By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald

Parishioners donate labor for renovation, construction

GRANTSBURG -- On Sunday, June 12, members of Immaculate Conception Parish in Grantsburg joined with Bishop Raphael M. Fliss to dedicate their renovated church and new addition.

Planning for the renovation and addition began over two years ago, when Fr. David Lusson, current pastor of the Cumberland, Almena and Turtle Lake cluster, was pastor at Immaculate Conception. Construction started in July 2004 and continued under the guidance of Fr. Dennis Mullen, when he became pastor of the Grantsburg and Frederic cluster in September 2004.

Mullen praised parishioners' spirit of stewardship and cooperation that was evident through the completion point. "It shows they rallied around this project," he said.

Cindy Wick, a member of the parish renovation committee, complemented Mullen for his support. "He was a strong leader coming on in the middle of things," Wick said. "It must have been a tough chore for him to step in during the middle of this."

Stan Peer, chair of the renovation committee, said parishioners reviewed all possible choices, including building a new church, before deciding to renovate. "We looked at all of our options before we did anything," Peer said. "We had to do fund raising before starting and took pledges from parishioners."

The reason for doing the project was multifaceted. "The building needed a lot of repair work," Peer said. "The bathrooms were brought up to code and the building is now handicapped accessible."

A large part of the church renovation involved "flip-flopping" the nave, including moving the altar to a new location. "The altar was in the middle of the building with a social hall behind it," Wick said.

An addition was built on to the church. It includes a new entrance, a gathering space and a small chapel. A new furnace and air conditioning unit was installed and a pitched roof was added over the existing social hall. The hall interior was also painted.

A budget of $550,000 was approved for the project. The parish received a $50,000 grant from the Catholic Church Extension Society to assist with costs. Once all of the figures are tabulated, the project may be some $75,000 under budget, because much of the work was completed by parishioners at no charge.

"We didn't know how much volunteer labor we would have," Peer said. "We ended up with a lot of volunteer labor and that helped cut lots of cost. We had thousands upon thousands of donated hours. Parishioners that were able, and had the time, donated some hours. It all made the work a little more fun."

Wick agreed that volunteers were an instrumental part of the project, from start to finish. "They were a huge part of this project and made it possible for things to come in under budget," she said.

Parishioner Ray Gonsior, a retired commercial dry wall contractor, volunteered as construction manager. "The renovation committee gave me the power to make many decisions on my own as things came up," Gonsior said. "That's why our time frame went quick. Our volunteers also helped. They really made it a community affair. We had certain amount of socializing, but got the job done."

Besides his supervisory role, Gonsior assisted in the dry wall process. He also crafted a new altar from hardwood. The altar was donated by parishioner Charlotte Meir, as a memorial to her deceased husband, Joseph.

Gonsior also made a tabernacle stand and candleholders. "I felt I had the talent," he said. "The parish needed help and I wanted to do it."

Dave Rudolph, a retired electrician, was among other parishioners offering personal skills for the project. He did the electrical work and installed a new sound system.

"I offered my work as a way to save the parish money," Rudolph said. "It was a way I could give back."

Gary Rudolph, who was on his way to Alaska at the time of the dedication, made a number of stained glass window panels that hang throughout the church.

Many women of the parish helped with the selections of interior colors and flooring. They also made lunches for volunteers and organized the dedication banquet, held after Mass.

The church parking lot was expanded with some 40 new spaces and other outside landscaping work was completed with the use of volunteers.

"Most parishioners were involved with the project," Mullen said. "It seems like there was always a volunteer working."

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