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Home , Rachel, Weeping statue

NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE Queen of Peace, Inc PAID Trinity Heights P. O. Box 1707 • Sioux City, Iowa 51102 ABPC Queen of Peace Sioux City, I owa Summer 2019

It has been in the works, planning stages for over 10 years, and this year, June 24th 2019, the newest addition to the grounds, the St was dedicated and blessed.

It has been a dream, a prayer that was answered, a hope, that at times seemed impossible to realize, but with some wonderful donors, and some donated labor, Trinity Heights Queen of Peace now has another truly beautiful statue, St John the Baptist, the Baptism of Christ set along the stream for all to see. Beanie Cooper, our longtime Executive Director, had always envisioned a statue of St John here at Trinity Heights. Unfortunately he did not live to see this dream of this placed, THOUGHTS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and after a planning period of almost 3 years, it has come to be. This year has been another busy year here proceeded with this project it be funded at a at Trinity Heights. We have welcomed many minimum of 50%. We have passed that fi gure This beautiful statue of St John the Baptist is visitors, pilgrimages, travelers to the site and and yet this project is not fully funded. With another of the works of Sondra Jonson. Sondra with the cooler fall months that still lie ahead, both of these issues, I humbly am asking that has been commissioned previously to place the it will continue to be very busy for the staff and you consider a donation that will assist us in Weeping Statue, St. Peter and St. Paul, volunteers. addressing both of these issues. As you all along with the new Stations of the Cross prior So many have come to visit this year and have know we rely TOTALLY on the generosity of our to us contacting her to have this most recent been in awe as to the totality of the beauty of donors, visitors and those wishing to remember work of her art placed here. Sondra Jonson is the buildings, and the grounds, and folks we someone with a memorial gift. Please consider such a great artist and sculptor. We must pass need your help in maintaining them. With only sending a tax-deductible donation and let us along our sincere appreciation for her beautiful 5 paid staff members, we have relied upon our continue to off er this beautiful setting in the volunteers to carry so much of our work load, condition so many have come to expect to see rendition of St John the Baptist. As Sondra told and as all of you are aware, our volunteer group when they visit Trinity Heights Queen of Peace all in attendance the day that the statue was continues to shrink. It is becoming quite clear Shrine. Thank you in advance for your support dedicated, the humility of St John the Baptist we are going to have to add staff to continue to throughout the years, and Bless you for was one of the things she truly wanted to show maintain our grounds, and staff our buildings. your generosity! of this statue, and she completed that task. I do not ask for assistance often, but this is the Sondra also wanted to depict the submission time I must ask for your help. In the previous Terry Hegarty of Christ in asking us to see he was truly a article you have read about the newest addition human and showing all, they also needed to be to our grounds and in the article, it stated, the baptized. Board of Directors mandated that before we (Continued on page 2)

Queen of Peace_38681.indd 1 8/22/19 10:23 AM Trinity Heights Queen of Peace Shrine Summer 2019

Enter the Bertrand family and R J Tide. Russ After a glorious Mass, all processed out to the Bertrand and Jim Schueder, the owners of R J statue location for the formal dedication and Tide stepped forward with the knowledge, the blessing. They say a picture says a thousand , and the expertise we needed to make words. One look at this beautiful statue with the statue hang on a backdrop that is truly one the Bishop laying his hands upon it, looking at of a kind. The site construction began in late the faces of both St John the Baptist and Jesus April, a task not for the faint of heart; clear the Christ, you felt the power and the humility as area, construct a wall that was 14 feet high, 6 they look down upon us all. Such a wonderful feet wide and 18 inches thick to not only hold sight, such a wonderful gift from so many and the new statue, but withstand all the elements such a great addition to Trinity Heights. Thank that this area experiences. The many changes you again to the donors who assisted us in this of the seasons, the wet weather, the freezing With this beautiful statue mounted on this project with their most generous gifts. Thank weather and the driving winds would all have gorgeous wall, the only thing left to do was you to Bishop Nickless, Fr. Hemann and Fr. Topf. to be addressed in constructing the wall on to ask our Bishop, R. Walker Nickless to come Thank you to Sondra Jonson for this beautiful which to place the statue. and bless the statue. When I contacted Bishop work of art, and thank you again to R J Tide and Nickless to ask if he would be available to come the Bertrand family. Let me tell you personally, the crew from R J and bless the statue, he asked the date we had Tide not only answered the call, the pride and in mind. Well the Nativity of St John the Baptist ownership they exhibited was something to is June 24th so this was the date we chose. It is written when John baptized Jesus the truly behold. As you can tell, Trinity Heights has Bishop Nickless, along with our Rector Fr. Heavens opened up and the voice of God spoke a tremendous amount of thanks and gratitude Hemann, and a long-time Mass celebrant here saying, “This is My Beloved Son with whom I to send to R J Tide and the Bertrand family for at Trinity Heights, Fr. Thomas Topf, all came am well pleased.” Sondra’s work conveys this making this happen. together to off er the Celebration of the Mass message most clearly, and it is my hope you with over 100 in attendance in the Marian will all make the pilgrimage here to the Trinity Center. Heights Queen of Peace Shrine to see this newest addition to our grounds, along with all the , and gardens that adorn this beautiful tribute to the of Jesus and the .

The Board of Directors approved commissioning Sondra to cast the statue only after we had obtained 50% of the funding required to complete the area that housed the statue and the expense involved with the statue itself. With the statue being approved and the foundry beginning the bronze casting, we needed a contractor that would come to the site chosen and craft something that would place the statue in the setting we envisioned, so that our visitors would see and immediately be awestruck with the total beauty of this newest addition to our grounds.

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