Father took some videos of the scaffolding and building framing going up.  

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bkpuki4T7/

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HLLnMdT22/

The construction crew poured the final part of the foundation pad.  Things are taking shape!!!!

Our total pledges to date are $1.8 million dollars. 

Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future…Capital Campaign

     2025 is off and running! So much happened in the parish during 2024 - especially on the renovation and building project. This project is thanks to the generosity and giving nature of our fellow parishioners. 

     Although the cold weather has slowed the progress you may see on the site, now it will be going full steam ahead as weather allows and temperatures warm up. Your support and enthusiasm should not slow though as before long we will be enjoying the new facilities and celebrating our faith together. 

If you have not made a gift to the campaign, it is not too late! Gifts of all sizes and most types are still welcomed and greatly appreciated! Please reach out to the parish office with any questions on how to make a gift or pledge to support Sacred Heart’s capital campaign. 

Together, as a parish community, we are making this much needed project happen. Together, as a parish community, we will see it and benefit from it as we grow and expand our catholic faith within ourselves and in our parish family. 

We are blessed and so appreciative of our Sacred Heart parish. It is each member that makes Sacred Heart what it is and what is becoming. Your continued prayers for the project are welcomed. Together we are making it happen!

February Newsletter Construction Update: I wish I had a more favorable newsletter to write this month, but unfortunately the freezing temperatures and snow that doesn’t seem to want to go away, has brought progress to a screeching halt.  Good news is that after waiting for over four weeks, there appears to be a little break in the weather coming up!

We are going to attempt to get two slab pours done before the next round of cold weather hits the first part of February.  Fingers crossed. 

I don’t want to make any more projections at this point for fear that I may jynx us, but for now, we need to pray for some warmer weather!  I will remain optimistic that my March newsletter will be able to update everyone on some major progress in February!

Thanks,  Chase & The Construction Team

November Newsletter Update:
Finally, some visible progress again! I know you were starting to wonder if anything more was
going to happen and now, we finally have our stem walls poured!
Now you can finally see overall size of the new building and how it will tie into the existing
Church. The floor of the new building will match the floor height of the existing church so no
steps inside!
Now that the walls are poured, we need to let it cure for about 7-10 days. We will then start
hauling in more dirt to fill in on the backside/inside of the stem walls. This compaction must be
done in 12” lifts again and tested by a 3rd Party testing company, just like before.
Weather depending, that work should happen the week of November 4th .
Once the subgrade is brought up to about 8” below the finish floor, then we can proceed with the
plumbing and electrical underslab rough-in. So all the waste lines and conduit that need to be
The building will then be regraded and smoothed back out, rebar and wire mesh installed and
then ready to place and finish the slab!
As of now, we are still hoping to have the slab poured by Thanksgiving, or at least started on it
(it will not happen in one big pour). The erectors for the metal building are tentatively scheduled
for the middle of December to begin putting the building up!
While we have not had any issues since our last newsletter, I did want to remind everyone that
no one outside of the construction team is allowed inside the fencing. This is for safety reasons
as there are still many hazards on the jobsite. Even though you may want to sneak in and look
around, I strongly ask that you do not everyone’s safety.
Please, if you see anyone after hours that looks suspicious, call Erin at the office and she can
get a hold of myself, or the police if need be. I do have cameras in place that catch about 80%
of the site, so any additional eyes would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Chase & The Construction Team

Construction Update from Chase!!!

Hi everyone! I wanted to take some time to give everyone an update on where we are at with construction currently, and what the upcoming activities are for our wonderful new Parish Hall and Church Remodel!

First off, things have not come to a halt by any stretch of the imagination. While the visible, on-site progress might be minimal, behind the scenes we have been hard at work finalizing details on the building, bidding out the final scopes of work, working on contracts and coordinating upcoming work to kick things off. A project of this size requires a lot of preconstruction work.

While we are very fortunate for the recent rains we’ve had, it has slowed things down on the construction side. Our dirt contractor and concrete contractor have both incurred delays on other projects, so it has pushed us further back. Not a big deal at this point, but everyone is still working very hard to get going on our project.

As of now, the dirt contractor should mobilize the week of July 15th. Since we have the basement of the rectory and part of the basement of the church to fill back up to our new building elevation, there is a detailed process to do that appropriately.

Specific dirt is hauled in, spread out, packed in and watered to meet engineering requirements. This is done in no more than 12” lifts at a time, and every lift is then tested by a soil technician measuring the density and moisture content. Once it passes the tests, another lift is brought in and the cycle is repeated again and again until the desired elevation is achieved. This is a lengthy process, but necessary to help reduce future settling and ensure the new building is built on a solid foundation.

Once the above-mentioned dirt work is complete, the concrete footings and stem walls will commence. They will start at the lowest elevation on the South end and work their way North to tie into the existing Church.

Once the foundation is complete, all of the under slab plumbing and electrical will be dug out and installed. The finished concrete slab will then be poured, and then the building can start coming out of the ground! Speaking of the building, the steel structure will be delivered at the end of August so we will have no delays there waiting on the material.

While the concrete work is going on, we will also be busy bring new water and fire service piping to the building off of Pine St. The City does not have a large enough water line on Oak St for us to connect to, so we will be connecting to their 8” water main on Pine St. In order to do that, we will have to remove the two metal swing sets on the South end of the property.

I hope this provides some insight into what has been, and what is about to occur on the project. I intend to do bi-weekly updates as we progress on the project, and they will be posted to both Facebook and the weekly bulletin.

Thanks,Chase and the Construction Team

Our project is started.  Praise be to God.  May 13, 2024 Simpson started working on demolition of the landscaping and moved on to the old rectory/office building.  By the end of week 1, the school upstairs was being knocked down.  We have some great videos on our Facebook page, please go check them out. By the end of May, all of the rectory/office building is gone and they are working on removing the school basement/foundation.  Come join us for our Ground breaking on June 7th at 3pm on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We are building for the future of our parish and God's people.  All of your support is appreciated.  If you would like to donate, you can do so via our online giving on the main webpage.  We can do this together. 

Building our Faith, Our Family, Our Future.....  We Begin 

Please join us at 6pm on May 5th to say a Rosary of Farewell and Welcome, to say good bye to our faithful buildings and to welcome the beginning of a new building. 

The week of May 6th is a milestone for our parish – the demolition begins! This is the beginning of the actual construction for the project, although much behind the scenes work has been going with the building committee and the contractors to get our parish to this point.

Finances continue to be key to the project as the committee works with the contractors to get the best prices for the high quality of work to make this construction project all that it can be when it is finished. 

We are just under $1.7 million dollars raised for this project, which is exciting and a major accomplishment. But with all projects of this nature, more dollars are needed. We encourage you to consider a pledge or a gift if you have not already made one, and be a part of this exciting chapter in our Sacred Heart parish. Together we can make it happen for today and for the future generations to come. Our ancestors did it for us, it is our time and our opportunity to pay it back for the future of our parish, our faith, and our family members and friends who will follow us. 

Building our Faith, Our Family, Our Future… Capital Campaign 

Great news!  We have the blessing and the approval from Bishop Brungardt to move forward on our parish project! This will allow for bids to be let, contract details to be finalized, and work to begin. The building committee will be providing more specifics, construction phases, timelines, and details to the parish as they are finalized.

Our parish has made so much progress on this important project, and although there is still work to be done (and of course, the construction and renovation work), we are excited to see it becoming a reality after all these years. It is happening because our parishioners want it to. Thank you to all who have had a role in this historical parish project – no matter what role you had, and many have had several, your commitment to Sacred Heart is greatly appreciated! 

Pledges and one-time gifts are still most welcome and if you have not made an investment in your parish through a gift, we encourage you to do so. Talk about it with your family, pray about it, and make your decision on your gift. All size gifts are welcome and important, keeping in mind your gift may not be cash, but other appreciated or investment assets you have. Contact the parish office with questions and information on making a gift to fit your family’s situation. 

Together we are making it happen! Please continue to pray for our parish, our project committees, and our Catholic faith as we continue our faith journey and build and renovate space for rituals today and for generations to come. 

Our capital campaign has reached 1.66 million dollars towards our goal of 1.75 million.  We are at nearly 95% of our goal.  Thank you to all who have pledged and given thus far.  Your generosity is overwhelming.  If you have not pledged or wish to just give one time, please find a blank pledge card at this link .  Or you can give online  at this Online Giving site, just indicate the Building fund when you donate. We appreciate all gifts and prayers as we endeavor to build up God's church.

Stephen Sullentrop, President and CEO of Legacy Bank, presented Fr. Charles and the parish with a check towards our parish Capital Campaign.  We are very grateful and blessed to have the support of Legacy Bank.

Our brochure was mailed out to all parish members in late October, giving you an explanation of our building project.  We have included an updated brochure below.  Please note that all pictures of the new building are artistic renditions and not the final color plan.  You should be receiving a phone call and a visit from a Home Visitor with your pledge packet.  Please pray and consider how best to support our efforts for a new building and church renovation.  Thank you for all of your prayers.

Capitol Campaign Brochure_Updated.pdf

October 15 2023 Update for Capital Campaign

For those who have so generously agreed to be home visitors for our capital campaign, a training will be held on Monday, Oct 30 at 6:00pm and 7:00pm in the church– you only need to attend one, which will last 30 minutes. Materials will be distributed and a short training will be provided.

Campaign Sunday, November 5, is just a few weeks away. During that time, you will receive a brochure explaining the renovation project, why we are doing it for our parish and our future, and why your financial support is important to make it happen. It will also provide you and your family ideas on how to give and different assets that can be considered as you make your 3-year pledge commitment.

We appreciate all your support and prayers as we all work together to build for our future by Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future… through our parish renovation project. Please pray for God’s guidance throughout this process as well as the campaign volunteers and our entire parish community.

Parish Renovation Project/Capital Campaign Update 9/26/2023

Parish leadership continues to work on the church renovation and new parish hall/ project. The various committees and councils are keeping the project moving forward and are excited as the project gets closer to reality. 

Recent meetings with the Diocesan staff have clarified the process and requirements necessary to begin construction. The parish must have roughly 1/3 of the total project with cash in the bank, another 1/3 may be in pledges and or cash, and the final 1/3 can be borrowed with local financing. The more the parish has in cash and pledges, the better, with the least amount being borrowed. 

A local bank has been contacted and is interested in financing the project if necessary. The goal of the leadership is to borrow as little as possible, praying for the generosity of the parish families to financially support the project when asked during the Capital Campaign. This project will become reality because parish families invest in Sacred Heart and its future with their generous financial gift of support. 

The building committee has continued to work with the architects and builders. The construction plans have been completed and are ready for the builder once the funds are secured, per the diocesan breakdown. A target date to start the project is this spring.  This is contingent on two key parts:  1.  The dollars are secured to fund the project; and 2. The builder’s schedule to begin the project.

Construction to complete the entire project is 18 months. A logistics committee is working to establish a timeline and to determine how the move will happen, where religious education classes and other parish groups can meet, along with the storage of parish items during the construction phases. 

The Capital Campaign committee is in the final stages of the campaign. Over 30 fellow parishioners called to recruit the more than 60 home visitors that will be assigned parish families to drop off and pick up their pledge packets. This will take place on Sunday, Nov 5^th, with pickup by November 19^th. It will be most important for the parish families to respond generously to fund the church renovation and the building of the new parish hall, with pledges spread over a 3-year period.

Campaign materials are being finalized, banners will be posted outside, and more information on ways to give, the importance of the project, why now, and videos produced by our parish youth will be presented to the parish over the next month. 

As always, your prayers are welcomed as we all work to create a worthy space to celebrate our faith through the sacraments and to create spaces for our parish family to gather and carry out our many missions and parish activities.  

Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future…

Thank you to our parishioners who volunteered to call and recruit home visitors. Please be open to their calls and help make our campaign a success and grow our parish by giving a few hours as a visitor. You will not have to ask for money, just drop off and pick up envelopes from about 5 homes. Your continued support and prayers for the campaign are encouraged and welcomed.

Thank you to Ian Hampton for his work on the capital campaign logo. Per Ian, “the story of the design was to use clean, pure, and iconic shapes that have significance to Catholics.” We will begin using the logo for the campaign and as you see it, we are sharing the meaning of the logo for Sacred Heart.

The Heart
At the core of the heart is Christs great sacrifice through the cross.
Everything we do flows from the heart; the core.
The heart pumps the life blood of the church.
Read: Proverbs 4:23

The Shield
What better tool to guard our hearts than a shield.
The Strength and Sacrifice we are all called to.
Read: John 15:13 - Isaiah 40:31

The Flame
Represents The Passion, both of Christ, and of our members to their faith.
The flame also represents divine love, the union of Christ to his bride; the Church
Read: CCC, 796 - Eph 5:29-32; Rev 21:2, 9

Updates for Capital Campaign

9/17/2023
Parishioners – if you have not received your phone call to be a home visitor to assist in our Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future… capital campaign, please call the parish office and let us know you are interested in being a home visitor - - your participation is appreciated and welcomed!

As you know, Sacred Heart has embarked on a Capital Campaign to enhance our worshipping space and our facility. An important aspect of this campaign involves volunteers contacting
members through a personal visit. Each visitor will be asked to simply deliver sealed envelopes, with campaign information, to approximately 5 households of the parish on Sunday, November 5. Within the following two weeks, and by Sunday, November 19, visitors will return to the same parish households and pick up their commitment card in a sealed envelope.

This task should only take about one hour of your time each Sunday. Visitors will be fully trained on how to make these contacts and the best part is you will not have to ask people for
money! The success of this campaign depends on our ability to visit all of our fellow parishioners.

Callers – if you have not returned your home visitors list to Betty Johnson & Associates, the deadline is September 22nd. Your time on this is appreciated.
Your continued prayers for a successful capital campaign important as we work together to enhance and grow our parish.

9/11/2023
Please be open to calls from fellow parishioners and yes to being a home visitor. It will only take you a few hours, you will have no more than 5 homes to drop off and pick a sealed packet, and you will not have to ask for money. This capital campaign is important for our parish and our Catholic faith. Many are working hard to make it happen after we have talked about it for many, many years. We hope you will join in and be a part of this exciting time in your parish and do all you can to make it happen.

Just a reminder of what the project is and why it is so important.
 Create a peaceful, quiet, reverent Holy environment of worship, including narthex, nave, choir space and sanctuary.
 Beautify our space that is worthy to display God’s gifts.
 Accessible bathrooms for all.
 The new parish hall will seat 300, more with no tables.
 Classroom and meeting spaces for our many activities.
 Increased outreach to grow our church and our faith.

Although we do not have a timeline on when the renovations will start, the building committee continues to meet with the builders and the diocese to finalize the details. The final cost will be determined once the project starts, but we will continue working with the contractors and diocese to ensure the parish finances are not in jeopardy.
Your continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated - together we will  make it happen!

8/27/2023
A big shout out to the parishioners who said yes to help recruit home visitors for our Capital Campaign – Thank you! And another shout out to the capital campaign committee members for recruiting the volunteers who so graciously said yes. For those who are helping with this next step in the campaign process, packets and information will be handed out on Wednesday, September 6 th , at 7:00 pm at the church. A short training will be included. We appreciate all your support and prayers as we all work together to make our church more welcoming and inviting through the renovations to modernize our parish facilities.
Please pray for God’s guidance throughout this process as well as the campaign volunteers and our entire Sacred Heart parish community.

8/20/2023
Volunteer recruitment will be ongoing over the next few months, please be open to being to committing some of your time to help as we all work together to restore our church. Together we can grow our parish, our church community, and our faith. We will be asking for volunteers to help in 2 ways, short trainings will be provided, as well as
necessary materials:
 To help recruit home visitors
 To be a home visitor.

Home visitors will not have to ask for money, but simply drop off a sealed packet to about 5 homes, and return the following week to pick up their signed and envelope and bring it by the parish office.  As a parishioner receiving a home visit, you will not be pressured to give, but to read the materials, think and pray about your commitment to this parish project, complete your commitment card, and hand it back to your home visitor the following Sunday in a sealed envelope. Your home visitor will not know what you were asked to give, nor will they know what you decide to give.

Do you wonder how our finances are doing in preparation for the Building project?  How much money does the parish actually have in savings?

Please download and look at the report below to answer those questions.  And thank you for all of your stewardship to our parish.

Fiscal Year End Finance Report 2023.pdf

Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future...

8/11/2023 Letter

As we continue to work through the campaign timeline, we want to share with you the process and how you can be involved with your stewardship of time, investment, and prayers. Your participation is key to the campaign success with the end result – a new parish hall, a worthy sanctuary for worship, and adequate meeting spaces for our various activities.

Our campaign includes a campaign committee:  Glenna Borho and Von Hampton – co-chairs; Bryan Barnard, Diana Barnard, David Borho, Nicole Curtis, Julie Haas, Lorin Haas, Luke Kumberg, Susan Pixler, Joy Schmidt, Jeanette Siemens, Erin Sluss, and Father Charles. Betty Johnson is our campaign consultant.

In the next few weeks, you will be receiving a phone call asking you to volunteer to be a caller to recruit home visitors. Names, a short training session, and a phone script will be provided to you – and this role will only take you a few hours.

Home visitors will NOT ask for money. We will be using a sealed envelope to ask for the pledges and cash for our campaign. A home visitor’s role is simply to drop off a sealed envelope to no more than five assigned fellow parishioners. This will take place November 5^th, Campaign Sunday. The home visitor will return in 2 weeks to pick up the signed, sealed commitment card for the campaign. The home visitor will drop off and pick up, will NOT ASKfor money, and will NOT know how much was pledged.

All of these roles are important and we hope you will say yes when you receive a call to be a caller and/or a home visitor, as well as welcome your home visitor when they reach out to you.

The committee is working on a campaign brochure which will be available in the next few months. These will be mailed to each parish family and will include details on the project and different assets to use for your commitment.

Campaign gifts may be made over a 3-year pledge period. We encourage you to think, pray and then make a family decision to invest in your parish for today and for future generations – as your forefathers have done before you.

Many questions are being asked about the actual project and when it can happen. This all depends on our parish participation in the campaign. The diocese has procedures we must follow to ensure the work is done properly. We must have money raised and in the bank, must have pledges to pay for the project, and we must have the final plans approved by the diocese. The final approval from the Diocese will be based on the dollars raised and the final plans. Construction cannot start until these steps are fulfilled. At that time, the building committee will work with the contractor to accommodate his schedule and the availability of materials.

We welcome your questions – please reach out to committee co-chairs, Glenna Borho (620-388-2655 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Von Hampton (620-672-3472 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or to the parish office.

We welcome your participation as a volunteer, a donor, and a prayerful parishioner for the campaign and project success.

If you do not receive a call and are interested in volunteering, please call the parish office.

Building Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future...

8/1/2023 Update: Volunteer recruitment will be ongoing over the next few months, please be open to committing some of your time to help as we all work together to renovate our church and build new meeting spaces. Together we can build our parish, our church community, and our faith. 

We will be asking for volunteers to help in 2 ways, short trainings will be provided, as well as necessary materials:To help recruit home visitorsTo be a home visitor. 

Home visitors will not have to ask for money, but simply drop off a sealed packet to about 5 homes, and return within two weeks to pick up their sealed envelope and bring it by the parish office. 

As a parishioner receiving a home visit, you will not be pressured to give, but to read the materials, think and pray about your commitment to this parish project, complete your commitment card, and hand it back to your home visitor the following Sunday in a sealed envelope. Your home visitor will not know what you were asked to give, nor will they know what you decide to give.

Your continued prayers are welcomed. If you have any questions about the capital campaign, please do not hesitate to reach out to the parish office.  

 7/30/2023

The campaign committee continues to work on the campaign and is pleased with the interest of the parish and asking how they can be involved. There are many upcoming opportunities for parish members to give their time and to support the parish enhancements.

In the next few weeks, parish members will be receiving a call to be home visitor recruiter. This will entail calling an assigned list of fellow parishioners to be a home visitor.

Later in August and September, callers will be recruiting home visitors. Campaign home visitors will be dropping off and picking up campaign commitments. They will not have to ask for a gift, as it will be a sealed, confidential giving process. Callers and home visitors will be trained and have the opportunity to ask questions on the tasks they volunteer to do for the parish campaign.

Campaign Sunday is November 5 th – more will be coming on this important weekend, when all parishioners have the opportunity to invest in their parish and build its future for today and future generations. Between now and Campaign Sunday, the parish will be hearing project updates, information on how to give, why it is important now for the parish, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Please welcome the calls, be open to volunteering, and be considering your financial commitment to your parish. Your prayers for the campaign, our parish, and our faith are welcomed and appreciated.

The current floor plan for the parish building project is below.  Feel free to explore and share it.  We look forward to making it a reality.  

Betty Johnson and Associates presented our Feasibility study results for our bulding project to the parish on April 3, 2023.  We videotaped the presentation and discussion.  If you would like to read the full report you are welcome to visit the office and read it there.