by Olivia Martin-Davies
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A parish needs a new roof. A school is running out of room. A growing Catholic community needs land for a future church.
All of these scenarios will fall under the purview of the newly formed Archdiocesan Building Commission. Archbishop Shawn McKnight formed the commission in July, and it will advise him on construction, property and other building needs across the archdiocese.
“I look forward to receiving the advice of the very competent people on the Archdiocesan Building Commission whenever I am asked to approve major projects throughout the archdiocese,” Archbishop McKnight said. “Their wisdom and knowledge will be a great resource for me as we plan for the future.”
The commission’s 13 members and areas of expertise are:
Construction: Curt Koutelas, Darin Heyen and Pat McAnany; construction finance: Beth Soukup; real-estate: Pat Regan; development: Kurt Kuhlmann; and architecture: Matt Pauly, Tony Rohr and Mariah Scott.
Kurt Heinen, archdiocesan director of real estate and construction, Father Michael Hawken, archdiocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia, Carla Mills, archdiocesan chief financial officer, and Lisa McKelvey, director of parish campaigns and archdiocesan appeals, round out the commission.
The commission met for the first time on Aug. 5.
“In our first meeting, I was absolutely amazed that there were so many Catholic experts in that room who were top of their fields,” said Pauly, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence.
“The fact that we have this expertise on this commission that is available as a resource to parishes is really exciting,” he added.
Pauly previously served on the Liturgical Art and Architecture Committee and the Liturgical Commission for the Diocese of Salt Lake City and has been a catechist for 15 years. He especially looks forward to being involved in renovations and new builds.
“If we aren’t growing, we are not evangelizing. We are not living our faith,” said Pauly. “So I think anything new in the [arch]diocese gets me excited, even if it’s just as small as renovating a confessional.”
And there’s plenty of work already underway.
Heinen said 34 capital campaigns are underway across the archdiocese. Eleven projects are also in some stage of construction.
He explained that the commission’s purpose is two-fold: to address future needs of the archdiocese and building maintenance.
“It’s going to be exciting to be able to see the detail of the buildings and the properties and have more eyes to look at [them] and bounce new ideas off,” Heinen said.
McKelvey brings fundraising experience to that work. Most major building projects follow a capital campaign, and her office works directly with parishes and donors.
“I am excited for this committee to provide expertise and guidance to parishes as they embark on major projects,” McKelvey said.
A resource for parishes
Pauly sees that local help as one of the commission’s main jobs.
“Because not every parish has an architect or a lawyer who’s a parishioner, the Building Commission then provides a place in which different parishes can come for advice,” he said.
Bolstering small and rural parishes’ resources is close to Pauly’s heart.
“I grew up in a very small rural parish, at St. Mary’s in Purcell,” he said, “and so I’m excited about anything that these rural parishes would bring to the [arch]diocese because there is still growth.
“There are still wonderful opportunities in these rural regions of the [arch]diocese where the faith has been around since the start, over 150 years ago.”
Scott, a parishioner of Holy Name Parish in Topeka, looks forward to helping parishes plan their renovation work.
“I love to be able to see how a space is and be able to make it into something that is more relevant and useful to the people who need it, both now and in the future,” she said.
“New church architecture is exciting, too, just from the perspective of how much meaning you can put and have in the architecture itself that helps to draw people’s minds and hearts to Christ,” Scott added.
Pauly wants to help the commission go beyond technical questions. Buildings, he said, should serve the reason a parish exists in the first place.
“Everything about our built environment should enhance the mission of the church,” he said.
Scott agreed.
“Especially when you walk into that space and you can feel, in a sense, your own smallness compared to God,” she said, “but that he allows us to see and be part of that beauty every day.
“It gives you that awe, which will help to draw people closer to him.”
Planning for what comes next
While it’s still in its early days, the commission may eventually form smaller groups based on the needs of each project.
Heinen said one group could study future growth and land needs. Another could focus on new construction, remodeling and maintenance.
“There’s a lot of opportunity,” Heinen said, “and not only growth, but repair of a lot of things we’re doing.”
Scott applauded Archbishop McKnight’s foresight in creating the commission, and she hopes it is a benefit to the people of the archdiocese.
“I think that it’s wise really to look at people who are in the field and doing those things on a regular basis and say, ‘I want to get input from [those] people,’” Scott said.
