'Silver Shovel' helps church rebuild

�This is a journey,� said Michaele Garcia. �We�ve all tried to help as much as possible, and we have stuck together, old-timers and new parishioners, and we have a true sense of Church. It�s the people � we are also building our friendship and love, and that�s what it�s all about.� 

An arsonist set fire to the devotional chapel of St. Catherine of Siena just before Holy Week on March 14, 2008. Within minutes, nearly everything was destroyed. The stained glass windows nearest to the fire exploded. All the church lamps melted. A double-paneled wall facing the chapel was totally destroyed, although the panel behind it, facing the main church, did not suffer any damage. 

On the other side of that panel was the framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, flanked by St. Joseph on one side and an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, holding the baby Jesus, on the other. 

�The glass covering the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe did not explode,� said Carlos Armas. �There was no damage whatsoever to this wall, even though the temperature clearly got so hot. It was a miracle.� 

The miracle has caused many parishioners to roll up their sleeves and take on the challenge of restoring the church. 

�With Father Alejandro, we are seeing a whirlwind of activity,� said Cora Diaz, a long-time parishioner.

�Last year, we all came for a day of cleaning, updating and clearing up the landscaping. Then, we kicked off the restoration of the church on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena by celebrating Mass and then having a candlelit procession through all the buildings of the parish.� 

A hole was dug in the middle of the church restoration site, and parishioners filled it with rocks on which they had written their intentions. 

�It was a great evening of fellowship, culminating in a wonderful potluck dinner. So many people came and there was so much food . . . you could feel the enthusiasm, excitement and sense of rebirth,� Diaz said.

When Father Rodriguez Artola arrived at St. Catherine in October 2010, he started listening. 

�We had a meeting with the members of the Pastoral Council, the Finance Committee, the Stewardship Council and the staff,� he recalled. �After a great deal of input, I shared my belief that we needed to restore the existing church first and then, once that project was complete, we could go on with the plan to build a new church.� 

The plan was approved. During that meeting, one of the parishioners, Mike Jones, said, �If you put a silver shovel out in front of our parish, you will start to raise money.� 

Out of that comment, the Silver Shovel Ministry was formed. 

�The Silver Shovel Ministry is designed to keep all of us informed about what is going on with the restoration project,� said Franklin Davila, a member of the Silver Shovel committee. �Every two weeks, there is a report on the overall progress of the project, and then, two weeks later, a financial report.� 

�We truly want everyone to be informed, we want full accountability and we want everything we do to be transparent to our faith community. The reports are published in the bulletin and they are posted on the St. Catherine of Siena website,� Davila added.

Progress is now visible on the restoration. One critical structural component was the removal of the damaged beam in the ceiling and walls. A new GLU-LAM beam was brought in by crane and put into place. This allowed two things to happen: the roof around the beam could be replaced, and the classification of �unsafe structure� was lifted. 

Then, the roof nail base insulation was installed, using insulation better than required by code, to obtain stronger thermal and acoustical performance as well as providing maximum energy efficiency. 

All of the church�s stained glassed windows had to be replaced due to the damage by fire, smoke and soot, as well as the additional weather exposure. The 14 windows were removed and transported to North Carolina where the company is closely following the original designs to recreate the windows. 

A Blessed Sacrament Chapel will be built where the devotional chapel was previously located. It will ultimately be a perpetual adoration chapel, open 24/7, where not only parishioners, but those who live and work around the area, can come to pray. 

Father Rodriguez Artola also traveled to Val Gardena, Italy to interview two sacred art purveyors in search of images and symbols for the restored church building. 

�With careful research and cost comparisons, we were able to save over $17,000 on the purchase of these items,� said Father Rodriguez Artola. �We also received a donation of two slabs of Calacatta marble, which will be used in the altar and tabernacle area.�

�This is a very exciting time for our parish,� said Arlene Armas, another longtime parishioner. �My three children received several sacraments at this church, and my daughter was married here right before the fire. We live right across the street, so we saw the fire and its devastating impact on our parish community.

With the work of the Silver Shovel Ministry, and the leadership of Father Alejandro, we receive complete information, full accountability and a sense of purpose toward the first goal of restoring the church. Our future is tremendous and we, as a community, are totally energized to complete step one of our mission.�

Barring any unforeseen delays, the work should be completed by late spring 2012.

�We have an aggressive schedule, and God willing, we will achieve our objectives," said Father Rodriguez Artola. "There is a beautiful team spirit making it happen and St. Catherine, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Holy Spirit are watching over us.�