The successful completion of our beautiful new Church is dependent on every single parishioner.
Please help us get to our established goal, to ensure a successful completion of our new Church.
As was the case back in the Book of Exodus, not all the Jews that left Egypt made it to the Promised Land,
such is the story of our journey to our new home.
These photographs are dedicated to all of our St. Faustina Parish Family
who are watching from their current home in God’s Heavenly Kingdom.
CLICK an image to see it LARGER.
On Tuesday, March 21, the crucifix arrived from Italy. On Monday, March 26, it was unpacked, Blessed by Father John, and placed in our worship area. The project took roughly six hours to complete.
This is the Blessing Father John recited,
“Heavenly Father, your sent your Son to us because you love us, and want to save us.
By the power of his cross, free us from sin and let us live each day for you.
Bless this sign of glory, and let it remind us that Jesus died and rose for all.
Help us to carry our cross with him every day, and to follow him in serving others.
We as this grace through Christ our Lord, Amen.
“The St. Faustina Prayer in Honor of the Holy Cross
God our Father, in obedience to you, your only son accepted death on the cross for the salvation of mankind.
We acknowledge the myster of the cross on earth. May we receive the gift of redemption in heaven.
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen.”
Another Parish Structure Completed
Our Actively Retired Priest, Father John McNalis, who had never before worked with Legos, started putting together a 1/32 scale model with the poplular bricks back in January 2022, the month ground was broken on our new church building. Father John worked tirelessly to not only build the model, but to make sure everything that the Lego church represented was accurate and resembled our new church. The model began in the Glenbrook Commons building and was eventually moved to his kitchen table. Once we are in and settled, Father John’s Lego model will be on display in our new church building.
Sunday, January 29, 2023
After a 16-plus year wait, the countdown to our first Mass at 15551 N. Boggy Marsh Road is down to T-minus six days. On December 19, 2015, we celebrated our first Mass at Glenbrook Commons. On January 29, 2023, we celebrated our last Sunday Masses. The first five photos below are of the 8:00 am Mass, presided over by Father John, whose homily spoke to the fact that our new church building, and its location to several nearby communities within 10 miles of us, will bring more families to God while growing our parish family.
The second three photos show how close Mission Park, the Savannas, and Siena Ridge are to our new home. The second-to-last photo signifies our last Blood Drive at Glenbrook Commons. Going into to this weekend, St. Faustina parishioners had donated 357 pints of blood, thus saving up to 1,071 lives, in the last three-plus years.
Friday, January 27, 2023
As we enter the final week of a place we’ve called “home” for the last eight years, here is a look at a “tale of two churches” as they appeared on this day. A reminder, the weekend Masses of January 28 and 29 will be celebrated at the current location in Glenbrook Commons as will the Daily Masses. Friday, February 3, is our last Mass at Glenbrook Commons and Adoration is cancelled. On Saturday, February 4, Bishop Noonan, who helped make our new home a reality, will celebrate a Blessing Mass at 10 am (NOTE: there is no 8 am Mass that day) and the St. Faustina Journey will continue, forever more, at OUR 15551 N. Boggy Marsh Road address.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
After years of being in storage, and then spending the last eight years standing in the back corner of our worship space at Glenbrook Commons, Jesus finally took His rightful place in front of our new home, where He greets all who enter our beautiful church. As a side note, the statue weighed roughly 1,500 pounds. The guys from Central Moving and Storage did a fantastic job and will be back on Friday, February 3, to move the Altar and remaining heavy and bulky items to our new church.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Once again the movers were busy as the piano and Divine Mercy Statue were brought to our new home. Kelly Mucci, Director of Liturgy and Music, oversaw the moving of “her baby”, the piano.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
On Tuesday, January 24, following the Daily Mass, which was held at 7:30 am instead of the usual 8 am time slot, volunteers removed the kneelers from the chairs at the Glenbrook Commons location and stacked them two-by-two for the movers. The movers came shortly after and loaded them into their van, transported the chairs to our new location at 15551 N. Boggy Marsh Road, and unloaded them where even more volunteers reattached the kneelers and positioned them in the Sanctuary of our new church building.
Week of January 1, 2023
After some time off for the Christmas break, the construction crew was back at our new church building putting the finishing touches as we get ready for the February 4th, 10 am, Blessing Mass, presided over by Bishop Noonan (all are invited to attend). The floors are down throughout the building, the cabinets are in, the television monitors are hooked up. The first seven photos in this series show how the church and surrounding area looks at night, with two comparisons to daylight photos. The next two photographs are of the worship area and the last one is of the just-about-completed conference room, which has been serving as the “construction trailer” since the actual trailer was removed from the property about two months ago.
Weeks of December 9 and 16
A great deal of detail work was accomplished over the last two weeks, both inside and outside of our new church building. More sod has been laid to pretty much complete the exterior. Meanwhile, the TV monitros were installed in the Sanctuary and cabinet tops and floors have been installed throughout the office areas. Completion of the floors in the rest of the church is expected to be done before the end of the year.
December 2
The first photo in this series is how our worship area looked on June 29. The second is how it currently looks followed by the Sanctuary . The cabinets were installed in the two permanent classrooms, in the receptionist's office, as well as in the warming kitchen. Plaques were placed outside all the offices as well as anywhere else where identification was required (such as the restrooms). Outside, the parking lines were painted as well as the spots that are going to be reserved for those who have physical challenge needs.
November 28 Signs of the Times
The following is a pictorial essay regarding the different signs that have followed us throughout our 16-year journey to our own church building.
The first sign appeared outside the Westgate Inn, where we held our first Mass in a conference room, on Route 192 as well as at Homers, which was previously a run-down BBQ resturant. The second photo is what is left of Westgate followed by what we called, "Saint Homers", which was on Route 27. We moved back to Route 192 and into Zaks strip mall where we were located between a Tattoo Parlor on our left and a Massage Parlor on our right. Note that where you now see "Puppy Sales" is where "St. Faustina" was located. Our current location on Route 27 in Glenbrook Commons strip mall is displayed in the fifth picture of the series.
While we were doing all this moving back and forth from Route 27 and 192, a sign proclaiming "Future Home of St. Faustina Roman Catholic Church" (which was replaced a couple of times due to the wear and tear of the weather...and the length of time the property was previously inhabited by dying and dead Orange trees). FINALLY, in January of 2022, construction began and a real, professional sign was placed on the property to proclaim that the "Future Home of St. Faustina Catholic Church" was indeed going to become a reality.
On Monday, November 28, 2022, the permanent sign was completed to proudly proclaimed who we are and that we have an address, and a church, we can call our own. CLICK HERE to go to our history page.
November 18th
Once again a great deal of progress has been made on our new church, both inside and outside. The first three photos are of the window that is directly over the Sanctuary that show the hanging lights. The next two photos are of the north and south ends of the building, respectively. Upon entering the church, the first office you encouter is that of the receptionist. The front hallway leads to the staff offices while the back hallway leads to classrooms and the restrooms. The next photo is of the bundle of floor tiles that will soon be installed. The final two photos show where our "St. Faustina Catholic Parish" sign will tell the world that our journey is almost over.
November 11th
On Friday, November 11th, despite the strong winds and heavy rain squalls, the landscapers planted the trees around our new church building. The photos give a good account of how crazy the weather was.
The last photo in the series is of Robert Sema, who has been our Onsite Construction Manager since the start of the project. Robert will be leaving us on November 18th to rejoin his family in Pennsylvania. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Robert done a great deal to get as far as we have gotten in such a short time.
Week of November 8
Last week we showed photos of what was going on outside our new church building and this week we go inside. The rooms are complete and the first coat of paint has been applied. As stated during the week of October 29, the A/C has been turned on and the lights are working throughout the building. Most of the drop ceilings have been installed and the floors are the next project to be completed. In the first four photos below we take a quick tour of our new church's office areas. The final six photos are of the Sancturary as it appeared in various stages throughtout the project with the last photo showing how it is currently. Roll over the photos to get information on what room you are looking at and then what the dates are for the Sanctuary images. ENJOY!
Week of November 1
The paving began and was completed within the week. The following photos show how far we've come since our property was first cleared on January 9. Next week the expectation is that the landscaping around our new church building will be completed with the rest of the sod, trees, bushes and plants.
Week of October 28
A great deal of progress was made over the past two weeks. As you approach our new church building you will see that the plywood has been replaced by the permanent door. Going through that door, you notice that the air conditioning has been turned on in order to circulate the air so that the priming and painting can begin. The ceilings are in various stages of completion throughout the building, and in the worship area, the wood floor has been installed. Interior lights and floor tiles have been delivered and should be installed within the next week to 10 days. Outside, the paving of our parking lot and roadway has begun.
Week of October 14
The highlight of these photos, taken on October 19, is that the concrete pedestal for our Divine Mercy statue was poured. While there is plenty going on inside new church building, there wasn’t a lot to show picture-wise, except for the installation of the restroom stalls. Outside, however, the road is all set to be blacktopped, which will happen on October 31. The first two photos were taken on January 31 (notice how much has changed not only with the roadway, but with the land on the right side of the second photo).
Week of October 7
In these photos, taken on October 12, our well was being dug, the floor for the Altar was being installed, the confessional has been completely sheetrocked, and the tile has been installed in the women's restroom.
Week of September 30
In these photos, taken on October 7, the front entranceway has been completed and painted, the sheetrock has just about been completed, the first coat of primer has been started in the worship area, the floor tiles in the main bathroom are down, the lights around the parking lot have been installed, the AC and heating units on the Route 27 side of the church have been installed, and the entranceway road is being prepared to be black-topped. WHEW!! All that in just a week.
In these photos taken on September 30, you can see that the retention pond located directly in front of the our new church building did its job during Hurricane Ian. This week’s interior highlight shows the beginning of the tile installation in the main bathrooms. On the outside, the sidewalks have been completed. The front entrance is just about ready to be painted and the blacktopping of the roadway is set to begin this week.
There was a lot going on when these photos were taken on Wednesday, September 21. There were several contractors at our new church building site working on the exterior and the interior, but the big news was the return of the cement truck, which had not been at the site since pouring the foundation on May 23. This time it was there pouring the sidewalk. All of the drywall has been completed as the crew gets ready to start painting in the very near future. These photos show the progress both outside and inside.
In the last two weeks, the color to the outside of our new church building has been applied while, on the inside, most of the sheetrocking has been completed. All of the windows have been installed as have most of the doors (the only one not in place is the front door). An interesting fact, the colors are taken from the Polish churches of St. Faustina's time. You can see the photo identification by scrolling over it. As you can also see from the last two photos, Father John's Lego Church is coming along nicely as well.
This week we take a tour of the right side of the new church building...the side where the office space, classrooms, warming kitchen, hospitality room, and conference room will be located. As you walk in the front, you will be greeted by the receptionist who will buzz you in from the secure door on your right. However, if you look directly down the hallway, you will be staring at the Divine Mercy Chapel, or the Grotto of Mercy. To the right of the Grotto is a long hallway. Immediately on the right is the fully-functional warming kitchen. To you left you will see classrooms, the hospitality room and the room for Father John and Deacon John (there is no photo of that room in this series). Around the corner, after the door leading to the outside, which faces the entrance to the property, is Father Ramon's office. Down the hall from that are offices and a conference room. Offices, which will be on the entrance side of the building, have yet to be constructed. You will also notice, in our final photo, that the application of the drywall, or sheetrock, has started. On the outside, coats of sealant continue to be applied.
As you walk in the front entrance you quickly realize how many different things that are happening all at the same time. The duct work for the air/heat unit, the sprinkler system, the insulation, the steel that is being used to frame the interior, and the sheetrock (or drywall), are all in various stages of progress and are all moving along quickly.
On June 18 we had our first look at the inside of our new church building.
The week of June 2 to 9 the support beams were put in place and the steel for the roof was bolted together.
The concrete for the foundation slab was poured and cured on May 23. The steel was also delivered.
The sewer septic tanks were installed on May 9.
On Sunday, February 13, a parish-wide Groundbreaking Celebration was held at our Glenbrook Commons location. Not one, BUT TWO, cakes...now that is a celebration!...were shared by our parishioners along with stories and memories of our journey together. Kathy Murphy, one of our founding parishioners, passed out little celebration jars that contained dirt, which had been blessed by Bishop Noonan, from the January 9 event.
At 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 9, Bishop John Noonan came to our property to officially bless and turn the first shovels of dirt at the long-waited groundbreaking ceremony. Our own Deacon John Broehl led the prayer session prior to the shovels hitting the ground. “What a glorious day, one that this parish has been waiting for a long time. Today we honor Jesus Christ. Now, are we ready to shovel some dirt and get to work?! But first, let’s pray.” -- Bishop John Noonan
After waiting more than 16 years, the orange trees that previously sat on our property were cleared and on January 9, 2022, the landscaping machinery began the task of cutting the very tall grass and excavating the land. The hand-made sign that proclaims, “Future Home of St. Faustina Roman Catholic Church” had been replaced several times over the years. That old, tattered and torn sign, was FINALLY replaced by the professional sign that told all who passed by 15551 N Boggy Marsh Road that our dreams and prayers were going to become reality.
