Sacred Heart Church officially breaks ground

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Though construction had already begun, Tuesday, Aug. 1 marked the official groundbreaking for the new Sacred Heart Church which is being established in Strathmore.

The new place of worship is being constructed from the bones of the old IGA building, which previously served as a grocery store before closing down. 

Nettie Hendricks, fundraising chair for the Sacred Heart Church, said the process has been a rollercoaster of emotions attempting to raise $10 million for the project, and now to see it finally beginning to take shape. 

“We fundraise, we know it is not enough, prices go up, the new hit of COVID-19, fundraising stopped, and so with all those cycles, all the progress stops, starts, and then you lose some of the enthusiasm,” she said. “Then, something good happens and all of a sudden you are just going again. So, getting the green light two weeks ago from the Diocese that we were a go to start with construction has been awesome.”

Thus far, approximately $6 million has been raised for the establishment of the church out of the project’s $10 million total estimated budget. 

The church is anticipating to stomach a $1.5 million mortgage on the building, though is hoping through continued donations to the project, that number will come down. 

“That is still a heavy load for a small community like Strathmore to carry, so all the fundraising will continue as we go through construction,” said Hendricks. 

The previous church at which members of Sacred Heart would gather was shut down nearly two decades ago due to health concerns regarding the building. 

Since then, members have been gathering to worship in gymnasiums of Catholic schools in order to host services. 

“The good thing is that in this journey of moving ahead, people have realized that we should not be attached to bricks and mortar, we should be attached to each other,” said Hendricks. “Everybody was all gung-ho, we were all moving forward, and then when COVID-19 came, we were not allowed to do fundraising, we were not allowed to have groups, so everything became quiet. It was like the fire was almost out.”

The overall build project is expected to take 10 months, breaching the goal stated in March 2022 of having an operational church by the end of 2023. 

Come project completion in 2024, the church could also serve as a commercial kitchen for Strathmore’s low-income and homeless community who are not able to make ends meet, and who need a little extra help.