St. John the Baptist Catholic Church to dedicate new building

It will represent the culmination of nearly nine years of planning, fundraising and labor for the church members.

In July 2001, the church's nearly 100-year old structure was decommissioned after it was found to be an unsafe structure. A special Mass was held to officially close the doors of the building.

Since then, the congregation met weekly in the Continental High School gymnasium. Faithful members would set up chairs for the church members each Sunday. Then, with the help of the congregation, they would take the chairs down at the end of the service.

"My first service here was in the gym," said the Rev. Bob Kill. He has guided the church through the planning and construction phase of the new church.

"The gym was a comfortable setting, but it was an inconvenience to have to set up and take down the chairs each week."

Planning for the new church began in 1999 when The Collaborative Inc., of Toledo, was hired to make architectural plans and drawings for a 9,471-square-feet church to hold about 400 people. That same year the church purchased 28.794 acres of land on state Route 634, just north of Continental.

In 2001 the church began a major fund drive for the building project. It raised $378,656 in pledges over five years.

"This type of project takes lots of meetings," Kill said. This included meeting with town officials to discuss connecting to the village's water and sewer.

By December 2005 the church had raised $500,000 in cash and $600,000 in five-year pledges. A few months later Bishop Blair authorized the parish to proceed with construction preparations.

"This meant a lot of chicken dinners and reverse raffles" said Kill, smiling. He said it was exciting to see the entire community pull together to make the fundraisers and project a success.

"We always had great community support for our fundraisers," he said. "Think about it. We raised $1.2 million within seven years, half in cash and half in pledges."

The membership of the church is nearly 400. On April 29, 2007, they held their ground-breaking ceremony at the new site. Numerous contracts were awarded for the construction of the over $1.1 million dollar project.

Included in the plans were the stained glass windows that had been in the downtown church building. This building was razed in 2002. A new stained glass window featuring Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist was placed in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the church.

In the back of the sanctuary is a baptismal font decorated with tiling.

In the front of the church the Corpus on the Cross is from the old church. The cross, constructed of walnut, was donated.

The church also includes two classrooms, a dressing area, confessional and handicapped accessible restrooms.

"Many people have made this new structure possible," Kill said. During a recent weekend, 26 volunteers helped put in the parking lot.

As the date of the dedication nears, construction workers are busy everywhere completing projects.

What: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church dedication of new building

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: State Route 634, just north of Continental

• Bishop Leonard P. Blair will officiate at the special service.