Newark's St. Francis de Sales announces $3 million expansion

NEWARK - St. Francis de Sales, both the Catholic church and school located on Granville Street in Newark, is a growing parish.

Not only do the numbers bear this out. But both parishioners and the community will soon see the results of a $3 million expansion project, both inside and out, for a campus that began nearly 178 years ago but looks to thrive moving forward.

In the past 18 months, the church has seen 300 more people attending Mass each weekend. There have been 132 new families who have joined the parish, plus 59 new enrollments in the 2018-19 school year. Parish staff has increased from nine to 24.

Much of that has to do with the arrival of Father David Sizemore as new pastor in July of 2017. Not only was an audit done by the Diocese of Columbus, and some necessary renovations made on the campus. But Father Sizemore met with parishioners in their homes to see what needed to be done now, and in the future.

"The number of parishioners has grown, and their relationship with Christ has helped the community grow in faith," Father Sizemore said. "We've returned to the fundamentals of what it means to be a Christian, and to have a relationship with Christ."

"We were in a bad place at one time," said Margaret Wright, St. Francis Director of Development and Accounting. "We've changed our mission statement, and the total focus has changed. I've been here 15 years, and it feels totally different. The majority of people coming into our school are attracted by their faith, including non-Catholic families."

Of the $3 million for the expansion, $2 million was given by a donor who does not wish to be named. The remaining $1 million will be raised by the parish to alleviate the maintenance issues that have mounted over the years. "We will set aside $300,000 in a reserve maintenance fund," said State Farm Insurance agent Tony Adams, fundraising co-chairman.

That will be Phase 3 of the project. The first two phases will be paid for by the $2 million donation.

In Phase 1, the Swank building which sits across Granville Street, near Sixth Street, will be torn down and a 6,503-square foot Faith and Family Center will be built. It will house additional meeting rooms, offices and an auxiliary worship and conference room, with a warming kitchen.

"It will be a good street presence," said Shannon Karrenbauer, St. Francis Business Manager.

Phase 2 will be the renovation of the Parish Lamy Center and School. It will include a 250-person hall with a commecial kitchen to serve as a school cafeteria during the day. During the evenings and weekends, it can be used by the parish for its faith formation and community activities, as well as additional storage space.

"We had four town hall meetings (about the expansion), and made some adjustments based on the insights of the parishioners," Father Sizemore said. "I also met with about 80 parishioners for a couple of months. We should be able to begin building in the spring, and begin renovations in the summer when school is closed."

St. Francis School continues to progress in many ways. Principal Sally Mummey was named top principal out of 53 schools in the Columbus Diocese.

"They're two classes deep now for kindergarten and the first grade," Adams said. "That means they will be able to provide two classrooms moving forward for the second, third and fourth grades."

The pre-school continues to grow as it uses the Montessori Method of Education, Father Sizemore said. "It makes them so well-prepared for primary school," he said. "Getting ready for more growth will also affect Newark Catholic (High School) down the road."

St. Francis is multi-generational, dating back to its start in 1842. "The Keck and Gorius families have been here since the 1840's," Father Sizemore said. "St. Francis has a huge history," Wright said. "We have eight volumes of Baptismal Books, the largest in the Columbus Diocese."

The parish raises over $6,000 monthly for outreach to the poor in the Newark area. More families joining St. Francis and becoming involved will enable that to expand.

"Sons and daughters, from the 90's and early 2000's, are coming back to the community and raising their families here," Adams said.

"This is our fifth year in the parish," Karrenbauer said. "I'm from New Philadelphia and my husband is from the Columbus area, and we thought we should move here. It's always had a presence, and it drew us in."

dweidig@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @noz75