Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Advanced Notice

I want to put this out here while i'm thinking of it.
At St. Mary's in Norwalk Ohio, we are going to be tearing down the former convent (called "The Century House). We can no longer afford the costs of maintaining the building. Before we tear it down, we will be having an auction that is open only to our parishioners, then in the following week (or whenever, the date has not yet been decided) there will be an auction open to the public. The auction is for anything and everything in the Century House that anyone wants. From floorboards to doorknobs to trim. Whatever is in there is up for grabs. It will be set up like a silent auction. Folks interested in old architecture or that collect/salvage things from old houses may esspeciially want to attend this auction. I will have more specific details once i return from the trip. For more information, please refer TO THIS PAGE (http://www.stmarynorwalk.org/centuryhouse/chouse.htm) on our website. Probably after the Christmas Break, i will have available a complete pictorial of the entire Century House and it's current state.

If you have any questions, you may e-mail me (the webmaster (afries52@neo.rr.com) or call the Rectory @ 419-668-2005


3 comments:

Unknown said...

There really is NO new and growing order that could be invited to habitate there? There is no parish school that could benefit from, say, some Ann Arbor or Nashville Dominicans? Sisters of Adoration? Handmaids of the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Adorers of the Lamb? Sisters of Life?

There are orders that are running out of room for novices... Don't take my word for it - Council of Major Superiors of Women Religous

Have new religous tenants even been sought?

There are no families that could rent the place? No parish ministries or charities that could use it as office space?

Once you tear these things down, it is hard to impossible to re-erect them. They are gone forever. All that hard work, all that money, all the effort of the benefactors who wanted the Church to have these beautiful things.

Like the gorgeous vestments that were hand-sewn so lovingly in decades prior, and the libraries of convents, seminaries and monasteries that ended up in dumpsters (the ones Loome's Theological Booksellers didn't get to in time...)

That is just sad. VERY sad.

We are throwing away our heritage piece by piece... and in turn dismantling even the vestigal remnants of once very proud and vibrant parochial life.

Alex Fries said...

Don't worry, i agree with you completely....i just wanted to make the post neutral. I dont' care if we dont' have the money to not save it, it should still be saved. Since the Auction is today i'll know how many people were interested in stuff inside. Who knows...Thank you for your standing on this, though. I'll keep you posted on everything else that goes on.

Jeffrey Smith said...

I hope you manage to get something.