldiers in previous performances and that taking on the role has not always been easy.

Youre playing someone whos perfect, and Im not perfect, Marshburn said. Thats the hardest part. Im not a singer or an actor either, but (Parker) asked me to do it and I did. Its been a great experience and I hope Im a witness to Christ through this show.

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Church revives Easter tradition

Parish members of Our Lady of the Assumption Church built a new sanctuary to accommodate overcrowding. Friday nights dedication service for the new building was more of the same.

But, it isnt anticipated the church will see the 317 who attended but officials do pledge to have room for those who want to come home to the Catholic church.

The new church, for which the architectural plans and the key to was presented to Bishop Anthony B. Taylor, who also cut the ribbon to allow the throng of parishoners and visitors into the building Friday, will seat 175 to 200.

Thats more than double what the previous sanctuary seated, although the church was drawing about 120 for mass when construction began on the new building in August.

The original church had been dedicated on July 25, 1956 which was about three years following masses beginning in the city, according to church history. Initially, mass was held in a National Guard Armory, and later in a courtroom in the courthouse.

Fridays dedication was the culmination of a project that actually began as a fundraising project in 2008 while Father Don Tranel led the church. Tranel was in town for the dedication Friday and carried a Relic stone that was placed in the new alter in the church.

Tranel came to the church in 2006 from the Glenmary Home Missioners and in 2012 the church transitioned from a mission church to a Diocesan Parish, church history states.

In addition to the new church, the sign in front of Oak Hill Cemetery on Highway 10 providing direction to the church was also replaced with a new one on Friday.

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Catholic Church Dedicated Friday

ANDERSON A central Indiana church has emerged from bankruptcy after filing last year when it wasnt able to make a $5.8 million balloon payment on a construction loan.

The repayment of Madison Park Church of Gods loan has since been renegotiated, and the roughly 3,000-family congregation church in Anderson is now on a new payment schedule to repay the debt in full, said Rob Spaulding, the churchs business administrator.

We refinanced it with the bond holders, he said. The court proceedings were necessary to bind everyone to the agreement.

The church filed in July for Chapter 11 reorganization over a nearly $17.5 million loan from 2007 to pay for construction of its community life center near the Interstate 69 interchange with Indiana 9 on the citys south side, the Herald Bulletin reported Monday.

David Whitmoyer, vice chairman of the churchs board of elders, said there was no debt reduction from the court proceedings but that negotiations with creditors were unsuccessful until the bankruptcy was filed.

We had known for a couple of years we would not be able to make those payments, he said.

Church officials said it still plans to sell about 100 acres surrounding its property. Spaulding said a senior housing group will be developing about 16 acres soon and eventually the church would like to see new retail outlets in the area.

The church is moving forward thanks to the support of its congregation and new interest rates, he said.

We certainly held our own and have been very stable through all of this, he said. But this really gives us a very stable platform for us to move forward.

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Anderson church's finances reworked

The Gilbert Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated Sunday, March 2.

Photo courtesy of John Power

SALT LAKE CITY LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson did not announce any new temples on Saturday morning during the opening session of the 184th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Monson said the church will focus on completing 28 temples around the world already under construction or that had been announced at earlier conferences.

"Although we are currently concentrating our efforts on completing the previously announced temples and will not be announcing any new temples in the immediate future, we will continue the process of determining needs and of finding locations for temples yet to come," he said. "Announcements will then be made in future general conferences. We are a temple-building and a temple-attending people."

This is the second consecutive conference without an announcement of a new temple. Such announcements had been a common part of the Saturday morning sessions of conferences during a temple building surge that saw the church go from 50 to 142 temples in 27 years.

Already, 85 percent of church members live within 200 miles of a temple, both Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said during talks on Saturday.

President Monson dedicated the church's 142nd operating temple on March 2 in Gilbert, Ariz. President Monson or another church leader will dedicate the Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple on May 4.

"Other temples are scheduled to be completed and dedicated later this year," President Monson said. "In 2015 we anticipate completing and dedicating new temples in many parts of the world. This process will continue."

The church has not yet announced dates for any other temple dedications.

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No new LDS temples for now, but President Monson says more to come