Raise the roof!

Holy Trinity has been the scene of some serious activity the last couple weeks as Trimble Construction began work on the south side roof and steeple. Neither severe thunderstorms or extreme temperatures got in the way of construction as workers laid shingles, repaired the roof, and repainted the louvers. The R & R committee looked into wrapping the louvers in aluminum so that they would last longer, however, after inquiring with Trimble about the cost of doing this, it was decided to only repair and repaint them. Everything besides the louvers on the bell tower will be covered with aluminum, including the soffet and facia. The committee also decided to repaint the chimney white again. They decided that if the paint was to chip and flake off, it would expose a different color underneath and would not look uniform. Questions have also recently arose concerning the foundation and moisture problems in the basement of Holy Trinity. These problems and potential solutions plan to be addressed at the next meeting.

Sneak Peak!

The Holy Trinity Calendar is almost ready for sale! The calendar will make its debut August 1 at the Steak Dinner. The 12 month calendars are selling for $20 each and include a set of stained glass windows as the picture for every month, a short description of the meaning behind the windows, and a prayer. Also, important Holy Trinity dates will be marked in the calendar such as ARS meeting times, saint's birthdays, First Communion, annual fish fry, etc. These calendars would make perfect Christmas gifts for friends and family memebers! Also for sale at the Steak Dinner will be the card box set of the stained glass windows and Rada knives. If you will not be able to attend the Steak Dinner and would like a calendar, email Bev Henn at holytrinity@consolidated.net.

Volunteers still hard at work

The Holy Family statue was recently sanded, primed and painted a fresh coat by a volunteer. The statue will now reside in the reconciliation room. The old presider chair is being transformed into a platform that the statue will sit atop of. Also, a small votive candle stand has been cleaned and freshly spray painted that will adorn the front area of the statue.

More stations are also being sanded and primed on a weekly basis. These stations are the latest pair prepared by volunteers. The committee has decided to re-hang the statues after they've been primed back inside the church until the artist in charge of painting them can get to each station. The committee is striving to have all of the 14 stations sanded and primed and ready for a final painting before the Steak Dinner on August 1.

As shown with the chipped paint, the exterior windows are in desperate need of repair. At first, the R & R committee had hopes of scraping, cleaning, and re-installing the windows themselves, but the task proved too daunting for amatuers. Bids are now being accepted by contractors for the job.

The R & R committee is holding it's next meeting July 14 at 7 pm in the hall. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend!

Latest progress at Holy Trinity

As fundraising continues, the interior of Holy Trinity is starting to see subtle changes. Thanks to the time and talents of a parishioner last week, the newly opened alcoves have been outfitted with 2 beautiful wooden adornments. One of the wooden pieces came off a section from the reredos. The other wooden adornment used to hang above the Holy Family statue. The committee and decorator however decided that these pieces would help to beautify the altar better if they were moved above the alcoves. Once professional interior work begins in September, the wooden adornments will be painted ivory and tipped in gold to match the rest of the new altar.

The Holy Family statue has also been repainted and relocated to the reconciliation room. Another parishioner is currently working on transforming the old presider chair into a base for the statue. The R & R committee strives to reuse and recycle as many different pieces of furniture and decorations as possible to maintain sentimental value at Holy Trinity and save on costs.

Furthermore, last week Kevin Autenrieb (contract decorator) picked up the recovered baptismal font and the Pieta statue to take back with him so he can restore both pieces. He also looked over the exterior windows of the church and is preparing an estimate to see how much it will cost to scrape, clean, caulk and re-install the storm windows and clean the stained glass windows. After much discussion of volunteers possibly doing the work, it was decided that the job was too much to be handled by amatuers.

Lastly, the flooring options for the altar have been narrowed down to 3 possible options. Option #1 would be to refinsih the original floor underneath the carpet. Option #2 is installing an engineered hardwood floor. Option #3 is laying down new carpet. All of the options are around $2,500. The flooring decision will be made in the months to come at the Repair and Refresh Committee meetings. The next meeting is slated at 7 p.m. on July 14 at the hall. Everyone is encouraged to attend!

Serving up steaks at the Summerfest

The heat and humidity didn't stop volunteers at the Chuck Wagon from dishing up steak sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs at the Stonington Summerfest this past weekend. The different crews worked 3 hour shifts from Friday night until Sunday night in an effort to raise more money for the Repair and Refresh Project. The Chuck Wagon fed many patrons and turned out to be a very successful weekend! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and helped our cause!

Pictures (from top to bottom):

1. Nancy Colbrook and Samantha Walton prepare a steak sandwich for a customer as Ramey Walton watches the cash box on Sunday night.

2. Keeping an eye on the steaks, Steve Curtin hands over the finished ribeyes to Bev Henn as Brian Henn supervises.

3. Anita Myers takes cash from a paying customer during Saturday's noon crew.

4. Jim May and Jim Unser work as grill masters on Saturday.

More sanding

Once again, volunteers of Holy Trinity came together to work on sanding down another Station of the Cross. Armed with Dremels, sanding sponges, goggles and masks, the crew managed to complete one more station. Volunteers are coming together to work on these stations to save Travis Norville, the artist who is repainting all the stations, time and energy so he can move right into painting them. If you would like to help sand the stations, please contact Nancy Mateer at 259-3117.

Volunteers needed!

Holy Trinity is asking for the helping hands of many, many people as more fundraising projects start picking up. Below is a list of several different volunteer opportunities that everyone is encouraged to partake in. Every little bit helps!

1. Summerfest is less than a week away and the Holy Trinity Chuck wagon is taking a break from the Farmer's Market this weekend to set up shop at Stonington on June 18, 19, and 20, Friday through Sunday. Shifts are only 3 hours long and include grilling, food preperation and handling money. Please contact Ellen Colbrook if you can assist at 820-1999.

2. Steak Dinner is also just around the corner and the R & R committee needs people to donate or sponsor a themed basket. This would be a perfect opportunity for families, individuals, Why Catholic groups, PSR classes and other people wanting to get involved in the R & R effort. Please contact Sheryl Coady at 325-4285 by July 4th with your 'basket theme' and to sign up.

3. Calling all artists! The Steak Dinner also needs volunteers to do children face painting. If you got what it takes, contact Susan Curtin at 325-3583.

The Chuck Wagon makes its debut!

The R & R committee held their first cook out at the Farmers Market in Taylorville on Saturday morning. The crew arrived on the square around 9 a.m. to pitch the tent and fire up the coals. Ignoring the sprinkling rain, workers cooked ribeyes, brats and hot dogs over the charcoal grill and managed to serve up plenty of food for hungry patrons. The Holy Trinity Chuck Wagon closed up shop around 1:30. Even though they were competing with the BBB Blues and Cruise, the Pow Wow and the Art Fair, the Farmers Market saw a big turn out on Saturday. The committee is hoping the Chuck Wagon will be a major fundraiser for the Repair and Refresh project. The Chuck Wagon will be on the square every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. serving up food until middle October, so come on out and help us reach our goals!

Working on the stations

Slowly, but surely, the Stations of the Cross are nearing completion! Thursday morning was the scene of a sanding session for the Stations thanks to the efforts of a few parishioners and volunteer artisan Travis Norville. Norville has already completed 3 of the 14 stations by himself, but is getting some much needed help from parish members with the other 11. Currently, the remaining stations need to be sanded down and smoothed out to save Travis time so he can go straight to repainting them. Thursday's volunteers finished 2 more stations and then 2 were taken home to be sanded down. Travis was on hand to show the volunteers the proper technique and give them pointers on how to correctly sand the stations. Another work day is being planned so more volunteers can come out and help finish the priming for all of the stations. Many hands make light work!

Church yard in full bloom!

With summer just around the corner, the landscaping around Holy Trinity is beginning to bloom beautifully! Thanks to the efforts of a few parishioners, the church's appearance has already improved dramatically!