LETTER: Many helping hands worked in saving bells of St. Mary’s

To Ozaukee Press:

I would like to thank everyone involved with the removal of the bells of St. Mary’s Church in Lake Church, including  the committee members, volunteers, Lee Manufacturing Co., and all those who worked so hard to make this a reality.  Heartfelt thanks to Ozaukee Press and Press photographer Sam Arendt for the wonderful coverage they offered of this event.

I would especially like to thank Father Gideon Buya and the Divine Savior Parish Finance Council for their generous support of this project.

The Bells of St. Mary’s, Inc. was formed by volunteers with spiritual roots in the parish to oversee and fund the building of a permanent memorial for the bells in St. Mary’s Cemetery. This memorial will ensure that our story of faith will continue to be honored and celebrated.

The removal of the bells was the first step in building the memorial. Lee Manufacturing is currently refurbishing the bells. Next, the committee will be working with an architect to draw up a conceptual design of the monument. After approval from Divine Savior Parish, the Bells of St. Mary’s Capital Campaign will be launched to raise the necessary funds. Any funds that are raised above and beyond the cost of the monument will be used to assist in the maintenance of the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Lake Church. We hope to have a ceremonial blessing sometime in the summer of 2021.

Not pictured in last week’s Ozaukee Press photo of the committee were Kathy Schmidt, Al Lorge, Jim Hubing, Father Jim Ernster, Jack Peiffer, John Ernster, Mary Navis, Roy Bichler, Roger Mayer and Richard Uselding. Social distancing was practiced on the day of the removals of the bells, except when we held our breath and proudly smiled for the group photo.

For more information on the Bells of St. Mary’s, our email address is
thebellsofstmarys@gmail.com.

Bob Hubing
Belgium
The letter writer is president of The Bells of St. Mary’s.