How we got here and what lies ahead
St. Francis's first Pastor, Fr. Luke Sheehan of the Irish Province of the Capuchin Order arrived by stagecoach to start a parish in the pioneer community.
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Words from our Pastor
As we get ready to begin the renovation and restoration of the Historic Church I would like to give a brief overview of how we got here and what lies ahead of us. Francis of Assisi heard the Lord’s call as he knelt underneath a large wooden crucifix in San Damiano, “Francis, Francis go and repair my house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins." Taking that command very literally, Francis set about physically rebuilding the little church – stone by stone. He did the same with other abandoned churches in the area having gone about begging for help to complete his work. Only later did he understand the call in a broader sense. After the debt on the 27th St. Church was paid off in 2018, I included the restoration of the Historic Church as part of my Vision 2025 for St. Francis. Nearly a year before the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Historic Church, in the Spring of 2019, we began planning its restoration and renovation. I formed a committee of persons with a variety of skill sets to lead the restoration and renovation efforts. As per their recommendations in 2019, we replaced the much-needed sidewalks at the front of the church with the addition of a radiant heat snow melt system and repaved the parking lot. In 2020 the failing in front of the Church was replaced. These have greatly improved the safety and appearance of the church. |
The Historic Church Restoration and Renovation Committee (HCRRC) also met with, Daprato Rigali Studios, a company that specializes in interior design, renovation, and restoration of historic Catholic churches. It was Daprato Rigali Studios that designed, fabricated and installed the beautiful back altarpiece and the side altars in our historic church over one hundred years ago. After they presented us with a stunning design for the total renovation costing about 2.5M, we did a survey among the parishioners to get your input. The Historic Church Renovation and Restoration Committee (HCRRC) proposed three levels of renovation and you were asked to choose the one that you would prefer. Details of each level of renovation with their costs were made available online and you were asked to read those details before choosing the level.
I am very grateful to 220 of you who responded to the survey. Of those of you who responded 50 of you (22.7%) chose Level 1 (essential maintenance only), 79 of you (36%) level 2 (essential maintenance and the renovation of the sanctuary), and 91 of you (41.3%) level 3 (full renovation). Most of you wrote in your comments with your choice. Your comments were very positive, encouraging, and insightful in choosing a direction to proceed. The HCRRC came together to talk about the result of the survey and proposed level 2 renovation adding stained-glass windows from level 3. Survey results were published with comments online, in the bulletin, and in the narthex of the church for several weeks. After evaluating the architect’s proposal and the parish survey, we held a town hall meeting and decided to move forward on a $1.5 million project which includes the renovation of the sanctuary and the stained-glass windows with exterior maintenance and the addition of HVAC. This proposal does not include any renovation in the nave except the stained-glass windows.
A critical question in the renovation and restoration of the Historic church is “Why do this?” The Historic Church is a beacon of hope and the visible landmark of the presence of the Catholic faith in Bend. It has been 100 years since that church was built and we want to make sure that it remains an attractive lighthouse that witnesses the beauty of the Catholic faith for many more years bringing people to Christ and offering them hope and eternal salvation. Here are some of the comments from those who responded to the parish survey in 2021:
“The church is an icon for our parish and our faith in the community…”
“The church is an important piece of Bend’s history and needs to be treated as such. It needs to be usable space.”
“Authentic worship requires beauty and Catholicism is strong in Bend.”
“The Historic church has stood for 100 years, and this (renovation) would prepare the Church for the next 100 years and possibly beyond.”
“It stands as a beacon of faith not only for Catholics but for the whole community to see. It is constructed to properly show devotion to God and deserves to be preserved so as to reflect God’s beauty and rightly order us to true worship.”
After the decision was made to move forward with the 1.5 million renovation project, we started a campaign to raise funds. We had $300,000 in the historic church renovation fund and the finance council generously committed $200,000 from the capital maintenance fund. So, we had $500,000 at the start of the campaign. 395 households in our parish (20%) responded to the campaign with pledge support. There are a few others who continue to support the renovation efforts without formal pledge support. As of the beginning of May 2023, we have a total of $1,335,000 toward the renovation project.
Nearly a year ago we hired Pinnacle Architecture to produce biddable documents and other documents for the permitting process with the city and the Land Mark Commission. The permitting process is nearing completion. In the meantime, we contacted 7 historic church restoration companies for bidding. Most of them refused to bid as the project was too small for them. Daprato Rigali continued to show interest in doing the work. They are the original company that built the sanctuary 100 years ago. They are very excited about working on this project. Due to inflation and other cost factors, they raised their bid 10% which is an increase of $100,000 from the original bid they had given two years ago. So the cost of the sanctuary renovation and the stained-glass windows is $1,031,555.00.
In the meantime, we are also seeking bids for the exterior works and installation of the HVAC. The cost of HVAC increased 150% from the last bid we had two years ago. A platform has to be designed and built according to the requirement of the landmark commission at the back of the Church to house the cooling unit. The new cost had to be added for the removal of asbestos from the basement and the sanctuary. Brik repair and sealing, concrete repair, pointing, and painting are the other exterior works that need to be completed. Installation of the new sound system, replacement of the carpet, and building cabinets in the sacristy are the other works that need to be done locally. So the total cost of the project has risen to 1.9mil and we still need to raise nearly $550,000.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I will keep you updated on this very exciting project. Once it is completed I will be ready to retire.
Fr. Jose Thomas Mudakodiyil
I am very grateful to 220 of you who responded to the survey. Of those of you who responded 50 of you (22.7%) chose Level 1 (essential maintenance only), 79 of you (36%) level 2 (essential maintenance and the renovation of the sanctuary), and 91 of you (41.3%) level 3 (full renovation). Most of you wrote in your comments with your choice. Your comments were very positive, encouraging, and insightful in choosing a direction to proceed. The HCRRC came together to talk about the result of the survey and proposed level 2 renovation adding stained-glass windows from level 3. Survey results were published with comments online, in the bulletin, and in the narthex of the church for several weeks. After evaluating the architect’s proposal and the parish survey, we held a town hall meeting and decided to move forward on a $1.5 million project which includes the renovation of the sanctuary and the stained-glass windows with exterior maintenance and the addition of HVAC. This proposal does not include any renovation in the nave except the stained-glass windows.
A critical question in the renovation and restoration of the Historic church is “Why do this?” The Historic Church is a beacon of hope and the visible landmark of the presence of the Catholic faith in Bend. It has been 100 years since that church was built and we want to make sure that it remains an attractive lighthouse that witnesses the beauty of the Catholic faith for many more years bringing people to Christ and offering them hope and eternal salvation. Here are some of the comments from those who responded to the parish survey in 2021:
“The church is an icon for our parish and our faith in the community…”
“The church is an important piece of Bend’s history and needs to be treated as such. It needs to be usable space.”
“Authentic worship requires beauty and Catholicism is strong in Bend.”
“The Historic church has stood for 100 years, and this (renovation) would prepare the Church for the next 100 years and possibly beyond.”
“It stands as a beacon of faith not only for Catholics but for the whole community to see. It is constructed to properly show devotion to God and deserves to be preserved so as to reflect God’s beauty and rightly order us to true worship.”
After the decision was made to move forward with the 1.5 million renovation project, we started a campaign to raise funds. We had $300,000 in the historic church renovation fund and the finance council generously committed $200,000 from the capital maintenance fund. So, we had $500,000 at the start of the campaign. 395 households in our parish (20%) responded to the campaign with pledge support. There are a few others who continue to support the renovation efforts without formal pledge support. As of the beginning of May 2023, we have a total of $1,335,000 toward the renovation project.
Nearly a year ago we hired Pinnacle Architecture to produce biddable documents and other documents for the permitting process with the city and the Land Mark Commission. The permitting process is nearing completion. In the meantime, we contacted 7 historic church restoration companies for bidding. Most of them refused to bid as the project was too small for them. Daprato Rigali continued to show interest in doing the work. They are the original company that built the sanctuary 100 years ago. They are very excited about working on this project. Due to inflation and other cost factors, they raised their bid 10% which is an increase of $100,000 from the original bid they had given two years ago. So the cost of the sanctuary renovation and the stained-glass windows is $1,031,555.00.
In the meantime, we are also seeking bids for the exterior works and installation of the HVAC. The cost of HVAC increased 150% from the last bid we had two years ago. A platform has to be designed and built according to the requirement of the landmark commission at the back of the Church to house the cooling unit. The new cost had to be added for the removal of asbestos from the basement and the sanctuary. Brik repair and sealing, concrete repair, pointing, and painting are the other exterior works that need to be completed. Installation of the new sound system, replacement of the carpet, and building cabinets in the sacristy are the other works that need to be done locally. So the total cost of the project has risen to 1.9mil and we still need to raise nearly $550,000.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I will keep you updated on this very exciting project. Once it is completed I will be ready to retire.
Fr. Jose Thomas Mudakodiyil