BLUFFTON—Members of Bluffton St. Mary Parish have always taken an active role in caring for their church, and the major remodeling project they finished recently was no exception.

An L-shaped addition wrapping around the combined church and parish complex was completed and blessed March 25, 2007, and Bishop Leonard P. Blair blessed the church Aug. 18, 2007, after its renovation.

Aside from hiring a few professionals such as the architect and general contractors who oversaw the work, the parish largely relied on a legion of skilled volunteers to facilitate the improvements.

Bluffton St. Mary volunteers helped create a peaceful Blessed Sacrament chapel separated from the main sanctuary by a glass wall during a recent renovation.(Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens)

“Just about everything here has been built by the people or donated by the people,” says parishioner Dick Ziessler as he looks around the church. Mr. Ziessler, a retired construction professional, built cabinetry and volunteered regularly throughout the project.

St. Mary has always had people willing to do what needs to be done, adds Larry Kinn, a parishioner who built new offertory and credence tables and helped with other aspects of the renovation.

The parish is blessed to have an abundance of members skilled in carpentry, painting and other trades. “We have a lot of professional people who are very familiar with the areas that they help out in,” says Mr. Ziessler.

During the renovation, workers created a spacious new reconciliation room from the old parish office, remodeled the sacristy and designed an area for the choir and musicians off to one side at the front of the sanctuary.

On the other side at the front of church, they created a peaceful Blessed Sacrament chapel separated from the main sanctuary by a glass wall. Inside, the tabernacle rests on a stand parishioner Dave Schmenk says he “recycled” by making a new top for the base.

One of the most significant improvements to the church is a boost in permanent seating, which now accommodates at least 420 people.

The extra space comes from the annexation of a social hall at the back of church into the sanctuary, and it means the parish no longer has to set up extra folding chairs for Masses every weekend, according to Tiffin Franciscan Sister Carol Inkrott, pastoral leader.

She estimates between 40 and 50 parishioners helped with the monumental task of removing the old pews from the church and installing pews donated by Glandorf St. John the Baptist after that church completed its own renovation.

In one day, volunteers transported the old pews to the diocesan warehouse in Toledo, picked up the new pews in Glandorf and moved them into St. Mary.

“That day was amazing to me,” says Sr. Inkrott.

“The guys in Glandorf said they couldn’t believe the amount of people we had here to help unload the stuff,” adds Dave Hoffer, a parishioner and the owner of Quality Construction who served as general contractor for the renovation.

Elsewhere in the complex, a parish library has replaced the old restrooms. Handicapped-accessible restrooms were built into the new addition, along with parish offices, classroom space and a kitchen twice the size of the old one.

Volunteers moved the appliances and cabinetry from the old kitchen to the new, and laid floor tiles and helped with the interior design and painting in the addition.

From left, Dave Schmenk, Larry Kinn, Mel Heitmeyer and Dick Ziessler are some of the parishioners who lent their skills to the renovation of Bluffton St. Mary Church. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens)

Parishioner Mel Heitmeyer believes the heavy involvement of the community in such work helps develop a feeling of ownership toward the church.

Mr. Heitmeyer, who built the presider’s chair and ambry for the renovation, says he learned his carpentry skills as a shop teacher before he became principal of Pandora-Gilboa High School.

With so many parishioners giving their time, Sr. Inkrott says the parish only had to borrow half the amount of money it had expected to spend on the project.

After nearly six years at St. Mary, the pastoral leader says she is not surprised at the outpouring of help, but she expresses amazement at the amount of talent in the community.

Several members observe their pastoral leader also has a knack for knowing the talents of her parishioners, and is not afraid to ask for help.

“You can’t say no to Sister,” chuckles Mr. Kinn, who draws his skills from 20 years of experience as a cabinetmaker for Bluffton University.

The expanded St. Mary Church accommodates a growing parish of 300 families from Bluffton and surrounding communities like Ada and Pandora. Sr. Inkrott adds it is also a young parish, having had 20 baptisms since last July.

She says the parish was growing before she came, and attributes the growth in part to the accessibility of the church, which is located near Interstate 75 and situated between Findlay, Lima and Ottawa.

“People also say they feel welcome here,” adds Sr. Inkrott.