Mass to Celebrate the Re-opening of the Church

The Right Reverend  Joseph A Toal, STB KC*HS and the Clergy of St Columbkille’s concelebrated a Mass to mark the re-opening of our beautifully restored Church on Sunday 18th December 2016.  The Parishioners were joined by a number of guests including elected representatives, professionals from all companies and organisations involved in the planning and completion of the refurbishment work and members of local churches and religious organisations throughout Rutherglen.

Mr Ed McGuigan presented a well researched history of the Church in Scotland and particularly in Rutherglen, both pre and post reformation.  He provided  a very interesting history of the work to erect the current Church building and then went on to thank everyone involved in the Renovation Project including all of the professionals involved in the process, the Diocese of Motherwell for releasing funds and lending other monies; our grant-giving partners – Viridor Credits Environmental Company and the National Churches Trust; the Clergy of St Columbkille’s;  Members of the Steering Committee; the Fundraisers and of course the Parishioners for their unfailing support and generosity. 

The Mass was followed by refreshments in the Church Hall.  Further photographs can be viewed in the Media Gallery.

 

Renovation Project Completion

The renovation work on the Church has now been completed.  The Church will re-open on Friday 14th October 2016 with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 6 pm to 7.00 pm. Tea and a bun in the Hall afterwards.

Renovation Project

Feature Focus 3: Re-alignment of Sanctuary Steps

This week the Renovation Project : Feature Focus turns to the sanctuary, the central focus of worship at St Columbkille’s. The sanctuary of St Columbkille’s is dominated by the magnificent baldacchino – a distinctive and-much loved original feature of the church which (alongside the tabernacle pedestal and steps) creates a striking focal point for the whole church. From an early stage the feedback form parishioners was that this aspect of the original character of the church should be retained (and enhanced) rather than significantly changed.

The actual sanctuary space has been re-ordered on various occasions over the years (to align with changes in liturgical practice) with the result that the steps on to the sanctuary are not aligned (there are two “piers” at either end of the sanctuary and the bottom step is significantly wider than the other steps): this results in the steps being potentially dangerous to those ascending and descending the steps. In addition it was also acknowledged that the scale of the sanctuary space (and the corresponding physical distance of the celebrant from the congregation) contributed to a certain detachment between priest and people.  Accordingly, the project will include work to bring forward the edge of the sanctuary steps towards the centre of the church, so as to create a single, evenly-spaced set of steps ascending from the nave of the church to the sanctuary. This will in turn allow the altar, pulpit and presidential chair to move forward towards the congregation by a distance of about 6 feet.

The re-alignment of the sanctuary steps is using as much of the existing Carrara marble as possible, so as to limit spend on new replacement materials. The work is being carried out by specialist marble contractors.

 

Feature Focus 2: New Heating System

This week, the Renovation Project: Feature Focus looks at the replacement of the heating system throughout the church building. The renovation of the heating system was a cornerstone of the overall project and was central to the steering group’s brief to make St. Columbkille’s a more comfortable, welcoming place to worship. A frequent comment by parishioners and visitors over many years has been that St. Columbkille’s “is a cold church”. 

 At the commencement of planning for the project a thorough survey of the current heating system by electrical and mechanical engineers was commissioned.  The survey found that the heating system was inefficient, costly and approaching (if not beyond) the end of its useful life. That investigation also examined various heating options and identified that the most energy-efficient and cost-effective option to renew the heating would be to remove the existing boilers and pipework and install an entirely new underfloor heating system throughout the nave of the church.

The installation of this new heating system has involved removing the current timber flooring in the nave of the church and replacing this with a concrete floor, into which the heating elements are embedded. This flooring is then finished with a screed covering, on top of which a new limestone floor will be set.  The effect of the new underfloor heating and the hard (rather than carpeted) surface above will be to create an ambient “blanket” of heated air to about 2 metres above the floor. This will in turn contribute to a comfortably warm space across the nave of the church for worshippers, whether they are standing, sitting or kneeling.  The existing cast iron radiators in the aisles have been reconditioned and will be connected to the new boilers to augment the central heating.

 

    

 

 

Renovation Project

Feature Focus 1 : Renovated/ Refurbished Benches

 Every two weeks while the renovation project is underway, the bulletin will include a feature on a particular aspect of the ongoing renovation works, to provide some detail on how our transformed church will look and feel when the works are completed. 

This week, our first Renovation Project: Feature Focus looks at the work to renovate and refurbish the church benches (or pews). The current benches are constructed from oak and, as an original feature of the church, contribute to the distinctive character of the interior. There was a strong desire to retain those benches if at all possible. However it was acknowledged that the benches suffer from various drawbacks: 

• Comfort: The short distance between the “kneeler” and the bench in front made kneeling uncomfortable, as did the narrowness of the “seating” area itself. Furthermore, the cushioning on the kneelers required renewing in many places.
• Colour/condition: over the years discoloration of the varnish/ finishing and the accumulation of dirt on the benches had resulted in a darkening in colour. Given the significant area of floor space taken up by the benches, this in turn contributed to the general darkness of the church interior.
• Utility: the benches lacked a shelf for hymn books/ missals/ prayer books etc.

To address these issues the benches have been removed and a complete refurbishment of the benches is being undertaken to:

• Rebuild each bench with a widened seat, new book shelf and lengthened kneeler;
• Strip, sand and re-varnish each bench to return it to its original lighter colour.

The work is being carried out by specialist church furnishers Irish Contract Seating. ICS previously took away a bench and provided a sample of the renovated benches so parishioners have already seen the transformative effect of the work.

The changes should help to contribute to making St Columbkille’s a more pleasant and comfortable place to worship.

PHASE 2

March Update

As you will have seen from the activity in the church building and the photographs now displayed below,  Phase 2 of the restoration of our church building has now well and truly moved from the planning and preparation stage to work commencing on-site: the culmination of five years of patience, hard-work, and planning by you, the parishioners of St Columbkille’s.

It is anticipated that the Phase 2 programme of works will progress throughout the Spring, and we hope that the congregation will be returning to our renovated church building in time for late June this year. The final programme of works for Phase 2 of the project comprises: 

• Replacement of the heating system with new underfloor heating system;
• A new limestone floor in the nave;
• Complete renovation of church benches;
• Alignment of the marble sanctuary steps;
• Re-carpeting of aisles and sanctuary;
• Re-positioning of the Baptismal Font in the rear centre aisle;
• Installation of new disabled toilet facilities;
• Alignment of steps in the choir loft;
• Installation of new emergency lighting
• Installation of a new lighting scheme on the sanctuary and the side aisles;
• Renovation of the historic pendant lighting in the nave and re-wiring in preparation for new lighting and sound scheme in the nave;
• Reappointing  the two “cry-chapels” as a new piety stall and vestry;
• Various works to make the building health and safety compliant;
• Re-decoration (plastering, painting etc.) throughout church interior.

Your patience and dedication during our period in the hall (and your continued efforts towards fund-raising for the project) and are greatly appreciated by the community of St Columbkille’s.

Over the coming months, the bulletin will include features on a different aspect of the ongoing renovation works every few weeks, to provide some more detail on how our transformed church will look and feel when the works are completed.

 

    

     

         

    

     

     

      

St Columbkille’s Restoration Project

KEY DATES

The Church closed after 1pm Mass on Monday 29^th June 2015.

All Liturgical Celebrations now take place in the Parish Hall

There will be no 1pm Mass while we are in the Hall.

After 10am Mass each Saturday in the Hall and after 4pm Mass each Sunday in the Hall the seating will have to be rearranged. Could as many people as possible help with this.

Sacraments

Funerals can be celebrated in the Hall, or arrangements can be made with neighbouring Parishes. Fr Hennessy and Fr Ghislain will be happy to accommodate families with these arrangements

Baptisms will be celebrated in the Hall, for further information please contact Deacon Bill

Marriages throughout the coming year weddings will have to be celebrated in neighbouring Parishes. If you are celebrating your wedding this year and have not already contacted Fr Hennessy or Fr Ghislain, then please do so as soon as possible.

The Sacrament or Reconciliation will continue to be offered at the usual times which are listed in the Bulletin.

Thank your help and patience during this time. The coming months will challenging in many ways but ultimately rewarding as we look forward to moving back in to our beautiful church.

 

As the work progresses, images of the interior of the church will be posted below

The benches have been removed