Resurrection parishioners celebrate newly restored church

By Andrew Junker | April 2, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

TEMPE — Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted re-dedicated the church at Resurrection Parish March 15, almost two years after a storm nearly destroyed the parish’s old church.

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The July 2007 monsoon brought such damage to the roof of the church that the parish had no choice but to completely build anew. They faced nearly two years of fundraising, building and celebrating Mass in the cramped parish hall.

But those hardships were far from the minds of the nearly 700 people who attended the March 15 event.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Franciscan Sister Anne Marie Smith, who works at the parish and was the first to witness the destruction of the old church. “It was a great celebration, even in the midst of Lent.”

Before Mass even began, throngs of people waited outside the new, large double doors to the church. A bell choir played as the bishop and priests from across the diocese gathered.

Then, the doors were thrown open and Bishop Olmsted led the hundreds into the church as another choir sang hymns.

“When the bishop first walked in, he stopped and said, ‘Wow.’ It was a great reaction. That was what I was looking for,” said Fr. Joseph McGaffin, pastor at Resurrection. “It was overwhelming.”

The dedication of the church itself featured the sprinkling of the building and the faithful with holy water, the presentation of the lectionary and the anointing of the walls of the church with oil.

Fr. McGaffin was struck by the beauty of the prayers that consecrated the building for the worship of God.

“The most moving part for me was when the bishop was there anointing the altar,” he said. “It was pretty powerful. Also powerful was that he allowed me the opportunity to anoint the church walls.”

Grace builds

During his homily, Bishop Olmsted likened the newly commissioned church to Christ’s resurrection from the dead. He also said there was a spiritual lesson to be gleaned from the parish’s hardships.

Just as a storm brought down the old church, so too does sin threaten to bring down the faithful. But in the building of a new church, he saw that grace builds more than sin destroys.

The Gospel for the Lenten Sunday featured Christ’s prophesy that He would rebuild the Temple in three days, which the bishop found especially apt for the occasion.

“‘Destroy the Temple and in three days I will raise it.’ These are words that are used in every church today. They have special meaning in this temple,” the bishop said.

“What you have gone through in the rebuilding of this church is a great lesson in how we must grow in our faith in Christ,” he said.

That recognition meant a lot to the parishioners of Resurrection, many of whom worked hard to see this day come to fruition, Fr. McGaffin said.

The congregation gave a standing ovation at the end of the long Mass.

“They were the people that stayed and helped us out and took ownership of the church,” the pastor said.

Many attendees came from across the Valley.

Sandy Murillo moved away from the parish a number of years ago, but was one of the founding parishioners in 1970. She still feels a close connection to Resurrection and attends Mass there frequently.

Her response was one heard from a number of congregants.

“It’s good to be out of that crowded hall and back in our own church,” she said.

And even though Mass is now being celebrated in the new church, the parish is working hard to bring the project to full completion. They’ve added kneelers, statuary and votive candles to the building and the new chapel should be operational within days.

Sr. Anne Marie and Fr. McGaffin have also seen Sunday Mass attendance swell in the week following the dedication. Many parishioners began attending Mass elsewhere after the destruction of the old church, but a number of them seem to be returning.

“It was good to see a full church again,” Sr. Anne Marie said.