Our Journey with Saint Cecilia…
In 2009 St Cecilia Church was decommissioned in a religious ceremony held by the Archdiocese, the front doors were locked and it was no longer deemed a "Catholic Church", nor was it ever to be operated as one again. This occasion brought a lot of pain to a community that was developed through this campus.
Fast forward to 2016, we were approached by Good Shepherd (previously Our Lady) to purchase the campus. We went into a contract and it took 368 days to complete the purchase. During the negotiations, it was discovered by the Archdiocese that there were still "religious" items within the building that had to be removed.
In early 2017 the Archdiocese came in and took everything that they thought belonged to them. It was not a pretty sight, alters were cut with saws, crosses just pulled down laying in the floor, trash everywhere, things broken . To say it was a mess is a huge understatement. I remember standing there with Pops Thomas physically crying over the injustice that had happened. We both knew it would put a hurt on a community that had already been hurt by the closing in 2009. (See Pictures)
Where a statue had been mounted
Where the alter had been
The empty space where the confessional had been ripped out
Since 2017 we feel honored to be the caretakers of the most beautiful Saint Cecilia Building (remember at this point, no longer a “church”). Because it sat empty between the decommissioning and the time to purchase, with limited upkeep, we inherited a huge mess that has cost thousands to restore, not to include the blood sweat and tears that came along with it. It had been neglected in the 8 years between the decommissioning and us purchasing it, but we were up for the challenge to keep her spirit alive.
We have fought through lies about us, untruths about the "Abuse” of a Church building (that is no longer a Church). We have fought through Covid, children dying to murder, and neighbors leaving this beautiful community. We have fed thousands of families, hosted countless community parties, and provided Good Shepherd and several Westend Pastors truckloads of food to feed the community. We have given out over 15,000 sack lunches to kids in our neighborhood during Covid, gave out over 10 cars for single moms to have reliable transportation, restored several homes, had refugees living with us, built a restaurant, built a thrift store, helped several people save their homes from foreclosure, created jobs, buried people, baptized people, held a Firefighters funeral during covid when no one else would.... the list goes on and on. We have never mentioned all the things we do, because we believe God should get the GLORY!!
The Church is not a building, nor does anyone own it. The Church is the Bride of Christ, which is the Community of Followers.
We are honored to serve, Love our Neighbors in this community, and carry on the Spirit of Saint Cecilia, she was an amazing Saint, whose story actually starts in Rome Italy in the 3rd century, where Inga and I met 12 years ago!
Over the last few days as we have sold some of the pews the make way for new life in the building, we have encountered a lot of emotions. Some have blasted us for “destroying the church,” but others have been so thankful to be given the opportunity to keep a piece from the building that embodies memories from generations of their families. The stories on Facebook from family after family, posting pictures of pews now in their living rooms and front porches have drowned out the negative comments condemning us for selling them in the first place.
These families are the “church” coming together to love one another, honoring the heritage of a neighborhood, and looking forward to new life on a campus that has loved people for generations.
Shawn Arvin
School Snack List!!!
If you are looking for a way to support Mighty Oak Academy and our mission of quality community based education, please consider helping us provide our students with nutritious snacks from our Amazon Wish List, you can order here.
Merriment Moving!!!
Merriment will be closed for the time being while we move to the Saint Cecilia Campus. If you would still like to make a donation, please call (502) 930-9006 to arrange a time to drop off.
Fish Fry Open!!!
The Fish Fry is back open this week!! Stop in for a fish sandwich or some churched up tots. Whether you’re in the mood for burgers or chicken tenders, we have them here.
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.