17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners,
As you can see, part of the stained-glass window in the choir loft has been removed. Repairing the stained-glass windows in Sacred Heart Church will be a three-phase project that will be scheduled over the next year. When I looked at the pieces of stained glass that were removed last week, it is apparent how damaged the windows are. The sections of glass that were removed were very flimsy and very dirty. Luckily our TTT Capital Campaign has been successful enough that we can make necessary repairs. This is a complete restoring and re-leading of the windows, not just targeted repairs. One of the technicians working on the windows said this is a 100-year fix.
This work will not be without any inconvenience. We will have to vacate the church at times to allow the work to move forward unimpeded. If the workers are constantly starting and stopping this will cause things to slow down and to be very inefficient.
For that reason, during most of the month of August we will be moving Mass out of the church. It just so happens, that Seton School has vacated the Lee Parish Center and has consolidated their classrooms into three buildings. Therefore, we have access to some big rooms that were used for their Before and After Care School Program.
Daily Mass will be held in Lee Parish Center first floor. Please enter either the west or east door at the north end of the Parish Center. The room can hold about 80 people. It has access to a kitchen that we can use as a temporary sacristy. This arrangement is scheduled to start Monday July 29th. We will have temporary signage in place to guide people to were they need to go.
If you are coming to Mass and see people wandering around at 6am please tell them where to go. The doors to the temporary chapel will open at the normal time. It will take time to get into a new routine, but we will all get used to it. Adoration in St. Francis Chapel on Wednesdays and First Fridays will not be moved, and the hours will remain the same.
Phase one involves restoring and re-leading the window above the altar as well as the Resurrection Window in the Choir loft. This will involve using a lift and the work is complicated. Our plan is to be in the Church for Saturday evening Mass and Sunday Masses. We may have to move some funerals to other churches. With future phases we may be able to use the church more often as work progresses.
Let’s all pray for patience and for the success of the restoration work. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Bless you,
Fr. Mark DeSutter
P.S. Window sponsorships are still available. Just contact Bobbie in our office for more information, or go to the TTT website:www.catholictogether.com.