LINCOLN—Although the previous interior of St. Jude Church was dark and paved with orange shag carpeting straight out of the 1960s, it was just fine for parishioner Janet Barry, who was married here and had her children baptized at the font beneath the modern steep-rising roof that has become a landmark in the area.
Barry clung to those precious memories as she clutched a pair of pictures in her hands during a ceremony on Nov. 21 to rededicate St. Jude Church following an interior renovation that was completed last spring.
The photos were images of her late parents: Blanche and Ambrose Barry, a doctor and nurse respectively. Ambrose was the first parishioner to be buried from St. Jude after the church was dedicated in 1967.
“I was sad that they were going to change it,” Barry said before the rededication Mass.
But reflecting on the new lighter woodwork and marble sanctuary fixtures has brightened her outlook on the changes to her home parish.
“This is a new beginning,” she said with an air of contentment.
Indeed, the renovation marks a new beginning for all at St. Jude.
New pews, new woodworking on the interior walls a creative use of glass panels and a new sound system make the holy space quite vibrant and spectacular.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous, so full of life,” said Maureen Alexander, a member of the choir. “It was so dark before, but now it’s beautiful.”
Msgr. John C. Halloran was in attendance at the Mass to recall the service of a family member to the parish.
“My uncle was the pastor when this parish was first built,” Msgr. Halloran said of Father Frederick Halloran, who presided over the congregation when St. Jude was first dedicated in 1967, following construction, which began in 1966.
Msgr. Halloran said St. Jude was one of the more modern-style churches to be constructed in the area when it was built in the late 1960s, and that the renovation has brought it even beyond contemporary styling, positioning it for future years.
“It’s very beautiful,” he said. “It has really been a sign of the universality of the Church and the unity of the Church.”
Lerner, Ladds and Bartel served as the architectural firm overseeing the renovation, which wascarried out by Mill City Construction.
Parishioners Bill and Joan Mekrut served as co-chairs of the Capital Campaign, and Karen Martin, of the Building Committee, is credited with tracking the project on a daily basis to ensure its completion on-time.
One of the last small components of the renovation was the installation of a marble pulpit in mid-November.
The entire renovation was begun at the end of last year, and took only about four months.
The Keefe Funeral Home offered the parish the use of its chapel for Eucharistic celebrations while St. Jude was shuttered for the renovation.
“We closed the week after Christmas and we were back here Palm Sunday weekend,” said Father Bernard C. Lavin, pastor of St. Jude Church. “Everyone was so excited.”
So excited, in fact that Father Lavin had to ask his parishioners to contain their glee during that first Mass back in the renovated St. Jude during Holy Week.
The recent Rededication Mass, presided over by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, took place on the feast of Christ the King. But the occasion also held additional significance for the pastor.
“It was 30 years ago this week that I was ordained in this church,” Father Lavin said.
Bishop Tobin reminded everyone that while such a beautiful church is a gathering place to worship God, it is also the source from which God’s message is sent forth.
“This is where God’s people come together to grow in faith and sanctity. From this sacred space, you set out into the world,” the bishop said.
“This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven,” Bishop Tobin said, quoting an inscription from the Book of Genesis.
Pierre Masse is the organist and director of music at St. Jude Church.
As a result of the renovation, the church has a new music area making the choir much more visible, and a new sound system that allows their hymns to be heard from the first pew to the last.
He recalled the incredible efforts of the parishioners in preparing the church for its renovation at the end of last year.
“It was miraculous,” Masse said of the number of people showing up after Mass on that final day before closing to help the parish save money on the renovation.
“People came with their screwdrivers and power drills and we dismantled the church in an hour.”
