Cleveland, OH
Exterior of Parish Life Center. Photo courtesy of Carole Holowecky
Avon
By Rebecca Turman
After years of planning and working on the “Building for a Brighter Tomorrow” campaign, members of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception parish in Avon saw their efforts pay off Oct. 17.
The date marked the dedication and grand opening of the new Parish Life Center. Bishop Richard Lennon, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception’s the Rev. Tom Cleaton and John Stipek were all part of the ceremony held for parishioners and friends.
Building the Parish Life Center was a group effort.
“I think it was about $1.4 million that was raised by parishioners,” Cleaton said in an interview last week. “Part of that money is coming in over the next couple of years. It was pledged.”
While some parishioners made monetary donations, others donated their time during the last few years to promote the campaign. Some even provided their talents, such as contracting, to help with the project.
Though so many Catholic parishes in Northeast Ohio are closing or struggling, Cleaton said the reason the Avon parish is growing and receiving donations during hard times is because of the number of people in the community.
“We are in an area is that is growing,” he said. “I’ve lived here 10 years. We’ve gone up from 600 families to just over 1,000 families now.”
Many of the churches that are losing parishioners and closing their doors are in larger cities with ethnic backgrounds, Cleaton said, adding that more people have moved to the suburbs.
Prior to the new expansion, the church and school have not seen major additions since 1953, when the school added four classrooms and indoor plumbing, former St. Mary School Principal the Rev. Leo DeChant said when the “Building for a Brighter Tomorrow” campaign began.
The Parish Life Center will provide a recreational facility for children and adults, as well as meeting rooms to facilitate the work of parish ministries, Cleaton said.
Asked why the Parish Life Center expansion was necessary for the church, Cleaton said, “The biggest part of it is the gymnasium for the kids. We really didn’t have a gymnasium (before). It was more of a cafeteria. It’s getting harder to get gym time at some of the other places.”
“The other part of it is the meeting rooms,” he said. “The parish was built in the 1800s. Before, meetings were held in the basement of the rectory.”
Cleaton said the hope is to use some of the meeting rooms as science labs for the school.
Contact Rebecca Turman at rturman@2presspapers.com
Tags: Avon
Print this story
In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement
and discussion guidelines.