Immaculate Conception, Moran, Parishioners Roll up Their Sleeves to Get Expensive Job Done

The Newspaper of the Diocese of Marquette $2.00 20 PAGES MAY 20, 2011 VOL. 40 NO. 9 IINSIDENSIDE What drew me there? Immaculate Conception, Moran, parishioners In his column, Faith Matters, Bishop Alex- roll up their sleeves to get expensive job done ander Sample considers what BY PATRICIA SERWACH into implementation, the ‘to- drew him and IMMACULATE CONCEPTION do’ list just kept growing.” other pilgrims to the beatifica- PARISHIONER Bids to refinish the church’s tion of Pope John Paul II. scratched and peeling 12-foot- PAGE 2 hen members of long oak pews amounted to WImmaculate almost half the parish’s total Conception Parish in Moran renovation budget. In received permission from the November, a group of eight bishop to renovate their church, gutsy parishioners decided to they were happy campers. refinish the pews themselves. They had been saving for the In the end, the $39,000 refin- renovation since 1995, but the ishing job was reduced to Twilight priest shortage kept the project $3,000 out-of-pocket expense Read about Alice Paul, who on hold. In the interim, parish- and hundreds of volunteer is active at 92 and a resident ioners raised funds through hours; today, the refinished of the Bishop Noa Home, bake sales and their annual din- pews are a source of satisfac- living wills and health care ner and raffle, while holding tion. powers of attorney, tips to expenses to a minimum. Pastor Pawel Mecwel stay independent and more in Still, when they budgeted to dubbed this crew “the stripping this special section. implement their renovation, grannies” and recognized and PAGES 10-17 they discovered that their treas- supported everyone who partic- ury wasn’t enough to install a ipated in the project. Japan relief collection three-stop lift, refinish the win- The group found that the Parishes and missions dows and sills, insulate and original white stain had soaked across the diocese collected drywall the block walls of the into the oak grain of the pews $58,283.89 for Japan’s relief church, paint the vaulted ceil- and was difficult to remove. efforts as parishioners gave ing, replace the lighting, recon- They experimented until they to help victims of the recent figure the entrance to enlarge found products and a process earthquakes in the Asian the gathering space, replace that worked. Dee Frazier and nation. carpeting and refinish the pews. her sister Kathy Lawnichak Ordination Invitation “We had about $92,000 stepped into leadership roles, saved, and it clearly wasn’t working every weekday on the In the Spirit of Joy and enough to do everything, based project. Rosemary Irwin, Gail Thanksgiving READY TO WORK - Rosemary Irwin puts on her work gloves to com- on the bids we received,” said Becker, Mary Lugering, Nancy The Most Reverend plete labor-intensive refurbishing of pews at Immaculate Conception finance council member Roggenbuck, Joni Grogan, Alexander K. Sample Parish in Moran. (Photo courtesy of Susan Tamlyn-Massaway) Yvonne Fuller. “As we moved SEE CHURCH ON PAGE 5 in the name of The Diocese of Marquette New documentary explores diocesan seminarians’ call invites you to witness BY LOREENE ZENO KOSKEY project by Tom Byrne, fundraising the ordination of Dcn. Ryan T. Ford consultant, and Kirk Moreland, videographer, both from lower and What draws seminarians to Dcn. Nicholas R. consider the priesthood? Why are Michigan. It followed diocesan Thompson current priests grateful that they seminarians as they went about said “yes” to God’s invitation to their day at Sacred Heart Major to the Order of Priesthood Seminary in Detroit and includes Friday, June 3, 2011 become a priest? Find out 3:30 p.m. (ET) by watching the 15-minute local interviews and footage of priests St. Peter Cathedral TV documentary called in the U.P., as well. 311 W. Baraga Avenue “Answering the Lord’s Call.” The Father Greg Heikkala, Marquette, Michigan diocesan program, which has been Diocesan Director of Vocations, in the planning stages the last few appears in the program. “I would A light reception will follow years, will air this month on describe the experience of being in the Cathedral Hall WLUC-TV, Fox U.P. and Charter involved in the production as Communications. exciting, encouraging, and hope- SPEAKING UP - Tom Byrne interviews Father Greg NEXT ISSUE DATE: The program was produced at ful. Being involved provided me Heikkala for a new documentary on a day in the lives of JUNE 17, 2011 no charge to the diocese as a pilot SEE CALL ON PAGE 5 diocesan seminarians. (Loreene Zeno Koskey photo) PAGE 2 • THE U.P. CATHOLIC • FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2011 ADVERTISING RATES &EDITORIAL CALENDAR FAITH ARE JUST A CLICK AWAY. MATTERS What drew me there? VISIT OUR DIOCESAN WEBSITE Most Reverend www.dioceseofmarquette.org Alexander K. Sample t was supposed to rain. All the Iweather forecasts from the previous week had predicted it. I brought my umbrella, ready for the worst. Yet there we were in the bright warm sunshine in St. Peter’s Square experiencing the glorious Mass of beatification of Blessed Quality custom furniture at wholesale prices! John Paul II. A Catholic family owned & operated company since 1979 The morning had started out Members of St. Joseph's Parish, Perkins overcast, but by the time the large • Kitchen Cabinets • Dining Room tapestry bearing the image of the • Bathroom Cabinets • Office Furniture newly-declared “Blessed” was • Bedroom • Mattresses unveiled following the proclama- • Living Room • Upholstered Sets tion of his beatification, the sun was shining brightly over the crowd • Lodge, Camp and Cottage style furnishings gathered for this historic event. PRESENTING A RELIC - Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand Cretens Furniture Factory & Showroom There was Blessed John Paul’s carries a relic of Blessed John Paul II. A miracle, attributed to the 5954 Perkins 30.5 Road • Perkins, MI 49872 smiling face. With that image and intercession of Blessed John Paul II, cured the French nun of with the relic of his blood enshrined (906) 359-4033 • www.cretensfurniture.com Parkinson’s disease.The relic is a vial of blood drawn for medical before the altar, it was as if this use from the pontiff just days before his death. Sister Tobiana M-F 9:00-5:00 • Sat. 9:00-3:00 beloved Pope was once again pres- Lucyna Sobotka, a caregiver to the now-deceased pope, can be ent in the square he knew so well. seen in the background. (Bishop Alexander Sample photo) Estimates are that about 2 mil- Historic Tree Preservation lion pilgrims from all over the There are many fine tree services spread across this great peninsula world were gathered in Rome for we call home. A few of them like Hoover's Professional Tree Service the beatification, nearly 1.5 million specialize in the finer points of technical tree removal or tree care. in and around St. Peter’s Square However Hoover's tree service has been specializing in Advanced meth- itself. What drew people there? I ods of tree care for over 20 years.This equates to experience.There are can only answer that by telling you three major components to successful tree preservation. what drew me there. First, is caring for the canopy of the tree. The tree climbing profes- I truly loved and admired this sionals at Hoover's Tree have been trained on the finer points of tree remarkable shepherd of the univer- climbing without causing further damage to the tree.With this goes prop- sal Church. I still do. He had a pro- er Tree Trimming techniques including a vast array of knowledge includ- found influence on me, a young ing proper pruning practices. man in college at the time of his Second, the tree may be in need of treatment for disease or election. It was a time of great spiri- insect problems. Hoover's Tree Service is Licensed and Certified by the tual awakening for me, and Blessed John Paul II had a lot to do with that. State of Michigan Department of Agriculture to treat trees with special I was struggling to find my way commercial grade products to aid in the healing process of the tree. in the world and even in the Church Quite often an intravenous treatment is required directly into the tree. at a time of great turmoil and confu- BLESSED JOHN PAUL II CASKET - The casket of Pope Third, the old "Monarch" tree may be in need of tree feeding. sion in both. There was so much John Paul II lies in St. Peter’s Basilica during the time of his Many problems associated with a tree’s decline can be traced back to uncertainty as to where we were beatification. (Bishop Alexander Sample photo) tree root issues and nutrition.We find it especially important to use an all headed. There was doubt as to what and heroic example of this apostle him in his final illness, when the organic proprietary formula to achieve the best results. we believed anymore, especially in of Jesus Christ. I'm not sure I would ravages of Parkinson’s disease had Together integrating these three areas of care can achieve astonishing the moral realm. It was unsettling have had the courage to answer the taken away his vigor, his warm results. This may all sound rather technical and the truth be known it is. for me as a young person, and I felt call. I am a John Paul II priest, and smile, the twinkle in his eye and If one of your ancestors planted a tree many decades ago or you have insecure in my own life of faith.

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