Saint Germaine Catholic Parish
During his time with us, the new Healing Garden and Perpetual Adoration Chapel came to fruition, there was a tremendous growth in family membership, and an abundance f beautiful flowerbeds sprung up on the grounds of the Parish (not to mention 40 or so chickens, 3 HUGE rabbits, a turkey, a dog and a cat at the rectory!). Also under Fr. John’s leadership, and with the continued hard work and sacrifice of the Parish families, the Church obtained land adjacent to its grounds for further expansion in the future.
In the fall of 2006 the parish formed a Master Plan Committee, and began the process of planning for our future growth. The architectural firm BCDM from Omaha, NE was hired to complete the master plan (with lots of feedback from the parish), which they finished in June 2007.
To help accommodate our future growth the parish purchased the house at 7920 E. Long Look in October 2006, two mobile homes on the east side of the church property on Dowling Street in the summer of 2008, the house at 7900 Long Look in June 2009, and the mobile home at 8014 E. Dana in October 2012.
There have been a few cosmetic changes around our campus. The inside of the church was painted in October 2006 (thanks to a donation from a parishioner), votive candles were placed in the church in February 2007, and the planters in front of the church were redesigned with statues of Jesus and Mary in the spring of 2007.
On July 1, 1998, upon Fr. Yaeger’s retirement, St. Germaine Parish was blessed with the arrival of Fr. John Shetler, -- the Cowboy Priest”. He brought a bundle of energy and enthusiasm to the parish! Fr. John dug in his “spurs” and began working diligently to get to know the members of his “flock”, as well as to assess the needs of the Parish and the community at large.
July 1, 2005 brought another change in pastors. Fr. John accepted a move to St. Gabriel the Archangel Roman Catholic Parish. In his place, but without cowboy boots, the parish received Fr. Dan Vollmer. Ordained only three years, this was Fr. Dan’s first assignment as a pastor. He was more than happy to leave the big city down south.
In the summer of 2008 the parish hired the Steier Group to conduct a feasibility study for a capital campaign. They estimated the parish could raise 1.0 to 1.5 million dollars in a three year capital campaign. However, shortly after the feasibility study was completed, the economy entered a severe recession, so the capital campaign was placed on hold.
Some of the growth in our parish has been from our Spanish speakers, so on Sunday October 1, 2006 the parish began celebrating a Spanish mass at noon each Sunday.
In June 2012 the walls of the social hall, kitchen, and mini-hall were painted, and sound absorbing panels were installed on the walls of the social hall. The paint was selected by and paid for by the Ladies Guild. Parishioners provided the labor to prep and paint the hall and mini-hall. In May 2013 air conditioning was installed in the social hall and mini-hall. Prior to this, there was no cooling in the mini-hall, and the church hall was cooled with an evaporative cooler. In July 2013 most of the cabinets in the kitchen were replaced. The Ladies Guild and Knights of Columbus paid for the new cabinets. 1
References