Painting project follows tuck pointing and plastering maintenance at St. Mary of the Seven Dolors Church
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
STOCKBRIDGE — Fr. Mike Betley uses one word to describe St. Mary of the Seven Dolors Church in Stockbridge — “spectacular.”
“It is a spectacular building,” he emphasized. “The windows are from Austria. They are priceless. The pastor (who led the building of the church) obviously had some grandiose ideas.”
The Stockbridge church, built in 1922 and 1923, is currently being refreshed through an interior painting project.
The work follows a series of previous repairs, most required due to water damage from leaks.
St. Mary of the Seven Dolors is part of the Tri-Parish Faith Community with St. John-Sacred Heart Parish, Sherwood, and St. Mary Parish, Hilbert, served by Fr. Betley, pastor.
St. Mary of the Seven Dolors Church is the second largest historical church in Calumet County. Among its features are the stained glass windows made by Tyrolese Art Glass and Mosaic Company of Innsbruck, Austria. The windows depict the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady as well as her Assumption and the Annunciation.
The Stations of the Cross were made by the Deprato-Regali Statuary Company of Chicago. A Wangerin Pipe Organ was installed in 1948.
“Our ancestors built a church of this scale to give to our generation and for us to take care of that gift and give it to the next generation,” said Jennifer Funk, office manager. ‘It’s really an emotional thing. You realize how blessed you are to have what we have in this church in the little town of Stockbridge.”
“Ten years ago, we replaced the roof. That’s a tile roof, so we had to replace the underlayment,” said Funk. “The clay tiles were placed back on the roof with new copper nails and copper flashing.”
A large tuck pointing project (removing and replacing old mortar) was also necessary and long overdue, continued Funk.
“Some areas that we tuck pointed were trowels deep,” she said. “Thankfully, with the one by One campaign, we were able to raise (funds) beyond our goal. There was enough money to do the tuck pointing. Once the moisture was no longer coming through, we could do the secondary project.”
The one by One campaign was established by the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay, in part, to strengthen parishes.
The parish utilized its Giving Fund, designed for maintenance, to support the painting project.
Some plastering work was required before painting could begin. Unfortunately, contractors who had done previous plaster work at the church were no longer in business. The search to find a new plasterer was difficult, said Funk.
So she turned to David Preissner of Callmark Painting of Appleton.
“He ended up taking on the plastering and the painting,” said Funk. “He said, ‘I’m not a plasterer.’ I told him, ‘You’re the master plasterer.’ The work that he did is phenomenal. He’s also a Tri-Parish member, which is neat.”
“I’ve done plastering. I just don’t do it professionally,” said Preissner. “Basically, it was going up there (on a ladder), accessing it, ripping it all out, oil priming it, plastering it, sanding it, replastering, sanding, replastering, priming and then painting it. I had to fill all the cracks and match the colors, making it look like nothing ever happened.”
Preissner took over Callmark Painting from his father, Mark. Both have long histories of working on the Tri-Parish churches.
“I asked my dad how long he’s been working (on the churches),” said Preissner. “I’ve been painting 27 years, so he was well over 30 years. I started working on the rectory at age 15 when (the late) Fr. Ken (Frozena) was here.”
“David and his family and his extended family have been a part of our parishes for a long time. He’s a wonderful, talented man and one of deep faith, too,” said Fr. Betley.
Instead of bringing in scaffolding for the work, which would increase both the cost and time of the project, Preissner is using ladders, including a 40-foot one for work by the altar.
Masses at St. Mary of the Seven Dolors — 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and 4 p.m. on Saturdays — have continued throughout the work. Preissner stores the ladders under the side pews, which are covered, while the two center pew areas serve the congregation.
“When I would come into the church and see the ladder, I was more daunted than when I was actually going up and down,” said Preissner about the heights required for the job..
“It’s been a blessing in many ways. It’s so peaceful in the church, working in it,” he added. “It’s very quiet. I use earbuds and listen to some music.”
Painting has now moved to the choir loft, with the sanctuary to follow. A parish celebration will be held when the project is complete, said Funk.
Support for the project stands out, she added.
“I’ve had community people say, ‘We don’t worship here, but we want this church to be able to stay vibrant. We want it to stay open.’ It’s something they value,” she said. “We’ve had people who go to Good Shepherd (Catholic Church) in Chilton who’ve made donations in addition to a lot of Tri-Parish and community people.”
Funk said that approximately $23,000 in funds have been raised toward the $40,000 target mark for the project
“We don’t really have one big benefactor, so everyone contributes what they can to make things happen,” she said. “It creates community. I feel like everyone feels like they had a part in the project. It’s a lot of donations from many families. That’s how Stockbridge is. Everyone helps to get projects done. Let them know what we are doing and things get done.”
“I have four (worship) sites, three parishes. The aspect of a tri-parish really works,” said Fr. Betley. “People go to the Mass time that works for them. It doesn’t really matter that it’s Stockbridge. It’s me (as pastor) everywhere. We have really nurtured that so it’s a much more communal feeling.”