St. John Neumann - Sunbury, Ohio

Fr. David Sizemore's congregation was getting too big for its building.  St. John Neumann's current church was built in 2003 and dedicated in 2004.  In less than ten years, a new project began to more than double the size of the church.  The side walls were knocked down to expand the areas on the left and right of the church.  One of the greatest challenges was to add beauty and art in the space.

Annunciation Stained Glass Window and First Station of the Cross

Fr. Sizemore purchased stained glass windows and Stations of the Cross from Henninger's inventory of used church goods.  The Stations were repaired and touched up by Henninger's statuary artists.  The stained glass needed to be expanded to a larger size.

Original Window                                   Expansion Design                                          Finished Window

The goal of the expanded borders was to match the style of stained glass used 100 years ago when the original windows were made.  Our stained glass artists worked for many weeks to fabricate the 60 new panels (6 new border panels x 10 windows).

Debbie Knopf and Betti Senko in Henninger's Stained Glass Studio

The result of their hard work is pictorial Life of Christ in St. John Neumann Church:

Large Archtop Windows Featuring the Life of Christ

Henninger's also fabricated new stained glass windows for the church, in the style of the windows above.  The Rose Window is made of 17 panels including a Dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, in the middle.

Rose Window

Two Adoring Angel windows were made for the left and right of the sanctuary.

Adoring Angels Stained Glass Windows

St. John Neumann also contracted Henninger's to handle the woodworking on altars and statue niches for their church expansion.  The centerpiece of the church is an antique back altar that was rescued by Fr. Kevin Lutz and restored by Henninger's.

Our woodworkers replaced all of the missing pieces, milled new pillars, expanded the width by adding left and right wings, and repaired any damage to the altar.

Rescued Altar

Natalie Molnar and Tim Molnar with Restored Back Altar in Henninger's Woodshop

Altar Installed On-Site

 After our crew installed the altar, the staining, painting, gilding, murals, and all finishing was done by Conrad Schmitt Studios.

Completed Back Altar with Gilding and Murals

Two side altars were made new to match the style of the antique back altar.  Again, Henninger's handled the woodworking and Conrad Schmitt Studios did the finishing and murals. The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph Statues were original to St. John Neumann Church.  Henninger's repaired and repainted them in a new color scheme.

Marian and St. Joseph Side Altars

Two statue niches were made using parts from the antique back altar.  These niches hold new statues of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. John Neumann.

Statue Niches

It was a pleasure working with everyone at St. John Neumann Church and very fulfilling to help them with their church expansion.

"I am in awe every time I walk into our new church and chapel. Immediately I feel the presence of Our Lord. The history of holiness shines through the stained glass; the Holy Spirit Rose Window points to Christ's presence in the tabernacle upon the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament.

God has been with us in every stop of the process to expand and beautify our worship space. From selecting our architects, contractors and consultants to finding our carved wood Altar of the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross and stained glass windows to our parish families raising the funds necessary to move forward. Praise and thanks be to God!"

 - Rev. David Sizemore

To view pictures of the dedication mass, click here.

Door Restoration at Transfiguration

Henninger's was contacted by Transfiguration Church in Lakewood, OH to restore their main Church doors, which were the original doors from when the Church was built in 1930.  The doors had been poorly maintained and were in need of serious repair and restoration.

The doors were removed and transported back to Henninger's for restoration:

 

Once the doors were back in the shop, the interior of the doors were stripped - with some of the stripper revealing multiple layers of paint (brown, teal, and red) that had accumulated over the years on the soon-to-be-replaced exterior of the doors:

After the interior of the doors were stripped, the exterior facing was removed so new exteriors could be added.  When the exterior facing was removed, it revealed the inner mechanisms of the door, with the 85-year-old hand-cut wood easily visible:

The new exterior facings of the doors were then constructed to match the previous exteriors, which had been rotted out over the years by wind, rain, and snow.  The original stained glass panels were inserted into the restored doors:

While the doors were being worked on in the workshop, the wood in the exterior of the transoms above all three sets of doors was removed and replaced with new wood that replicated the original design:

After the doors were completed, three layers of varnish were added to them for protection while the hardware that was usable was refinished and all hardware in need of replacement was replaced.  The doors were re-installed into the jambs with the newly varnished transoms and jambs matching the luster of the "new" doors:

Though the doors look completely different, the history of the original doors of the Church was restored and preserved for a stunning "before and after" project that turned out even better than anyone involved could have dreamed.

Carved Carrara Marble Statue

The Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe, Ohio ordered a new St. Michael statue from Henninger's.  The statue was carved in Carrara, Italy out of white Carrara marble.  The following pictures show the different stages of the process from one solid block of marble to on-site installation. 

Solid block of marble

Rough cut of statue

Statue near completion

Finished statue in Italian studio

Statue installed on pedestal at Center for Pastoral Leadership

New Tile Sanctuary

Old Sanctuary floor

St. Anthony of Padua Church in Parma, Ohio was in need of new flooring in its church.  Fr. Dale Staysniak contacted Henninger's for help in the Sanctuary.  The brick color, square pattern tile was dated and it needed an upgrade.  Henninger's supplied porcelain tile samples and a cream color tile was selected. 

Tear out of old floor

Henninger's flooring crew removed the old tile from the sanctuary.  A movable visqueen booth was built around the area that was torn up. This booth helps minimize the dust that is created during the tear up.

Installation

The installation process went very smoothly.  Father Dale selected to keep the wood strip at the edge of each stair.  The contrast should help parishioners see the steps so they don't trip.

The following pictures are impressive "before" and "after" shots:

St. Anthony of Padua - before new tile

St. Anthony of Padua - after new tile

The finished product made the sanctuary look richer and cleaner.  Everyone at the church was pleased with the work and Henninger's was proud to help.  After the sanctuary was finished, new carpet was laid throughout the church and Henninger's crew moved the pews and re-installed them when it was finished.

New porcelain tile

OLMC - Niles, Ohio

Last year, the new pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Niles, Ohio had a vision of his new parish. Rev. John-Michael Lavelle saw hidden stained glass windows being exposed. His vision included new marble sanctuary furniture. He imagined a new crucifix hanging from the ceiling and a new tabernacle. The worship space at his new parish would look clean and rich.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church - 2012

Fr. Lavelle asked Henninger's for input on his renovation plans.  He knew he had to knock down a forty year old mosaic to expose the stained glass windows hidden behind it. He shopped on www.church-inventory.com for items from closed churches. After a few submissions, Father landed on the following rendering:

Henninger's Design Studio's Renovation Rendering

Fr. Lavelle contracted Henninger's to handle painting the church walls and ceiling, renovating the sanctuary with new altars, ambo, lectern, and baptismal font, ordering new metalware and statuary.  The back of the church needed work as well.  Using an old photo from archives, Father planned on a new facade for the choir loft, and more exposed stained glass.

Choir loft and back of church 2012                                                                   OLMC archived photo

Father asked Henninger's to add marble wainscoting throughout the church. The green marble would match the existing color around the sanctuary, and the new pieces of marble furniture. As more parishioners grew exited about the project, the plans continued to grow. New doors, chairs, and stained glass work were added to the renovation.  The pews were to be refinished with new kneelers.  The stairwell on the side of the building was to be converted into a cry room.  Henninger's work began in the church in January of 2013 with the removal of pews, mosaic removal, and setting up for scaffolding for the painters.

Pew removal                                                                                    Mosaic removal

Entire church with scaffolding

With the scaffolding covering the entire church, wall to wall, and floor to ceiling, surfaces were accessible to Henninger's paint crew. Preparation is the step that sets Henninger's paint crew apart from other commercial crews.  Our painters take the necessary time to professionally repair any damage, clean all surfaces, and prime before painting.  When we paint a church, it is meant to last 25 to 35 years.

Surface preparation                                                                               Painting ceiling

After the scaffolding came down, the next work was the marble wainscoting. Henninger's cut, beveled and polished dozens of slabs of green marble for the church's walls and columns.

Green marble wainscoting on walls and pillars

Henninger's covered the mosaics on the left and right sides of the sanctuary in drywall and painted the niches in a faux marble. A re-purposed side altar was installed on the left side of the sanctuary with a new tabernacle. A new sanctuary lamp and a new holy water font are on either side of the altar.

Before                                                                                                        After

The church's old baptismal font was converted into a statue pedestal for the new six foot wood carved statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. New floor candlesticks flanked the statue.

Before                                                                                               After

Henninger's work in the choir loft was quite extensive.  The box in the middle of the back wall was removed to expose the stained glass windows. A new floor was laid for stability. The front railing was built out and up to recreate the look in the church from decades before. Sandblasted glass panels featuring the seven sacraments were inserted in the new railing. The church's pipes from its previous organ were re-purposed by cutting, painting, and mounting. When finished, the facade was painted in faux marble green and white.

Before picture and work in progress pictures in choir loft

The result of all of the planning and hard work in the choir loft was very impressive.  The following before and after pictures also show the newly refinished pews:

Choir Loft 2012

Renovated Choir Loft

Father Lavelle had a great idea for the doors leading into the sacristy: stained glass. Henninger's artists designed and built two stained glass panels featuring the Youngstown Diocesan seal and the Papal seal.

Diocesan and Papal Seals on stained glass panels

The panels were installed into new solid wood doors. The inside of the doors were stained and the outside were faux marble painted.

  

 The new baptismal font was custom designed and fabricated for the renovation. The top piece was carved out of a solid piece of white marble. The bottom green marble formed an octagonal shape with an access panel to reach the pump on the water feature.

Baptismal Font

The sanctuary at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel received the biggest facelift. By removing the large mosaic in back, two previously hidden stained glass windows were exposed. A new crucifix was hung above the middle of the sanctuary. The three existing beige and green marble chairs were covered with all green marble and given an pointed top. The Altar of Sacrifice, Altar Railings, and Ambo were re-purposed pieces from St. Rose of Lima Church in the Diocese of Cleveland, which closed a few years ago. A new wall was built behind the chairs with marble crosses inset into it. The wall was painted in faux white and green marble. The marble lectern, bronze floor candlesticks, and wood acolyte chairs were all fabricated new.

Before and after pictures:

Sanctuary - Christmas 2012

New Sanctuary

"Words alone cannot express how appreciative I and the entire faith community of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are with regard to the incredible work everyone at Henninger's has done in recreating our worship space.  While the parishioners are truly amazed at the finished project, I have been amazed throughout the entire process, from first contacting Mark Cousineau a little over a year ago, up to the moment we returned to our glorious church - and beyond.  At every step of the process, they have been the most wonderful people to work with.  We are very blessed to have had the opportunity to collaborate with people who not only understand the many needs of a worship space, and possess the skills and resources to accomplish such wondrous goals, but also have a true love themselves for the celebrations that take place in God's house.  I look forward to continuing working with Henninger's on other projects in the future and highly recommend them to anyone seeking to create, restore or improve upon their worship space." 

Father John-Michael Lavelle 

 

Henninger's team is inspired by Liturgy. The Liturgy of the Word speaks to us and the Liturgy of the Eucharist lets us communicate with Jesus. The greatest service Henninger's can give is to enhance this Liturgy through high quality artwork and beautiful furnishings. Working on the renovation at Our Lady of Mount Carmel gave us the opportunity to enhance an amazing worship space and continue to reach for the heavens.