Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
November 8 , 2000
St. Thomas More Evangelization Center
By Michelle Thomas
It's been a long journey, and the new Evangelization Center at St. Thomas More is now a "living" structure filled with a spirit of education, love and the promise of the Lord's blessings.
Building an Evangelization Center first began as a dream. A survey of St. Thomas More parishioners showed strong support for building a new parochial school. The dream was a big one, because St. Thomas More School would be the first Catholic school built in the Archdiocese of Denver in more than 30 years.
Ground was broken back on Oct. 26, 1992 for Phase I of the Evangelization Center. From the beginning, former pastor Father Michael A. Walsh and parishioners prayed that through God's grace, the new Evangelization Center would become a center for spreading the word of God and for nurturing those seeking to expand their faith.
"I'm so pleased to be assigned to a parish with a school," said Father Andrew Kemberling, now pastor, "because I'm a great supporter of Catholic school education."
"I see great possibilities with the new addition — so many opportunities we didn't have. We're not even sure yet how to use our facilities fully, so I hope that with the insight of many committees, we'll come to some decisions. I can see that so much hard work was done by all the committees, plus the work Father Walsh has done — I'm so impressed with the work that brought this all about," he added.
The building's dedication and first school classes began in 1994, and plans for Phase II began almost immediately. Lots of prayer and diligent work by parishioners enabled the project to overcome intense hostility and opposition from some neighbors. But, the situation eventually was resolved favorably for the parish, and the new Evangelization Center is now open and actively fulfilling those dreams of promoting the Gospel to the parish and beyond.
The building truly `breathes' with the Gospel: during weekdays it is bustling with children in kindergarten through eighth grade and hundreds of younger children in the expanded Mother's Day Out program. Then in the afternoons, evenings and weekends it is the busy home of the parish's religious education program.
"There were many decisions made, many prayers offered, and it is great to see the reality of this Evangelization Center," said Gary Conoryea, parishioner and chairman of the building committee.
Father Michael A. Walsh, pastor at St. Thomas More for 12 years, saw the ground broken and nearly the final work completed on the new center. His transfer to St. Vincent de Paul Parish this summer came just two months before the work was complete. However, he was present Oct. 29 to help celebrate the grand opening ceremonies and the official blessing of the building by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Dozens of parishioners were instrumental in bringing this to fruition. Administrative Assistant Francie Gundzik shepherded the project from its inception in 1992, facilitating much of the day-to-day communications that were essential to the construction.
"We opened the doors and it was alive," said Gundzik. "I am so excited that it's now built, and seeing the use of the facilities, the people in there, makes all of the frustrations and hard work very well worth it."
"During the building, so many decisions had to be made, almost every day, on the spot," said Mr. Conoryea.
"From the beginning, we were constricted by the space we could build on," Mr. Conoryea said. "The previous final development plan specified where any new building could be put. We worked out the wing with an architect so that we could build a full basement beneath for future use."
Then began the arduous process of getting approval for the Evangelization Center from Arapahoe County's zoning and planning division. Complaints from neighbors were finally resolved with the installation of additional landscaping along the western edge of the church property. After much hard work and diligence, the county approved the project last year. Hazelden Construction was hired to complete the project, which they ran "on the fast track," Conoryea said.
"We opened on time by the skin of our teeth on Aug. 21. We had a half-hour to spare with last-minute negotiations with the county to get our certificate of occupancy for the classroom section of the building," Conoryea said with relief.
The entire project was financed by the parish, thanks to generous donations and pledges to the Building Fund.
The building unofficially opened on Aug. 21, when the St. Thomas More School began using the top floor of the new expansion for upper-grade classrooms. Mother's Day Out and religious education programs soon followed in the lower level. For all these programs, the new expansion has been a welcome change.
"We're just happy as clams here!" said Jere Allen, director of religious education at St. Thomas More. "We love having one central space for all of our programs, and we're looking forward to a good relationship with the school, too, as we enjoy our new Center."
Because of the new addition, St. Thomas More School was able to expand enrollment this year by 100 students — to 606 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. "It's a very warm, pleasant place, one that we desperately needed," said Principal Paul Mott. "It's allowed us to add programs, such as Spanish, that we didn't have before. We'll probably add another foreign language next year."
A new, larger gymnasium, cafeteria and school offices are much anticipated by students and staff alike. "The gym will be twice as big as what we had — larger in every way — so we'll be able to use the space for many more activities," Mott said.
The new cafeteria's capacity of 700 students is an immediate improvement from the old cafeteria, which was deemed too small almost immediately after the school first opened in 1994.
"All of these changes make the building more of a true evangelization center," Mott said. "Religious education and the school will be able to work more closely together, because we'll be in the same space. Father Andrew's goal is to have the parish become one large unit, and this building helps us all — the school, religious education, church staff and parishioners — to be more unified."
The parish's large Religious Education department is now housed in the new expansion, with new classroom space available for classes in the day and evening.
"Hopefully I can become a full time school leader now, instead of a builder," Mott said with a laugh. The school now has 25 classrooms of 24 students per class. One additional class per year will be added to reach a goal of 72 students per grade.
Bricks and mortar may be the builder's tools, but hearts and souls are the Lord's choice when setting the cornerstone of His church. It began with a dream, and faith that God would be present and very active at St. Thomas More. Come by and see our latest "treasure," and see if you don't also see God's miraculous hands at work.
