Victoria Sansing of the Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust presents the Rev. Bevan Stanley, priest in charge at St. Michael’s Church in Litchfield, with the trust’s annual Award of Distinction on Monday. Edward Gadomski, right, is chairman of the church’s building committee.
BY JOHN MCKENNA
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
LITCHFIELD — A comprehensive exterior renovation of St. Michael’s Church has earned the church recognition from the Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust.
During its annual meeting on Monday, the trust presented its Award of Distinction for 2017 to the church in a tribute to the quality of the renovation project, which concluded this fall with the installation of its new west-facing, stained-glass window. Receiving the award on behalf of the church were its priest in charge, the Rev. Bevan Stanley, and parishioner Edward Gadomski, chairman of the church’s building committee.
“This means a lot to us,” Stanley said of the award. “We are grateful that it was a community- wide project involving quite a large number of donors who are not parishioners.”
In addition to the new stained-glass window, the project included masonry repairs, repointing and replacement of concrete on the facade, and repair of the slate roof. The work was done to make the facade and roof as waterproof as possible, Gadomski said.
The church raised $1.44 million for the project, including $500,000 from the Seherr-Thoss Foundation of Litchfield.
Installing lighting to illuminate the front of the church and the new stained-glass window is one of the next projects on the agenda, according to Gadomski, who said a new stained-glass window will be installed on
the south side of the church in the spring.
The decision to give the award to the church was easy and unanimous, according to its presenter, trust member Victoria Sansing.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve been witness to the earnest, steady work that has taken care of the church in the best way possible,” Sansing said. “This is an example of outstanding dedication to maintaining and preserving a church that means so much to the community.”
Contact John McKenna at jmckenna33@ optonline.net.