St. Mary Roman Catholic Church

Today has brought a significant development to the rebuilding of the church.  Our existing pews are going to be removed and will be replaced by brand new pews.  This is a decision that was not taken lightly, with all involved parties understanding the emotional connection that our parishioners have to our church.  But the construction and restoration experts, after having examined the pews in great detail, have come to the conclusion that attempting to restore the pews is likely to require more time and money than getting new ones, and that the resulting product will be much less certain.

Before today, two bids for restoration of the pews were solicited.  They included two prices, one basic cost paid by the insurance company for the cleaning and repair of the pews, and a second cost for the extra amount of money to refinish the pews to bring them back to their original condition.  This second cost would be paid in part by the parish, should we wish to proceed, as the fire was not responsible for the 110 years of wear-and-tear on the pews.  The two bids were roughly equivalent; the extra cost for refinishing was estimated at somewhere around $85,000.

Yesterday, our contractors began the delicate work of removing the pews from the floor and walls.  As these pews were attached with nails over one hundred years ago, we feared that the pews would be too difficult to remove without damage; our expert contractor was able to demonstrate their removal safely and worked today to loosen the remaining pews from the church, making them ready for removal from the church.

Today, then, the core team of construction experts, architects, and consultants met for the second time.  Now that the pews can be removed from the church, a decision had to be made as to what to do with them.  The proposals for repair of the existing pews were reviewed, as well as estimates for brand new pews.   On comparison, the costs in restoring the old pews were essentially equivalent to the costs of purchasing brand new pews.  Cost not being a huge factor in the decision, then, the participants began to discuss the other reasons to restore the old, or purchase new, pews.

The likelihood of success of restoring the existing pews was discussed, and the ability to re-fit the pews into their designated locations in the church was also looked at.  Both were deemed problematic, since the pews had absorbed so much water that they were still water-logged in some cases.  When the construction personnel reported that some of the pews were still dripping water from the nail holes, and that some of the pews had been growing mold where they abutted the walls, the cost estimates seemed no longer of primary concern to many of us, but the integrity of the pews, and the safety of our parishioners, became a top priority in our discussions.

At the end of the discussion, the professionals and experts unanimously recommended replacing the old pews with new pews.  Fr. Red acknowledged the parishioners’ desire to maintain as much in the church as is possible, but recognized the superior expertise of our contractors and their decision.  Though the decision might not please many of us, it does have its benefits: (1) newer pews are more ergonomically designed for comfort; (2) the parish does not have to pay any substantial fees for brand new pews; (3) there is no concern that our pews will have structural issues or mold issues; (4) there will be no cost for long-term storage of the pews, since we will not have to purchase them until nearer the time that the church will be completing reconstruction.

Decisions for purchasing new pews will take time and be worked through the parish council.  The decision on what to do with the existing pews occurred today, and as the emergency repair work can only continue as soon as the pews have been removed from the church, the removal will begin as soon as tomorrow.  It would have been good for us to have had the luxury of a weekend in order to share this information with all the parishioners before the activity occurred; however, as the decision was taken by our insurance representative in consultation with the  experts, there was really no input that the parish could make in this case.  All the pews will be removed, and they will be disposed of.  None of the pews will be distributed to anyone in the parish, as they are unsafe for use, and could lead to liability problems.

One thing that we have requested is that the brass number plates on the pews be removed from the pews before they are taken from the church.  We will preserve these plates for future use, probably affixing them to the new pews that we receive.

Though this might be initially considered bad news, it does indeed have many benefits for us.   One of the experts assured us that, despite peoples’ predilection for trying to preserve all of their furniture and items after a fire, generally the people who receive new furniture are happier in the long run.  We ask for continued prayers from our parishioners for the recovery of our church, and we will continue to report on all items of note as they arise.