Beautifying Our Church

Update 3:

Phase 1 of our Church beautification and renewal project — LED lighting, statue restoration, and Stations of the Cross — is complete and we hope you like the results. We are working to finalize Phase 2 plans for new pews, flooring, and painting currently planned for June-July 2024.   One recurring question our committee has been asked is “do the pews really need to be replaced?” We want to share some information with you about our pews. The current pews are almost 60 years old and were originally installed in the undercroft which served as the Sanctuary starting in the mid-1960s. The pews were moved upstairs in late 1970s when the current Sanctuary was finally completed. Our pews are not solid wood — they are wood veneer — which has been nicked, chipped, scratched, and cracked during six decades of use. Trim pieces have fallen off and book and envelope holders have been damaged. Many of the rubber footers for the kneelers have disappeared, some kneeler coverings are cracked, and the kneeler frames regularly come loose from the pew body. Some kneelers have been reinstalled so many times they are now crooked. Most importantly, over the last few years at least three of the pew bodies have split, requiring significant repairs.

These conditions will only continue to worsen with pews that have long outlived their expected lifespan. We have obtained a bid to refurbish the pews and the kneelers; however, the estimate was as high as the cost of installing all new pews and kneelers!    Installing new pews with quiet kneelers will help enhance our worship experience. This along with the new flooring and HVAC upgrades will also improve safety and access by increasing the width of some aisles, as well as incorporating standardized pew spacing. The combination of Phase 1 — lighting, Stations, and statue restoration — along with Phase 2 – painting, flooring, and pews — will provide a high-quality place to worship our Lord for current parishioners and leave a legacy for future parishioners.   Thank you for all your thoughts and encouragement to date. We welcome your comments and suggestions at our email address: [email protected].   GA Beautification Committee  Rick Oberschmidt, Chairman  Brice Berger  Julie Bruns  Mirna Feghali  Mark Gillming  Don King  Kathy King                                                                                              Dick Vogelgesang

 

Update 2:

 

We are nearing the end of Phase 1 renovations which include some major and needed upgrades to our parish Church.      

 

Phase 1 involved cleaning and lighting our statues, new lighting and ceiling in the transepts, and the October 16th hanging and lighting of our “new” Stations of the Cross which are part of the legacy from our original church building. During this phase, we also discovered leaks in the roofs of the transepts, incurring an unexpected cost for roof replacement which was completed in September. 

Also, as our new lighting shows, there are many cracks and stains on walls, flooring and pews which will be addressed in Phase 2.

 

Phase 2 will include new flooring throughout the Church – i.e., carpet, tile, luxury vinyl. All walls will be painted, as well as the addition of painting gold leaf accents around the tabernacle and some of the statues. We are also exploring other upgrades, a mural behind the Pieta, and artistic improvements. Due to the age and condition of our veneer pews, we will be replacing them with all-wood pews and kneelers. We will be adding chairs with kneelers on the sides of the tabernacle for special worship and expositions. Most of Phase 2 will occur next summer; however, some of the gold leaf and mural work may be completed sooner. These changes to our worship space require Archdiocesan approval which we hope to receive over the next few months.

 

We thank you for your patience to date with the Phase 1 disruption. Supply chain delays, scheduling issues and equipment problems have prolonged the completion of our initial work. We hope you are excited about these first steps in the much-needed renewal and beautification work of our worship space. 

When our Church opened in 1971, the parish didn’t have the funds to complete the original design. This is our opportunity to do so and leave a legacy for those who worship in Guardian Angels Church in the future. 

Importantly, we will soon be able to share renderings of our proposed plans for the beautification project.

 

Past generations of parishioners have supported our parish community by building the current Church, school, gym, and Gathering Space, as well as the ongoing upkeep of each of these. This necessary repair, renovation and beautification of our sacred space will prepare it for our current parishioners and future generations. More information will be coming in the next weeks about how we can all financially support this important work.

 

We thank you for your past suggestions and comments, many of which have been or will be incorporated into the new design. We welcome your feedback at our email address -- [email protected] -- as we continue this renewal of our Church.

 

 

GA Beautification Committee

 Rick Oberschmidt, Chairman

 Brice Berger

 Julie Bruns

 Mirna Feghali

 Mark Gillming

 Don King

 Kathy King

 Dick Vogelgesang

Our Beautification Committee has been hard at work behind the scenes in getting things in place for the first phase.  Soon you will begin to see the results of these efforts.

 

First, the four marble statues will be cleaned and repaired which should take about a week.  Next, in August, the lighting in the Church will be upgraded to brighter and more energy-efficient LED fixtures.  Two sample fixtures have already been installed.  When all fixtures are in place, you will notice they are considerably brighter, so we are also installing a dimmer system which will allow for adjustment.  The low dropped ceilings will be replaced in both transepts (wings) and in the Beechmont lobby.  This work will cause some disruption which we are working to minimize.

 

Another exciting feature of Phase 1 is returning our Stations of the Cross from a prior church, which have been in storage in the rectory attic for several decades.  These are being reframed and will be hung with new lighting.  We will be posting pictures of these beautiful Stations as soon as they are available.

 

Phase 2, which will begin next year, will include new flooring, paint, new pews and kneelers and, possibly, some artistic work.

 

We are finalizing our overall cost estimates and will soon have a funding program identified.

 

This project is designed to improve our worship space and experience and is an important investment to improve the worship area for our Church.  We welcome your continuing comments and suggestions at our email address – [email protected].  Thank you for your feedback, support and prayers.

 

 

 

GA Beautification Committee

  Rick Oberschmidt, Chairman

  Brice Berger

                                                                                        Julie Bruns

  Mark Gillming

  Mirna Feghali

  Don King

  Kathy King

  Dick Vogelgesang