Parish adjusts to major repairs

Just a few weeks ago, Rev. Stephen Morris was exploring the beautiful stone churches of Rome during a three-month sabbatical in Italy.

It was more than a little ironic that he returned to his pastorate at St. Paul the Apostle in Hancock and learned that the church's roof was caving in.

"I have a wooden church!" he shrugged, taking the situation in stride.

Truss issue

Built in 1888, St. Paul's church had lasted more than a century before a ceiling truss snapped recently, bringing the roof down with it.

Parishioners directing construction work on the rectory noticed that the church roof seemed to be sagging and asked the workers to look at it. It was immediately clear that the situation was serious.

Father Morris told The Evangelist that no one is sure what led to the collapse. It could have been a design flaw, or the truss may have been weakened years ago when hundreds of pounds of new shingles were piled in that spot before being installed.

Either way, he said, "it's a mess."

Repair work

The truss, which is the size of a tree trunk, is also a major support for the church's choir loft. While parishioners were still using the church right after the truss snapped -- even holding a funeral with everyone sitting on one side of the church -- they have since been warned to stay out of the building entirely.

Father Morris noted that he had gone inside to check workers' progress on shoring up the truss. He felt a little nervous, but climbed the scaffolding and got to see the church's original, 19th-century decorative ceiling underneath the cracked plaster "barrel" ceiling.

"I wonder if they could save a chunk of it for me?" he mused.

Stay out

A warning in the weekly bulletin now directs parishioners to the rectory for daily Mass or adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Weekend liturgies are being held in the church hall, and Father Morris said that he may ask to use a local Protestant church for funerals.

Parishioners, he said, don't seem fazed by the crisis. One woman even pointed out that the truss didn't break until the pastor had returned from Rome, refreshed and ready to deal with the problem.

Rallying around

"People said immediately that we shouldn't worry about it, that this is our home and we'll rally around it," Father Morris boasted, noting that this is particularly apt as parishes across the Albany Diocese evaluate their futures during the "Called to be Church" process.

The pastor expressed some concerns about repairing the church to meet building codes, which will cost a great deal of money. He plans to consult diocesan officials on how to handle that.

In the meantime, he said, there are actually some advantages to the situation: Since he doesn't live in the rectory, Father Morris said, he can leave a door unlocked for parishioners wishing to sit before the Eucharist in adoration; and the tight quarters at liturgies literally "brings us closer together. We're forced to sit nearer each other."

(2/8/07) [[In-content Ad]]