April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Termites can't bring down Watervliet church
Faith formation coordinator Sharon Kowalski recalled the exact day - June 28 - when a maintenance person called her over to look at some exposed Sheetrock in the church, which had just been renovated in 2011. They were horrified to see that there were termites in some of the church's support columns.
The beams had already slid two inches. The termite problem had been completely overlooked during the renovations. Later, parish leaders would learn that the columns were now so badly damaged, they were just empty shells.
Each column supports about 50,000 pounds of weight.
"Only by the grace of God was our church still standing," Mrs. Kowalski told The Evangelist.
IHM has faced a lot in the past several years. In 2005, six Watervliet and Green Island parishes were merged into one. Many buildings had to be sold and major renovations done to make the current church facility usable.
Then there was the 2012-13 controversy over the razing of the former St. Patrick's Church building, which some local residents wanted saved as a historical site. Stabilizing the church would have cost $4 million; after a painful court battle, it was demolished by the property's new owners to make way for a Price Chopper supermarket.
Now, there would be a $110,000 bill to repair the termite damage to IHM.
But IHM's parishioners are made of strong stuff. "We've had a lot of lemons raining down on us here," Mrs. Kowalski remarked; "so we're getting good at making lemonade out of them."
As the repairs - which are "going very well," she emphasized - continue, with wooden columns being replaced by termite-unfriendly concrete blocks, the parish decided to hold a "termite festival."
"We thought we'd try to make it fun," Mrs. Kowalski said.
On Nov. 23, there was a sale of some special food creations, all "termite-inspired." Parish leaders had suggested using brown rice, toasted coconut, Rice Krispies cereal, bread crumbs and other ingredients to represent termites in the sweet or savory dishes.
This wasn't just a bake sale, either: The parish created a recipe book, offered prizes for the best dish and had a "Pin the Termite on the Bait Trap" game for children. Rev. Edward Deimeke, pastor, made a "Guess the Number of Termite Colonies in the Jar" creation using Styrofoam eggs and even some authentic chewed wood and sawdust from the church's columns.
As part of the fundraising, parishioners could also "adopt" a termite colony.
"When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you termites...you have a Termite Festival!" the parish bulletin declared.
IHM is also where the Albany Diocese's "Table of the Lord" televised Mass is taped. Parishioners hope to be back in the repaired church by Christmas.[[In-content Ad]]
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