Thursday, 20 September 2012 08:44

Workers continue to put the finishing touches inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception while work progresses in the three adjacent buildings on the church campus.
Chris Baalmann, project manager with Simpson Construction Services, said last week that the sanctuary area inside the cathedral is finished except for the flooring down the ramps and around the steps. The subfloor in the main church body is now being prepared for the finished wood floor and carpeting. Pew installation will follow. Most of the wood staining is complete inside the cathedral, he added.
In the gathering space, located just east of the cathedral, windows are being installed. The drywall has been mudded and taped, and windows and lights are going in.

Thursday, 20 September 2012 08:38

To help the faithful commemorate the diocesan year of celebration, the Catholic Advance will feature Year of Faith activities and a monthly section with articles about the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Diocese of Wichita, or about the Year of Faith.
The articles will be featured in the first edition of the month, on the first Friday. Next section: Oct. 5.

St. Patrick, Parsons
Saturday, Sept. 29
Holy Mass, 5 p.m., Bishop Jackels, celebrant
Sunday, Sept. 30
Holy Mass, 8 and 10:30 a.m., Bishop Jackels, celebrant
Exposition and Benediction, 9 to 10:25 a.m.
Church Tour at 2 p.m.

Thursday, 20 September 2012 08:32

By Christopher M. Riggs
Students are a little cramped in the basement level of the St. Paul Parish and Newman Center at Wichita State University but Grigio, a chocolate labrador retriever, doesn’t seem to mind as he goes from person to person in search of his next tasty snack.
Grigio’s master, Father John Hay, is overseeing the Renaissance Project, a renovation of the ground floor of the Newman Center to better serve the students.
“One of the realities that we faced in the last two years is a tremendous amount of growth, which is a great blessing for us, but our facilities are relatively small,” the pastor said last week.
Both levels are about 8,000 square feet, he said, but because the ground level part of the building no longer serves the needs of the students as well as it could, it is being renovated to increase the floor’s efficiency and return all the space on the lower level to the students as a student center.

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 14:16

Pittsburg relationship education workshop begins Sept. 25
Catholic Charities is offering a free relationship education workshop in Pittsburg from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings beginning Sept. 25.
The six-week course will be presented at the Pittsburg Catholic Charities office located at 130 E. 3rd. The course ends on Oct. 30.
The free Within My Reach relationship education workshop includes a meal and is led by trained facilitators who provide proven tools for healthy relationships. Participants can also take advantage of one-on-one guidance and community referrals from a family support specialist, if needed.
For more information, visit www.KansasLoveLetters.com or call (620) 308-6651.

Thursday, 06 September 2012 09:28

By Christopher M. Riggs
Rip Caswell had dual journeys as he drove from Troutdale, Ore., to Wichita late last month.
Two statues – Jesus crucified and Mary and Joseph – were on a trailer behind his diesel-powered pickup as he wound his way over the Rocky Mountains to the plains of the Midwest to deliver the art to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Caswell’s spiritual journey with the statues also came to an end.
It began about a year ago when he was chosen to sculpt the statues. It was then that he began to immerse himself into the project.
“Whatever I do, I try to learn as much as I can. I try to study it. I try to be in its surroundings,” he said.
The surroundings he chose was Mount Angel Abbey, a monastery, seminary, and retreat house located 51 miles from his studio in St. Benedict, Ore.

Wednesday, 05 September 2012 14:17

Parish wins prize for religious freedom float
By Rachel Rogers
MULVANE – St. Michael Parish sponsored a religious freedom float in the annual Mulvane Old Settlers Day Parade Saturday, Aug. 18, and was awarded the grand champion prize.
The float was covered with red, white, and blue and had a 24-foot red arch that said: “Shootin’ for the Stars and Stripes of Religious Freedom.”
Parish youth played the roles of Washington, Lincoln, Betsy Ross, Lady Liberty, Uncle Sam, a Jesuit missionary, a Franciscan monk, and two nuns. The characters knelt with flags over their hearts as if praying for protection of these freedoms, and patriotic music played in the background.