'Dream of a Decade'
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Around St. David the King Parish, West Windsor, the problem of having cramped quarters, overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of storage space and no place to host a parish party is no longer.
Building a brand new, state-of-the-art, 23,000-square-foot Faith Formation Center and Great Hall took care of that.
Click here for photos from the dedication
“Now, we’ll have space,” said Cheryl Ellsworth, a parishioner who also works on the parish staff as office manager and secretary to Father Timothy Capewell, pastor.
“We’re a growing parish and we’re growing in ministries and we didn’t have the space to do all that we do,” Ellsworth said. “There was always a tight squeeze to do what we normally did and then if there was something extra going on, we had to get creative.”
Like a growing number of parishes who have built similar facilities in the diocese, St. David the King created a center that represents a different way of thinking about parish life. Faith Formation Centers are increasingly accommodating the Church’s emphasis on faith formation for parishioners of all ages.
Building the Dream
Affectionately referring to the building project as the “dream of a decade,” Father Capewell said the need for the additional building was due to the increasing number of parishioners. There were about 1,000 families when he first arrived as pastor in November 1994, and currently there are more than 1,900 families, with more than 750 children in the parish’s religious education program.
In the presence of parish staff, hundreds of parishioners, a number of diocesan staff and local civic officials, the Faith Formation Center and Great Hall were dedicated Nov. 21, the feast of Christ the King, with Bishop John M. Smith presiding.
Before the dedication ceremony, Bishop Smith celebrated a Mass in the church and then led a procession on the parish grounds to the main entrance of the Faith Formation Center for a prayer service and solemn blessing. While the crowd remained outside and continued to sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, the bishop, along with Father Capewell and parish staff, entered the building then blessed and placed a crucifix in each room.
The Faith Formation Center is attached to the church and is regarded as the religious education wing of the parish complex. Staff members, who were doubled up in small quarters and had little privacy for conducting confidential meetings, now each have their own office.
There is also a new room for the music ministry as well as a fully-furnished spiritual reading room with sofas, oversized chairs and an electric fireplace, where min-istries such as the Scripture study group, prayer shawl knitting group, Knights of Columbus and Columbiettes can comfortably gather.
The Great Hall is grand indeed at 18,000 square feet. The majority of the space will be used for the eight modular classrooms for religious education classes, but when it’s time for a party or social gathering, such as the famous spaghetti dinners and “Donut Sundays,” the classrooms can be dismantled and the space opens up to seat 850 people “chair to chair” or, 350 people if they are seated at round tables, with additional room that provides for a dance floor.
The fully equipped commercial kitchen is suitable for in-house catering services, Father Capewell said, and then added that parishioners are welcome to use the hall for fellowship gatherings after funerals as well. Also new is the memorial prayer garden that’s situated in a courtyard between the church and Great Hall buildings.
Father Capewell said parishioners are able to honor their family members and friends, both living and deceased, by purchasing a memorial plaque on the courtyard wall or a paver on the prayer garden walkway.
Other renovations made to the original church building, Father Capewell noted, included the remodeling of the offices and former parish hall, which now serves as ayouth center, installing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system throughout the entire complex and installing new windows in the church.
Father Capewell said that while preliminary discussions for the new addition began in the early 2000s, it took about 10 years for the plans to become finalized. There were a couple of setbacks along the way, he said, one of them being the impact that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had on the parish.
“We lost three parishioners in the attacks,” he said. “The parish directed all attention on ministering to the grieving families.”
Ground for the new addition was broken Oct. 26, 2008, and was under the direction of chief architect Caryn Wohn of Inter-Arc, LLC, Robbinsville, and Len Scozzari, president of Scozzari Builders, Trenton.
The parish did not conduct a capital campaign to generate the $6.75 million needed for the project. It went about raising the money the old-fashioned way.
“We saved and we saved and we saved,” said Father Capewell, noting that half of the amount was deposited at the start of the building, and the parish is continuing to finance the remaining half.
“Interest rates are at an all-time low,” Father Capewell said. “It’s a good time to build.”
“We built during the coldest, snowiest winter, the hottest, driest summer and the worst economic fiscal crisis – since the Great Depression – and we still got it done,” he said.
‘More than a Parish Center’
There are a number of parishes, like St. David the King, that have built faith formation centers and parish halls in recent years, including three just this year. The reason for parishes building the new additions is more than just about providing sufficient space to accommodate growing parish populations.
The way Terry Ginther, director of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning, explained it, more parishes are aiming to offer an approach to catechesis for people of all ages and placing emphasis on the fact that the “formation of people in the faith is a lifelong endeavor.” Parishes realize that having appropriate facilities could greatly assist in accomplishing that goal.
A large number of parishes have classroom space which is typically dedicated toward the education of children, and they might have a hall or parish center which is used for social activities and sporting events.
What a faith formation center does is provide space “that combines the two,” plus facilities for other types of learning such as Scripture studies or small group and large group meetings. In a faith formation center, there might be a lending library where one could borrow books or other materials for independent types of study, said Ginther.
“A parish is more than just about coming to Sunday Mass,” added Father Capewell. “I look at it as our faith is formed in religious education and is enhanced when we come together for the celebration of the Eucharist.
“We are an intergenerational education parish. Religious education doesn’t end in the eighth grade; religious education is ongoing – beyond Confirmation and into adulthood and into the golden years,” said Father Capewell. “We try very hard here at St. David the King to realize that our faith is a forever growing and a nurturing process.”
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Around St. David the King Parish, West Windsor, the problem of having cramped quarters, overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of storage space and no place to host a parish party is no longer.
Building a brand new, state-of-the-art, 23,000-square-foot Faith Formation Center and Great Hall took care of that.
Click here for photos from the dedication
“Now, we’ll have space,” said Cheryl Ellsworth, a parishioner who also works on the parish staff as office manager and secretary to Father Timothy Capewell, pastor.
“We’re a growing parish and we’re growing in ministries and we didn’t have the space to do all that we do,” Ellsworth said. “There was always a tight squeeze to do what we normally did and then if there was something extra going on, we had to get creative.”
Like a growing number of parishes who have built similar facilities in the diocese, St. David the King created a center that represents a different way of thinking about parish life. Faith Formation Centers are increasingly accommodating the Church’s emphasis on faith formation for parishioners of all ages.
Building the Dream
Affectionately referring to the building project as the “dream of a decade,” Father Capewell said the need for the additional building was due to the increasing number of parishioners. There were about 1,000 families when he first arrived as pastor in November 1994, and currently there are more than 1,900 families, with more than 750 children in the parish’s religious education program.
In the presence of parish staff, hundreds of parishioners, a number of diocesan staff and local civic officials, the Faith Formation Center and Great Hall were dedicated Nov. 21, the feast of Christ the King, with Bishop John M. Smith presiding.
Before the dedication ceremony, Bishop Smith celebrated a Mass in the church and then led a procession on the parish grounds to the main entrance of the Faith Formation Center for a prayer service and solemn blessing. While the crowd remained outside and continued to sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, the bishop, along with Father Capewell and parish staff, entered the building then blessed and placed a crucifix in each room.
The Faith Formation Center is attached to the church and is regarded as the religious education wing of the parish complex. Staff members, who were doubled up in small quarters and had little privacy for conducting confidential meetings, now each have their own office.
There is also a new room for the music ministry as well as a fully-furnished spiritual reading room with sofas, oversized chairs and an electric fireplace, where min-istries such as the Scripture study group, prayer shawl knitting group, Knights of Columbus and Columbiettes can comfortably gather.
The Great Hall is grand indeed at 18,000 square feet. The majority of the space will be used for the eight modular classrooms for religious education classes, but when it’s time for a party or social gathering, such as the famous spaghetti dinners and “Donut Sundays,” the classrooms can be dismantled and the space opens up to seat 850 people “chair to chair” or, 350 people if they are seated at round tables, with additional room that provides for a dance floor.
The fully equipped commercial kitchen is suitable for in-house catering services, Father Capewell said, and then added that parishioners are welcome to use the hall for fellowship gatherings after funerals as well. Also new is the memorial prayer garden that’s situated in a courtyard between the church and Great Hall buildings.
Father Capewell said parishioners are able to honor their family members and friends, both living and deceased, by purchasing a memorial plaque on the courtyard wall or a paver on the prayer garden walkway.
Other renovations made to the original church building, Father Capewell noted, included the remodeling of the offices and former parish hall, which now serves as ayouth center, installing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system throughout the entire complex and installing new windows in the church.
Father Capewell said that while preliminary discussions for the new addition began in the early 2000s, it took about 10 years for the plans to become finalized. There were a couple of setbacks along the way, he said, one of them being the impact that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had on the parish.
“We lost three parishioners in the attacks,” he said. “The parish directed all attention on ministering to the grieving families.”
Ground for the new addition was broken Oct. 26, 2008, and was under the direction of chief architect Caryn Wohn of Inter-Arc, LLC, Robbinsville, and Len Scozzari, president of Scozzari Builders, Trenton.
The parish did not conduct a capital campaign to generate the $6.75 million needed for the project. It went about raising the money the old-fashioned way.
“We saved and we saved and we saved,” said Father Capewell, noting that half of the amount was deposited at the start of the building, and the parish is continuing to finance the remaining half.
“Interest rates are at an all-time low,” Father Capewell said. “It’s a good time to build.”
“We built during the coldest, snowiest winter, the hottest, driest summer and the worst economic fiscal crisis – since the Great Depression – and we still got it done,” he said.
‘More than a Parish Center’
There are a number of parishes, like St. David the King, that have built faith formation centers and parish halls in recent years, including three just this year. The reason for parishes building the new additions is more than just about providing sufficient space to accommodate growing parish populations.
The way Terry Ginther, director of the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning, explained it, more parishes are aiming to offer an approach to catechesis for people of all ages and placing emphasis on the fact that the “formation of people in the faith is a lifelong endeavor.” Parishes realize that having appropriate facilities could greatly assist in accomplishing that goal.
A large number of parishes have classroom space which is typically dedicated toward the education of children, and they might have a hall or parish center which is used for social activities and sporting events.
What a faith formation center does is provide space “that combines the two,” plus facilities for other types of learning such as Scripture studies or small group and large group meetings. In a faith formation center, there might be a lending library where one could borrow books or other materials for independent types of study, said Ginther.
“A parish is more than just about coming to Sunday Mass,” added Father Capewell. “I look at it as our faith is formed in religious education and is enhanced when we come together for the celebration of the Eucharist.
“We are an intergenerational education parish. Religious education doesn’t end in the eighth grade; religious education is ongoing – beyond Confirmation and into adulthood and into the golden years,” said Father Capewell. “We try very hard here at St. David the King to realize that our faith is a forever growing and a nurturing process.”