By Reagan Scott
for the Register
On Saturday, June 20, Bishop James Conley celebrated a Mass of Rededication at Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence. For parishioners, the event was a homecoming that was a long time coming.
In 2023, Sacred Heart Parish began renovations on the almost 100-year-old church in advance of its centennial anniversary in 2024. But on Oct. 12, 2023, just weeks before the renovations were complete, a fire broke out, causing extensive damage.
Parishioner Gary Lemke discovered smoke in the sanctuary when he came to open the church that morning. The Nebraska State Fire Marshal Agency concluded that the blaze was an accident, caused by stain rags that spontaneously combusted.
Pastor Father Denton Morris knew he had a big task ahead of him when he took on his role as pastor for Sacred Heart Church and its missions St. Stephen in Lawrence and Assumption in Deweese just a few months later, in January 2024.
The process of repairing the church began with cataloguing damages in order to see what could be restored and what couldn’t, finding ways to replace those things that couldn’t be salvaged, and ensuring that the floors were structurally sound after suffering heavy damage.
“We had to do every inch of the interior from top to bottom, sealing the floor, getting all new duct work and then upgrading our HVAC. It was just a very intensive process,” Father Morris said. “If something could be salvaged and it was a painted surface, it needed to then be sealed and painted over.”
Shipping times and tariffs also raised questions throughout the repair process as the parish worked to get new materials in and replace things that needed to be ordered custom.
Father Morris said it wasn’t flames and destruction that did the most damage, but smoke and heat, which compromised the integrity of the stained glass windows and warped all of the old wiring.
In order for the windows to be restored, they had to be removed and soaked in a solution to lift the soot that had been caked on before being taken apart and re-leaded.
While the 10 largest windows in the nave have been cleaned, re-leaded and reinstalled, the restoration of some of the smaller windows is still ongoing.
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SNR photos | Kimberly Beyke. Click for more.
During the course of the repairs, nearby St. Stephen Church became the go-to spot for the rotation of Masses for members of Sacred Heart, St. Stephen and Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Deweese, and the elementary school in Lawrence offered use of the school for CCD after operating hours.
Father Morris is looking forward to being able to resume operations at the church and have parishioners return home.
“It’s been kind of a delayed fulfillment,” he said. “It’s been one of those things that’s been a long time coming, and now people are just happy to have it available and have it complete after the original restoration and then the delay on top of that.”
The first Mass at Sacred Heart Parish was held in 1893. The existing church was built in 1923 at a cost of $105,000 and dedicated Dec. 18, 1924. Over the decades, the interior of the church was painted, and the floors carpeted.
The goal of the original renovation, kicked off by Father Jamie Hottovy, then pastor and member of the Diocesan Building Commission Adjunct Committee for Church Design and Renovation, was to bring out details in the church that had been covered over the years, and bring in new features as well.
“This whole tradition of beautiful art, altars and statues is meant to give you a glimpse of heaven,” he told the Hastings Tribune at the time. “Through this respect for restoration, we are respecting what our ancestors did in building churches that had sacred beauty in them.
Churches that have this rich imagery in art are most conducive to prayer, creating the best environment for the Mass and sacraments.”
As part of the original restoration, the church was to receive a new altar and pews. Fortunately, at the time of the fire, these had not yet been installed.
The church now has a new high altar, side altars and altar of sacrifice with a matching communion rail. The floors are acacia wood inlaid with fine stonework. The church also has a new organ, sound system and wireless microphones.
Father Morris said that for parishioners returning to the church, Sacred Heart will seem a lot more colorful.
“You have some of the more earthly tones there at the bottom of the church, the flooring and side walls, and then you have more celestial colors above, kind of that heaven-meets-earth sort of motif,” he said.
Gold paint details add to the ornamentation and temple feel of the church.
The nave of the church can comfortably seat 300, and at capacity, with use of the choir loft, can hold 500 people upstairs with room for 250 in the basement.
Barb Janda, the parish secretary for 30 years, said an estimated 250 people were in attendance at the rededication Mass June 20, which she described as a beautiful service. She also loved having the opportunity to worship during the church’s first Saturday vigil Mass in years later that day.
“We’re back together praying as a parish, and that just brought so much joy to my heart,” Janda said.
She added that the work could not have been completed without the project management support of Jean and Char Kriz and Dan Sharp of Lincoln, who were instrumental in the renovation and restoration process.
“I’m just very grateful to the good Lord in providing, and for all of the wonderful people who helped this come to fruition. We are very blessed,” she said.
Father Morris is grateful for the generosity of the parishioners who gave and still continue to give to the parish’s “Restore the Heart” fund. He said it’s been a humbling and eye-opening experience to see that generosity, and also the before and after photos of the renovation process from beginning to end.
“There is just a lot of history that’s not just worth preserving, but also continuing to be a part of the Catholic area, and the Catholic people here in Lawrence and Nuckolls County,” he said.
