RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

First, we had snow, and now we've had 5 days of rain which turned the church basement into a swimming pool. As of last Friday, we had the basement walls formed and were ready to pour concrete....That is until the rains started. Yesterday, with it still raining we had several inches of water in the basement. Therefore on Tuesday, we began pumping the water out so we get back to work on the walls. The photo above shows what it looked like after all the rain.

New photos to share

When I say new photos, I really mean "new to this blog". Our parishioners are sharing some real gems with us. We shared the slideshow from the groundbreaking ceremony from a few weeks ago.

How about this slideshow with photos taken during the 1954 groundbreaking? These photos from the archive show the groundbreaking, a first Holy Communion in 1955 and our parish celebrating Mass inside the school's gym.

And we've added new photos from the 2009 groundbreaking. That expanded slideshow is available here.

And if you'd like to see the architect's drawings of our new church and our prayer as we continue Making A Place at the Table, then just click here.

Just below, you see Tom Martin's beautiful photos of our surprise March snow. Those photos plus some additional snowy construction site photos sent in by MaryAnn Leudtke can be seen in a slideshow here.

SNOW DOWN

Well, yesterday was a beautiful day in Greensboro, but not if you're wanting to continue "Making A Place At the Table". I thought you would want to see some photographs of SPX with all the snow on the ground. The first two photos are looking across the consturction site with the basement. As you can tell, you can't see the concrete that was poured last week. The last two photos show the beauty of our Cross and Bell Tower.

Concrete Pour

Last week, footings were dug for over one half of the basement and installation of rebar or reinforcing bars (a common steel bar used to reinforce concrete and masonry structures) begun. Concrete was poured forming the footings which are 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep. It took 10 trucks containing over 90 cubic yards of concrete to complete this task.

The photos are as follows:

1. Footings being dug

2. Rebar installed

3. First concrete load being poured

4. After concrete poured and additional rebar in place getting ready for walls to be built

The Journey From Oak Trees To Crosses

You may have noticed during the past month three logs stacked on the sidewalk near the old Parish Office. We saved those logs from two oak trees that had to be removed for our construction. If you enter our property from the north driveway now, you'll notice no logs but only sawdust in their place. Last Thursday, we had a sawmill operator come to our property and cut the logs into long lengths of boards. The wood was then loaded on a flatbed truck and taken to a lumber yard where it will be kiln dried.

After this process, four (4) large timbers will be crafted by a parishioner into two crosses to hang over the altar in the Sanctuary and Day Chapel. The remaining lumber will be used for cabinetry in the new church. As we begin the process of crafting the crosses, we'll document that effort and provide updates. The photographs that are included show one of the logs as the cutting is beginning, the same log as the cutting is nearly finished, and the truck leaving with all the wood ready to be kiln dried.

Breaking ground

We couldn't have asked for better weather Sunday afternoon for the groundbreaking ceremony at Saint Pius X. Maybe it was the prayers of two bishops, three monsignors and a few hundred parishioners that made a difference, since the local weathermen were originally calling for clouds and rain.

We're starting to receive photos that you took at the groundbreaking. If you'd like to add yours to this slideshow on Flickr, please send them to spxgso@gmail.com.

Coming soon, some video from the ceremony on Sunday, but for now, here are links to the stories from the local media:

WFMY-TV "Saint Pius X Breaks Ground on New Church"

Greensboro News & Record "Catholic church breaks ground on sanctuary"

Our groundbreaking comes right on schedule as we continue Making A Place At the Table. If we get plenty of good weather, the new church should be finished in 14-16 months -- basically, Spring 2010. Just in time to celebrate our church's 50th anniversary. We're using this blog to keep you up to date on construction, finishing touches, behind the scenes info -- all kinds of information.

Grading the site

If you haven't stopped by recently, there have been some big changes at Saint Pius X. The first photo is taken next to the columbarium, towards the driveway and Fountain Manor (basically, looking north along Elm Street. The school is behind me.)

The backhoe and bulldozer in the second photo are in the center of the site, with the driveway behind them. That large pile of dirt you see in this photo was a mini-mountain earlier this week. It dwarfed my car as I went through the school's carpool line. And I have a tallish baby SUV.

All this work is being done to create a strong foundation for our church. This month, several goals will be accomlished, according to Tom Martin, Building Committee Chair:

During February the remainder of the storm water system will be installed, dirt will be brought in to set the grade, and the building pad will be readied. The basement will be dug and and the footings for the foundation of the church along with the concrete walls will be poured.

We're all committed to keeping you in the loop as we make progress. This blog, the parish bulletin, ECHOES and other channels are being used to pass along the latest information. We also welcome your comments here.