The Future
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Many descendants of St. William's original parishioners still live there and attend church. Parish registration had dropped roughly 45% since the year 2000 and Sunday Mass attendance also dropped. St. William came to own more buildings than needed.
The Parish buildings are in good order; both churches have seen and will see more work done to them to preserve their integrity. The Upper Church is not used as often as liked but is in good shape. It was officially closed in the late 1990s due to its failing heating system and the aging and reduced population of the parish, but was still used for the weekly Spanish Mass since both an English and Spanish Mass were held at 10:00. It was officially reopened in 2003 after the church's hot water heating system was repaired. move The weekly 11:30A.M. English mass was moved into the Upper Church as well except in summer, utilizing the Parish Choirs at many of the English Masses.
In June 2010 all masses, including the Spanish Mass, were moved into the Lower Church with a reduced schedule to save costs, with the Upper Church used only for special events (Christmas, Easter, Weddings, Etc.).
The old Lawndale Hospital Annex, purchased when student registration was starting its final major drop, had been leased to the IHM as a ministry center for 5 years, after which it remained vacant. In the late summer of 2010; the proceeds helped paid down part of the debt owed by the parish to the diocese, and also allowed a new roof to be put on Memorial Hall, which still had its original 1988 roof.
Both the current church building and the preceding basement church were actually built at street level due to the solid rock plateau on which the church property, and several nearby blocks houses to the south, west and north, sit. Building the church here meant little excavation was needed; while the stability is good for the structural integrity of the church building, it also meant that the Upper Church sat nearly 20 feet above street level, requiring many steps to get into the actual church. Construction costs prohibited installation of an elevator. The original location for the Church property was to be near the intersection of Rising Sun and Godfrey Avenues, but ground testing revealed unstable soil as this location was once a wetlands area.
Read more about this topic: St. William Parish Lawn Crest
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