PROJECTS

Completion of the second story of the Kindness Center

The building was designed so that the second floor will house a Red Cross-approved emergency shelter for the community in times of natural disasters typical of the harsh climate in this area, including floods, sandstorms, ice storms, blizzards, tornados, and other devastating events. To these must be added highway tragedies involving massive numbers of people; house, homestead and other structural fires, and other dire events that suddenly leave numbers of people of all ages in need of safe shelter, food, and other support services. As designed, the shelter will accommodate c. 80 cots, a kitchen and eating area, handicapped accessible bathrooms, and will be both heated and cooled, according to the seasons. The space will also be used by volunteers who come throughout the year from around the country to help with the needs of the Parish and the community. These groups range in size and in age. The space will also be available as temporary shelter for travelers who have unexpected safe shelter needs, and finally, it will provide appropriate space for meetings of professional groups, area agencies, as well as for social gatherings of families, broader kin groups, and friends. The community lacks appropriate space for such events because the various school facilities are not available due to liability issues. Of course, it is our hope that the finished second floor will allow the Parish to sponsor Diocesan-wide activities such as weekend Cursillo and Search retreats, and smaller retreats from other parishes, and that our Kindness Center will eventually become a powerful spiritual center for both our parish and the greater religious family of the Diocese of Gallup. Completion of the second floor, when estimated in Feb, 2011, was projected to cost c. $234,840.

Support for the Food Bank Program

With the need for food increasing each month, our greatest need in this area is for assistance with the increased bills incurred for utilities, maintenance, transportation, office supplies, and insurance. The annual cost of this program is substantial and is currently absorbed by the parish. We would also like to be able to provide one stipend for a director of the Food Bank who would then be available on a consistent, predictable basis, thus increasing the continuity and availability of our much needed services.

Restoration of the inside of the Annunciation Mission

Thanks to a massive fund raising effort and a few sizable donations, we were able to save the 1909-10 Annunciation Mission building in November, 2010 by replacing the original cedar shingle roof right before bad weather began in Chinle. Since the building is on the Federal Register, the job was done in accordance with the rules of the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. Thereafter, remaining outside work, including repairing one of the chimneys and redoing a lot of the tuck pointing, was done. After cleaning out the inside of the building and selling some of its contents on Ebay and through yard sales, donating the health- related items to the Chinle nursing home, taking appropriate items to recycling, and yes, taking unusable items to the dump, we were able to focus on restoring the building to its original state, as decided by the parish. We are being guided by photographs taken in 1910 by Fr. Leopold Ostermann, OFM; Brother Bart Wolf, OFM of the Franciscan Studio is building the altars, statue pedestals, benches, kneelers, and other similar “furniture” and restoring the doors. The Franciscan Brothers work crew from St. Michaels is helping restore the plaster walls, wooden ceiling and floor, choir loft railing, continuous step up to the sacristy, etc. Just recently, a special request letter was sent out to raise funds to meet Br. Bart’s bid. When he completes his part, we will still have “Five Biggies” to address: the windows; a security system; the six Navajo rugs which originally were in the sacristy as shown in the picture; the pot-bellied stove; and all church “furniture” such as statues, crosses, candlesticks, and the like.

Replace Two Roofs, both on original buildings.

The roof on the Rectory or Friary, like the original one on the Annunciation Mission, is the original cedar shingle one and is leaking. The building, the first one errected at the site in 1905-06, is on the Federal Register. The other roof that is currently leaking is on the Convent. While the middle section of this building was the original Interpreter’s House and community Post Office, additions to the structure in the 1960s [on the east end or front] and in 1970 [on the back, west end], converted for use as a Convent, were viewed as “destroying the building’s integrity” by the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. Thus, they denied historic status and Federal Register listing to the building, despite its history.

Redo and resurface the parking lot in front of our present hogan-shaped church and behind it, leading to our Church Hall.