St Mary's update as of Jan 31, 2025: new speakers installed as part of the restoration work being done

St Mary's Parish update (1/31/25)

WE HEARD YOU AND SOON YOU WILL HEAR BETTER WHEN ATTENDING MASS!  

New speakers (and more of them) have been installed in our primary worship space. Each central column will now hold a speaker. 

 

The damage caused by the smoke was extensive. Great progress has been made. 

Here is a list of some of the work which has been accomplished:  

• The walls and ceiling have been cleaned. 
• 
  The walls and ceiling have been sanitized. 
• The walls and ceiling have been painted.  
• New electrical wiring has been installed. 
• New overhead ceiling fans have been installed. 
• New sound equipment wiring has been installed. 
• Work on putting down new flooring has begun. 
• Many of the church furnishings have been cleaned. 
• The scaffolding has been taken down and removed. 
• New speakers have been installed. 

Here are a few tasks which are being worked on:  

• New hardwood floors are currently being laid in the Sanctuary. 
• The choir loft floor is being sanded and restored. 
• Replacement drapery panels for the Sanctuary are being made. 
• The Sacristy has been gutted and is now being rebuilt. 
• A new organ has been ordered. 
• Some of the furniture has been returned from the storage area. 

Though insurance will cover many costs, it will not cover the replacement and restoration costs of everything in our church.  

The St. Mary Parish Fire Fund has been established to help us restore our church.  

If you are able to give online, please use the following link:  

https://www.osvhub.com/stmarysfranklin/giving/funds/saint-mary-parish-fire-fund 

If you prefer to give by check, please make your check payable to St. Mary Parish (mention the St. Mary Parish Fire Fund).  You can mail it to; St. Mary Parish, 1 Church Square, Franklin MA, 02038 or drop it by the Rectory.  

Thank you in advance for your kind and generous financial support of this effort. 

May God continue to bless you.

🎯Saturday, March 1 and Sunday, March 2 are the target dates for our first Masses in our primary worship space “upstairs.”

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BNHq6qQdY/ (additional photos can be found by following this link)

St Mary's ready to resume services in chapel (not main church)

Dear Parishioners of St. Mary’s,

I’m happy to announce to you that, thanks to our friends from Service Master, our Chapel and Sacred Heart Hall are now clean and safe for use again! 

Therefore, starting this Saturday, November 2nd, we will begin using our Chapel and Sacred Heart Hall for all our Masses, both weekend and daily, and all other liturgies, meetings and events. 

We will resume our regular weekend Mass schedule in the Chapel and Sacred Heart Hall on Saturdays at 4 PM and Sundays at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM THIS WEEKEND (November 2nd and 3rd).  

For weekend and daily Mass parking, please use the school parking lot, Franklin Senior Center parking lot, Daniel McCahill Street, Union Street or Main Street. The Oak St. parking area and Rectory driveway will not be available as our renovation team is working 7 days a week in the Main Church. Also, please do not give in to curiosity and wander upstairs for any reason. There is still a lot of soot and smoke damage that is strongly discouraged breathing in to our bodies. 

Our Daily Mass at 7 AM in the Chapel on Mondays through Fridays will resume on Monday, November 4th. 

Confessions will resume in the Chapel on Saturdays from 8 AM - 9 AM beginning Saturday, November 9th. 

All Baptisms, Funerals and Weddings will be held as scheduled in the Chapel and Sacred Heart Hall beginning on Saturday, November 2nd. 

All meetings and activities including St. Vincent DePaul can resume in the Sacred Heart Hall beginning Saturday November 2nd. However, whomever is coordinating those events will need to plan for use without tables as the chairs will be in place for Masses, like we have set at Christmas and Easter.  

This is great news that we can at least return to some use of our church so quickly. While it will not always feel ideal, at least we can join together again in our church in some form and fashion. We will all need to have patience as we continue to move forward and make the best of what we have. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We have launched a St. Mary’s Fire Relief Fund. If you or anyone you know would like to help us with some of the upfront costs for our renovations, repairs and overall parish expenses please use our online giving at https://www.osvhub.com/stmarysfranklin/giving/funds.  

Peace and Blessings,

Fr. Bob

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/oBZeFtbSCXEWSLKa/

St Mary's ready to resume services in chapel (not main church)