?Twenty-Five years and 14 months of planning' leads to joyous groundbreaking for new church
SOUTH OGDEN — A more beautiful afternoon could not have been chosen for the long-awaited ground breaking for the new Holy Family Catholic Church in South Ogden. Parishioners and parish and diocesan leaders stood and sat inside a life-size floor plan of the church laid out on the grass of the parish plant in bright orange ribbon. Fourteen gold shovels adorned with red ribbons were provided by R & O Construction, contractors for the project. The shovels were used again and again as Pastor Father Patrick Elliott called from the crowd parishioners who had worked on the parish’s highly successful capital campaign, hospitality projects, and those who are leading steering and finance committees and the parish council. Also present was Msgr. Lawrence P. Sweeney, former pastor of Holy Family Parish, who read from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians: "We are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building..." Song and prayer began the ceremony, which Bill Burbidge, chairman of the finance committee, said once seemed so far away. "Once we get the shell of the church up, it will seem more real," Burbidge told the Intermountain Catholic. "We’re still trying to decide what is vital to the church and what are mere enhancements." Bishop Wester spoke of the ritual symbols of music and holy water blended with more modern symbols of hard hats and shovels that, "signify a new beginning for this parish. This is a historical moment in this parish’s history that goes back three decades. Jesus Christ will be your cornerstone." Michael Joseph, chairman of the parish steering committee said the ground breaking signifies "twenty-five years and 14 months of planning" on the part of parishioners, pastors, and administrators including Fr. Elliott, Father John Hart, Msgr. Sweeney and Founding Pastor Msgr. George F. Davich. Bishop Wester said: "The real church is the people of God. Drawing from the parish’s capital campaign theme, "Building With Living Stones," he added, "We, the living stones, are the people of God loved to life." The children delighted in Bishop Wester’s story of his grandfather Wester, intertwining his fingers and saying, "Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people." He credited parishioner generosity with time, talent, and treasure for bringing the project this far, and thanked members of the various committees who have worked so hard to bring the project to fruition. "We will pray for all the workers involved in this project, the construction workers, the architects, and the artists, all of whom will bring their talents to this project." Bishop Wester said the building project gathers people together in a sacred interchange between God and his people and the church will encompass all of the Catholic experiences; the cries of babies being baptized, the words of couples saying their wedding vows, the sounds of priests saying the words of absolution, the prayers of consecration during the celebration of the Eucharist, and the sounds of the sad occasions, funerals and memorials. "This will be a holy church," the bishop said, "I look forward to its consecration." Burbidge spoke proudly with the Intermountain Catholic regarding the 81 percent response the parish got from its capital campaign. "That is practically unheard of," he said. The ground breaking involved almost everyone present, and concluded with the children of the parish tossing stones with their names written on them into the broken ground. Introducing Ed Burns, head of the parish’s effort to recruit Knights of Columbus, Fr. Elliott urged all the men of the parish to join the Knights. Architects for the project are Bob Herman and Stephanie McCarthy of EDA Architects. Fr. Elliott said he expects the $4.5 million project to be completed in the fall of 2008.
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