Mock Up Wall

This wall is created to show everyone what the exterior of our new church will look like and also show the process behind the finished stucco (see upper right cutaways).  Our new church will have a grey, fine textured stucco with a stone veneer knee wall that complements the existing stone buildings (rectory and convent) on our property.  The window is set in a dark bronze casing.  If you look closely, you can perhaps see Father Kean's handprint in the fresh stucco!

Roofing

Monday Morning

 A picture of the site from the school sidewalk this morning at 7:30am.  Work continues steadily to get under roof!

Statues & Stations

These statues and the stations of the cross will be removed from the current church and placed in the daily Mass chapel of the new church.  The daily Mass chapel is at the end of the wing off of the narthex closest to Manor Avenue.  Today the roof trusses of the chapel were under construction.

Bells are ringing (and being restored!)

 You might have noticed that our bell is missing!

The refurbishing of the bell is being contracted with McShane Bell Foundry, established in 1856.  McShane Bell Foundry is the company who originally fabricated our bell all those years ago!  It is a coincidence that we chose them for the refurbishing.
Did you know that our bell weighs 900lbs? McShane technicians came out to dismantle the bell's ringing equipment and clappers in preparation for the removal.  The bell was then safely loaded onto the trailer and transported back to the foundry where it will remain in the warehouse for the duration of the project.  To refurbish the bell, McShane will clean the bell and remove all the dirt, paint, and toxic patina (green color) from the bell's surface.  The bell will then go through several steps of being buffed using special surface conditioning pads specially designed to buff the bell's surface and bring out the beautiful luster without any damage to the bell.  The bell will then be polished, restoring it to the original shiny color which will be protected by a clear coat system so that it shines for many years to come!  The bell will be fitted with an electronic striker and a wire-less remote controller so that we can use several peal options (i.e. funeral, wedding, etc). The refurbish process will take about 90-120 days.  The bell will be placed in the steeple of our new church prior to dedication day.

If you are interested in seeing the original clapper, it is on display in the Holy Family Center, Community Meeting Room fireplace mantel.

Walls and all!

While the blog took a temporary break, the new church building did not!  Progress....the new church building continues to take shape every day with the walls in place and the insulation being applied.