By GARY SEMAN JR.

ThisWeek Community News Wednesday June 20, 2012 10:41 PM

When people visit St. Mary Catholic Church, they are stepping into one of the most well-preserved pieces of German Village history, says one church official.

Built in 1868 by German immigrants, the church has been only slightly modified, said Frank Wickham, chairman of the St. Mary advisory finance council.

The ambo, also known as the lectern where the priest delivers his sermon, is an original as are the towering reredos in the sanctuary and many of the stained-glass pieces.

After eight years of planning, the church went through a $500,000 renovation project 25 years ago.

Even so, its integrity was vigilantly maintained, Wickham said.

"I think there's nothing more beautiful," Wickham said of the church.

"People are always awed in here no matter what their faith."

The church and the nearby rectory are on this year's German Village Haus und Garten Tour, slated for Sunday.

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Historic church key anchor for Haus und Garten Tour

WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops' Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America announced today the approval of more than $5.2 million in grant funding for 121 projects to aid the pastoral and reconstruction work of the Catholic Church in 20 countries throughout Latin America.

These projects are important in assisting the Church in Latin America continue the work of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the region, said Archbishop Jos Gomez of Los Angeles, chair of the subcommittee. Projects designed to implement the new evangelization are showing results among the faithful. Almost $2 million was awarded to pastoral projects.

As well, $3.3 million was granted to continue helping the Church in Haiti rebuild after the 2010 earthquake. Specifically two reconstruction projects received funding: the construction of a multi-purpose building in the Diocese of Jacmel, and the structural reinforcement of the co-cathedral of Miragoane. The base-isolation reinforcement of the co-cathedral in Miragoane is touted as a cutting-edge technology in Haiti, and will not only prevent deaths in a future earthquake but will also help save the historic cathedral, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, a member of the subcommittee and chairman of the USCCBs Haiti Advisory Group. We are now seeing concrete fruits of our efforts to assist the Church in Haiti rebuild.

Funding to assist the formation of religious, seminarians and clergy totaled almost $650,000, or about 33.4% of the pastoral funds awarded. These grants will assist in the education of more than 1,100 women and men as they prepare for ministry.

Innovative Media, Inc.

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Church in US Supports 121 Latin American Projects With $5.2M

Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m.

Swarmed by volunteers from nearly a dozen states, the campus of Clearview Baptist Church looked much like a construction site Wednesday.

Come Friday, thanks to Linden, Ala.-based Bethel Baptist Builders, members of Clearview Baptist Church will likely have a new fellowship hall. Volunteers from Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Oregon and Florida chipped in Wednesday as they were working to meet their goal of finishing the structure by the end of the week. The church is on Clearview Street off Interstate 85 Business Loop just outside Lexington.

"We really needed a building to eat, meet and greet in," said the Rev. Jeffrey Perdue, senior pastor of Clearview Baptist Church. "Every Baptist church needs a fellowship hall."

Clearview Baptist Church has no fellowship hall. Perdue said Clearview Baptist was built before World War II. With the new 2,100-square-foot fellowship hall, members will have access to two handicapped-accessible, four-stall bathrooms, a kitchen and an eating room. The church previously had no kitchen, and the restrooms were too small.

With no fellowship hall, members have held events under a tent. As expected, weather has caused several cancellations to events.

"It was just a nightmare if it rained on us," Perdue said. "We can plan now without worrying about the weather. With this, the teens are going to use it on Wednesday night to reach other teens. We are going to use it to possibly feed the homeless in the area."

The church, Perdue said, was responsible for the building materials while Bethel Baptist Builders is heading up the volunteer labor efforts. With the volunteer efforts, the pastor explained Clearview Baptist Church is gaining a fellowship hall while using $75,000 of its own money.

A member of Clearview Baptist Church learned of Bethel Baptist Builders through the nonprofit's efforts of building a fellowship hall in Troy. That's when Perdue reached out to Bethel Baptist Builders and after a trip to Lexington, officials with the nonprofit agreed to build the fellowship hall.

"They never met us," Perdue said of the volunteers. "They don't know us. To come here and willingly give a whole week of their time, their money and their effort, it's truly about what being a Christian is about."

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Nonprofit gives free labor; church receives fellowship hall

By Jeanne Millsap For The Herald-News June 20, 2012 10:36AM

Updated: June 20, 2012 4:08PM

CHANNAHON Temperaments in the Channahon Village Board room Monday evening were as hot as the weather outside as representatives from an area church once again asked trustees for more time to complete required construction.

The First Baptist Church of Channahon has built a new church and school on the villages northeast side, just north of Route 6, but the deadline for completing parking lot and landscaping work came and went on June 15 without the work being done.

You gave us a commitment you would have that in, Trustee Jerry Papesh said.

Pastor Randy Blan told trustees he did not agree to have the work completed by the deadline in the first place when the board granted the church a partial occupancy permit last November provided the remaining work would be completed by June 15.

I didnt have a choice, Blan said regarding the deadline. I feel like that commitment was forced on us.

This was not the first time church members have come before the board asking for more time or special allowances. Last August, the village board granted a temporary 90-day occupancy permit for the churchs school, Families of Faith Christian Academy, to allow the church time to complete its parking lot, lights, parking islands and landscaping.

The board gave the allowance so the church would be able to open the school at the beginning of the school year.

According to village staff, however, the required work was not completed within 90 days. Trustees then unanimously approved removing the 90-day limit and granting a partial occupancy permit provided the work was completed by June 15.

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Church’s request for building delay sparks Channahon Village Board

19-06-2012 09:06 WE ARE COMING TO YOU TO SEEK FINANCIAL HELP FOR OUR CHURCH BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND PAYMENT FOR THE LOT...WE ARE NEEDING 1.5M AS ESTIMATED AMOUNT FOR THE CHURCH CONSTRUCTION AND 1M FOR THE LOT PAYMENT. HOPE YOU COULD BE A PART OF IT. GOD BLESS AND MORE POWER.

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BCAC SOLICITATION - Video

19-06-2012 13:51 The El-Shaddai community church, health clinic, primary school and feeding centre were all destroyed by the January 2010 earthquake. Supporting the community, EMAS is helping Haiti build, better than before, with assistance from Engineering Ministries International (eMi). In March 2011, construction began on the El?Shaddai Ministry Centre, in Bon Repos (Port-au-Prince), which is to include a church/hurricane shelter, primary school, feeding centre and healthcare clinic. EMAS supports the primary school and the feeding programme which provides a meal three times a week for the children. EMAS also sends a medical team annually which sees many patients and conducts training to empower local healthcare providers. They leave behind medical supplies and toys for the children. They also organised a sports programme for the young people of the El-Shaddai church.

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EMAS CANADA Aid to Haiti - Feeding the Hungry

19-06-2012 14:16 Video Narrative Recounting the Campaign for St. Bridget School, the 2009 Effort to Raise Funds Necessary for this Refurbishment and Enhancement Project.

The rest is here:
St. Bridget School (September 2009).mov - Video

18-06-2012 10:57 Church Construction progress as of June 2012

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PIHM Church Construction 2012 - Video

19-06-2012 07:48 This was one of the two churches we visited during our day of sightseeing in Arequipa. It is a very old church, originally constructed as a Jesuit church. Construction began in 1590 and was completed in 1698. It's not a very big church, but very beautifully decorated. It is constructed from sillar, the white volcanic rock quarried from the side of the volcanic mountain Misti. More information:

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Peru 2012: La Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus - Video

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG) announced today that the City of New York has renewed its lease covering 372,520 square feet for offices of the law division at 100 Church Street, the 21-story, 1.05 million square foot building located in downtown Manhattan. The 20-year lease renewal commences November, 2013 covering floors 2-6, 20 and a portion of the building's concourse level. The Citys lease at 100 Church Street was scheduled to expire in October, 2013.

The Company also announced that is has refinanced the property with a new $230 million, 10-year loan bearing interest at a rate of 4.675%. Proceeds from the financing, which was provided by Wells Fargo Bank, will be used for general corporate purposes.

We are delighted to have the City of New York as our anchor tenant. The Citys decision to extend its commitment is testament to the quality of our recently completed redevelopment of 100 Church Street, said Steven Durels, Executive Vice President and Director of Leasing and Real Property for SL Green. Mr. Durels continued, This early renewal is consistent with our firms proactive management of future lease expirations which has led to consistently high portfolio occupancy."

SL Green acquired the building in 2010 after it had been 56% vacant for over 5 years. A comprehensive redevelopment of the property, which was completed in 2011, included a new lobby, windows, infrastructure upgrades, new roofs and retail repositioning. Building occupancy is now 82% and major tenants, in addition to the City of New York, include HealthFirst, Niche Media, Interactive Data Corp, Centerline Capital Group and the State of New York.

CBREs Michael Geoghegan and John Morrill represented the City of New York in the transaction.

Caroline Silk, Esq. represented the City of New York in-house, while Peter Strauss, Esq. and Christopher Smith, Esq. of Shearman & Sterling acted on behalf of SL Green.

About SL Green:

SL Green Realty Corp., New York City's largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of March 31, 2012, SL Green owned interests in 70 Manhattan properties totaling more than 39.0 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.3 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 11.7 million square feet of properties. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests in 32 suburban assets totaling 6.9 million square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet.

Forward Looking Statements

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SL Green Renews 372,520-Sq-Ft Lease with the City of New York at 100 Church Street