Milwaukee Catholic Herald – March 17, 2005

Laying a foundation for future generations

Archdiocese experiences growth
as new churches are dedicated

INCENSING ALTAR — Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan incenses the newly anointed altar of St. Bruno Church March 6. Dedication of the Dousman church is the latest in a succession of new church constructions taking place in the archdiocese. On April 3, St. Clare Church in Wind Lake will be dedicated. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

“The dedication of a church is one of the most moving rituals in the church’s liturgical treasury. All we hear about sometimes are empty churches, closed churches, sold churches. Not in Franklin, Pleasant Prairie or Fox Lake!”
— Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, in an Oct. 5, 2004 newsletter to local chancery workers.

MILWAUKEE — The foregoing short list of archdiocesan church buildings dedicated in the last year or so can be doubled with the addition of St. Bruno, Dousman; Sacred Heart, Horicon; and St. Joseph, Waupun. A thumbnail sketch of each of the six new structures (ordered alphabetically, by location) follows.

Dousman, St. Bruno

” In western Waukesha County, every parish has built, is building or is thinking about it,” Fr. John Schreiter told the Catholic Herald. The parish he pastors is no exception: the new St. Bruno, with seating for 630 (expandable to 1,000) was dedicated March 6. It replaces a 50-year-old edifice constructed when the parish numbered about 100 families — some 700 fewer than today.

“ Our old church was not only small, but it lacked facilities,” Fr. Schreiter noted. The new building has gathering areas, meeting rooms, kitchenette and an always open Eucharistic chapel, in addition to the worship space. The new church “is very warm and inviting, which really fits in with the parishioners here,” said parish council vice-chair Scott Vandenhouten.

According to Fr. Schreiter, “The people were involved from day one; everyone was invited to participate” in the church planning process. “The building is purposely simple,” he added. “There’s nothing in here that’s fancy.” Clear windows and a good deal of interior wood bespeak the surrounding countryside, indicating what Fr. Schreiter called “the Kettle Moraine influence.” The floor is stained concrete (a relatively new decorative process). There is no basement.
The Dousman parish was established by German farmers in the mid-1800s.

Patron St. Bruno, a monk, is responsible for the statement, “While the world changes, the cross stands firm.” Significantly, the crucifix from the 1955 church’s sanctuary dominates the new sanctuary. Outside is a steel cross, illuminated at night, visible from all directions ... and weighing nearly 8,000 pounds.

NEW CHURCH INTERIOR — The immersion baptismal font greets worshippers at the recently dedicated St. Martin of Tours Church in Franklin. The altar, ambo and tabernacle table were crafted by two parishioners. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

Plunkett-Raysich was the architectural firm, The Bentley Company was the contractor and Dr. Ronald Zawilla was the liturgical design consultant for the new St. Bruno.

Fox Lake, Annunciation

What does renovation mean? At Fox Lake’s Catholic church, it means a whole lot of new features — new roof, carpeting, pews and presider’s chair, in addition to contents cited in the archbishop’s newsletter. It also means enlarged sanctuary, repaired and painted walls and ceiling, choir accommodations and upgraded lighting.

Instrumental in refurbishing the 112-year-old former St. Mary Church were Wisconsin firms Gwen Electrical, Moeller Construction (carpentry), Solterman Company (roof) and Stradel Studios (painting), as well as Ratigan-Schlotter of Beatrice, Neb., (pews and sanctuary furnishings). Dedication occurred last Sept. 4.

Said Fr. Mike Wild, “We tried to be sensitive to our roots by incorporating items from all three former parishes (that merged as Annunciation seven years ago) into this newly renovated worship site. For instance, the brass relief on our new altar of the Lamb of God was taken from the altar at the Lost Lake church, the brass relief of the Holy Spirit on our new baptismal font was taken from the font at the Fox Lake church and the new brass processional cross was taken from the Randolph church.”

Franklin, St. Martin of Tours

As director of administration Mark Mitchell tells it, the 1998 consolidation of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Franklin and Holy Assumption in St. Martin “created a community too large” for either of those parish churches. The archdiocese “mandated a planning process with the eventual goal of building a larger worship space.”

In fashioning that space, planners aspired “to retain the sense of welcome ... that marked both (predecessor) parishes,” Mitchell said, as well as “to build upon the strong tradition of faith which has resided in this area for well over 100 years, to utilize as much parishioner input as we possibly could and to create a contemporary (church) that reflected the life of our people.”

The new church in Franklin boasts bride and “parenting” rooms, in addition to hospitality and funeral visitation areas. Architects were Doug Barnes and Greg Strand of Zimmerman Design. CG Schmidt was the general contractor and Bill Unger the project supervisor.

Horicon, Sacred Heart

Parishes consolidated to form Sacred Heart are readily remembered in the church dedicated last Oct. 31. Stained glass windows were transported from the old St. Malachy, Horicon, while Stations of the Cross and an altar panel are among items brought from the old Immaculate Conception, Juneau.

Shortly after the 2001 merger, a committee recommended construction of “a new church to seat 400-600 people (with) attached wings to house a fellowship hall, offices and classrooms on a new site within one mile of Horicon and Juneau.” The Bentley construction firm and architects Kempinger Putman were enlisted to realize the recommendation.

Fr. Gene Kinney, pastor, related that “the sense of community has been really enhanced” by a worship space that is jam-packed for Sunday Mass. Additionally, a “large narthex ... has made the community comfortable with socializing before and after Mass and still allows for quiet in the church proper.”

The Sacred Heart altar, ambo and presider’s chair were crafted by father-son parishioners Tony and Mark Tennessen.

Pleasant Prairie, St. Anne

The first archdiocesan parish created in some 20 years that was not the result of a merger, St. Anne was named to commemorate a Milwaukee parish that closed after a century of service. Prior to church construction, the Pleasant Prairie congregation held services in a public school. “Having a permanent home has been so helpful in people finding our church,” mused Fr. Don Thimm. St. Anne’s architects represented the Groth Design Group. Others intricately involved in the project were The Bentley Company, liturgical design consultant John Buscemi, director of design and construction ministry Theresa Johanek and Kentucky stained glass artist Guy Kemper.

The Pleasant Prairie congregation numbered 567 households in January of this year and Fr. Thimm informed the Catholic Herald that he expects “significant parish growth in the next 12-18 months because of our building project and the continued growth in the area..”

St. Anne Church has seating for approximately 1,000. Totaling in excess of 31,000 square feet, the new facility also includes a gathering area, ministry suite, multipurpose room and kitchen.

Waupun, St. Joseph

For years there’d been talk of installing washrooms at St. Joseph Church, according to pastor Fr. Mike Moran. And so, during a building project that also included an entryway, baptistery, sacristy, gathering space, library, office space, gas fireplace, Franciscan Fellowship Hall and kitchen, “the joke around town was, ‘Those Catholics are really building some bathrooms!’”

Parishioners have been “very pleased” with the St. Joseph Catholic Community Center, dedicated in March 2004, according to the pastor. “It allows for much fellowship and many special events,” he said, and church members “are eager to invite their non-Catholic friends to our new space.” A golden opportunity for such invitations occurred last month, when St. Joe’s hosted an ecumenical day of prayer for tsunami survivors.

“ We broke ground on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 2003,” Fr. Moran recalled. “A parishioner who owns Horizon Construction was the general contractor, utilizing the design/build method, with Design II of Fond du Lac providing the architectural services. The new building is attached to the side of the (preexisting) church, running parallel to Main Street, and then forming an ‘L’ parallel to the church.”