“My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
-Isaiah 56:7
The house of San Pedro may not seem terribly prayerful over the coming weeks, with all the work going on around the place. But everything underway is meant to provide a more dignified, stable, secure and accessible place where we can gather in prayer for years to come.
Most visible among all the work is the painting and gutter work underway. Painting is not merely cosmetic. It is also an important structural part of the building. It helps to seal the entire structure from water intrusion. And we had a lot of that, you may recall, when Ian came through a few years ago.
As we have mentioned in the past, the cost of painting the church is covered by your generous contributions above our annual CFA goal. Those funds come back to the parish unassessed, to help precisely with important projects such as this.
While the painting is underway, we were also encouraged to upgrade the gutters on the church. Previously, there were 4” wide gutters, and about 50 downspouts around the church to channel water safely away from the foundation. A 4” gutter is fine for small spaces, but as you can see, the church roof is quite large. So in a heavy rain, that’s a lot of water trying to make its way down and out. The new gutters will be 7” wide, and able to handle a much larger load of rainwater. And the number of downspouts will be significantly decreased, adding both efficiency to the system and a touch of elegance to the appearance of the church.
A lot of behind-the-scenes work continues on the Adoration Chapel. The interior work has passed the required inspections, so work can proceed on the interior walls and floors, as well as the custom woodwork that will house the tabernacle. Custom doors and windows are being fabricated, and will take about 6-7 weeks to be complete. They will likely be about the last elements of the Chapel, so we hope to have it up and running by late August or early September.
Along with the physical work on the Chapel, there is a team of parishioners researching the best way to manage the Chapel once it us up and running. While the Chapel will be accessible to the public during certain daytime hours, when parish staff is on site, it will be necessary to register as an Adorer in order to have secure access outside those public hours. Over the coming weeks, we will let you know how you can sign up as a dedicated Adorer.
Thank you for your dedication to ensure that San Pedro truly remains a worthy house of prayer for all peoples.
-Fr. Tom
