Copyright © 2009, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Reprinted by permission of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. By Pattie Mihalik, Correspondent For five years, Father Niles Gillen, O.Carm., had a goal. He wanted to see a new parish center for Saint Raphael Catholic Church. The Englewood, Florida, church has had plenty of acreage for expansion. And the old parish center was not capable of holding two groups at one time. The solution, he believed, was a new parish center. There were plenty of others who shared that belief, as well as some dissenters. “There will always be those who say the Lord was born in a stable, why do we need anything more?” he noted. When he was assigned five years ago as associate pastor of Saint Raphael Church, Father Niles, as he is called, asked church members to complete a parish survey stating what they most wanted to see in the church. “It came to my attention from that survey that parishioners felt the parish center was far too inadequate to serve the needs of the church,’ he said. “I vowed then to try to spearhead the building of a new center.” He has done exactly that, but it was a long time in coming. “There were plenty of problems and frustrations along the way,” he admitted, “but those delays were a blessing in disguise and everything worked out perfectly in the end.” Explaining that the Diocese of Venice wants parishes to have at least 80 percent of the cost before projects can be started, the priest recounted how church members responded well to a fund drive. “Some gave $100. A few gave $100,000 or more,” he remarked. “I kept praying for success as we slowly gathered funds.” Plans were drawn up by an architect for two separate buildings but that proved to be price-prohibitive. “We had to scale down to a more modest building but even then we had frustrations and delays. Prices kept going up and we didn’t have enough money to start ground breaking,” he said. Finally, with new plans for an 18,000-square-foot building and with enough money on hand to start groundbreaking, there was some unexpected good news. “The long delays we had proved to be beneficial because prices fell dramatically. Contractors were hungry for work and we were able to get a terrific building that we could afford,” said the priest. The dedication Mass in March was presided by the bishop of the diocese of Venice, Florida, Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane, concelebrated by the pastor, Father Mark Schaffner, O.Carm., along with Father Niles, and area Carmelites. Smiles were all around as parishioners viewed the new parish center for the first time. No one was smiling more than Father Niles, when, during the reception following the
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