‘A great space of hospitality and welcome’: Pastor, architect provide insight into St. Rose of Lima renovation project

In the following interview, Father Reggie Urban, pastor of Prince of Peace Parish in Great Bend, and Don Marrs of DMA Architects of Salina, discuss the renovation of St. Rose of Lima Church.

Southwest Kansas Register: What prompted the renovation project?

Father Reggie Urban: The renovation project at St. Rose was prompted by both practical and liturgical needs. The outside steps were showing serious deterioration; the church was not very accessible, especially during the winter months; the single bathroom was very inadequate; the worship space also needed new carpet and repainting.

Liturgically there was a great need for: an adequate font/pool for baptism, especially for adults; a special place to display the oils; a bigger gathering area; a way to bring more light into the church, and to consequently highlight the beautiful stained-glass windows.

SKR: How did you select the architect?

Father Reggie: Don Marrs was chosen because we heard that he was a good architect, very aware of the Catholic Church’s liturgy. We gathered this from Father Frank Coady, a priest of the Salina diocese, as well as my uncle, Gilbert Urban, who was a carpenter in Salina. Don also has connections here through his wife Mona Guesnier who grew up in Great Bend. He seemed like the right person for a number of reasons.

SKR: Were there any special instructions or requests made by the parish committees involved in this project?

Father Reggie: We had a number of commissions involved, the Pastoral Council, Liturgy Commission, Property Commission, and Finance Commission. We wanted Don and Dave Cruse, the general contractor, to retain as much of the old as possible. We also wanted the addition to be a great space of hospitality and welcome, as well as incorporating the practical and liturgical needs. We wanted the addition to look as if it had been there all the time.

We tried to get as many opinions and thoughts as possible without having the project drag due to too much input. We also consulted with Bishop Gilmore, Msgr. Brian Moore, and Father Bob Schremmer, V.G., so as to have diocesan approval. All three were very helpful and supportive. I also kept former pastors posted about what we were doing. They were very supportive too. I also used our Church’s recent documents on art and environment as well as the insights of Marchita Mauch, using her book "Shaping A House For the Church," as a resource. Marchita has served as a liturgical and design consultant for many churches and renovations. She was that for us by way of her book. Being a priest for 30 years helped me to be "sure" about what we should do to make the space functional as well as aesthetic; simple as well as noble.

SKR: Mr. Marrs, what was your specific task?

Architect Don Marrs: My task was to design an enclosure for the exterior steps to the church which included accessible restrooms and a chair lift to get from the ground level to the church level. The addition extends out 13 feet, 5 inches from the church by the width of the church which is approximately 56 feet. We were limited by the 13 feet 5 inch dimension because of the buildings location on the property adjacent to the existing street. That was all the property that was available to build on.

SKR: What is significant about the design?

Mr. Marrs: The most significant part of this design was to create the addition so that it blended with the existing building architecture both in the exterior and on the interior. I am satisfied that we were able to accomplish this. We also were able to introduce a gathering space with the baptismal font to bring this church up to date with present church architecture design practices.

SKR: What challenges did you have to overcome in order to design the addition to the front of the structure?

Mr. Marrs: The largest challenge was the lack of property to build on. To make the addition blend into the architecture of the existing building (was another challenge that) required extensive use of cut stone that pushed the budget. The stone is Kansas limestone called "Cottonwood Limestone". The brick came from the brick plant north of Great Bend, Kansas Brick and Tile. The brick plant was asked to match the brick as closely as they could. We used a stone coated metal roofing shingle which is shaped to match Spanish tile. It was used because of its appearance and its ability to be formed to fit the roof shape and slope required of the design.

SKR: What is now different as you enter the church?

Mr. Marrs: The main difference is that you enter at ground level and have an interior stair to ascend to reach the worship space. At the top of the stairs you encounter the baptismal font which is located in a gathering space which was enclosed under the choir loft. Locating the baptismal font in the entry is new in older church buildings. The addition made that possible.

SKR: How has the interior of the church changed?

Father Reggie: The worship space has not changed. The floor covering was replaced, new ceramic tile was installed down the aisle and on the altar platform. We repainted the existing worship space from the window sills down as well as the front and rear walls. We also touched up a few places on the archway over the altar. We removed and repaired the old heat/AC vents above the statues of Mary and Joseph, improving the look of those two shrines a lot. We simplified the two shrines in the rear of the worship space by moving the statue of St. Rose to the south wall of the narthex and abbreviating the stands for the statues of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Guadalupe. We also installed safer and more elegant candle stands for both shrines. Tile was placed on the floor beneath the shrines to make it safer and look better. We also repaired a little of the gold-leaf on the tabernacle stand and St. Joseph shrine. My cousin, Tim Linenberger, from Salina did this. He is a professional church painter. He paints churches all across the state. We also had him add gold-leaf to the Baptism pool. He also repainted the gold-colored "ribs" in the ceiling above these rear shrines since the soot had build up on them over the years.

SKR: Were any doorways and or stained glass windows moved?

Mr. Marrs: The existing stained glass door transoms were relocated to above the new entrance doors and also to the doors leading from the gathering space into the worship space. Nothing was lost or misplaced as part of the design.

SKR: Who made the ambry shaped as a dove that is located above the baptistery?

Father Reggie: I asked Steve Swigart, a parishioner, who owns Legends Fine Art Gallery here in Great Bend, to find someone who could make the dove out of metal or wood. He contacted Tom Nulton from Hoisington to do this. Tom tried metal initially but decided wood would be a better medium. As a consequence he made the dove-shaped ambry out of light oak with a darker oak as a trim piece. I wanted him to make something that looked like a flame and a dove at the same time for the sake of symbolizing the Holy Spirit coming down at Pentecost.

SKR: Has the seating capacity changed?

Father Reggie: We gained some seating even though we lost two of the longer pews in the middle pew sections due to the new interior wall. This was the result of removing six non-functional radiators and being able to put in more short pews on both sides. We also moved the piano out of the pew section on the front south side to the already-existing small platform on the north side where the Baptism stand was previously situated. We gained seating here as well. It also opened up more space for people in wheel chairs/carts.The seating capacity at St. Rose is 300 as a consequence of the renovation. We also gained about 15 seats with the new narthex, and, of course more standing room.

SKR: How has the floor covering changed?

Father Reggie: The floor coverings that were replaced are carpet and ceramic tile. The carpet is a combination of brown colors. It is a tight-weave with special backing so as to be flush with the tile. There are three colors of tile -- variations of light brown. The tile has an antique-looking, broken edge to compliment the age of the building. The tile was made in Italy. The carpet does go under the pews, with the center aisle being tile. We decided to put crosses made of black diamond-shaped marble pieces into the center aisle in order to break up the length of similar color. We also put the tile in the shape of a cross around the Baptism pool and the altar so as to connect these two primary sacraments of initiation.

SKR: Mr. Marrs, what is your final assessment of the project?

Mr. Marrs: I would like to say that Father Reggie and the building committee were very good to work with. They were very open to the design process and wanted to keep the integrity of the existing building intact. I have to give credit to David Cruse, who was the building contractor, and his staff and sub-contractors for a job well done.

By David Myers

Southwest Kansas Register

GREAT BEND -- It was an event more than a year in the making, a celebration that recognized endless planning, hard work, and an architectural artistry that breathed new life into a sacred, century-old structure, beloved by its community.

On June 10, Bishop Ronald Gilmore, Fathers Reggie Urban and Wesley Schawe, and members of Prince of Peace Parish, gathered at St. Rose Church to dedicate a new baptismal font, ambry, and perhaps most impressively, a large, new gathering area that extended the front of the original structure, retaining its century-old appeal.

"But there’s much more to it than that," Bishop Gilmore said, referring to the blessing. Alluding to a passage read from the Book of Ezekiel that described fruit-bearing trees growing from the living water, he said, "I saw water flowing from the sanctuary … living water … life-giving water, fresh, mysterious water.

"I saw water flowing from the temple," he said. "This water is the image of the life of the sacraments lived in the Church… This renovated church … This lovely church.

"…We float, you and I, Sunday after Sunday in the living water ... at each Mass. We float, you and I, in the elements of the sacrament. We float, you and I, in the gestures of the Eucharist …. We float, you and I, in the living water, in the living spirit."

The living water, he said, is a symbol of death and life, of conversion. "We need day after day, Sunday after Sunday, to keep swimming in the living water that originates in this place. … Let it take you where it will. Where it will is ever so deeply in the life of God."

After the bishop’s homily, the congregation moved to the gathering area where they encircled the new baptismal font. There, Bishop Gilmore blessed the font and the ambry with incense, and then blessed those gathered with Holy Water. Standing beside the bishop was Father Schawe and Father Urban, the latter of whose broad smile was matched by 5-year-old Janneth Lozoya, who beamed as Bishop Gilmore held the Holy Water sprinkler to the her forehead.

Following the blessings, Father Schawe placed the sacred Chrism in the oak ambry, hanging several feet above the font and shaped like a dove, symbolizing "the Holy Spirit coming down at Pentecost."

The ambry was constructed by Tom Nulton of Hoisington, and was dedicated to the memory of Terri Kowalsky, a young woman from the parish who died of cancer.

Father Urban offered a special thanks to her family for "the gift of Terri."

After thanking Bishop Gilmore and several people who were instrumental in the completion of the renovation -- as well as thanking the congregation for their support -- Father Urban told those gathered that "This building is a great example of the body of Christ."

Despite being a century old, the structure only has three cracks, he said, and none more than a yard long.

"The craftsmanship that went into this building is so fine. It’s like us. As part of the body of Christ, we are as perfect as we can be – but we all have a few cracks."

Bishop Gilmore then thanked Father Urban for his tireless work and dedication, and said to the laughter of all those gathered, "If he didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him."

Following the service, cake and punch was served in the parish center.