Monday, October 7, 2013

St. James Church of Rockford

Lent 2015 Update

Any time the Joes get together to meet or work- we specifically include a time of spiritual reflection and discussion.

Joe Altenhoff has this to say about the spiritual reflection at St. James on our work days here:

Our Lenten project at St. James rectory was done at the same time as our other Joes worked at the Poor Clair's Convent.  For our first Lenten session, we read the daily reading and reflected on how it impacted us this Lent. 

This first weekend was also the first weekend at Poor Clair's.  Life at the convent is mostly quite so we decided to work in communion with our Poor Clair's brethren for the first hour in silence. 

It was difficult at first but then the work seemed to take on a uniqueness.  We thought about working as a sacrifice, as a penance, as a gift.  

At one time the sound of scraping water damaged plaster from the walls sounded like a strange type of song with repeating rhythms and notes.  

The silence actually lasted more than an hour. Discussions during lunch were richer than normal and spiritually healthy for the team.

Our second session was lead by an active participant from the first session, a fellow Joe from St. James, Tim Barkdoll. Tim started the reading from the Acts of the Apostles where they are feeling the affects of the Holy Spirit on their bold beliefs.  

Tim asked us the question, 'Why do you believe?'  The responses challenged us to really think about our faith in a way that we could discuss it with others. The question pushed us all to think harder about our gift of faith and to be able to express it to ourselves and the outside world.  

We thanked Tim for his good work in preparing our group for the work ahead that day.

Here are some photo updates from the second day and painting portion of the project-




























































Lent 2015

St. James Church in Rockford was in need of some updating to the paster walls in some areas of the rectory and guest areas. The Joes had fun making a mess removing areas where the plaster was cracked and we will be painting as soon as the plaster is patched in a few weeks. We also made time for spiritual reflection during our meal and shared some of the things we are learning in Lent.



The guys admiring their work



Large area over stairs had a good amount of cracked plaster to be removed






















Can't be afraid of heights if you want to be a Joe
  




















Dale is hard at work























These guys covered this whole hallway! A lot accomplished in a day





















Don't let the smile fool you- this guy is all business






















Final wall- 1 hour of work / 10 guys? 6 minutes of work






















Community is the best part about working with the Joes

St. James Belvidere

Winter 2014

Helped with completion of church update in preparation for St. James reopening













    






























Fall 2014 : 100 Man/Hours

Provided labor for installation of new landscape for parking lot near school and rectory

Spread 25 cubic yards mulch and 15 cubic yard topsoil










Holy Family School

Summer 2013 : 240 Man/Hours

Installed steel stud partition wall and new doorway into "retired" classroom

Provided plumbing, electrical, and drywall labor and materials for new handicapped bathroom and school nurse's office

Removed lockers and created custom shelving for storage

Re-hung ceiling and provided bathroom fixtures and installation

Reorganized garage and material storage for parish maintenance

Build shelving units and dispose of excess and unneeded materials








































































































































































































St. Elizabeth

Fall 2013 / Lent 2014 / Summer 2014 : 1250 Man/Hours

Demolition of basement areas and removal of unused and stored materials, recycled metal and paper products

Remodeled and provided new racking system for clothing distribution rooms

Cleaned and polished tile floors in distribution rooms

Installed new wood shelving in storage and work room

Painted upper and lower rooms and hallways

Repaired HV intate and exhaust fans in upper and lower floors

Repaired sewer ejection pump

Provided sound control in eating area

Repaired and replaced toilet and sink valves and fixtures

Installed new drinking fountain in lower area

Provided assistance for food distribution and eating area remodeling

Repaired floor scrubbing machine





















Bishop Lane Retreat Center

Fall 2011 : 500 Man/Hours

Cleared underbrush and created 2-mile walking path through property woods and pond area

Built steel frame bridge for pedestrian creek crossing

Installed 800 cubic yards of mulch on path

Provided trail signage and trail maps


















Fall 2013 : 30 Man/Hours

Facilitated and assisted in replacing 9000 square foot multi-use area flooring in youth retreat facility


Summer 2014 : 530 Man/Hours

Designed and installed new steel framed roof system for outdoor chapel in Stations of the Cross area

Mentored and assisted Boylan retreat crew in mulching, painting, and light construction for dormitory and retreat areas

Repaired 20 kneelers in chapel

Site clearing, clean up, spreading of 300 cubic yards of mulch in path areas

Replaced all lighting with LED and low energy fixtures and bulbs and no cost to retreat center


Out with the old-












In with the new-





















Plans for final steps-






Painting and kneeler projects-