A South Side church plans to convert 4,000 square feet of its current building, including its sanctuary, into a community center for one of Madisons most racially and culturally diverse neighborhoods.

Fountain of Life Church and its Nehemiah Community Development Corp. announced in a festive groundbreaking ceremony Friday evening that its existing facility at 633 W. Badger Road will undergo a $300,000 renovation to become the South Madison Center for Culture and Community, described as a neighborhood gathering place to bring various cultures together.

"We are remodeling and refurnishing the current auditorium, meeting spaces and kitchen" for the new center, the Rev. Alex Gee, pastor of Fountain of Life Church, said before the ceremony began.

"If we had the time and space resources we would probably create a gym," Gee said.

Nehemiah, the churchs umbrella nonprofit organization, will manage the space, providing a location for courses, training, plays, art shows, film festivals, concerts and forums, Gee said. It will also offer a place for 12-step programs.

The updated kitchen and meeting space also will be available for banquets, he said.

Fountain of Life, a congregation of about 200 families, is also funding construction of a new $1 million church adjacent to the community center that will house a 500-seat sanctuary and 10 new classrooms. Both the new church and community center are expected to open by February.

"My first words are, Its about time. Weve wanted to do this expansion for years," said Madison police Officer Corey Saffold, who attended the groundbreaking both as a church member and as the Fisher-Baird neighborhood officer.

The church will pay for the community centers new roof and facade, but Gee hopes that outside donations will fund the interior and equipment upgrades. More information is online at http://www.southmadisonccc.org.

"I grew up in South Madison. And I have longed to see greater cultural expression here," Gee said. "Our center is going to certainly stress African-American art and culture. But another mission is to be a gathering place where we can learn about each others cultures.

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South Side church to create cultural center

WHERE: 195 N. Main St., Warrensburg, IL 62573

CONTACT: 672-3541; revkevtow@yahoo.com

ABOUT THE CHURCH

Warrensburg United Methodist Church is a United Methodist church with a traditional worship service. Worship attendance averages 25. Kevin Treptow is in his second year of serving as the pastoral minister.

Service days and times:

Sunday school: 9:15 a.m.; Sunday worship: 10:30 a.m.

OUTREACH

Warrensburg United Methodist Church delivers food baskets to people in need during Thanksgiving. The church participates with the local Lions Club Brotherhood Tree to help needy families for Christmas. They also assist WLCO in helping meet the supply needs for students and teachers. Through extra giving and the Methodist connectional system, aid is sent to institutions such as Baby Fold and Imagine No Malaria.

HISTORY

Warrensburg United Methodist Church dates back to before there was a Warrensburg. In 1857, a Methodist Society held meetings at the Illinois Central Depot. Later, the group met at Mount Pleasant School, which was located east of the current Warrensburg. In 1867, a pastor was appointed and an official church was formed.

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Church of the Week: Warrensburg United Methodist Church

ANDOVER Last Sunday, the Rev. Jon Heydenreich led the congregation out of Faith Lutheran Church singing "On Our Way, Rejoicing" as they gathered in the construction area.

Thus began the ground breaking at the church for a new addition.

"Bless those who have worked and contributed to provide this site, which today we set apart for the addition to our church," Heydenreich said in his prayer.

"May this be a place where your glory dwells. May we soon celebrate your presence in this addition and in the time to come, may we praise you forever in your eternal home."

After the blessing, Heydenreich turned over three shovelfuls of dirt on behalf of the Holy Trinity father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Construction started on Monday by Northpoint Construction LLC of Hudson, N.H. Work will be done during the summer as Faith Lutheran hosts an Andover/North Andover YMCA after-school program during the academic year and the addition is scheduled to be complete by mid-September.

"There's a big sense of anticipation and fear because of the unknown," said Roberta Ede, who along with her husband Tim Ede, are co-chairs of the Building Expansion Committee.

"When you're building your own house it's one thing, but when you're building the house of God, you want to make sure everything is in order and that everyone will be happy," Ede said.

Members of Faith Lutheran have been planning the addition since 2007, which was going to be done in three phases. The economic downturn made church members scale back, scraping plans to build a new sanctuary and rest rooms.

They will go ahead with phase II of the project, which will add 1,625 square feet of space that will include the fellowship, Christian education, youth group and storage space, which Ede said the church desperately needs.

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Faith Lutheran breaks ground on church addition in Andover

ALBANY The lot at the corner of New Scotland and Hollywood avenues is a dirt-caked space, devoid of a building, a parking lot, even grass.

Instead, it is filled with construction equipment and piles of dirt ranging in height from a couple of feet to more then 20 feet tall, all of which is enclosed by dusty chainlink fencing.

But at Friday evening's groundbreaking ceremony, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, envisioned the new 13,000-square-foot building that will be the church's Albany Second Branch in the space.

The groundbreaking comes after months of controversy involving the city's Planning Board regarding the demolition of the former St. Teresa of Avila Middle School. But Friday's event was devoid of acrimony.

"We look forward to being here, and we look forward to meeting our neighbors," LDS Gospel Doctrine teacher Robert Blanchard said to the roughly 70 people assembled before him. "We love you and look forward to having you be our friends and neighbors."

The ceremony included a speech from longtime neighborhood resident and city councilman James Sano, who was among those who questioned the demolition of the former building and the construction of a new one.

"Who's to say what's coming isn't as good, or better, than what was here before?" he said. "It's nice to see the energy these people bring."

After the site and old building were sold to the LDS church for $1.34 million in 2010, the proposal to raze the building was unanimously denied by the Planning Board, which cited the church's own findings that the cost to reuse the building would be "nearly identical" to the cost to demolish it and build in its place.

Sano said the questioning was never based on religion but was instead in defense of the demolition ordinance already in place.

The church subsequently filed a lawsuit in March 2010, charging that the board had wrongly denied permission to demolish the building. The suit was upheld by Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin in October 2010. He ruled that the board's claims that the building was integral to the Helderberg Neighborhood "lacks rational basis."

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A church is born and controversy is buried

The melodious chamber music filling the sanctuary at First Parish in Lexington every Friday is helping to ensure the sounds of the churchs historic organ continue to fill the space every Sunday.

First Parishs Friday Noon Concerts are free, but donations from concertgoers go to restore and maintain the churchs Hutchings organ. Built in 1897 by George Hutchings, one of Bostons finest organ builders, the instrument was installed at First Parish in 1898.

Carolyn Bruse, chairman of the organ subcommittee at First Parish, said the 115-year-old organ has a replacement value of $750,000 to $1 million.

You have to do routine maintenance all the time, she said. Its quite expensive, and there are bigger things that come up every 30 years or so that you have to be prepared for.

Bruse said money raised from the concert series serves as a cushion for the churchs annual organ maintenance budget. Last summer, the concert series raised about $3,000 in donations. This year, the fundraising goal is $10,000.

The church contracts the Andover Organ Company to perform any maintenance on the organ. Recently, the church hired organ consultant, Barbara Owen, to help develop a maintenance schedule for the future. Owen suggested restoring the organ to its original form but First Parish Music Director Suzanne Jubenville did not feel it would be suitable for the congregation.

We decided not to restore it to its original state because musically it is more usable and versatile the way it is, Jubenville said. Were not interested in maintaining an antique. We want to keep a historic organ going rather than have a museum piece.

The organ contains 1,900 wooden and metal pipes, of which only 27 are visible to the congregation. The remaining pipes are concealed in the organ room, located behind the instrument. Each set of pipes is a different size and construction, which determines the tone.

According to Jubenville, whose husband Jeffrey plays the organ at church services every Sunday, the organ is a tracker organ, meaning it uses mechanical rather than electrical functions to produce sound.

Tracker organs are all really different, she said. Every organ is unique. It takes a little bit more action to work it, and there might be a small delay between your finger pushing the key and the actual sounds.

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Concert series helps maintain historic organ at Lexington church

The installation marked the near-completion of a $40 million renovation and expansion of Tulsa's oldest church.

The crowd broke into cheers, whistles and clapping as the first section of the 10,000-pound steeple touched down, just as the church bells completed the hymn "Lift High the Cross," arranged by music director Ron Pearson.

The second section of the steeple, a spire and a cross, was installed hours later.

In a brief ceremony preceding the installation, the Rev. Jim Miller said church steeples through the ages were often the tallest structures in towns, in the very center of town, calling people to a three-dimensional view of life, and "reminding people of the God in Jesus Christ, highly exalted, author of every blessing, who yearns to be at the center of our lives."

Miller said the steeple "literally points to the cross."

An 8-foot, steel, Celtic cross will adorn the new steeple and the original steeple that remains on the old section of the building at Seventh Street and Boston Avenue.

Bob Pielsticker, the volunteer chairman of the church building committee, thanked the numerous contractors on the project.

"It's a glorious day, and it's been 20 months to get here," he said.

He said the 60,000-square-foot expansion will allow the 2,600-member congregation to meet under one roof.

In recent years, church activities have been split between the 100,000-square-foot original church building and the Bernsen Center across the street.

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New steeple signifies near-completion of First Presbyterian Church renovation

STANDISH Usually, the members of Richville Chapel in Standish are the ones responding when community members need help. But, after last weeks arson that burned the small chapel to the ground, the extended community is coming to the aid of the church.

After hearing about the June 14 fire, which eyewitnesses told police was committed by two teenage boys, people from nearby and far off have offered the non-denominational church built in 1892 organs, pianos, new Bibles and songbooks, as well as monetary donations, said Greg Martin, the pastor.

One of the most beneficial donations came from nearby Richville Library. Within hours of the fire, library director Karen McNutt called Martin to offer the librarys community room as a temporary sanctuary.

My husband, David McNutt, who went to the church as a child, got the idea Thursday real quick and said they needed a place to meet. So I had a customer in the library at the time that knew the minister of the church. She gave me the number of the church and I left a message Thursday and they called me back before we closed on Thursday and said, yes, wed like to meet at the library, said Karen McNutt.

Ironically, McNutt said, the library burned in 1970 and directors at the time, seeing a need for community space in the rural section of Standish, redesigned its layout to incorporate a large gathering room to be used by community organizations.

The community helped us in our time of need and now we can help the church, she said. And we have the community room, which we wouldnt have had if we didnt have the fire. We thought the community room was a thing of the future that wed need, and it is. So I guess good comes out of bad.

According to Joe Thomas, acting state fire marshal, few details of how the fire started or how the teenagers were identified as suspects are being released due to an ongoing investigation. He did confirm that eyewitnesses saw the two teens at the church just before the fire. The teens, when investigators are not naming due to their age, are being charged with burglary and arson.

Firefighters from six area towns fought the blaze, which billowed dense smoke and spit fire into treetops, responding at about 1:20 p.m. They were able to bring the fire under control by 2:30 p.m. and left the scene at 5 p.m. Lack of manpower hampered their efforts since the fire took place on a weekday afternoon, Chief Brent Libby said. Standish responded with six people initially who first had to remove a downed power line and address two burning trees in addition to the burning church.

New space

On Sunday, 18 congregants of the Richville Chapel met at the library, and according to Martin, the service went well, despite the odd feeling of meeting in a new place after so many years meeting in the small church tucked among large pines.

Excerpt from:
'Good can come from bad' - Community pitches in after church fire

By GARY SEMAN JR.

ThisWeek Community News Wednesday June 20, 2012 10:41 PM

When people visit St. Mary Catholic Church, they are stepping into one of the most well-preserved pieces of German Village history, says one church official.

Built in 1868 by German immigrants, the church has been only slightly modified, said Frank Wickham, chairman of the St. Mary advisory finance council.

The ambo, also known as the lectern where the priest delivers his sermon, is an original as are the towering reredos in the sanctuary and many of the stained-glass pieces.

After eight years of planning, the church went through a $500,000 renovation project 25 years ago.

Even so, its integrity was vigilantly maintained, Wickham said.

"I think there's nothing more beautiful," Wickham said of the church.

"People are always awed in here no matter what their faith."

The church and the nearby rectory are on this year's German Village Haus und Garten Tour, slated for Sunday.

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Historic church key anchor for Haus und Garten Tour

WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops' Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America announced today the approval of more than $5.2 million in grant funding for 121 projects to aid the pastoral and reconstruction work of the Catholic Church in 20 countries throughout Latin America.

These projects are important in assisting the Church in Latin America continue the work of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the region, said Archbishop Jos Gomez of Los Angeles, chair of the subcommittee. Projects designed to implement the new evangelization are showing results among the faithful. Almost $2 million was awarded to pastoral projects.

As well, $3.3 million was granted to continue helping the Church in Haiti rebuild after the 2010 earthquake. Specifically two reconstruction projects received funding: the construction of a multi-purpose building in the Diocese of Jacmel, and the structural reinforcement of the co-cathedral of Miragoane. The base-isolation reinforcement of the co-cathedral in Miragoane is touted as a cutting-edge technology in Haiti, and will not only prevent deaths in a future earthquake but will also help save the historic cathedral, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, a member of the subcommittee and chairman of the USCCBs Haiti Advisory Group. We are now seeing concrete fruits of our efforts to assist the Church in Haiti rebuild.

Funding to assist the formation of religious, seminarians and clergy totaled almost $650,000, or about 33.4% of the pastoral funds awarded. These grants will assist in the education of more than 1,100 women and men as they prepare for ministry.

Innovative Media, Inc.

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Church in US Supports 121 Latin American Projects With $5.2M

Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m.

Swarmed by volunteers from nearly a dozen states, the campus of Clearview Baptist Church looked much like a construction site Wednesday.

Come Friday, thanks to Linden, Ala.-based Bethel Baptist Builders, members of Clearview Baptist Church will likely have a new fellowship hall. Volunteers from Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Oregon and Florida chipped in Wednesday as they were working to meet their goal of finishing the structure by the end of the week. The church is on Clearview Street off Interstate 85 Business Loop just outside Lexington.

"We really needed a building to eat, meet and greet in," said the Rev. Jeffrey Perdue, senior pastor of Clearview Baptist Church. "Every Baptist church needs a fellowship hall."

Clearview Baptist Church has no fellowship hall. Perdue said Clearview Baptist was built before World War II. With the new 2,100-square-foot fellowship hall, members will have access to two handicapped-accessible, four-stall bathrooms, a kitchen and an eating room. The church previously had no kitchen, and the restrooms were too small.

With no fellowship hall, members have held events under a tent. As expected, weather has caused several cancellations to events.

"It was just a nightmare if it rained on us," Perdue said. "We can plan now without worrying about the weather. With this, the teens are going to use it on Wednesday night to reach other teens. We are going to use it to possibly feed the homeless in the area."

The church, Perdue said, was responsible for the building materials while Bethel Baptist Builders is heading up the volunteer labor efforts. With the volunteer efforts, the pastor explained Clearview Baptist Church is gaining a fellowship hall while using $75,000 of its own money.

A member of Clearview Baptist Church learned of Bethel Baptist Builders through the nonprofit's efforts of building a fellowship hall in Troy. That's when Perdue reached out to Bethel Baptist Builders and after a trip to Lexington, officials with the nonprofit agreed to build the fellowship hall.

"They never met us," Perdue said of the volunteers. "They don't know us. To come here and willingly give a whole week of their time, their money and their effort, it's truly about what being a Christian is about."

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Nonprofit gives free labor; church receives fellowship hall