Those wondering what the laity's response to the LCWR crisis might mean for the future of the church justice movement needed only look at the front steps of New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral on the very warm evening of May 29.

More than 150 people gathered to hold a vigil in honor of women religious. The vigil was part of a movement spearheaded by Nun Justice, which called for peaceful protests at cathedrals throughout the country on three consecutive Tuesdays in the month of May.

LCWR supporters protest outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in May. (NCR photo/Jamie L. Manson)Other vigils were equally successful, but the turnout at St. Patrick's was remarkable for a region that only successfully created a Call to Action chapter in 2011. Although New York is regarded as one of the most forward-looking cities in the United States, its brand of Catholicism has remained remarkably traditional.

Witness, for example, that in Manhattan, tens of thousands still stream through the cathedral on big feast days like Ash Wednesday, and the archbishop of New York is typically something of a local celebrity.

When Archbishop Timothy Dolan was elevated to cardinal in February, local new stations broadcasted the liturgy live from the Vatican. An even greater spectacle could be seen at the construction site of One World Trade Center, where for two weeks in February the tower's white lights were turned "cardinal red" to fete the church's newly anointed prince.

Hearing the crowd make impassioned demands of Dolan just outside the doors of his liturgical domain felt like a strong wind of change on that oppressively humid May evening.

Of course, it's not that the island of Manhattan is devoid of justice-oriented, Vatican II Catholics. For decades, most liberal Catholics could find several parishes where they could be spiritually fed, so there wasn't as strong a need for a formal church reform group.

But in the past few years, the culture of fear has reached even the most prophetic parishes, where allowing women to preach regularly or the public affirmation of LGBT rights was once the norm.

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"Progressive parishes were oases, but the oases are shrinking," said Jeff Stone, director of media relations for DignityUSA and a longtime activist and member of Dignity's New York chapter.

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Justice vigils for LCWR unite the church reform movement

Construction to replace the deteriorating Godfrey Brook culvert at Church Street is set to begin July 9.

The project, which will replace the existing culvert with a wider and deeper one, will cost approximately $211,000 but the town is only responsible for about a quarter of that, $52,000. Work is expected to last four to five weeks and will close the road to non-residents.

Town Engineer Michael Santora said Town Meeting last fall appropriated the towns share of the cost. The remaining cost will be covered by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Santora said the brooks stone culvert has collected too much dirt on the bottom and is in serious disrepair. He also said the banks of the brook are too small for the water flow.

The construction will cut down on flooding in the area and replace a culvert that cannot be there anymore, he said.

It gets overwhelmed quite easily.

Separate from the culvert project, the town is designing plans with an environmental firm for the rest of the deteriorating Godfrey Brook.

The brook runs through several Milford neighborhoods, including West Street and Water Street.

That project could cost $6 million. The town is hoping the state will provide construction money through its environmental bond bill. Construction for the project will not begin until the funding is provided.

On the work to begin next month, Highway Surveyor Scott Crisafulli said the new culvert will be 5-feet deep by 11-feet wide, more than double the size of the existing 4-foot by 4-foot structure.

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Work on Milford Brook to begin in July

CONWAY -- Betty Owen has the eye of a photographer and the soul of a poet.

Theres something special about capturing a moment in time, she wrote in an email because she wasnt sure she wanted to be interviewed over the phone. A great photo will transport you right back to that place and flood your mind with memories.

She said shes been taking pictures ever since she got a Kodak Instamatic camera with a flash cube on the top, and the walls of her home are alive with images shes taken over the years.

"Little Green Frog" by Conway photographer Betty Owen.

Now, for the first time, Owen is having a public exhibition of her work.

Through July 8, 12 of Owens photographs will be on display on easels in the new commons area between the Laurel Street entrance and the sanctuary of Conways First United Methodist Church, where Owen is a member.

Billy Fallaw, the churchs music director known for his organization and staging of organ and piano concerts, has arranged for exhibits by four or five artists/church members to run consecutively.

There may be more, he said.

The commons area is open every Sunday between 9 a.m. and noon for anyone to view the artwork. People also can arrange to see the exhibits at other times by calling the church office at 488-4251, Fallaw said.

All of the exhibits scheduled so far are either paintings or photographs. Fallaw said one exhibit will be the work of a teenager, another comes from a retiree.

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Downtown church to start exhibits of members’ artwork

AURORA -

Construction plans are underway to rebuild a church damaged during Hurricane Irene.

Dublin Grove in Aurora was the oldest Free Will Baptist Church in Eastern North Carolina, but the 133-year-old building had to be torn down after it suffered major damage during Hurricane Irene.

The church plans to start construction on a new sanctuary in the next few weeks.

"It's going to be nice, Reverend Earl Sadler said. It's going to be a blessing."

The new building will go in the current parking lot, which is next door. Sadler said donations will pay for most of the construction.

People would send us a check with a little note saying I went to church here when I was young,or someone I knew when to church here, Sadler said. So its been very interesting to see the impact this church has had throughout the state, really.

Construction is expected to start in the next few weeks. The church hopes to rebuild by August 25 -- exactly one year after Irene hit.

Copyright 2012 by WCTI12. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Construction Nearing For Irene-Ravaged Church

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The new Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church has four walls and roof, but nothing more.

"We got plumbing that we must finish and basically the entire inside that needs to be completed," said Pastor James Hayes.

But the church needs $12,000 to finish construction. Therefore Saturday, members held a barbecue fundraiser.

"So we can move back home and we can start worshipping back in that building," said Hayes.

Since a storm destroyed the old church in April 2011, members have been worshipping at another location.

"But we all are ready to go back home. So we need the support to get that done," said Hayes.

Even though members volunteered time Saturday, the fundraiser was actually planned by a non-member. Pat credit says a personal conviction is the reason why she gives her time.

"I called everyone I knew to give us a donation and I got this training for my momma," said Credit.

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Church holds fundraiser to rebuild storm-damaged building

A dispute over the set of 15 plastic spindles removed last year from the facade of the Lancaster Presbyterian Church is moving to the Village Board.

Preservationists say the church must replace the 1-foot-tall spindles because they are part of the buildings historic character.

Church officials say the spindles arent original to the building, and they would rather spend the replacement costan estimated $4,000 or moreon something more directly related to the churchs mission.

The Village Board on Monday will decide this test of Lancasters historic preservation laws.

We want to make every effort to strike a balance between good relations with our neighbors and prudent stewardship of Kingdom resources, said the Rev. Kelly Negus, the church pastor.

A contractor removed the spindles from the church after the 40-year-old decorative objects broke during a repainting project.

The church opted not to replace the cylindrical spindles, but the villages Historic Preservation Commission ruled that they are required to do so under the code that governs Lancasters historic preservation district.

We based it on the standards, which were obligated to uphold, said Michael Meyer, the commissions chairman.

Lancaster Presbyterian Church, at 5461 Broadway, was formed in 1818, and the church sanctuary was built in 1831 after members took a trip through New England to get design ideas, according to a church history. It is the oldest church in Lancaster.

Church leaders last summer hired a contractor to repaint three sides of the sanctuary, caulk holes to make the structure weatherproof and replace two of the steeples roofs.

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Lancaster Church’s Plastic Spindles At Heart Of Preservation Debate

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ADA A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Life Community Church and Memorial Chapel was held Monday in Ada.

The new Life Community Church, replacing the existing facility at 330 E 14, will be a modern 24,000-square-foot church and 1,400-square-foot memorial chapel that occupies a 10-acre site formerly owned in three parcels by the Pre-Paid Legal Services, the Kerr Foundation and the Chickasaw Nation.

Construction on the church and chapel is expected to begin during the summer and be completed by November 2014.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured presentations by the Rev. Mickey Keith, pastor of Life Community Church; Harland Stonecipher, founder and former CEO of Pre-Paid Legal Services; and other dignitaries, as well as recognition of attending state and local elected officials.

Keith said Harland and Shirley Stonecipher, who attend his church, contributed an estimated $3.5 million for the construction of the new church and a memorial chapel, which is specifically designed to aid bereaved parents who have lost children.

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Reazo Redinger called it a labor of love and faith.

Redinger led 1,000 volunteers who built the new 40,000 square-foot Old Apostolic Lutheran Church off Dike Access Road in Woodland over the last year.

"It's amazing how well the volunteers worked together," said Redinger, the building project manager.

The need for a new location arose because the congregation, launched a century ago and now numbering 5,000 members, has grown too big for its two other locations, one each in Battle Ground and Brush Prairie. Both of those were built with volunteer labor in 1967 and 1995 and will continue to be used.

"Many churches are struggling to attract the youth. We don't have that," said Dave Halme, chairman of the church's board of trustees during construction. "I look out there (at the members) sometimes, and I'm like 'whoa.' I'm 61 years old, but the average age of the congregation is probably in the 20s."

Halme said planning for the new church started in 2000, but the site wasn't rezoned or supplied with utilities until last year. When work began, volunteers were divided into teams based on their trade. Teams worked in shifts to build the $4.5 million church, which leaders say is probably worth three times that. Donations financed the entire project.

"We were fortunate enough to have contractors in the congregation" in addition to architects, engineers and a wide range of trades workers, Halme said. The only work contracted out was for acoustic engineering of the slanted ceiling. The new church features two lobbies, a sanctuary that seats 1,400 people, a dining room, a large nursery and Sunday school classrooms.

All of the work was done on Saturdays and evenings on weekdays after many of the volunteers finished day jobs.

"There was a camaraderie between volunteers, and everybody was working together and enjoying themselves," Redinger said. "People with white-collar jobs came out to do Sheet Rock or something with their hands you could hardly get them to do at home."

Volunteers put in about 55,000 hours.

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Congregation completes work on new Woodland church

The former sanctuary of Sharon Baptist Church located at the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 211 and Ga. Hwy. 124 in Braselton will be demolished to make way for a shopping center, according to plans submitted to the town.

But a cemetery located behind the sanctuary and still owned by the church will remain untouched.

Braselton Acquisitions and Development, LLC, is asking the town to annex approximately 3.39 acres that was once part of the church land.

Only tracts A and C are listed for sale and would be zoned general commercial if annexed into Braselton, according to plans. The cemetery (tract B) will not be developed or disturbed.

Braselton Acquisitions and Development plans to build a 6,733-square-foot retail building where the churchs former sanctuary is now located, according to the companys application. Its request includes few other details about potential development, other than construction will finish in spring 2013.

Sharon Baptist Church moved from the site in June 2011 in the wake of the widening and realignment of Ga. Hwy. 124 and Ga. Hwy. 211, not far from the doors of its sanctuary.

In recent months, the Georgia Department of Transportation has been clearing land and moving utilities in preparation for the $5.2 million project at the busy intersection in Barrow County. The crossing also includes a Shell gas station and RaceTrac plans to open a store and gas station in the area.

The DOT estimates that the major overhaul of the intersection will be completed in April 2013.

Sharon Baptist Church is now located on Dee Kennedy Road, Auburn.

The Braselton Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the annexation and rezoning request on Monday, June 25, at 7 p.m. The Braselton Town Council will also hold a public hearing on the planning commissions recommendation commissions recommendation on Thursday, July 5, at 4 p.m. A council vote is expected on Monday, July 9, at 7 p.m.

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Church slated for demolition for retail building

06-06-2012 16:10 Interior of construction on the temporary worship center for the new Norte Church. The 320 seat temporary facility is situated beside a local home currently being rented for classroom and office space.

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Norte Church Construction - Video