Our Residence...
Anticipating our growth and eventual change
from a mission to a parish we began to
construct a priest's residence. Groundbreaking was held in
2001. Due to the spirit and leadership of Father André Izac,
and the generosity of many individuals including our summer
visitors, the residence was completed in July 2002. This
beautiful residence is secluded in the northwestern rear of our
property with views of the wetlands and Pamlico Sound. A house
warming was held on July 21st, and visiting priest were using it and
in returned helped out with the summer Mass schedule.
Church Construction Progress...
We
anticipated the start of
construction for a 300-seat
church in the fall of 2003.
Our
architect and engineer have put
the final touches on the new
plans for the church. Some
revisions of the interior
seating, choir area, size of the
sanctuary, etc. have been
completed; additionally, the
main sanctuary window has been
redesigned to accommodate our
beautiful crucifix. The ramp on
the right will accommodate our
handicapped visitors and lead
into a special seating area for
them, near the sanctuary. On
January 9th, Father
Andre and David Kelmer went
before the Dare County Planning
Board and received approval of
our building and property
development plans. The next step
in the process will be to
receive final approval from the
Dare County Commissioners,
hopefully on February 17th.
Once that has been done,
and the bids have been obtained,
we will be ready to send the
entire package to the Diocese
for their final approval. Our
hope is that construction will
begin early in the spring or
late this winter. The
construction of the new church
is expected to take
approximately 12 to 14 months.
It will seat 300 in individual
chairs with kneelers (a sample
chair is on display in the
hall). A note here: size of the
church is predetermined by
codes, permits, usable land,
parking space requirements, etc.
We have set the number of
memorial chairs for the church
at 300. |
|