Faithful Saving
EMLENTON — Thanks to a thrifty and generous parish, bees will no longer find their way into the choir loft at St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church. A large hive was removed and the church's cupola bee-proofed as part of a long-awaited renovation that began there last year.
"It was pretty much an annual problem," said 35-year parishioner Anne Weiss of St. Petersburg, explaining the bees would enter where the bell rope dangles down through a hole.
Restoring and gilding the cupola were among many renovations completed recently at the 19th century building on Chestnut Street. The first renovation since the 1970s, the project earned the church one of five Oil Heritage Region Historic Preservation Awards announced last week by Venango Oil Region Alliance.
Other upgrades included cleaning and restoring the church's German stained-glass windows along with a tempera mural that forms an arch over the sanctuary. Painted by a parishioner in the 1930s, the mural depicts the Nativity and the Sermon on the Mount.
The restoration also included exterior paint on the church and rectory, a heated wheelchair ramp and sidewalks, interior wainscoting, plumbing repairs and a lift between the main and lower levels.
According to Monsignor Jan Olowin, pastor at St. Michael since 2008, the renovations were completed out-of-pocket with savings that had accumulated from fish fries and other ongoing fundraising activities."They saved for a long time for this to happen," Olowin said, citing a dedication and work ethic evident throughout the parish."It's a warm, comforting worshipping space for a warm, comforting people. It's more than worth its salt: It's worth its soup," he added, explaining the parish also is known for making soup and delivering it to elderly shut-ins.Along with upgrades to the worship space and rectory, Olowin said membership at St. Michael also nearly doubled to now reflect about 200 families. That change resulted largely from the 2008 closure of the St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows parish in Parker.Although the Parker church was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, many Parker families now attend St. Michael, which is part of the Diocese of Erie.Pat Cannan, who attended St. Mary for 27 years, said sadness over the closure in Parker was eased by a warm welcome in Emlenton."We were greeted with special welcoming bags with special information on the church," Cannan said. "They were looking forward to having us come to their parish. It has been a wonderful experience, and we are very happy there."
Olowin said the upgrades combined with expanded membership have added to an overall feeling of optimism."We have three weddings next year already," he said, also citing increased baptisms."Every time I hear a baby cry in church I say 'Hallelujah!'" he said.Cannan estimates 80 percent of St. Mary's members now attend St. Michael. Although the church is closer to Parker than Catholic churches in Clarion or Grove City, geography is not the only factor."Most of all, it feels like home," Cannan said. "And I think that's what the people at St. Mary's needed."It's a very good thing," she added."I'm very proud to say it's my church home now."A formal blessing service for the renovation is planned for 5 p.m. June 26. That service will include Bishop Bishop Donald Trautman and others from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie.Olowin says Mass at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. Sundays at St. Michael and at noon on Sundays at Clarion University, where he serves as campus minister.The Oil Heritage Region Historic Preservation Awards ceremony will be at 7 p.m. May 24 at the Perry Street Station in Titusville.For more information about St. Michael, go to www.stmichaelrcchurch.com/.
