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Newspaper Columns >
Dedication of St. Patrick's Bryan
by Carol Breidenbach
Catholic Chronicle
On Sunday July 27 at 2pm, Bishop Robert W. Donnelly celebrated the dedication Mass for the new St. Patrick's Church in Bryan. The homily was given by pastor, Father Charles Ritter. Special guest was retired Father Bertrand Shenk, parish pastor from 1955 to 1968. Because of a delay in construction, the dedication fell on Fr. Shenk's birthday.
St. Patrick Parish traces its roots to the earliest Masses celebrated with groups of Catholic settlers in the Bryan area in 1857. The first church was erected in 1875 on North Garden Street. In 1889 a larger church was built at Trevitt and Walnut Streets. In 1958 the current school and church were dedicated. With the dedication of the new church, the former church space will be converted into the parish activity center for which it was originally intended.
Father Ritter noted that the parishioners of St. Patrick had been waiting for this church since the 1950's. " For people with mobility problems there are no longer 14 steps to get into the church, it is handicapped accessible. For the school this means they finally get the gymnasium that has been full of church pews for the past 50 years. Also it's air conditioned, so we have a lot of happy people. No one is upset about what is now the church being converted into the parish activity center. Because the old church was a gymnasium used as worship space, nobody had sentimental attachment to it. The Stations of the Cross were moved from the old church on Trevitt Street to the temporary church and now will be moved into the new church. "
Brad Colon, a member of the liturgical design committee, noted that it took three years to design the worship space. "As a committee we studied the church's documents on the liturgy and what kind of worship space would fit our congregation. Input was also sought from the community. Fran Benlein, liturgical consultant, did a really good job of leading us in this process. The stained glass windows were designed so that you will keep seeing different things each time you look at them. Depending on where you are in your faith journey, your vision will change. Rather than hang a traditional crucifix behind the altar they chose an original art design. The figure of Christ emerges from the building itself, one cannot separate Christ from the church. Beautiful as the building is, it is nothing without the people. He is looking forward to seeing how the people grow into it."
Paul Gackel, Co-chair of the construction committee supervised the day to day project's construction. " He is accustomed to this type of work in his workplace and took it on as just another task. Then one day as he was looking over some specially ordered steel for the design, it hit him that this was not an ordinary building, but they were building a house for God. Chills ran up his spine. From then on it became a spiritual journey and task for him."
Dick Hallett, Capital Campaign Committee, said that they raised 3.2 million in contributions from parishioners. " The rest came from an endowment fund. They originally asked a five year pledge and then went back and got the pledges extended to seven years. He was born and raised at Swanton St. Richard and was there when they built their new church. His oldest child was the first child to be baptized in the new church at Swanton. This has been a very exciting project and he is grateful Father asked him to be part of it. By the grace of God they got the financial support they needed."
Colleen Goehler, a member of the Liturgical Design Team called it the experience of a lifetime. "We put a lot of work into making it liturgically correct and to fit our community. She was in tears the first time she saw the nearly completed church. It feels like a very holy place."
All of the art work in the church is an original design specifically for St. Patrick's. The artists consulted and planned with the liturgical design committee. Participating artists are: Kenneth F. vonRoenn, Jr. and Don Carlos Thomas (glass), Dean Ludwig (wood), Ken Thompson (stone, bronze, and back wall), Jim Myers (pedestal for the statue of Mary), Donna Missler (altar cloths and drape in the Reconciliation Chapel), Joe Seibert (fabrication of the candle scones and candlesticks), George Wisler (credence table and gifts table), Michael Kozumplik (painting of the statue of Mary), and Joyce Gendron (crosses at stations).
Fran Benlein, liturgical consultant summed up the project well: " It is a wonderful example of building a church from the ground up. Fr. Ritter established a group of parishioners who studied what worship space meant and then involved the whole parish for input. I enjoyed walking with these people and watching their growth, energy and enthusiasm. They were a joy to work with. The space they created will reflect a sense that the Parish is a worshipping community."
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