Restoring Beauty Project
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Stained Glass Mock Up
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Calvary statue available in warehouse in Pennsylvania
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Donate nowDonating to the Restoring Beauty fund is to invest in our parishioners future, an investment in the faith of our children, now and for generations to come. We will elevate our existing space by adding increased reverence so we as a group of parishioners can grow in faith, love of the Lord, really focus on the true sacrifice of the mass, and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Our goal is to break ground in Spring 2025. In order to do that, we need to raise $400,000. We need to raise close to $520,000 to complete our entire parish restoration plan. If we are able to exceed even that goal, we will be able to fund other projects to support the mission and vision of our parish.
We pray you generously consider donating to this project in whatever capacity you are able. Only together can we help see this project to completion. We cannot wait to see how God works in each of your hearts and in our parish over the coming years. The faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, and every prayer and donation of any monetary value will help.
The fundraising committee thanks you for your time, consideration and generosity!
Sincerely, Restoring Beauty Project fundraising committee
Donate online to the Restoring Beauty Project -
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Artist's Rendering by Patsy Cotter
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Letter from Fr. Vincent, pASTORDear Parishioners,
My attendance at the National Eucharistic Congress has inspired me and confirmed me in the importance of the Eucharist and the Eucharistic space reflecting its importance. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. If our Eucharistic worship is at the center of our parish life, all our ministries will flow from there and flourish.
If Jesus is really present on the altar at Mass and in the tabernacle then our church needs to reflect the greatness and beauty of the guest and the reality of Paschal Mystery that is being celebrated at Mass.
Over a year ago the Pastoral Council, as part of our Pastoral Plan, began discussions about improving the church environment. An approach of “restoration” was adopted in which we would follow the lines of how the church was originally constructed, similar to the approach we took with St. Joseph in Valley. We have some good early pictures of St. Mary’s and thus the name of this project is “Restoring Beauty.”
Two pillars of this project are the “Calvary” statue at the center and above the altar and a stained glass window of Mary in the East wall of the sanctuary. I was able to locate the original depicted “Calvary” statue the was in the church at a warehouse in Pennsylvania. This Calvary is a cluster of statues depicting Jesus on the cross, and Mary, John and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. This Calvary is part of a high altar of which we would like to reproduce to include the statues of St. Joseph and the Sacred Heart. Since the Mass is the re-enactment of the Sacrifice of Jesus made on the cross, this Calvary is appropriate to foster Eucharistic devotion and a reminder of the meaning of the Mass, when Jesus was “Poured Out.”
The other pillar of the project is to honor our Lady of the Rosary, who is the patroness of our parish. A stained glass depiction of Mary with a rosary could go into the East window opening. It is appropriate to have this image so close to the altar because Mary was the first to receive the Eucharist in her body and it was from her body that Jesus took his human flesh.
An ancient approach of church design and architecture was that the Church should be a “Porta Ceoli”: a gate to heaven. Meaning the materials, architecture and art in the church and sanctuary should have a transcendent, uplifting, beautiful and other worldly quality about it. When we enter our church we should feel like we entered another space, a sacred space, altogether that moves us upward to worship God, to heaven.
Fr. Vincent Gilmore,
Pastor
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Original Picture of St. Mary's Church from 1911
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Letter from Alexis Peters, campaign chAIRI have spent hours writing and rewriting this because there is so much that I want to say but we definitely don’t have time for it all!
First, I personally am so grateful that we have the opportunity proposed to bring the calvary statue, and more reverence back to our parish - I have visited many churches, missions and cathedrals across the states and Europe and I have not seen anything quite like it. It is so uniquely historic to our parish.
Second: if you have been distracted during mass for whatever reason - a cell phone ringing, a kid crying, ruminating thoughts about how much longer you have to wait for breakfast or donuts, a stressful upcoming life event, etc, how much easier would it have been to redirect your focus if when looking up to the altar instead of seeing a white wall, you saw the angels and Mary at the foot of the cross? How much easier could we maybe transport ourselves to calvary and away from our earthly worries and distractions for a few moments?
Third: I showed Patsy’s amazing rendering to my children and the older three were in love, each with different parts and that made my heart burst. Easton is absolutely in love with the Stained glass window (it may help that stained glass is his favorite thing at any church we go to). Everett loved the ornate communion rail and the statue naves, and Elliot without hesitation pointed straight to the Calvary - and noted Jesus’ height and prominence as well as the women at his feet. I feel this generally represents all of us - we will all have a favorite part of this project and that is perfectly acceptable.
Our goal isn’t to just purchase the next biggest, greatest, finest thing, but to restore Nobel Beauty to OUR sanctuary space as the catechism deeply requires. Replacing the green spotted carpet is certainly overdue, and repairing the walls are structural maintenance that does need to happen but the other pieces of this are repairing and restoring the sanctuary space to foster OUR relationship with Christ - as a church should. A catholic sanctuary isn’t just form and function, it serves to guide our hearts and minds through reverent and venerative beauty so that we can really focus on how the Eucharist is the true source and summit of our Christian life; it is a place where Heaven and Earth collide to remember Christ’s greatest sacrifice.
The catechism asks us to have art that points our eyes to the beauty of the Eucharistic mystery. I can think of nothing more historically important to our church than to bring back OUR pieces of lost history. I want to create a space where our hearts can grow, where our children’s hearts can grow to love the Lord, and one that we can be proud of for years to come. Our hall and events mean nothing in the future if we don’t first come to meet the Lord in the Eucharist during mass - and hopefully this reverent place will guide others to know Him and love Him so deeply that we may in fact futuristically require an addition to our functional spaces.
The copper steeple is iconic to this town - the inside needs to be iconic of our history - our personal Chewelah history and overwhelmingly beautiful Catholic history. This restoration will honor both of those things in a way that combines historical features, veneration of our patroness and will allow us to purposefully redisplay our existing statues in a way that is more honorable.
I pray that you consider supporting this project. I realize it is a large undertaking but I can’t imagine a more worthy cause. Countless hours have gone into the planning, organization and design to ensure we can be proud of our project, that it fits our parish needs, and truly honors our Lord in a meaningful way.
Especially in this year of Eucharistic revival, it will be a true honor and legacy to create a beautiful space for us and those that visit, to love, honor and adore our Lord as we navigate this world looking toward our Heavenly home for generations to come.
Alexis Peters, Restoring Beauty Campaign Chair
