Making All Things Beautiful: Restoration and Renovation of the House of St. Joseph
Very often we hear people say that they were in awe of beautiful architectures and sacred buildings when visiting holy sites and places overseas. The beauty of these places somehow draw our hearts to contemplate on the eternal . Pope Benedict the XVI (2208) quoted that all works of art are manifestations of God.
The Catholic culture embedded in the Sacrosanctum Concilium No. 122 teaches us that all beauty from art and architecture “are directed toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human hands. Their dedication to the increase of God’s praise and of his glory is more complete, the more exclusively they are devoted to turning men’s minds devoutly toward God.”
Duncan G Stroik , an architect and professor from the University of Notre Dame and the author of the The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence, and the Eternal and the editor of Sacred Architecture Journal, explains that sacred architectures are meant to honor God and serve the people. “People should see and feel that they are entering a place out of the ordinary, a place in which the concerns of life can be seen in relation to eternity. There should be a certain mystery, or even a strangeness, expressed by the architecture.”
Upgrading and restoration of church buildings are all part the essence of the catholic culture in directing our hearts towards heaven and serving the people. It is with this inspiration that the Parish of NBVM/SCIC would be undertaking the responsibility of rebuilding the old church and restoring it to serve the people. The old building is dilapidated and unsafe for use.
In the recent Parish Assembly, Fr. Dominic had highlighted the need to restore and renovate the old building. The rough estimated cost for the restoration and the initiative to raise funds was presented in the budget 2024 at the Parish Assembly. The project was approved at the assembly without any objection.
The launching of the fundraising project will take place next Sunday – 19 May 2024 in conjunction with the Parish Family Day. A box will be placed at the entrance of the building for us to donate. Fr. Dom has pledged to donate RM1000 to start the ball rolling. The restoration effort is estimated to cost about RM500,000. It is hoped that all well wishers and donors will support this restoration effort. If you wish to donate, you may scan the QR code and contribute to the fund.
After the restoration, the “Old Church” will be called the House of St. Joseph or St. Joe’s,dedicating this wooden architecture to St. Joseph- the quiet carpenter. He laboured as a woodworker and taught Jesus the trade. This house will be a house of prayer and we seek the intercession of St. Joseph that all will go well with the works of renovation and restoration.
The committee members undertaking the task of ensuring this project are Dato Peter Teoh, Paul Raj, Elizabeth Ng, Terrence Theseira, Stephen Chin, Alex Ambrose, Tony Edward, Peter Pang and Sylvia Tan.
Let’s make our church beautiful and give glory to God!
Building Plans
