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| July 2004 |
| The winds of storm and spirit prove
to be inspiring |
Carol Harrell
Special to The Bishop’s Bulletin |
The storm winds blew over Wessington
Springs on a June night last year, and then the gentle Spirit
of the Lord blew over the parishioners of St. Joseph’s
parish and today’s beautiful church is the result.
Last June 24, on a night when 60 tornadoes were spotted throughout
the state, St. Joseph’s church in Wessington Springs was
hit. On June 26, the first meeting of Bishop Carlson’s
Share! First to the Lord stewardship campaign was held as scheduled
and St. Joseph’s parish faced some real challenges.
At first it seemed as though the church might have withstood
the storm, and services were actually held there for several
weeks before engineers determined that it was not safe.
“We were told that we could not be in there with winds
over 30 miles per hour,” said Monsignor Edward Burian,
pastor of St. Joseph parish.
About the same time, the variety store in town, owned by one
of the parishioners, closed and St. Joseph’s moved to
the store on Main Street for services.
“We called it the Chapel on Main,” laughed Monsignor
Burian.
Now faced with the renovation of their church as well as the
stewardship campaign, the parish turned to prayer, saying the
Rosary before each Mass. Seeking God’s guidance, Monsignor
Burian and the stewardship team met daily at noon for 15 minutes
of prayer. They prayed the stewardship prayer, read from Holy
Scripture and reflected and discussed stewardship.
“I think the prayer was so important. It showed us the
way and helped us to know what stewardship is,” Burian
said.
“We really grew,” said Kaylene Lee, co-campaign
leader for the Share! First to the Lord program. “We focused
on prayer and the time to pray and left everything up to God.
That helped to make our efforts more than a financial campaign.
We found out that stewardship isn’t always asking for
money,” Lee said.
The community also opened their hearts. Four other churches
in town offered their facilities for funeral services. The annual
parish dinner was held in Our Savior’s Lutheran Church!
When it came time to move from the church to the chapel, ministers
and their families and business people pitched in to help.
Parishioners donated their time and their talents in so many
ways, refinishing pews and kneelers, helping with the construction
and the moving and so much of the work associated with renovating
the church.
And what a beautiful church and parish facilities there now
is in Wessington Springs. The walls of the original church building
were reinforced by steel beams and pulled together by huge turnbolts.
This is all covered in beautiful wood matching what is behind
the altar and in the elegant wood and crystal doors.
A spacious 42’ x 63’ parish hall was added, attached
to the north wall of the church. To the south is a conference
room, bathrooms and an indoor handicapped ramp. Those two additions
help to reinforce the main walls of the church. A portico over
the front door of the church ties in the stucco color of the
two additions making it very harmonious. The church sign also
carries the brick and stucco theme to add a final touch of creativity.
The church had lovely stained glass windows and although a screen
came through, not a single stained glass was broken. Now, however,
there was a problem. With structures on both sides of the church,
no natural light came through. So round lights were placed behind
the windows and the result is breathtaking. The center pictures
stand out above the subdued background colors and are even more
beautiful than before.
Another lovely touch is the altar, from the former neighboring
parish of Immaculate Conception, which was vacated nearly 15
years ago. Local artists have painstakingly repainted and remarblized
the altar, thus carrying on the symbol of faith for those folks,
who are now St. Joseph’s parishioners.
The basement of the old church has become the education center,
and features a small chapel. It has been named Immaculate Conception
Religious Center, also in remembrance of the former parish.
Spurred by the generous donation of a parishioner, this project
was aided by the “stewardship” of the youth of the
parish who set a goal of raising $500 from the sale of hot dogs.
They planned to donate half of their earnings to the education
center and the other half to the Carmelite Sisters in Alexandria.
Because of a very “good deal” on the hot dogs from
the owner of the grocery store in town, who also is a parishioner,
the youth were able to double their goal, raising $1,000 and
giving the youth a sense of parish involvement.
“This was one of the main focal points of our stewardship
campaign,” said Lee. “We wanted to increase the
spiritual activities and involvement of our youth.”
Mass was celebrated for the first time in the newly restored
church on April 24. And it was a time of thanksgiving and pride
for those folks who worked so hard to make it a reality.
“It’s been quite an experience,” said Monsignor
Burian. “Lots of people spent a lot of their time here,
rolling up their sleeves and doing whatever needed to be done,”
said Burian. He was also quick to note that many contributed
through their prayers.
“Great things are accomplished through prayer and suffering,”
Monsignor said. “You can move mountains and we’ve
had them both.”
How did the Share! First to the Lord program go when the parish
was faced with such a gigantic task of rebuilding their church
at the same time?
“We more than exceeded our goal, in time, talent and treasure,”
said Lee. “God did bless us with a tornado,” she
added with a smile.
Although there were some skeptics at the beginning, there is
now an appreciation by a number of parishioners about the stewardship
program. Many thought all the proceeds went to the diocese,
but when they realized that only a small percentage goes to
the diocese and the rest stays in the parish, attitudes changed.
“We’re helping support the diocese needs and or
own parish is being helped,” said Monsignor Burian.
Fifty-two percent of the St. Joseph parishioners have taken
part in Share! First to the Lord and that is much higher than
many parishes experience, according to Monsignor Burian.
“It was like the stewardship program came along to help
us,” said Burian, noting how much parishioner involvement
has increased. “It’s so important to pray and to
appreciate each others time and the talents that God has given.”
“Making a donation is not stewardship. We can all make
a one-time donation,” Lee said. “Integrating it
into our lives and living our lives as Jesus asks is what stewardship
is, and Monsignor taught us that.” |
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