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DECISION MADE: St. Joseph's in Sioux City to be restored

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
(Email Renee)

After more than five months of waiting to hear what would happen to their church that was damaged by fire last summer, parishioners of St. Joseph Parish in Sioux City got the news on Dec. 18.

“When we were sitting there, everyone was tense because we knew it could be a yes or could be a no,” said Mary Peirce, who attended the meeting held at St. Boniface Church with her husband, Don.

When the Pierces saw that their pastor, Father Michael Erpelding, had a straight face as he approached the 130 parishioners, they figured it was going to be bad news. They thought their beloved church, would close.

After praying an Our Father with the congregation, Bishop R. Walker Nickless allowed the pastor to announce the decision. When Father Erpelding told them St. Joseph Church would be restored, parishioners were overjoyed.

“It was an incredible experience, joyous. It looked like a tent revival when I made the announcement,” Father Erpelding described. “They stood up, and did a combination of cheer, yell and lots of applause that went on and on. I didn’t know those people could make so much noise. They were very happy and their pastor is very happy.”

Jerry Reinert, a longtime St. Joseph parishioner, said he went into the meeting with the gut feeling that the church would be restored. He attended the meeting with his wife and granddaughter.

When the announcement came, he said it was a great feeling.

“Everyone stood up and gave the bishop and Father Erpelding a standing ovation,” he said. “There were whoops and hollers and what-not. It was fabulous.”

Bishop Nickless then shared the good news with the local media at a 3 p.m. press conference.
He noted that there was a unanimous recommendation of the College of Consultors to restore the church and lay advisers concurred.

At the time of the fire, the diocese was in the midst of finalizing a five-year strategic long-range plan. For that reason, the bishop said it gave them all the more reason to reflect upon the viability of St. Joseph Parish.

“When we looked at St. Joseph Parish, we found that they were very viable,” Bishop Nickless said. “They are a good group of people who care deeply about their church.” That made the decision to restore the church easier.

Father Erpelding testified to the viability of the parishioners, stating that many of the city’s outreach programs to the poor, such as the Soup Kitchen, started at St. Joseph Parish.

The bishop noted that they have already spent over $1 million on the church since the fire and anticipate another $2 million to complete the restoration. Insurance is covering these expenses.

“We hope to start reconstruction and restoration of the sanctuary and church in January, weather permitting, and we hope to be finished by October of 2010,” the bishop said.

The bishop thanked the parishioners of St. Joseph for their patience, acknowledging that it had been a long and difficult time since they gathered outside of St. Joseph Church, watching as the roof went up in flames.

“Today we have an early Christmas present for all of the people at St. Joseph Parish,” he said.

Father Erpelding pointed out that the waiting was difficult for him personally and for the parishioners.

“It didn’t matter where I was, I have been asked every day since July 10 about what they were going to do with the church. I answered that question over and over,” he said. “I would tell them that we have to keep praying. We have to be positive and just wait for the bids to come in.”

And pray they did. Reinert and the Pierces were among the numerous parishioners who prayed daily for a positive outcome for their church.

Pierce noted that the longer the decision took, the more they began to wonder if it was “iffy” whether their church would re-open.

“We prayed and prayed that it would reopen,” she said. “Whenever anyone would hear that we were from St. Joseph’s, they would always say they were praying for us and they would say they hoped it would open again and now it’s going to.”

Father Erpelding said the parish will soon evaluate some updates that have been suggested to the building that are not fire or loss related such as new boiler, electrical panel and possibly installing a new elevator. Those potential added expenses will not be covered by insurance but some parishioners have already stepped forward with donations.

When it comes to the restoration, the priest said, “We have one great advantage in that the church was restored approximately 10 years ago and we still have all of the records, so we will match it up and do the same thing. They (the parishioners) loved it the way it was and they want it back the way it was.”