refurbished, including the refinishing of the original hardwood floors and the purchasing of new furniture and floor coverings. The kitchen in the rectory was renovated with new cabinets, flooring and appliances. The bathrooms were redone, bath tubs refinished, walls removed and new tiles and cabinets installed. New carpeting and blinds were added in the living room and bedrooms. New furniture was purchased for the pastor’s suite. This made it a real residence and much more hospitable for visiting clergy. The stairs to the basement were re-carpeted, although no renovation was done in the basement itself.
.
In the winter of 2013, a broken water pipe in the kitchen lead to the flooding of the church basement. Again, parish insurance covered part of the restoration, and provided new impetus to develop a long-range plan for the use of the basement. It was decided to incorporate a new elevator into the renovation of the front entry to the church, not only to allow handicapped access to the church itself, but also to the church basement. The elevator is large enough to easily hold a casket, making the process of bringing a casket into the church for a funeral much less of a task. The consensus of the building committee was that parish offices, which had always been located in the rectory, be moved to the church basement, thus making the parish rectory a dedicated residence for parish priests. New offices, storage and meeting spaces were incorporated into the basement space. The parish staff moved into the new offices in March 2016.
.
The New Vision to Grow campaign was a huge success, and in early 2015 work began on the front entrance/gathering space of the church (which also included completion of the basement renovation mentioned earlier). Special permission was obtained from Bishop Liam Cary to allow two parishioners who were licensed contractors to be the supervisors of the projects. This decision allowed Larry Tuttle and Riley Hill to oversee the work, thus saving the parish many thousands of dollars. The completed project has made the vestibule a beautiful and functional entry into the church, with plenty of room for information tables and seating space for overflow crowds at crowded times of the year. The dedication of the entire construction and renovation project was held on May 27, 2016.
.
Note: This short history of Blessed Sacrament Parish was pieced together from various sources. In the 1980’s, Mary Ann Beck, a long-time parishioner took it upon herself to write a history of the parish up to the early 1960’s. She gathered information from several books about the Baker Diocese, some reports left by previous priests, and by talking with people in the parish who knew some of the history. Other parts of this document are from newspaper clippings and other primary sources found among boxes of “memorabilia” left in the parish house. The accuracy of dates and events is not guaranteed; please contact the church secretary if you have additional information or corrections. ~ John McDonough, May 2016
.
.
.
Parish History
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
9
