CHAPEL HILL - Phase Two is complete and completely blessed. The community at the Newman Catholic Student Center in Chapel Hill gathered Sept. 28 at its church and activity center on Pittsboro Street for the blessing of renovated outdoor and indoor space.
Father Michael Heine, O.F.M. Conv., minister provincial of the Conventual Franciscan Friars religious order, traveled from Maryland to share a homily at Mass and help to bless the project.
The activity center, which is located next to the church, was purchased by Newman in 2012 and has served as a site for its parish life. Originally constructed in the 1960s, the building had some issues, including accessibility, Father Tim Kulbicki, O.F.M. Conv., pastor, said.
“[It’s now] accessible to students and parishioners with mobility challenges. The outdoor patio, used for student faith-sharing groups, was leveled and graded for wheelchair access and decorated with a seating wall for reflection and just hanging out,” he shared in a press release. “The main hall, now rededicated as the St. John Henry Newman Hall, had previously contained a descending theatre-style design with fixed pews. The newly rededicated hall has been raised to a uniform level and provided with comfortable meeting-style seating to allow for greater flexibility.”
The parish raised more than $700,000 for the project, said Therese Taxis, pastoral associate for development at the parish.
Additionally, its sound system, AV, streaming, and electrical capacities were significantly upgraded, according to the press release. The center is used for Order of Christian Initiation, Catholic Carolina Night and high-school faith formation. The window wall between the hall and the patio had been seriously degraded, and the ingenious new construction allows for the ingress of natural lighting without any glare.
During Mass, Father Michael shared a homily that focused on the parable of Lazarus and the dangers of indifference and divides such as rich vs. poor, liberal vs. conservative and, he quipped, Tar Heels vs. Blue Devils.
“The parable is simply asking us to lift our eyes and recognize how intertwined our lives are with each other. To recognize the ways our actions impact another, and our decisions have repercussions for many people,” he said. “The center of our story needs to be God. Not ourselves. Not a divide … we get lost in a chasm when we lose our center. In the readings today, they are setting before us a way of seeing the other as our own.”
After Mass, the community processed out of the church and to the outdoor space, where prayers were offered and the patio space was blessed, and then into the activity center, where prayers were offered outside the doors or the hall and inside.
Father Tim offered remarks, thanking Mark Anna of the Resolute Building Company in Chapel Hill, architect Andy Goolsby of Durham’s With Architecture, Michael Wengenroth of the Diocese of Raleigh, the parish pastoral council and finance council.
He also said thank you to “our semiofficial parish facilities committee,” and the parish staff for their hard work and patience. With gifts of flower bouquets, he highlighted staff members Taxis and Karen Ille, pastoral associate for community support.
Father Tim discussed the benefactors as well. “I was never once refused when asking for a lead gift and many times the parish leadership came forward with pledges even before I asked,” he said. “When the appeal was made to the entire parish, the outstanding funds for the project were either donated or pledged.”
He concluded his remarks with an “important and joyous announcement,” noting that the parish carries about $1 million in debt for both the mortgage on the activity center and the subsequent construction loan. “I am happy to announce that a generous benefactor and parishioner has pledged one million dollars. This is toward a swifter retirement of the debt, paid in yearly $100,000 dollar increments for the remainder of the pledge to be created as an endowment to support the activity center.” The gift, Father Tim added, was given in honor of Monsignor John Wall, a former pastor of Newman, and in memory of the donor’s spouse.
To celebrate, the community sang a modern version of the Te Deum, a hymn of thanksgiving and praise to God. They concluded with fellowship, food and drinks outside of the activity center.
Phase one of the project was completed in 2023, according to the press release, and created an ADA-compliant restroom on the first floor of the activity center, code-compliant custodial closet, ancillary storage space and safety and security enhancements to both buildings. Phase three, now underway, will replace the chairs in the church with pews and is scheduled for completion next year.
The pews formerly in the activity center’s hall now reside at St. Julia Church in Siler City, where Father Julio Martinez, O.F.M. Conv., who attended the blessing Sept. 28, is pastor. Father Peter Tremblay, O.F.M., Conv., campus minister at Catholic Campus Ministry at Elon University, created the ambo and Jerusalem cross in the hall at UNC Newman.
Photos
