Immaculate Conception church announces capital campaign for new building

While the Jackson Christmas Parade was in full-swing Sunday night, another procession — one 170 years in the making — was about to begin.

Along with Bishop Edward Rice of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and members of the Jackson Knights of Columbus, parishioners of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church gathered around the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse steps to honor the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, widely celebrated Dec. 8.

With candles and hymnal booklets in hand, the church members sang hymns and carried a cross, banners and a statue of the Virgin Mary back to the church at 208 S. Hope St.

The church’s inaugural Feast of the Immaculate Conception Marian procession began at the foot of the courthouse steps — the location of the church’s first Mass — and marks the beginning of what in planned to become an annual tradition for the church. This year, however, it also marks the start of a “Building our Church, Sharing our Faith, Growing our Community” capital campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new church building.

The existing building is only the second structure the church has had since it began in the 19th century, according to Deacon Al Stoverink. The campaign announced Sunday seeks to build the third.

“It’s really beautiful that we are able to line up our campaign with something that venerates the blessed mother,” Barbie Gibbs, campaign leadership chairwoman and parishioner, said of the procession. “In alignment with the Catholic Church, we wanted to have some sort of spiritual guidance for our whole campaign.”

“My vision is to build the most beautiful building in Southeast Missouri,” said parishioner Joe Starke, painter at Southeast Missouri State University, member of the building committee and organizer of Sunday’s Marian procession.

The campaign will be split into two phases as part of a several-year plan to build a new church building. The total cost of the project is estimated at more than $14 million, with phase one looking to secure just over $9.5 million for the church building.

“The second phase will be to build new offices, meeting rooms, a day chapel and a new rectory,” Stoverink said of the nearly $5 million second phase.

Stoverink said there are many reasons behind the need for a new building, including the growth of the parish, as membership sits just above 3,200.

Church is “bursting at the seams,” Stoverink said, noting chairs being added in the aisles of the sanctuary for Mass.

“[Parish membership] has grown a little over 1% a year over the last 20 years,” he said. “That’s been a pretty steady growth pattern.”

In addition to the insufficient seating, the current building lacks an adequate gathering space and has limited space for offices, meetings and other administrative support services. Built in 1962, there are many places in which the existing church building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the restrooms.

The church basement is only accessible from an external staircase.

“You can’t even get to the basement from an internal stairway,” Stoverink said with a laugh. “When this building was built, there were a different set of priorities in the architecture at the time.”

Stoverink said the campaign is about 20 years in the making after a study was conducted to determine whether to move the church elsewhere in town. Since then, with careful planning, the parish has been able to acquire some of the adjoining property in the existing location.

“We’ve got space to do this now,” Stoverink said.

The existing building sits on the edge of Hope Street and faces the Immaculate Conception School building and Jefferson Street, which Stoverink said will remain a utility corridor for the City of Jackson, as well as a pedestrian corridor and green space in the new plan. The new building will sit in the same space but will feature, among other things, a fellowship hall, gathering space and a sanctuary with 750 seats.

Fundraising dates to the church’s beginnings, when church lore has it a group of Jackson residents went door-to-door asking for donations to begin two churches. One would be a Protestant house of worship, the other, Catholic. Those collecting the funds would place donations for the Protestant church in the left pocket and in the right pocket for the Catholic church.

“They raised enough money for both of them, to build both,” said Stoverink, who noted the funds raised for that first Catholic church marked the beginning of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

According to a capital campaign handout, Diocesan guidelines state half of the total project cost must be collected in cash and the remainder secured in pledges before ground can be broken on the project.

“The parish is responsible for every penny of the cost of construction,” Stoverink said, except for the artwork.

Thanks to the help of Rice, Stoverink said much of the stained glass and artwork for the new building has been secured from a St. Louis Catholic church no longer in use.

Asked what it would mean to the church and community to see a new building constructed, Stoverink pointed back to the mission of the Catholic Church.

“It would give us the space, both the worship space and the gathering space, to be able to draw more people in and to bring them closer to Christ. That’s our mission,” Stoverink said. “ ... It will spur, we believe, the further growth in accomplishing that mission.”

Fundraising for the capital campaign will wrap up in the spring, and Stoverink said construction is likely three to five years out, assuming all goes to plan.

“We’re excited about this opportunity because it really will enhance our ability to fulfill our mission serving the Lord,” Stoverink said. “Jesus said, ‘I send you forth to make disciples of all nations,’ and we’re all called to that today. And we do it in our little corner of the world.”