Displaced by fire, church occupies new building
The Rev. Joseph Sredzinski smiled as he showed off the newly constructed St. Hubert Roman Catholic Church in Point Marion. “After 22 months, we feel at home,’ the pastor happily remarked, referring to the time the parishioners were displaced from their church because of fire.
Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of the Roman Catholic Diocese will help make it official this Saturday when he is chief celebrant at a 3:30 p.m. Mass that includes the dedication of the church and consecration of the altar of sacrifice.
Dignitaries will include the Knights of Columbus, national officers of the Polish Falcons of America, many former pastors and invited priests and 392 parishioners. Sredzinski will read the Gospel and welcome the bishop to the parish. Noelene Packrone, a direct descendant of the founders of the parish, will also participate in the Mass.
Two fires destroyed the former St. Hubert Church building, located at 9 Sadler St., on Nov. 25, 2003. The original church was established by Catholic immigrants from Belgium in 1909 who came to this area to work in the glass trade, Sredzinski said.
Since the fire, the church has held weekend Masses at the nearby Lions Skating Rink, located beside the St. Hubert property on Railroad Street. Weekday Masses were held in the parish’s CCD Center, which was untouched by the fire. The skating rink was also the site for funerals, but no parishioners planned weddings there.
Reconstruction of the new church began on the same site last November by Fairchance Construction. Desmond and Associates of Pittsburgh developed the architectural plans. Parish representatives for the building committee included Patricia Cavenas, Al DuBois and Thomas Shusko. Brandt also provided input for the project.
Recently completed, the new building is beautiful and elegant.
The new church is a one-story, air-conditioned, handicapped accessible, white siding building with a covered overhang at the front door to protect against the elements. The steeple holds the bell from the original church.
Parishioners and visitors entering the front entrance take in a beautiful stained-glass window above the door, created by glass designer Terry Bengal of Greensburg with suggestions by Sredzinski. The window includes two rivers coming together, which represent the Cheat and Monongahela rivers that converge in Point Marion; a chalice and host, which represents the Church; a stag and cross, representing St. Hubert, the patron of the church and a patron of hunters; a dove, which stands for the Holy Spirit; a mountain laurel and the hills of Pennsylvania. There are stars above the dove and Sredzinski noted stars are included in all windows, tying them together.
Bengal also created two new windows for the church: one features the Greensburg Diocesan official emblem or logo in the confessional and the Vatican emblem used since 1978 when Pope John Paul II took office is a window in the sacristy (the priest’s preparation room). St. Hubert was also able to salvage 10 stained glass windows from the former church and display them in the sanctuary.
“There’s a time of day when the lights go through the windows and there is a rainbow of colors,’ noted Sredzinski.
Once entering the new church, visitors walk into a vestibule that includes restrooms. They go through a set of double doors to enter the sanctuary, which measures 36 by 60 feet and was created in a gothic style.
“It has a larger seating capacity and will serve our needs for the 112 families or 392 registered parishioners,’ said Sredzinski. “It’s traditional but the bishop wanted to incorporate something special so we have gothic in here.’
The sanctuary includes a cathedral ceiling that Ed Balling of Fairchance Construction said is about 38 feet high. There are arches above the altar and windows, created by Dennis Cropp of Three Pines Wood Products of Uniontown, who did all the cabinetry, trim and mounted the Stations of the Cross, which were purchased from Atmerhaut in Pittsburgh.
The new sanctuary is painted with soft tones of white, beige, tan and gray. A baptismal font is in the back of the sanctuary as are alcoves that hold statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
There is also a small statue of St. Hubert, the parish’s patron saint, which was hand carved in Spain and is a gift to the church from the Holy Name Society. It is resting in an alcove until a statue of St. Faustina, who received the Divine Mercy devotion arrives. Then the statue of St. Hubert will be moved to the front of the church.
Unlike the old church, there is no choir loft here. Instead, the choir is positioned to the left of the altar next to an organ donated to St. Hubert by a Uniontown church.
The altar, crucifix and tabernacle were also saved from the old church.
The altar is raised with a ceramic tile floor, trimmed with oak. Ceramic tile is also placed in the main aisle of the church with carpeting in the remainder of the sanctuary. Twelve lanterns hang from the ceiling of the sanctuary.
The tabernacle is located in the back of the altar, flanked by small statues of angels. Sredzinski noted the Rosary-Altar Society/Christian Mothers purchased all new altar linens.
Behind the tabernacle is a series of black iron gates. The area behind the gates is being set up with kneelers as an altar of adoration, which will be open during the day. The area can be accessed by doors on either side of the back of the church. People can come in and pray before the tabernacle but will not be able to enter the sanctuary.
Miller’s Greenhouse of Smithfield is doing the landscaping around the church. There is no social hall at this time. Sredzinski said that will be phase two of the building project. A dinner planned for 200 people after the Dedication Mass will be held at the Lions Skating Rink.
“It’s a dream come true,’ said Sredzinski. “Of course, the thanks goes to Bishop Brandt. He saw the need.’
The pastor said the parishioners are excited about the new church: “I hear compliments like ‘It’s beautiful, awesome’ and ‘It’s so churchy, I could cry.”
Masses are celebrated at St. Hubert on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 8 and 11 a.m. and weekdays at 9 a.m.