A Des Moines church revealed its newly remodeled kitchen and boiler room Sunday.

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The Trinity Methodist Church on Eighth Street has added all new infrastructures to the 103-year-old building.

Last year the church served more than 53,000 meals.

Pastor Barb Dinnen said the renovations were much needed in order to better serve the community.

It is outstanding. It is a dream come true, she said. Now we have this modern, commercial kitchen that can be used to serve all these meals.

Although construction is finished, the church is in need of a number of donated items to fill the kitchen including:

Slip-proof floor mats, $100 each Compartment trays, $5 each Five-ounce drinking glasses, $10/dozen Eight-ounce drinking glasses, $12/dozen Coffee mugs, $45 for three dozen Cereal bowls, $30/dozen Napkin dispensers, $25 each Cutlery dispenser, $65 Flatware including 240 spoons and forks, $100 Soup spoons, $6/dozen Steamer pans with lids, $50 each Tables, $180 each Folding chairs, $40 each

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Remodeled church a 'dream come true'

Christ Church Construction Oct. 30 2014
via YouTube Capture.

By: George Nuber

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Christ Church Construction Oct. 30 2014 - Video

At the groundbreaking Saturday of a community center expansion in Baltimore's Clifton Park neighborhood, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would advocate similar projects to retain longtime residents and attract new ones.

"When you're driving around other parts of the state and you see what Howard County and Baltimore County have in terms of recreation, and it always looks better than what we're able to provide, I don't blame people for thinking about moving someplace else," Rawlings-Blake said.

"We have to keep more people here and give them more reasons to stay," she added.

She and other city officials launched the second phase of construction for the Councilwoman Rita R. Church Community Center, named for the late city councilwoman. The center opened last year as the first of four state-of-the-art recreation centers the mayor plans to create out of aging recreation space.

Rawlings-Blake also pushed legislation she has proposed, calling for the sale of four city-owned parking garages to generate up to $60 million for the renovation and construction of additional community centers.

City officials said the $4.5 million Church Community Center expansion includes an additional 11,500-square-foot gymnasium and an outdoor terrace connecting to the Clifton Park Pool. This phase of the project is slated to be completed in early 2016.

The center already has a multi-purpose room, computer lab, fitness room and arts and crafts room.

"What we have to do in Baltimore is realize that we have a lot of myths about what our young people will and will not do," said Councilman Brandon Scott. "There are people who say, 'If you build a rec center in Clifton Park, they will only come there from Clifton Park.' But children will go wherever there is something that they want to do. We have to do a better job of providing opportunities for young people for what they want."

Among those who dug into the ceremonial patch of earth with gold-plated shovels were members of Church's family who grew up near the facility and recalled its former state.

"It was much, much smaller," said Cecilia Johnson, Church's daughter. "We used to walk over here from Harford Road. We used to have picnics here."

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City breaks ground on Clifton Park community center expansion

TAMPA For the first time since Cuba embraced Communism in 1959, a Catholic Church will be built on the island and a Tampa parish is responsible for the fundraising.

St. Lawrence Catholic Church of Tampa, through parishioner donations, has raised $45,000 half of the $90,000 needed to complete the church but enough for Cuba to approve the start of construction.

The church will be located in Sandino, a municipality in the Pinar del Ro province of Cuba that has never had a church. Catholics there have long been congregating in homes.

They already started holding Mass on the property, said Luisa Long, coordinator of Hispanic ministries for St. Lawrence church, 5225 N. Himes Ave. The first rock was put on the property location just this past September and blessed.

Fidel Castro's revolution brought an end to the open practice of religion as the government officially declared Cuba an atheist nation, in line with Marxist teachings. Church properties were nationalized, forcing Catholics to congregate in homes.

More than four decades later, relations between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church began to improve in advance of a 1998 visit by Pope John Paul II. Fidel Castro declared Christmas a national holiday for the first time since 1959.

In March 2012, Pope Benedict XVI took a three-day tour of the island, further thawing the divide.

The new church construction project is a major next step, said the Rev. Ramon Hernandez of St. Lawrence, who helped bring the partners together.

And Tampa is the right city for this work, Hernandez said. We have a deep history with Cuba.

Tampa's Ybor City was founded, in part, by immigrants from Cuba, and in the late 1800s emerging as the cigar capital of the world using tobacco from Cuba Tampa helped fund Cuba's War of Independence against Spain.

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New Catholic church in Cuba has roots in Tampa

TAMPA --

Cuba has allowed construction of the country's first new Catholic church in 55 years that's being funded by Tampa parishioners, the church said Monday.

Experts said it's a sign of improving relations between the Vatican and Cuba's communist government.

The church will be built in Sandino, a citrus and coffee-growing town in the far-western province of Pinar del Rio.

Father Ramon Hernandez at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa said they've been collecting donations from their parishioners for the past few years to fund the Cuban church.

So far, they've collected half the amount of the total cost of the church which is expected to be $90,000 and open in the next couple of years.

"In Cuba, time is different than here," Father Hernandez said. "I hope in one to two years well be finished.

The church publication "Christian Life" said it will have space for 200 people.

"The construction of a church is a clear demonstration of a new phase, of an improvement, in relations between the church and the state," said Enrique Lopez Oliva, a professor of the history of religions at the University of Havana.

Father Hernandez, 69, who was born in Cuba and left the country in 1980, said St. Lawrence Catholic Church was built by Cubans.

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Tampa parishioners fund first new Catholic church in Cuba in 55 years

Seven months of construction is now complete on the expanded Loft building at The Woodlands United Methodist Church.

The Loft worship community will held three identical dedication services to celebrate the building opening: Saturday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 26 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. These will also become the new worship times for the Loft community.

The church will open expanded nursery and childrens areas and a new hospitality area, as well as the renovated worship center, which now seats up to 850 people.

We never imagined Loft worship becoming so popular that we needed to expand, said Dr. Ed Robb, senior pastor.

That tells me were doing something right. The modern music and media-driven format resonates with an audience looking for something different in worship. Weve created a safe place for people to come ask questions and to seek connection with others and with God in new and meaningful ways.

The Loft worship community has been meeting in a gymnasium space on the church campus during construction. Attendance averages 1,400 for three Loft worship services each weekend, causing crowding in previous worship spaces.

The Loft expansion is the third of three building projects to expand the church and its ministries as part of the $20M Imagine capital campaign. The church is expanding to keep pace with new construction in Town Center and overall population growth in The Woodlands and South Montgomery County.

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Expanded Loft reopens at The Woodlands United Methodist Church

TAMPA (FOX 13) -

The first stone for a church is laid in Santino, Cuba.

A priest blesses a new building.

"(They say), Father, this is ours," said Father Ramon Hernandez. "(They say) this is what we want. That's important."

For decades, Father Hernandez has wished his native city of 40,000, could have a place to worship.

"I never broke my tie with my family, my friends and my church in Cuba," Hernandez said.

But Cuba's government blocked new churches, forcing believers to hold services in their own homes.

After visits from several Popes, the government relaxed its opposition.

This year, Father Hernandez, of Tampa's St. Lawrence Church, helped win approval for a new building.

"Some Cubans are looking for the past," said Hernandez. "I am looking for the future. In that future, the church has a special role in Cuban life."

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Tampa parish raises money for new Catholic Church in Cuba

For the first time in 55 years, a new Catholic Church will be erected in Cuba -- a sign that the countrys communist government is improving relations with the Vatican. The church which will be built in Santiago de Cuba, where many churches were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.

I think its not only about improving attitudes to the Catholic Church, but to churches in general, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dionisio Garca Ibez, told the BBC. I think theres a better understanding of religious affairs, so we hope it wont only be this church that we build. We hope therell be more.

Soon after Fidel Castro became president, many church properties were confiscated. The communist country was officially atheist between 1962 and 1992. Since then, a network of home churches was established. Tensions began to ease in 1998 after Pope John Paul II visited. The countrys permission for the new Catholic church may be a sign the tide is changing.

"The construction of a church is a clear demonstration of a new phase, of an improvement, in relations between the church and the state," Enrique Lopez Oliva, a professor of the history of religions at the University of Havana, told the Associated Press.

The church is funded in part by parishioners from Tampa, Florida, most of whose members are Cuban exiles or descendants of exiles. The church will be able to house 200 people. Part of it will be built from steel beams from the stage Pope Benedict XVI stood on when he performed Mass in Havana in 2012.

"Reusing the metal means keeping alive the memory of something good for us Catholics. It gives it new life, so it can serve future generations," Fausto Veloz, an engineer on the project, told the BBC. According to the Catholic Church around 60 percent of the Cuban population has been baptized. Only a small fraction are regular churchgoers.

Most religious groups have reported reduced government interference in religious organizations, which includes attracting new members, conducting services, importing religious materials and receiving foreign donations. Official observance of Christmas has been returned. Homilies and mass are allowed to be broadcast on official media. Still, a recent U.S. State Department report on religious freedom in Cuba shows theres more progress to be made.

The Cuban Communist Party, through its Office of Religious Affairs (ORA), has harassed outspoken religious leaders, prevented human rights activists from attending religious services, and in some cases employed violence to prevent activists from engaging in public political protests after services, the report said.

Indeed, thousands of dissidents have been arrested in Cuba over the past couple years -- mostly due to the rising number of citizens who are publicly opposing the government. According to the report, many were arrested during or after organizing meetings or public protests and on their way to or from church.

"There are more demonstrations of the people's discontent," Elizardo Sanchez, president of the The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, told Reuters.

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First Catholic Church To Be Built In Cuba In 55 Years

TAMPA For the first time since Cuba embraced Communism in 1959, a Catholic Church will be built on the island and a Tampa parish is responsible for the fundraising.

St. Lawrence Catholic Church of Tampa, through parishioner donations, has raised $45,000 half of the $90,000 needed to complete the church but enough for Cuba to approve the start of construction.

The church will be located in Sandino, a municipality in the Pinar del Ro province of Cuba that has never had a church. Catholics there have long been congregating in homes.

They already started holding Mass on the property, said Luisa Long, coordinator of Hispanic ministries for St. Lawrence church, 5225 N. Himes Ave. The first rock was put on the property location just this past September and blessed.

Fidel Castros revolution brought an end to the open practice of religion as the government officially declared Cuba an atheist nation, in line with Marxist teachings. Church properties were nationalized, forcing Catholics to congregate in homes.

More than four decades later, relations between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church began to improve in advance of a 1998 visit by Pope John Paul II. Fidel Castro declared Christmas a national holiday for the first time since 1959.

In March 2012, Pope Benedict XVI took a three-day tour of the island, further thawing the divide.

The new church construction project is a major next step, said the Rev. Ramon Hernandez of St. Lawrence, who helped bring the partners together.

And Tampa is the right city for this work, Hernandez said. We have a deep history with Cuba.

Tampas Ybor City was founded, in part, by immigrants from Cuba, and in the late 1800s emerging as the cigar capital of the world using tobacco from Cuba Tampa helped fund Cubas War of Independence against Spain.

Link:
St. Lawrence in Tampa helping found church in Cuba

Cuba has allowed construction of country's first Catholic church in 55 years Experts believe it is a sign of improving relations between church and state The new church will be funded by FloridaCatholicsand will fit 200 people

By Corey Charlton for MailOnline

Published: 12:29 EST, 28 October 2014 | Updated: 12:33 EST, 28 October 2014

Cuba has allowed construction of the country's first new Catholic church in 55 years, in a sign of improving relations between the Vatican and Cuba's communist government.

The new church, funded by donations from Catholics in Tampa, Florida, will be built in Sandino, a citrus and coffee-growing town in the far-western province of Pinar del Rio.

The Catholic Church publication 'Christian Life' said it will have space for 200 people.

'The construction of a church is a clear demonstration of a new phase, of an improvement, in relations between the church and the state,' said Enrique Lopez Oliva, a professor of the history of religions at the University of Havana.

The construction of a Catholic church in Cuba (pictured is the capital Havana) is a sign of improving relations between the Communist Government and the Vatican

The Catholic Church had tense relations with what was long an officially atheist government for many years after the 1959 revolution, but they began to improve ahead of Pope John Paul II's visit in 1998.

The government revived observance of a Christmas holiday and began allowing masses or homilies to be broadcast on official media.

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Cuba builds its first new Catholic church in 55 years in sign of thawing relations with Vatican