Relocation

In 1911 a cathedral named St. Gerards was constructed by German Catholic immigrants in Buffalo, New York. Carrying visions from their continent, it was modeled after a basilica in Rome, St. Paul's Outside the Walls. It was inhabited by worshippers until  2008 when a decision was made to close it due to declining numbers of Catholics in the Buffalo area.


At the time of St. Gerards closing, a growing congregation in the small Georgia community of Norcross was considering the construction of a new worship facility. Fr. David Dye led his congregation through the process of planning and thinking about the new facilities. The result? They were looking to build a new church that looked like an old one.


"I don't mean to offend people who build those [modern] churches, but some of them look like Pizza Huts."


A plan was developed to move St. Gerards stone by stone, with the approval of the Buffalo Diocese, nearly a 1000 miles to Norcross and reassemble it to house the growing congregation. The Diocese officials said in an interview, "Why should a church become a restaurant, or a nightclub?" 


St. Gerards former pastor agreed, "Let's use it for it's intention. It's a holy place, a sacred space."


The relocation plan is in the early stages of fund raising. The projected cost is $15 million. If it were built from scratch the projected cost would be $40 million.


Yesterday afternoon I was in Barnes & Noble reading and relaxing. I picked up the newest edition of First Things and skimmed through its pages. Tucked in the back of the magazine was a couple of paragraphs about the relocation project.


Writing on a napkin, I wrote the last sentence of the brief article....


"A note to those building new churches: No one will ever move a Pizza Hut from Buffalo to Atlanta."


Nuf' said....