St. Benedict Catholic Church (Bendena, KS) Improvement

Specific Need

• Classroom dividers for CCD classes held in the Hall
• Landscaping around the Hall
• Connective path/sidewalk between Hall and Rectory
• General upkeep of St. Benedict Church, refurbished Hall, and Rectory

Profile

In 2011, the congregation of St. Benedict Catholic Church, rural Bendena, KS, began making plans for a new Hall.  Due to many unforeseen circumstances and needed repair to the Church Building itself, the parish waited and waited for the Hall that was finally completed earlier this year.

Of course, during this span of 13 years, the costs of construction jumped to the point that a new building was not feasible.  With the help of Brooner Construction of St. Joseph, MO, however, parishioners were able to raise enough pledges and money from existing funds to begin a complete refurbishing and addition to the original Hall.

We have used funds from our Doniphan County Community Foundation fund to help with the initial refurbishing; now we hope to use donations along with the Match Money they earn on GIVE Where You Live Day to make the Hall complete with room dividers, coat racks, adequate landscaping, and walkways.

We recently tested the new Hall as we hosted our annual “turkey with all the trimmings” dinner.  The weather was the first challenge as dark clouds and rain covered Doniphan County early in the morning.  But by 11 a.m., the clouds had cleared, and we served more than 700 meals to hungry visitors.  The Hall and the congregation survived the test!

Located in rural Doniphan County about 5 miles southwest of Bendena, St. Benedict Parish, which was established in 1855, is one of the oldest parishes in our Archdiocese.  We are now adding the extras that we did not have funds for when we started this building project and would appreciate any donations you can give to St. Benedict Catholic Church Improvement Fund during the Give Where You Live campaign December 5-7.  Our aim is to keep the Church and the Hall in good working order for many more years.