[ ON FAITH ]
WITH its splotchy ceiling bared by removal of asbestos panels years ago, walls stripped this week of Stations of the Cross plaques and other ornamentation and the ongoing clutter of construction outside, no one is likely to describe St. Ann Church in terms of ambience.
With 44 years of memories formed in the
old structure of St. Ann Church, parishioners
are emotional about its demolition
and replacementBy Mary Adamski
Star-BulletinNevertheless, tears of nostalgia for the old church are expected to flow at Masses tomorrow, the last day the Kaneohe Catholic congregation will worship in the 44-year-old structure. It will be demolished next week.
"There are a lot of memories here, a lot of first communions, weddings and funerals. I'll miss this," said Pearl Cummins, after Mass last Sunday.
"There are people who were born and raised in the parish. There's a lot of emotion," said the Rev. Clarence Guerreiro, pastor of the 1,900-member parish, one of the largest in the diocese. One such lifetime member is Daphne Kauhane, principal of St. Ann School.
"People were already crying when we began moving Monday," said Sister Anne Clare De Costa, parish education director. Seventy volunteers carried away almost everything that moves. Parishioners will find the altar and pews and not much else tomorrow.
It's a bittersweet experience because just a few feet makai, a new $4.8 million church has risen in the past year. The 16,000-square-foot, tiled-roof edifice will be dedicated Oct. 27, and, the pastor assured the congregation, it will be ready for use before this month is over."We're pushing the contractor for June 17, but the odds are against it," Guerreiro said. In the meantime there will be at least one Sunday of services in the cafeteria.
But that's not the bad news, he told the 7 a.m. crowd last Sunday. The latest chapter in the construction saga, postponed for years of fund raising and now two months behind schedule, is that the contractor found asbestos in the floor. "We prayed for the landfill to accept it, and it will," he said, but it will also add $10,000 to the demolition cost.
The old building was never meant to be permanent.
A cement-tile structure with louvered windows offering a panoramic view of the Koolaus, the long rectangular space had few decorative touches. The crucifix behind the altar, a key focus in a Catholic church, was backed by a parquet panel crafted by a 1950s parishioner out of small koa pieces.
The plans call for some of the old to be used in the new -- the crucifix, the 14 Stations of the Cross, carved chairs for the sanctuary, and small statues of Mary and Jesus.
And, De Costa said, a plan born in volunteers' reluctance to throw things away will result in a museum display of historical altar vessels, banners and other artifacts to be shown in the new place.
Guerreiro has had his sights fixed on a new church for most of his 20 years as pastor, and he has provided input about the design, including the stained-glass windows with Hawaiian touches designed by Father Bill Moore of California.
"A church needs to be a noble building," he said, "but it should not be outstanding in a residential neighborhood." The roof pitches were made similar to that of homes, he said, and a subdued tile was used, all with an eye to blending with the neighbors."A lot of what we did was reaction to our experience in this church," the pastor said. One example -- not unanimously endorsed by parish members -- was the decision to air-condition the new structure, which was built even closer to Haiku Road than the old. Guerreiro acknowledged the argument that tradewinds would be sufficient ventilation most of the year. Then he pointed out the constant noise from four traffic lanes -- "when it rains it's even louder" -- punctuated frequently by the city bus, which stops right outside the open church entrance.
The new building will be the third for the Kaneohe site, which was the second location in Hawaii where Catholic priests established a church. Guerreiro and Sister De Costa are members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the France-based religious order that sent the first Catholic missionaries in the mid-1800s.
What links the past and future of St. Ann is "Marie Rene." That's the name of the bell cast in Nantes, France, and shipped to Hawaii in 1862. It's named after the sponsors who paid for it.
The children of St. Ann call the bell by name and speak of the time when they will "hear her singing," said De Costa. The children raised more than $55,000 to have Marie Rene refurbished and a belltower built. The bell was returned from the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati, framed in a new wooden yoke and wheel, in time to be unveiled at the school's May 4 May Day program.
The "Coins for Marie Rene" project begun in 1999 included sales of chickens and candy, a "Taste of St. Ann" food fund-raiser and classroom collection competitions, and was topped by a First Hawaiian Bank donation of $15,000.
And sing Marie Rene will, but not until school is back in session in the fall. Catholic Bishop Francis DiLorenzo will consecrate the new altar and dedicate the church Oct. 27.
RELIGION
View from the Pew
by Mary Adamski
Click for online
calendars and events.
