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Dear Friends:
The experience of Hurricane
Gustav has left all of us
changed in some way. While
many of us came through the
storm with little to no damage,
there are those right here
within our midst and beyond our
local communities who have
suffered extensive damage and
loss in many forms.
Hopefully most of us have come
to a deeper appreciation for
life itself and its basic
necessities. Hopefully we
have all grown a little more
patient with one another and
more open to the common needs of
our whole community. As we
celebrate this Feast of the
Exultation of the Holy Cross, I
encourage us to remain focused
on the presence of Christ in our
midst: in adversity, in
our resilience, and in the face
of our neighbor.
The purpose of this letter is
3-fold:
1. To give you a description of
the damages to our churches and
other physical structures.
2. To introduce the first
component of a pastoral plan in
response to the storm overall.
3. To ask your wholehearted
support of our pastoral plan
and, most of all, your continued
prayers.
Damages to Parish
Structures:
Along with the pastoral and
spiritual care of you, our
parishioners, as pastor it is
also my responsibility to
oversee the care of 19 physical
structures in all. They
are: Assumption Church,
the Assumption Fair Shed, the
Youth House, St. Anne Church,
St. Anne Rectory, St. Anne
Parish Hall, the St. Anne
Storage Building, the St. Anne
and Assumption Parish Offices
(also known as the Msgr.
Landsmann Center), Immaculate
Conception Chapel, St. Philomena
Church, St. Philomena Rectory,
St. Philomena Adoration Chapel,
the St. Philomena School and all
associated buildings, the St.
Philomena Parish Office, and the
Assumption, St. Anne, Immaculate
Conception, and St. Philomena
Cemeteries. While these
structures (the stones) are
nowhere nearly as important as
you our faithful (the living
stones), our facilities,
especially our churches, are
close to our hearts. So,
here is a brief overall
description of where things
stand.
The St. Philomena
Properties:
St. Philomena Church and Rectory
received minimal damage.
By minimal I mean roof damage
and the loss of flashing and
some siding. The St.
Philomena Parish Office received
no damage. The St.
Philomena School complex
received extensive roof damage
in one location due to a large
tree blown down during the
storm. The school itself
also has several leaks in the
roof throughout the complex.
The St. Philomena Adoration
Chapel received damage to the
roof, and because of that, water
damage in the chapel itself.
We were able to remove the water
from the carpet. As a
result, the Adoration Chapel
must remain closed until the
repair work is done. At
present, we are awaiting the
arrival of insurance adjustors
and contractors affiliated with
our insurance company, Catholic
Mutual, to come out and begin
the process of estimates and
repairs. The chapel will
reopen. It must, however,
remain closed in the meantime.
The St. Anne and
Immaculate Conception Properties:
St. Anne Church itself received
minimal damage. Similar to
St. Philomena Church, we lost
some singles and flashing.
There was no damage to the
Landsmann Center. However,
due to a large tree that fell,
our phone lines, office internet
service, and electricity to the
church are all still out.
We are working to have these
repairs done as soon as
possible, but Hurricane Ike is
holding things up.
Immaculate Conception Chapel
received minimal damage also, to
one window only.
The Assumption Properties:
There was minimal roof damage to
the Youth House and a couple of
broken windows. While some
water came into the second floor
through these windows, the
building is in good shape.
The structure known as the Fair
Shed was completely demolished.
Of our 4 church structures,
Assumption Church itself
received the worst damage of
all, mainly to the roof.
Much of the carpet was saturated
with water, but thanks to some
helpful parishioners it was
removed. I am very happy
to report that our insurance
company, along with contractors
and equipment were on the seen
immediately. Since the
storm, here is what has been
done: debris from the Fair
Shed has been collected and
sorted, fallen trees have been
cut and removed, tarps have been
placed on the roof of the
church, and a large dehumidifier
has been used to remove all
moisture from within the church
itself. Fr. Jamin and I
met this past Friday with the
contractor in charge. He
told us that the entire roof
will need to be replaced.
While there were some concerns,
initially, regarding the
stability of the overall
structure, he has told us that
this is not a concern. We
are moving ahead on another
overall evaluation of the
complex, getting an estimate,
and proceeding with repairs.
Our goal is to reopen the church
as soon as possible. In
the meantime, all of our Masses
(for St. Anne and Assumption)
will be celebrated at St. Anne
Church.
Serving those in Need:
in conjunction with Catholic
Charities of America and the
Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank,
volunteers of literally all ages
from St. Anne, Assumption, and
St. Philomena offered food and
other supplies to an estimated
3,200 families during the days
immediately following the storm.
I am extremely grateful to all
who came out to help sort and
distribute these items, and I am
thankful to our associate
pastor, Fr. Jamin, for
coordinating this entire effort.
St. Philomena Church has also
served as a distribution point
since the hurricane and, in
recent days, the school has
served as a shelter for
evacuees. I appreciate
your understanding and patience
as our space has been used to
serve the needs of others.
I know that I speak for all of
you when I say that were are
happy to do so.
Mass Times and Locations:
due to the type of repairs
needed to be done to Assumption
Church and the need for another
evaluation of the overall
structure, all Masses (for St.
Anne and Assumption) will be
celebrated at St. Anne Church
until further notice. Our
plan is to reopen Assumption
Church after the necessary
repairs are done. Also,
after much thought and prayer,
we have decided in the meantime
to adjust our weekend Mass times
slightly. As we all know,
all of Assumption Civil Parish
is in a recovery mode. The
goal of the adjusted Mass times
is to make it as easy as
possible for parishioners,
especially our elderly and those
with young children, to attend
Mass. So, for the
meantime, please make note of
the following Mass times and
locations:
Saturday Reconciliation
3:00pm,
Saturday Vigil Mass
4:00pm,
Sunday morning Masses will be at
8:00am
and
10:00am.
Again, all of these, for a
while, will be celebrated at St.
Anne Church, along with all
other sacraments and funerals.
I invite your understanding as
we continue to assess our
situation and plan for the
future. If you serve in a
liturgical ministry, I also
invite (and thank you for) your
flexibility and continued
ministry during this time.
Stewardship of Prayer,
Ministry, and Finance:
I ask your continued prayers for
our community, especially for
those who suffered serious loss.
I ask your continued service and
involvement in our various
parish ministries.
Thirdly, I invite your continued
support of our church by way of
your financial stewardship and
sacrifice. I thank each
and everyone of you for your
involvement in the life of our
community and for your personal
and family commitment to God and
neighbor. Let us stay the
course together, trusting that
God will provide for all our
needs.
Sincerely yours,
Father Trey Nelson, Pastor |
