Resurrection: After tornado, parish rebuilds, consecrates new church

Some good news, just in time for Christmas, from The Joplin Globe in Missouri:

It wasn’t wrapped in red and green paper, and it certainly wasn’t sitting underneath a tree, but the new St. Mary’s Catholic Church was the best holiday gift that parishioners said they could have received this time of year.

“It’s like Christmas,” said Glenn Damaso, of Joplin. “Losing the church and trying to be guided and looking for a place to call home — now we have this place.”

Hundreds of residents braved the cold and rain on Wednesday night to pack the new 750-seat church west of Joplin for a dedication service and first Mass. The service, led by the Most Rev. James Johnston, bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, and the Rev. Justin Monaghan, came 47 years to the day that the former church building was dedicated in 1967 at 25th Street and Moffet Avenue.

Parishioners applauded as Johnston was presented with the key and blueprints of the new church, a Romanesque-style building constructed in the shape of a cross. Johnston then blessed the church, sprinkling water over the walls and the altar, and helped lead the new building’s first Mass.

It has been a long, arduous journey for St. Mary’s. The former church building was destroyed by the May 2011 tornado, along with the rectory, parish center and adjacent elementary school.

The new church and parish hall was built at West 32nd Street and Central City Road thanks to a multimillion dollar fundraising campaign, insurance proceeds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations. A new elementary school opened at the same location in August.

The entire process took “a lot of faith and a lot of tears,” said Tina Longnecker, a parishioner of about 30 years and president of the Parish Council.

“This is a blessing, and we are so thrilled to be here,” she said of the new church. “It’s a new beginning, and I honestly believe it’s a sign that when you’re faced with this type of devastation, with enough faith, you can overcome anything.”

Read more of the story and watch a video at the link.