40.8 F
Denver
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeLocalParish NewsNew mountain church offers ‘spiritual recreation’

New mountain church offers ‘spiritual recreation’

(UPDATED Oct. 2, 2014 with photos from Sept. 14 dedication, photos by Shannon Lukens)

Every summer thousands of Colorado families head over Rabbit Ears Pass to Steamboat Springs to mountain bike, fly fish, hike Fish Creek Falls, and soak in the hot springs. During the winter, skiers and snowboarders flock to the mountain resort on the western ridge of the Continental Divide for fun in the snow.

“We’re a destination town,” said Father Ernest Bayer, pastor of Holy Name Parish since 2005. “My vision is to give visitors two reasons to come: physical recreation and spiritual recreation.”

To accommodate the spiritual recreation of a congregation that doubles in size during the peak seasons, the parish recently completed a 15,382-square-foot expansion. The new church increased capacity from 300 to 600.

“During peak season we had standing room only,” Father Bayer said.

Work began on the small existing church at 524 Oak St. in July 2012 with contractor services provided by Fox Construction, owned by parishioner Tom Fox. Mountain-inspired architectural services were provided by Greenwood Village-based Eidos Architects.

“(A mountain architecture style) was accomplished through various geometries,” according to Mae Ann Saas of Eidos, “and heavy utilization of wood and stone in the design.”

- Advertisement -

“It’s meant to look like God’s holy mountain,” Father Bayer said. “Mount Zion.”

Features include an altar of Colorado red granite, a tabernacle of a bronze burning bush, a baptismal font with a lower pool for immersion, and a bell tower with four bells.

The capital campaign to fund construction launched in 2008.

“It took about six years to raise the money,” Father Bayer said of the $9.1 million project. “It’s a huge miracle, an example of how the body of Christ pulls together. God sent some very generous people our way, locals and out-of-towners.”

Fundraising efforts were energized when plans for stained glass windows were announced. Local artist and parishioner Greg Effinger was commissioned to design sets of windows, totaling about 166 sections overall.

“The windows are amazing,” Father Bayer said. “Everything’s original.”

Themes range from creation through Church history to the second coming of Christ, with an emphasis on the institution of the Eucharist in the Last Supper windows. Effinger worked with a team from the wider community to produce the windows, headed up by local stained glass craftsman and parishioner Georgian Kalow.

God put a “dream team” together to make the entire project possible, Father Bayer said of the parishioners, donors and workers.

“Lots of people worked very hard on it,” he said. “God’s doing wonderful things in Routt County … it’s an oasis in the midst of our crazy world.

“Come and see us,” he added. “We made room for you!”

###

Archbishop Samuel Aquila will dedicate the new church at 4:30 p.m. Mass Sept. 14. For photos of the construction process, visit catholicsteamboat.com/church-expansion.

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular