Welcome to Saint Mary of the Assumption
Roman Catholic Church in Milford, MA
is a culturally rich and diverse Catholic family; through our worship, educational, youth and outreach ministries, we endeavor to welcome, to love, to evangelize and to serve, making Jesus Christ present in Word & sacrament.
Renovation Committee
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Photo Albums
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HVAC Installation
29 Photos
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Landscaping for heat pumps
31 Photos
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Pew Refinishing
17 Photos
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When Fr. Raymond Goodwin was Pastor at Saint Mary's Parish, the need to renovate and update the upper church was recognized and a committee organized. At first, the question was whether this would be a restoration of the church as it was before, or a new renovation to bring the church a fresh look and efficient services such as electrical, fire protection and painting. As the committee began its meetings, needs presented themselves in the church with the need to repair leaks in the roof and the tower, and to the exterior of the window frames. This took several years as the expenses were covered by the monies received from a weekly second collection and other donations from parishioners.In 2016, the committee received the names of several architectural firms and began interviewing them to determine which would be the best fit for the parish. In April of 2017, they settled on the firm of Spencer, Sullivan and Voyt of Cambridge, and Fr. Ray deferred on deciding since he was retiring in a matter of weeks and felt it was a decision more appropriately left for the new pastor. When Fr. Peter Joyce arrived that summer as the new pastor, he helped the committee to define its scope and help determine a plan as he and the parish moved forward in hiring Spencer, Sullivan and Voyt to assess the needs of the building and develop drawings for a fundraiser. One of the first decisions was to identify that this would be a renovation rather than a restoration. A restoration would imply that the original structure and or appearance would be reconstituted. However, many of the most valued aspects of our current church setting, the stained glass windows, the stations of the cross and their frames and the large marble reredos are not original to the church but installed over time from 1910 to 1950. So the committee took its identity and mission as a Renovation Committee.
As the Diocese of Worcester began its Legacy of Hope campaign in the spring of 2018, the parish was allowed to yoke its special renovation project to the diocesan campaign. In turn, the parish would assume the cost of the fundraising effort including specialized materials for the renovation and an assessment of $435,028 to be paid in 16 quarterly installments from September 2019 to the summer of 2022. The project now moved from a vision and idea to planning and organizing the renovation. Much detail needed to be set in place for the organization and printing of a brochure and the scheduling of receptions to explain the concept and get parishioners on board with pledges for a four year period. The campaign was established with three different goals, a firm need of $1.5 million, a wish goal of $2 million and a challenge goal of $2.5 million. The committee ventured to these waters knowing that even this was not enough. All of the needed work would cost over $3 million, especially since at the last planning meeting before printing the brochure the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame in Parish burned from renovations that ignited a fire in the attic there. The question was raised, and is still not answered, if the parish would be required to install a sprinkler system in the attic to prevent a similar accident in Milford. Nonetheless, the brochure was printed with the wish list of all aspects realizing that initial costs estimates would change to real figures depending on when and who was contracted for the work.Project Budget Estimates Work to be performed estimated cost actual cost Fundraising expenses $100,000 $87,271.58 Architectural design $40,000 Stained Glass window repairs (removal & restoration of nave windows) $240,000 HVAC (new heating and air conditioning system using heat pumps) $500,000 Electrical, illumination & fire suppression (does not include sprinkler system for the attic) $200,000 Legacy of Hope Payments $435,028 Pew refinishing & wainscot $107,000 Asbestos Abatement & demolition of previous heating system $60,000 $45,982 -
1st Quarter Report of July 31, 2019
Line item Expense Income Balance in the account on May 1st $149,520 2nd collections in May $ 6,473 Fee to Guidance in Giving (GIG) $74,791 Printing, postage & receptions $14,576 2nd collections in June $ 6,580 Total pledges as of July 31st $1,492,800 Architect fees paid to SSV
(Spencer, Sullivan & Vogt)$39,170 2nd collections in July $ 5,303 Payments to campaign $441,342 Total cash on hand (July 31st) $587,276 Balance due on pledges ($998,399) Outstanding amount for Legacy of Hope due quarterly to the diocese ($435,000) Balance for renovation $1,150,675 -
Phase I
The committee reviewed the needs of the building, the temperment of the parish, and the available funds and determined that rather than wait for all of the funds to be received or to borrow against them and incur a debt and interest, to divide the project into different phases over the coming years that would begin to reap results from peoples' contributions as well as improve the comfort of the building even before painting could begin.
The first phase occurred in December of 2019 when the parish was presented with a unique opportunity to purchase a demonstration model of an electronic organ at a 25 % savings. Initially considering to buy it on a payment schedule, it was eventually determined to save the interest and purchase it outright. The new wiring and installation occurred in December of 2019 in time for the Christmas celebrations in the parish.
The next part of this phase was to remove the asbestos that covered the heating system in the lower church. This abatement was performed by Atlantic Abatement of Rhode Island during the shut down during the coronavirus pandemic in May of 2020 at a cost of $42,000. Their scope of work included the removal of asbestos covering the pipes, the demolition of the heating system including the removal of all the radiators and the demolition of the previous steam boiler.
To remove the radiators, the pews that stood along the side walls of the nave were removed to be refinished. This work has been contracted with Lloyd's Woodworking of Hudson. The finish the committee selected is virtually identical to the current color and the kneelers will be recovered in a neutral colored vinyl covering. This firm has also been selected to fabricate the new wood wainscotting that will camoflauge the new mechanicals for the new heating and cooling system.
Stained Glass Resources, Inc., was chosen by the committee to renew and repair the priceless Mayer Munich windows that line the nave. The four center windows on the south side of the building were removed the week before the COVID-19 shut down and were expected mid-July, but the pandemic has pushed the return date to mid-September due to the changes in working hours and availability of staff during the pandemic.
The main part of Phase I will be the installation of new mechanicals for heating and cooling the church and the electrical service to support it. To provide for the installation of this equipment the trees between the church and the parish hall were removed in June of 2020 by All Pro Tree Service of Framingham. The electrical work will be completed by Favulli Electrical of Shrewsbury and the HVAC by Victory of Bellingham. A difference of opinion between the engineers involved brought all parties to the table to reassess the electrical service to the property. As an agreement is reached, we are waiting on new drawings for the contracts to be signed and go forward by the end of July of 2020.